THE POLITICAL ROLE OF THE THEOSOPHICAL SOCIETY
It remains for us to speak of the political role played by the Theosophical Society, particularly in India. This role has been variously described, [1] and no doubt it is difficult to form a very clear idea of it because it is one of those things which the Theosophists really keep secret, much more so than their pseudo-esoterism. They have always affirmed that, as Theosophists at least, they do not mingle in politics, alleging that their organization is 'international in the highest sense. [2] Their political role exists, nevertheless, and if the Society taken as a whole is in fact international, its leadership has become purely English. Consequently, whatever the appearances, we are convinced-even certain-that viewed from this angle, Theosophy is above all an instrument in the service of British imperialism. It must have been so from the beginning or near the beginning, for trustworthy witnesses have given assurance that during her stay in India Mme Blavatsky received a significant annual subvention (the figure of twelve thousand rupees has been suggested) from the English authorities. It seems that this was the price of certain services rendered against her country of origin; besides, she repudiated
her Russianness and liked to call herself American (we have seen that she was in fact naturalized in 1878). Hodgson, much less competent in these matters than in the study of psychic phenomena, was quite wrong to suspect her of being a Russian spy; and if, as there is reason to believe, this suspicion was inspired by certain functionaries, it is because these latter did not know much more than he did. The political police in India are entirely outside the official administrative services, although some of its agents simultaneously belong to the latter. In any case, the government, which must have known the situation, took no account of Hodgson's accusation; already at this period the Theosophical Society worked for England. And here is a very significant note that Sinnett [3] (himself a government functionary) inserted in his first work:
Many older Indians, plus numerous books on the Indian Mutiny speak of the incomprehensible manner in which news of distant events penetrated into the native bazaars before reaching the Europeans in the same area, in spite of the use of the most rapid means of communication at the latters' disposal. The explanation given to me is that the Brothers (that is to say the 'Mahătmās'), who at that time wanted to preserve British power because they regarded it as better for India than any native government, rapidly distributed the news according to their particular methods, when the news was of such a nature as to calm popular excitement and to discourage new uprisings. [4] The sentiment that animated them at the time is the same that still animates them today, and the government would act wisely by favoring the development of the influence of the Theosophical Society in India. The suspicions that were in principle directed against the founders of the Society, although poorly addressed, were nevertheless excusable enough; but today, when the character of the movement is better understood, the functionaries of the British government in India would do well, when the occasion is offered,
to show sympathy for the promoters of the Society who necessarily have a thankless task to accomplish if they are deprived of every token of sympathy. [5]
In fact, the Theosophical Society never lacked the moral and financial support of the government, even if this was not true for all officials; nor did it lack support from some native princes whose Anglophile sentiments are well known. Thus the Mahārāja of Cooch-Behar, a high dignitary in British Masonry who died in England in 1911, was a member of the Theosophical Society. He organized a branch in his capital in 1890 , and in 1893 was elected president of the branch in Darjeeling. [6] He was the son-in-law of Keshab Chandra Sen, founder of one of the sects of the Brahma Samāj, called 'Church of the New Dispensation' and which is perhaps the one which had the most pronounced tendencies toward Protestant Christianity. His son and successor, the present Mahārāja, is also in English Masonry, and is one of the dignitaries of the Order of the Secret Monitor, a dependency of the former. The Theosophical Society likewise counts among its protectors and benefactors, if not among its members, the Mahārāja of Kapurthala, another high dignitary of British Masonry who in 1892 made a gift of the sum of two thousand rupees to the 'Commemorative Budget of HPB, [7] intended for the publication of Oriental translations. [8] And, as we have alluded to Masonry in India, here is a simple fact that allows one to account for what may be its role there: in 1910 the head of the native secret police was Deputy Grand-Master of the Great Lodge of the Bengal District, a position which previously had been held by the Mahārāja of Cooch-Behar.
