Theosophical Society,
Articles
from A Modern Panarion
A Collection of Fugitive Fragments
From the pen of
H
P Blavatsky
First
published 1895
H P Blavatsky
The Lack of Unity Among Spiritualists
By
H P Blavatsky
[ From a letter received from Mme. Blavatsky last week we make
the following
extracts, want of space alone preventing us from publishing it
entire. It was
written in her usual lively and entertaining style, and her
opinions expressed
are worthy of careful study, many of them being fully consistent
with the true
state of affairs.—EDIT0R “SPIRITUAL SCIENTIST” (Dec. 3rd, 1874).]
As
it is, I have only done my duty; first, towards Spiritualism, that I have
defended
as well as I could from the attacks of imposture under its too
transparent
mask of science; then towards two helpless slandered “mediums”—the last word
becoming fast in our days the synonym of “martyr”; secondly, I have contributed
my mite towards opening the eyes of an indifferent public to the real,
intrinsic value of such a man as Dr. Beard. But I am obliged to confess
that
I really do not believe that I have done any good—at least, any practical
good—to
Spiritualism itself; and I never hope to perform such a feat as that
were
I to keep on for an eternity bombarding all the newspapers of
my
challenges and refutations of the lies told by the so-called “scientific
exposers.”
It
is with a profound sadness in my heart that I acknowledge this fact, for
I
begin to think there is no help for it. For over fifteen years have I fought
my
battle for the blessed truth; I have travelled and preached it—though I never
was
born for a lecturer—from the snow- covered tops of the
Knowing
this country to be the cradle of modern Spiritualism, I came over here from
What
little I have done towards defending phenomena I am ever ready to do
over
and over again, as long as I have a breath of life left in me. But what
good
will it ever do? We have a popular and wise Russian saying that “one
Cossack
on the battle-field is no warrior.” Such is my case, together with that
of
many other poor, struggling wretches, everyone of whom, like a solitary
scout,
sent far ahead in advance of the army, has to fight his own battle, and
defend
the post entrusted to him, unaided by anyone but himself. There is no
union
between Spiritualists, no entante cordiale, as the French say. Judge
millions
in this country alone; and I believe it to be true; in which case, it
is
but to be the more deplored. When one man—as Dr. Beard did and will do
yet—dares
to defy such a formidable body as that, there must be some cause for it.
His
insults, gross and vulgar as they are, are too fearless to leave one particle
of doubt that if he does it, it is but because he knows too well that he can do
so with impunity and perfect ease. Year after year the American Spiritualists
have allowed themselves to be ridiculed and slighted by everyone who had a mind
to do so, protesting so feebly as to give their opponents the most erroneous
idea of their weakness. Am I wrong, then, in saying that our Spiritualists are
more to be blamed than Dr. Beard himself in all this ridiculous polemic? Moral
cowardice breeds more contempt than the “familiarity” of the old motto. How can
we expect such a scientific sleight-of-hand as he is to respect a body that
does not respect itself?
My
humble opinion is, that the majority of our Spiritualists are too much
afraid
for their “respectability” when called upon to confess and acknowledge
their
“belief.” Will you agree with me, if I say that the dread of the social
Areopagus
is so deeply rooted in the hearts of your American people, that to
endeavour
to tear it out of them would be undertaking to shake the whole system
of
society from top to bottom? “Respectability” and “fashion” have brought more than
one utter materialist to select (for mere show) the Episcopalian and other wealthy
churches. But Spiritualism is not “fashionable,” as yet, and that’s
where
the trouble is. Notwithstanding its immense and daily increasing numbers,
it
has not won, till now, the right of citizenship. Its chief leaders are not
clothed
in gold and purple and fine raiment; for, not unlike Christianity in the
beginning
of its era, Spiritualism numbers in its ranks more of the humble and
afflicted
ones, than of the powerful and wealthy of this earth. Spiritualists
belonging
to the latter class will seldom dare to step out in the arena of
publicity
and boldly proclaim their belief in the face of the whole world; that
hybrid
monster, called “public opinion,” is too much for them; and what does a
Dr.
Beard care for the opinion of the poor and the humble ones? He knows but too well
that his insulting terms of “fools” and “weak minded idiots,” as his
accusations
of credulousness, will never be applied to themselves by any of the
proud
castes of modern “Pharisees”; Spiritualists as they know themselves to be, and
have perhaps been for years, if they deign to notice the insult at all, it
will
be but to answer him as the cowardly apostle did before them, “Man, I tell
thee,
I know him not!”
St.
Peter was the only one of the remaining eleven that denied his Christ
thrice
before the Pharisees; that is just the reason why, of all the apostles,
he
is the most revered by the Catholics, and has been selected to rule over the
most
wealthy as the most proud, greedy and hypocritical of all the churches in
Christendom.
And so, half Christians and half believers in the new dispensation,
the
majority of those eleven millions of Spiritualists stand with one foot on
the
threshold of Spiritualism, pressing firmly with the other one the steps
leading
to the altars of their “fashionable” places of worship, ever ready to
leap
over under the protection of the latter in hours of danger. They know that
under
the cover of such immense “respectability” they are perfectly safe. Who
would
presume or dare to accuse of “credulous stupidity’’ a member belonging to certain
‘‘fashionable congregations’’? Under the powerful and holy shade of any of
those “pillars of truth” every heinous crime is liable to become immediately transformed
into but a slight and petty deviation from strict Christian virtue. Jupiter,
for all his numberless “Don Juan” like frolics, was not the less on that
account considered by his worshippers as the “Father of Gods”!
Cardiff Blavatsky Archive
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