OCCULT

INVESTIGATIONS

ADESCRIPTIONOFTHEWORKOF

ANNIEBESANTAND

C.W.LEADBEATER

BYC.JINARAJADASAPastVice-Presidentof

TheTheosophicalSociety1921-1928

1938THETHEOSOPHICALPUBLISHINGHOUSE

ADYAR—MADRAS—INDIA

OCCULTINVESTIGATIONS

ADescriptionoftheWorkofAnnieBesantandC.W.Leadbeater***

IT isworthwhile to put on record thework done by our two distinguishedleaders, Dr. Annie Besant and Bishop C. W. Leadbeater, through clairvoyantinvestigation.Thesefallintotwogroups,thefirstbeingaseriesofinvestigationsinto the past incarnations of various people, and the other a very unusual butmost fascinating series of investigations into the nature of the atoms of thechemicalelements.I have beenmost especially identifiedwith the second kind ofwork in the

capacity of director and recorder of investigations, but as I have also beenpresentwheninvestigationsintopastincarnationshavebeenundertaken,IthinkitisworthwhiletorecordwhatIrecollectaboutthem.

TheFirstMeeting

ThetwofirstmetinLondoninApril1894.BishopLeadbeaterandIwerethenlivinginLondon.Thetwoinnergroups,seniorandjunior,oftheLondonLodgeof the Theosophical Society, used to meet at Mr. A. P. Sinnett’s house. Dr.BesantwaslivingthenattheTheosophicalHeadquartersat19AvenueRoad,St.JohnsWood, where H.P.B. passed away onMay 8, 1891. there had been forsomeyearsacoolnessbetweenH.P.B.’sgroupatAvenueRoadandMr.Sinnett’sLodge, largely due to the fact thatMr. Sinnett disapproved of the democraticdirectionwhichH.P.B.hadgiventothemovementinEnglandbypopularisingitamong those whom Mr. Sinnett considered were not the “cultured upperclasses.”In1894,afterMrs.Besant’sreturnfromIndia,sheandMr.Sinnettmet,and

theresultwasaninvitationextendedtohertoaddressameetingoftheLondonLodge, and to attend the private meetings of the groups. She accepted the

invitation,andsoonafterwardsbecameamemberoftheseniorgroup.ShemetBishopLeadbeateratallthesemeetings,ashewasthesecretaryoftheLondonLodge.Ijoinedtheseniorgroupjustbeforeshejoined.ButitwasafterBishopLeadbeater and I at her invitation moved from lodgings which we had inBayswater,totakeupourresidenceat19AvenueRoad,intheautumnof1895,thataclosecollaborationbeganbetweenthetwo.

TheAstralPlaneManual

However,BishopLeadbeaterhaddonemanyoccultinvestigationsbeforethistime.Themoststrikingwastheseriesofinvestigationsintotheconditionoftheastralplane,whichhecarefullyandslowlywroteoutintheformofalecturetotheLondonLodge onNovember 21st, 1894. Itwas issued inApril 1895 as atransaction of the Lodge, and later was incorporated into the TheosophicalManuals initiatedbyDr,Besant, as thebookTheAstralPlane,Manual no. 5.Theinvestigationswerealandmarkintheprogressofmankind.Itwasthefirstoccasion that anyonehadexamined scientifically thenatureof theastralplaneandrecordedtheresults.Hithertotheknowledgewasgeneral,sufficientforrightconduct. Because of the unusual and detailed nature of the work, theMasterK.H., who is the Librarian of the Records Museum of the Adept Hierarchy,askedforthemanuscriptofthebooktoputamongtheRecords.

InvestigationintoPastLives

New groundwas broken inMay 1894, when Bishop Leadbeater began thefirstseriesofinvestigationsintopastincarnations.HeandIbecamefriendswithMr.AndMrs.JohnVarleyandtheirtwodaughters.Mr.VarleyhadaninterestinglinkwithBishopLeadbeater,forbothwerepresentonthatoccasionwhen,atameetingoftheLondonLodgein1884,H.P.B.suddenlyarrivedfromParistothesensation of all. Bishop Leadbeater and Mr. Varley were both sitting in thepassage outside the crowded room, when a striking and voluminous ladyappearedandfromthedoorsuddenlycalled“Mohini!”Bishop Leadbeater, Mr. Varley and I used often to go for walks, and one

afternoonMr.Varleymentioned that the night before he had had a very vividdreamwhichwas intensely real. He narrated that he was on the top of somebuildingofanunusualshapewhichhadaflat roof,and thathewasdressed in