Naturally, the pretext for government support was the Theosophical Society's educational work; but in reality it was justified by the struggle led by the Society, precisely by means of this educational work and various other organizations, against traditional Hindu
institutions, particularly against caste. Europeans generally display so much hostility to caste because they are incapable of understanding the profound principles on which it rests; besides, Hindu civilization in its entirety is based on a tradition which is linked to principles of the purely metaphysical order. Of course, genuine Hindus, who are essentially traditionalists and who for the stated reason cannot be other than traditionalists, shun contact with such a milieu, and so much the more in that they cannot forgive Theosophy for denaturing Eastern doctrines. They also show a deep contempt for those among their compatriots (quite rare, moreover) who are affiliated with this Society, and for those who enter Masonry. By contrast, the British government views such persons favorably, and frequently grants them advantageous positions. Several years ago, for example, the Theosophist J.C. Chatterji became the director of the archeological service in Kashmir. He was the author of several works [9] which, despite their titles and claims, are most often inspired more by the evolutionist (and very 'exoteric') philosophy of Herbert Spencer than by ancient Eastern doctrine.
As for Mrs Besant, her protestations of friendship for Hindus have never been taken seriously by Hindus at large; and in 1894, at the time when she still declared that 'to be converted to Christianity is worse than to be a sceptic or a materialist,' while claiming that she herself was a convert to Hinduism, [10] S.C. Mukhopadyaya wrote in the journal Light of the East, that her Hinduism was 'pure hype', and that there were only a few hundred Theosophist followers of this 'fantasy Buddhism' as against two hundred and fifty million Hindus. Considering Mrs Besant simply as an English political agent, he concluded by placing his compatriots on guard against her, counselling them to resist all foreign intrusion more than ever. Much later the work of Mrs Besant was judged by Hindu patriots in terms of the most vigorous severity:
Mrs Besant has proved noteworthy in many things in her adventurous life, but her latest role is that of subtle and dangerous enemy of the Hindu people, among whom she flutters about like
a bat in the darkness of night.... Just as by their singing the sirens lured men to their ruin, this eloquent and gifted woman draws Hindu youth to their destruction by her honeyed and lying words. The poison of her silvered words, drunk in by her charmed listeners, is deadlier than the venom of serpents.... Since the establishment of the 'Central Hindu College' at Benares, Mrs Besant has sunk ever deeper in the muck of hypocrisy and lies. Perhaps the proud passion of her imagined racial superiority has vanquished her religious fervor. She has always been unstable and inconstant in her attachment to ideas and causes. This mental quality led W.T. Stead to characterize her as 'the woman without stable convictions.' Whatever the case, it is certain that at present she is in complete agreement with the designs of the foreign caste which governs India and must be counted among the enemies of India.... What is Mrs Besant's function among the ranks of official agents? What methods does she follow? She has been entrusted with the delicate mission of controlling the Hindu religious system from within. The government cannot touch our religion directly and openly. But the foreign bureaucracy cannot leave such a vast and influential organization at peace because it fears any institution that can unify the conquered race. Consequently, spies and impostors in disguise are sent to enter this citadel and deceive its guardians. Mrs Annie Besant and her colleagues at Benares, such as Dr Richardson and Mr Arundale, are English imperialists who work with the idea of controlling Hindu religious life. They are like wolves in sheep's clothing and are more to be feared and condemned than the brutal and crude enemies of India.... This is why she has translated the Bhagavad Gttā and founded the 'Central Hindu College'. [11] At present she devotes all her energy to the imperialist propaganda of Great Britain. [12]