somerobeorgarmentwhichwasnoveltohim.Butthepartofthedreamwhichwasmostreal tohimwasthatheheldinhishandarod,whoseendseemedtoproducelightwhenittouchedtheground,andthathemarkedonthegroundtheastrologicalsymbolforJupiter.Mr.Varley,whowasalandscapepainter,wasthegrandson of JohnVarley, the well-known painter, and also astrologer; he washimselfsomethingofanastrologer,andsothisparticularastrologicalelementinthedreamwasvividtohim.On askingBishopLeadbeaterwhat he thought the dreammight signify, the

replywasthathedidnotknow,butthatthefirstthingtodowastogetintotouchwiththedream.Thiscouldbedonebycallinguptherecordofthenightbefore,withMr.Varleylivinginhisastralbody,andthenseeingwhatitwasthathesaw.We were by this time seated on a garden seat in the smaller park section ofWormwood Scrubbs. Bishop Leadbeater looked up the dream and saw Mr.Varleyinanincarnationlongagoactuallyperformingwhatwasdreamed;hewasevidently a priest andwas invoking the star spirits.After questionings byMr.Varley,heidentifiedtheplaceasprobablyChaldea.It was then that Mr. Varley asked if something could not be found out

concerningthelifethathethenlived.BishopLeadbeater’sreplywasthathedidnotquiteknowthathewasauthorizedtodothatkindofworkwithsuchoccultpowerashehad,butthathewouldaskhisMaster.Hedidsothenandthere,andtheMastergavehispermission.Thenbeganaworkwhichwascontinuedonseveralafternoonsandevenings,

whenBishopLeadbeaterinvestigatedclairvoyantlytheliveslivedbyMr.Varley,following all of them life after life up to the present incarnation. As BishopLeadbeater described what he saw, Mr. Varley took down rough notes, andimmediately afterwardswrote out asmuch as he could recollect of what wasdescribed.¹(1.TheTheosophist,April1912.ThelivesofErato,aspublishedinTheTheosophistare not in thewords ofMr.Varley himself.His transcriptionwasnot considered sufficiently literary, and soMr.E.A.Wodehouse re-wrotethem.IpreferMr.Varley’ssimplermanner,asmoresuggestive.)Thisisthefirstoftheseriesoflivesinvestigated.LaterthenameEratowasgiventoMr.Varley.Thecloseco-operationofDr.BesantandBishopLeadbeaterwhichbeganin

1895producedmuchstrikingwork,whichIwillrecordinitsproperplacelateron.Continuingnowthestoryoftheinvestigationsintopastlives,in1895Bishop

Leadbeater investigated certain lives of Ulysses (H. S. Olcott).² (2. TheTheosophist,October1917.)TheseshowedhimtohavebeenAsoka,thefamousEmperorof India,whohasbeencalled theConstantineofBuddhism;and thatbefore that, he was King Gashtasp of Persia, who enthusiastically upheld themissionofZoroaster.Bothoftheselivesoforganisingakingdomtodevelopanewmessage,seemedtobeakindofpreparationfortheworldmissionwhichhehad to perform with H.P.B., in founding and organizing the world-wideTheosophicalSociety.About this timehe investigatedatHarrogate the livesof threepeople,onea

boyof8, the lateBasilHodgsonSmith³ (3.TheTheosophist,May 1932.); theother twowerehis fatherMr.A.HodgsonSmith, andMissLouisaShaw.4 (4.Not published.)Only a few liveswere investigated, but two of the characterscome into touch with Hypatia, who was Dr. Besant, and there is somedescriptionofAlexandriaatthetime.TheVeryRev.MonsignorArthurA.Wells,LL.D.,GeneralSecretary,T.S.inEnglandAbout1895cametheinvestigationoftwolivesofaninterestingpersonality,

the Very Rev, Monsignor Arthur A. Wells, LL.D. Dr. Wells had been aCarthusianmonk,andlateraFranciscan.Hewaslivinginhissuiteofroomsinthe monastery which he built for his Order near Guildford, Surrey. BishopLeadbeaterandIvisitedhimthereonce,whenwehadlunchwiththemonksinthe refectory—an interesting meal where all were served and ate in silence,whileamonkreadfromsomeedifyingbook,andtheabbotstruckabelltonotifyhimtoend.ThePopehadconferredonDr.Wells thegradeofMonsignorasarecognition of his benefactions to the Church.When he found Theosophy, hejoinedtheLondonLodgeandlefthisChurch.HelaterbecameGeneralSecretaryoftheTheosophicalSocietyinEngland,in1900.OneveryinterestingpartoftherecordisDr.Wells’analysisandcomment.Inhisprivatememorandum,whichIdidnotpublishinTheTheosophist,5(5.TheTheosophist,December1932.)butwhichwasreadtotheLondonLodgegroup,hesaysasfollows:Ineverinallmylifehadsostrangeanexperienceastositandhearhim[C.W.