And on the contrary, those whom these same Hindu patriots consider traitors to their cause have for their part only praise for Mrs Besant and her work. For proof we need only refer to their warm defense published in June 1913 on the occasion of the trial in Madras and published in the Rajput Herald, a review published in London and which proclaims itself 'devoted to Imperialism', and on the cover of which is displayed a map of 'the Empire on which the sun ever shines.' There, certainly, is a very compromising friendship. For the rest, did not Mrs Besant herself, at Adyar in January 1914, create a new periodical entitled The Commonwealth, intended for India particularly and carrying the motto 'For God, the Crown and the Country'? Long before that, she boasted of having obtained for her 'Central Hindu College' a signed portrait of King Edward VII, through the good offices of the Princess of Wales. [13] And was it not she who had inscribed on the statutes of British Co-Masonry (including the Lodges of India) that Masonry 'requires of its members loyalty to the Sovereign'? [14] The sense in which the English understand 'loyalty' in political matters is well known; all this is perfectly conclusive and leaves no doubt, even if we had no other direct and corroborating information to further reinforce our conviction. At the same time and in the same order of ideas we can cite a few texts which are very edifying: at a conference in Lahore a dozen years ago Mrs Besant declared 'that foreign invasion has often served development and that Hindus must stop hating the English.' This declaration must be compared with a more recent document, the oath which must be taken by the 'Brothers of Service', that is to say the adherents of a branch of the 'Order of Service of the Theosophical Society' which was organized in India around 1913 'among the most devoted members of the Society' and allegedly 'to insert Theosophy into daily life, and to combine Theosophy with the solution of social reforms.' Here is the text of the oath, the beginning of which leaves no place for any equivocation:
Considering that the primordial interest of India is to develop freely under the British flag, to free itself from all customs injurious to
the union of all its inhabitants, and to render to Hinduism a measure of social flexibility and real-life fraternity, I promise: (1) to take no account of differences of caste; (2) not to give my sons in marriage when they are minors, nor my daughters before they have reached their seventeenth birthday; (3) to provide my wife and my daughters as well as other women of my family with instruction insofar as this is suitable for them, to encourage the education of daughters, and to oppose the seclusion of women; (4) to encourage the instruction of the people insofar as this may be possible for me; (5) to take no account in social and political life of differences of color and race, and to do what I can to further the free entry of the colored races into all countries on the same footing with white emigrants; (6) to actively combat all social ostracism of widows who remarry; (7) and to encourage workers' unions in all fields of spiritual, educational, social, and political progress under the direction of the 'National Hindu Congress. [15]
It is well to note that this so-called 'National Hindu Congress' was created by the English administration with the cooperation of the Theosophists; perhaps it was inspired by them, [16] and even during Mme Blavatsky's life, for she had written that this Congress was a 'political body with which our Society had nothing to do, although it was organized by our members, Indians and Anglo-Indians.' But a little further on in the same article she added:
When the political agitation began, the National Congress that was convened was modeled according to our plan and guided principally by our members, who had served as delegates to our convention. [17]
Even to the present this Congress has remained almost entirely under the influence of Mrs Besant; the real aim has been to contain aspirations for autonomy by offering a more or less completely illusory semblance of satisfaction. The Irish 'Home Rule' project (and everyone knows how that was received) proceeds from exactly the same politics, which have also been attempted in Egypt. To return to the 'Brothers of Service', it is not such an institution as this that might give Theosophy a little prestige in the eyes of real Hinduseven if such a thing were possible. These latter can hardly be led to believe the nonsense about 'progress' and 'brotherhood' any more than about the benefits of 'compulsory education'; they are very little concerned to make their wives and daughters into 'suffragettes' (the avowed aim of the 'Co-Masonic' lodges in India as well as in Europe and America), and they will never be persuaded to tread underfoot their most sacred customs, under the pretext of 'assimilation' to their foreign dominators. For a Hindu, the pledge 'to take no account of caste differences' amounts to a real abjuration.