Leadbeater]explainingandwonderingoverme—thesameintheminutestdetail,inthebodyofthisItalianlad.NotawordhesaidabouthimbutIunderstoodfarbetterthanhe.Thedoublelifeofwhichhespokehasbeenmytormentalltheseyears.ThoughIdontrememberanysingledetailhegaveofthatlife,everything

isasrealandtruetomeasifIdid—therewasnottheleasttouchthatjarredonthefullestsenseofidentity.”Then in 1903 inU.S.A. followed investigations into certain lives ofAlastor

(Alexander Fullerton), and another person to whom the nameUrsa6 (6. TheTheosophist, February 1921.) was later given. Then in 1907 Dr, Besantinvestigated the last two lives of Arcor (Miss A. J. Willson) 7 (7. TheTheosophist, May 1917, also January, 1932.), and also two lives lived inAlexandria and Florence byBee (Miss E. Bright)8 (8.The Theosophist, April1917.).HissBrightandMissWillsonweretwoof“Dr.Besant’speople”,andshewantedtoknowwheretheyhadbeenwithher.TheinvestigationwasatWeisserHirschinGermany,wheresheandBishopLeadbeaterweretogetherforawhile.WhileDr.Besantinvestigated,he“lookedup”withherat thesametime.BothMissBright and I recall the conversationof the two as they investigated.ThefirstofthesetwolivesofBeeisinterestingbecauseitcentresroundHypatia,andwegetsomedescriptionofthetroublesroundherleadinguptohermartyrdom.ThelifeinFlorencewasatthetimeofSavonarola,andwehaveglimpsesofthemovementsofthoughtwhichcharacterizedthatperiod.

TheLivesof“Orion”

Then followed the longandextremelydramatic seriesof the livesofOrion,investigated by Bishop Leadbeater alone9 (9. The Theosophist, April 1911.).Among all the series of lives investigated,Orion in someways is particularlyinteresting,fromthepsychologicalstandpoint.Heisevidentlyastrongegobutwilful, for he seems to lack intuition to understand the innerworkings of thegreatlaws.Throughthisfailinghecreatesagreatdealofsufferingforhimself,fromwhichheseemstolearnonlyslowly.Sometime earlier than this, were recorded a few of the lives of Miss F.

Arundale10(10.Notpublished.).Theygiveinterestingglimpsesoftheoperationof that special Karma where an individual attaches himself to Occultism, butrefusestocarryoutthesolemnobligationsgivenundervows.

There have also been published two lives ofMizar11 (11.The Theosophist,March1911.),andoneofNaga12(12.TheTheosophist,December1920.).ThesehavebeenincorporatedintotheLivesofAlcyone.Anotherseries, thatofAmal,was also published13 (13. The Theosophist, December 1917.). As yetunpublishedaresomelivesofAlastor,Melete,Concord,Auson,LaxaandVale.

TheLivesofJ.Krishnamurti

Thenfollowedthe longseriesof the livesofAlcyone, insomeofwhichDr.Besant collaborated. The writing out of these lives was done by BishopLeadbeater,with the exception of LifeNo.XXVIIIwhichwaswritten byDr.Besant. Anyone reading this particular life will note how dramatically it iswritten, with a graphic quality and power which are not characteristic of theother lives.Dr.Besant read itherselfata“roofmeeting,”with tearsstreamingfromhereyesasshedescribedthetragicfateofherselfandKrishnamurti,thenbornastwowomen.The series, The Lives of Alcyone, are interesting because they were

investigated backwards. In the first life of Erato mentioned above, theinvestigation began with a recollection by Erato himself of an incident in aprevious life. This gave the investigator a point de départ from which toinvestigate,andsotosay,allowedhimtoanchorhimself in thestreamof timeandwatchitsflow.ButwithAlcyoneitwasdifferent.ThereasonforthedifferencelayinthefactthattheboyKrishnamurti,when

observedclairvoyantlysoonafterhecametoAdyar,possessedanunusuallyfineaura.The immediate interestwas therefore to findoutwhohehadbeen inhisprevious life. From this began the investigations into life after life ofKrishnamurti, but going backward from the present into the past. The lives,whenwrittenout,weretypedandthreecopiesweremade.Thefirstsetoflivesinvestigatedmadethelastten,andoftheseonecopywassenttoDr.Besant,whowas in Europe, and another to me. They reached me in California, and thereading of themwas especially interesting as different from the lives of otheregoswhose stories I had read. I had of course not thenmetKrishnaji. In thecourseofthesucceedingmonths,Ireceivedtherecordoftheothertwogroupsoftenlives.Itisthese30livesthatwerepublishedinTheTheosophist,14(14.TheTheosophist, April 1910.) but a few years later,manymore of his liveswereinvestigated, andall thesewere incorporated in the twovolumes,TheLives ofAlcyone.