But there is still more. At the Madras trial, seeking to impress the judges favorably, Mrs Besant did not hesitate to make a display of the services she had rendered the government, claiming that the real motive of the campaign directed against her was to be seen there. In the deposition she made in her defense we read the following:
The defendant states that this suit has been undertaken from political motives and personal ill-will aimed at doing injury to the defendant, in virtue of a plot elaborated to destroy her life or her reputation because she had induced the educated population of India not to participate in the plots of the 'Extremists', trying to inspire in them loyalty to the Empire. From the time she intervened to put an end to the clandestine drilling of youths and to the gathering of arms in Maharastra, during the Vice-Royalty of
Lord Curzon, she has been considered an obstacle to all propaganda aimed at inciting violence among students; and her life has been threatened both in India and in Europe.... The defendant asks that these young men [her two wards] be protected by the Court against the renewal of influences which make them hate the English, instead of loving and being devoted to them as they are today, influences which would make bad citizens of them. [18]
On the other hand, here is the beginning of an account of the causes of the case brought against Mrs Besant, drawn up by Mr Arundale:
The case against Mrs Besant cannot be understood if it is considered as an isolated incident rather than as constituting part of a movement begun long ago with the aim of destroying the influence that she exercises upon the youth of India; for she has always exercised this influence to restrain young people from political violence and to keep young men from joining the numerous secret societies that constitute the real danger for India at this time. The campaign against Mrs Besant was begun by the famous Krishnavarma, who in his journal counselled assassination because he considered it [this influence] the greatest obstacle for the extremist party. [19] The attacks of Mr Tilak in India, without going so far as to counsel the assassination of Mrs Besant, had as their aim the destruction of her influence over young Hindus. The extremist movement had at its head men of strict orthodoxy such as its two principal leaders, Aurobindo Ghosh and Tilak. Mr Ghosh is presently in French India [Pondicherry] and Mr Tilak is in prison. Nevertheless, Mr Tilak's journals have continued their attacks against Mrs Besant; and in Madras, even The Hindu [the chief newspaper in South India] has collaborated in this as much as it has been able. [20]
And here is the conclusion of this same account:
Whatever the outcome of this trial, there is no doubt that if the plot against Mrs Besant succeeds in destroying her influence in India, one of the principal factors in the accord between England and India will have disappeared. [21]
Basically is it not precisely the British government that is to blame for making use of such auxiliaries, whom it is always possible to disavow should they become embarrassing or do something stupid? During the Madras trial, on May 7, 1913, the Times expressed the wish 'that the government refrain from giving its approval or even any semblance thereof to the Theosophical movement', which statement was understood by anyone informed as meaning that the movement had in fact had the government's approval and favor up to that point. For the rest, in a response to this editorial carried on May 9, Mr Wedgwood took pains to recall that it has been
acknowledged by high officials in India that the influence of the Theosophical Society and the personal work of Mrs Besant in India have been most efficacious in inspiring Hindu youth with sentiments of fidelity toward the English government. [22]
In other words, there can be 'political progress' and 'true liberty' for India only under British domination. Is this not to push cynicism a little too far? At the time of Ramsay MacDonald, Mrs Besant developed a draft constitution for India and delivered it to the government; this draft, which originated in the same spirit as the institution of the 'National Hindu Congress' (see p284), appears to have come to nothing, at least till now. However, this fact conceals a quite specific meaning when one knows that true Hindus clearly count Ramsay MacDonald among the 'brutal and crude enemies of India' (see p278).
These are political means which, however repugnant they may seem to some, are nevertheless used more or less routinely. Thus some years ago several occult organizations were introduced into Bohemia for the purpose of recruiting Czech patriots particularly suspect in the eyes of the Vienna government; one of the directors of these organizations was, quite plainly, the director of the Austrian secret police. The contemporary history of occultism in Russia would also furnish many more or less similar examples. The blameworthy ones in such cases are those who agree to assume this not always honorable role which, moreover, is not always exempt from danger. We heard Mrs Besant complain that her life was threatened; and if in fact there never was a real attempt on her life, it is no less true that in spite of all the precautions with which she surrounded herself, she was pelted with stones during her travels through India. In 1916 an effort was made to rehabilitate her in the eyes of Hindus, and to provide these latter with some element of confidence, by her sham internment in her own villa of Gulistan, which, however, did not hinder her holding meetings. But this rather crude ruse fooled no one, and it was only in Europe that some believed this measure to be motivated by a real change in her political attitude. It can now be understood why some Hindus readily associate her name with that of Rudyard Kipling, [23] who is certainly a great writer (and Mrs Besant is not entirely lacking in talent) but whose diverse adventures reflect little honor on his character and keep him from returning to his country of birth. And there is this aggravating circumstance: both are of Irish origin. And as we speak of Rudyard Kipling, let us note that he wrote a novel entitled Kim which, but for some few details, can be considered a real autobiography, particularly the rigorously historical account of the rivalry of the Russians and English in the northern regions of
India. Among other things, curious details are given there on the organization of political espionage and on the use by the English of a secret society called Sat Bhai ('The Seven Brothers'). This society really exists and was introduced into England by officers of the Indian Army in 1875, the very year in which the Theosophical Society was founded.
It goes without saying that if for us the duplicity of the heads of the Theosophical movement is not in doubt, the good faith of most of those who follow them, especially those who are not English nationals, is not in question; in all circles of this kind one must distinguish between the charlatans and their dupes; and though one has only contempt for the former, one must pity the latter (who form the great mass) and try to enlighten them if there is still time and if their blindness is not irremediable. While still on this topic we will cite a further and quite remarkable passage, taken from a work treating the famous 'lives of Alcyone':
When a family does not follow the natural law, grouping itself around the father and mother, disorder results. It is the same for the nations of the world; there must be a father-nation and a mother-nation living in perfect harmony, or war results. The nation of today that in this world will direct, that will fulfill a role similar to that of Manu, that is, of the father, will probably be England. On the maternal side, or that of the Bodhisattva, we have India. It is in this way that Manu and the Bodhisattva will very soon apply themselves to reinstating order in the world in matters pertaining to the affairs of nations. [24]
Translated into plain language, here is the meaning of the above passage: While India, under English domination, must be content with a 'spiritual' role consisting in furnishing, in the person of Krishnamurti, a 'support' for the manifestation of the 'Great Instructor', England is called upon to dictate its laws to the entire world (the essential role of Manu is in fact that of legislator). This will be the realization of the 'United States of the World', but under
the aegis of the 'directing nation' and for its exclusive benefit. Thus the internationalism of the Theosophical chiefs is really and primarily British imperialism in its most extreme degree, which, after all, is understandable up to a point. But what is to be thought of the inconceivable naiveté of Theosophists in France who with servile earnestness docilely accept and pass on such 'teachings'?
This conception of the relationship between England and India is not entirely new, and Mrs Besant does not even have the merit of inventing it. In fact, in The Perfect Way of Anna Kingsford and Edward Maitland, we read the following:
Since of the spiritual union in the one faith of Buddha and Christ, will be born the world's coming redemption, the relations between the two peoples through whom, on the physical plane, this union must be effected, become a subject of special interest and importance. Viewed from this aspect, the connection subsisting between England and India rises from the sphere political to the sphere spiritual. [25]
We have already noted these authors' notion of Buddhism and Christianity as two complementary elements of a single religion; only they have forgotten that Buddhism has long since ceased to exist in India. But a little further on we read:
In this forecast of the now imminent future [26] is to be found the clue to the world's spiritual politics. Transferred from the mystical to the mundane plane, the 'kings of the East' [an allusion to the Magi-Kings of the Gospel] are they who hold political sovereignty over the provinces of Hindustan. On the personal plane the title implies those who possess the 'magical' knowledge, or keys of the kingdom of the Spirit, to have which is to be Magian. In both these senses the title henceforth belongs to us. Of one of the chief depositaries of this magical knowledge-the Bible-our country has long been the foremost guardian and champion. [27] For three centuries and a half-a period suggestive of the mystic
'time, times, and half a time, [28] and also of the 'year of years' [29] of the solar hero Enoch-has Britain lovingly and faithfully, albeit unintelligently, cherished the Letter which now, by the finding of the interpretation, [30] is-like its prototype [an allusion to the Ascension of Christ]-'translated' to the plane of the Spirit. Possessing thus the Gnosis, in substance as well as in form, our country will be fitted for the loftier, because spiritual, sovereignty to which she is destined, and one which will outlast her material empire. . . . All, therefore, that tends to bind England to the Orient is of Christ, and all that tends to sever them is of Antichrist. [31]
This story, especially the last citation, brings to mind a singular coincidence: Éliphas Lévi (died 1875) announced that in 1879 a new political and religious 'Universal Kingdom' would be established and that this Kingdom would belong to 'him who would have the keys of the East,' and that these keys would be possessed 'by the nation having the most intelligent activity'. This, then, occurred at the very time Mme Blavatsky established the seat of her Society in India. This prediction was contained in a manuscript in the possession of an occultist of Marseille, a student of Eliphas Lévi, Baron
Spedalieri; the Baron gave it to Edward Maitland, so that it cannot be doubted that the source of inspiration for the lines we have just quoted must be sought in this manuscript. [32] Further, a very eulogistic letter from Spedalieri, speaking of nothing less than 'miracles of interpretation', was inserted in the preface of the second edition of The Perfect Way; without naming the author of the letter, he was designated as 'the friend, disciple, and literary heir of the celebrated magus, the late Abbé Constant [Éliphas Lévi], which for all initiates will be sufficient indication of his personality.' Later, Maitland gave the Eliphas Lévi manuscript to Dr Wynn Westcott, Supreme Magus of the Societas Rosicruciana in Anglia, and the latter finally published it in 1896 under the title The Magical Ritual of the Sanctum Regnum. Naturally, the English, who as readily as the Germans claim to be the 'superior race', were tempted to apply the prediction to their nation since they were masters of India (if Eliphas Lévi, although French, had not himself already thought of it), and we have seen that they have not been remiss in doing so. But the material keys of the East were insufficient; the intellectual and spiritual keys were also necessary; and if they have counted on the Theosophical Society to gain possession of them, it must be acknowledged that they have been singularly deceived-just as if, in order to understand the true spirit of the Bible and the Gospel they had counted on the new 'esoteric Christianity', whether that of Anna Kingsford or of Mrs Besant.
Of course, in mentioning the prediction of Eliphas Lévi, we do
not wish to say that any extraordinary importance should be attributed to it, but only that some Englishmen who knew of it have in fact taken it seriously and have even tried to further its realization. For the rest, to judge this prediction at its just value it is necessary to know its real inspiration, and what is certain is that its author had ties to circles in Britain wherein occultism and diplomacy were linked. [33] On the other hand, as we have seen above, the Theosophists claim that the last quarter of each century is particularly favorable to certain occult manifestations-which they naturally attribute to the action of their 'Great White Lodge'. Whatever the case regarding this assertion, which is unacceptable for us in the form in which presented, it is no less true that 1875 and the following years in fact marked the point of departure for numerous quite enigmatic activities. In addition to those we have already mentioned, beginning with the Theosophical Society itself, [34] we may call attention to an Order called 'Brothers of Light' (Fratres Lucis), [35] founded by an English Israelite named Maurice Vidal Portman, an orientalist and politician who in 1876 was in the entourage of Lord
Lytton, then Viceroy of India. [36] It was declared at the time, as is usual in nearly all such cases, that this was only the reconstitution of an old Order of the same name founded in Florence in 1498. And in certain Theosophist circles (which is further proof that all these things stand together and follow one another), it is stated that
Swedenborg and Pasqualis, [37] Saint-Martin, Cazotte, and later Eliphas Lévi, had been affiliated with the Order of Fratres Lucis, while Saint-Germain, Mesmer, Cagliostro, and perhaps Ragon [38] belonged to an Egyptian branch of the same brotherhood.
And it was added with some acrimony that the last-named branch 'had nothing in common, of course, with a certain H B of Luxor, a quite recent Anglo-American invention. [39] As it was assured that the Count of Saint-Germain and Mme Blavatsky were envoys of the same center [40] and as Mme Blavatsky had in fact sojourned in Egypt,
undoubtedly it was desired to convey the impression that she, too, had been attached to the Fratres Lucis, and that these fratres (who naturally must have as their antithesis those whom they call 'Brothers of the Shadow') were a direct emanation of the 'Great White Lodge'. This is certainly a fanciful way of composing history; but to return to more serious things, we will point out that Lord Lytton, whose name we encounter in connection with the Fratres Lucis, is the celebrated author of Zanoni, The Strange History, and The Future Race (whence the Theosophists have drawn some inspirations, notably the idea of a mysterious force called vril). Lord Lytton was 'Great Patron', (that is, honorary president) of the Societas Rosicruciana, and his son was English ambassador to Paris. Doubtless it is not merely by chance that the name Lytton is found mixed up at every turn with the history of occultism. It was precisely for someone belonging to the same family that, in London, Eliphas Lévi performed an evocation of Apollonius of Tyana, which exercise he described in his Dogme et Rituel de la Haute Magie, the aim of which seems to have been to attain knowledge of an important social secret. All these allusions can offer great interest to those who might wish to study the underside of politics, of religious politics, of contemporary occultism, and of organizations directly or indirectly attached thereto. This underside is certainly of more interest than all the weird paraphernalia with which these things are surrounded, the better to dissimulate them in the eyes of the 'profane'.