WhytheLivesof“Alcyone”wereheldback

AfterallthelivesofAlcyonethatwereinvestigatedhadbeenputtogether,theprinting was begun at the Vasanta Press. When the Lives that now compose

VolumeIhadbeenprinted,andpartalsoofVolumeIIuptop.488,thefurtherprintingwassuspendedinSeptember1914.Thewildestrumourshaveofcoursebeenspreadconcerningthereasonforthesuspension.ButDr.Besantherselftoldmewhyitwasthatshestoppedthepublicationofthebookasannounced.The case brought against her by the father ofKrishnamurti and his brother

endedinMay,1914,bythePrivyCouncildecisioninherfavour.Thetwoboyswere at last free of interference from their father, and the planwhich she hadformulated of their going to Oxford could now be taken up seriously. Longbefore the students enter into residence, arrangementshave tobemadewith atutorofthecollegeselected,astheplacesforstudentsarelimitedandespeciallyso in the case of Indian students.With the introductions provided byMuriel,Countess De La Warr, who was acquainted with the head of Christ ChurchCollege,Mr.H.Baillie-Weaverhadaninterviewwithhimregardingenteringthetwoboys.ButKrishnamurtiwasnervous that if he andhis brotherwent up toOxford

aftertheLiveshadbeenpublished, theywouldbe“ragged”,andmuchridiculecast upon them, and also that it would add to the publicity then alreadyconsiderableabouthim.Becauseofthis,heaskedDr.Besantifthebookcouldnotbeheldback.Asshewasinthetruestsenseofthewordhismother,sheatonce acceded to his request, and countermanded all the plans for immediatepublication, even though the pictures for the book had been printed andwerereadyatAdyar.AfterBishopLeadbeaterleftAdyarin1914,Ihadtosupervisethecompletion

of the work. Though publication was postponed, the second volume wascompletedvery leisurelyandplaced in the“godown” insheets, till theOxfordperiod should be over. As it happened, owing to various difficulties,Krishnamurtiandhisbrotherdidnotgo toOxfordafterall;and theWarcamesoonafter,andallthecomplicationstoDr.Besant’sworkinIndia.Afterthefirsttwelvelivesinthebookhadbeenprinted,newcharacterswere

recognized,andtheyhadtobeplacedinthecharts.Eachnew“starname”tobeaddedtothecharts,withall therelationships,meantmuchrearrangement.Oneego,asforinstanceNaga,an“elderego”,whenrecognizedinDecember,1913andgivenhisplaceinthecharts,broughtinanumberofchildren,andwiththemgrandchildren.Someofthesehadbeenrecognizedpreviously,butnotplacedinthe charts because of the non-recognition of the grandparent. Mrs. D.Jinarajadasa (Sita) was found only after her arrival in Adyar on a visit in

December,1912.HernamefirstappearsinchartNo.XI.ShewasoneofthosewhoassistedBishopLeadbeater inpreparing thecharts tobeentered into longrolls,wherethenamesareallplacedhorizontallyintheformofagenealogicaltable.Sheknows the storyof theadditionof thenamesas littleby littlemorecharacterswereidentified.BishopMazelwasalsooneofthosewhoworkedinhisroom,andcouldexplainwhathappenedifhewerestillalive.Twocharacters,NaiadandUna,inwhomIwasparticularlyinterested,were“lookedup”atmyrequest, and I sent their photographs for that purpose.These twohave a closelinkwithNaga,andappearinthechartsafterLifeXII.One striking omission from the charts as printed in The Theosophist of

Alcyone’s lives isDhruva, theMaster of theMasterK.H.ThisAdept did notdealdirectlywiththeaffairsofTheTheosophicalSociety,soBishopLeadbeaterknew of Him only by name from his Master’s pupils. But after he had theprivilegeofbeingpresentedtotheMaster,ofcourseherecognizedHimatonceinthelives.ThenameDhruva(theSanskritnameforthePoleStar)wasgiventoHim,andthenamewasincorporatedinthechartsasthebookwasputtogether.Altogether32newnameswereaddedat this time.Morewereaddedlater.Theadditional star names up to the Life XII have to be incorporated in a secondedition.

TheBandofServers

Inreality,the“BandofServers”whoarepledgedtofollowtheMastersintheGreatWorkareatleasttentimesthe281namesputinthecharts.Anditdoesnotfollow that,becauseaperson is“in theLives,” that fact isaguarantee thathewillmakea successofOccultism in this life!Afterhis residence inAustralia,BishopLeadbeater identifiedmanywhomhehadseeninpast lives,buthedidnot“followthemup”intotheirpastlives,asthetaskofenlargingthechartswasfartoostrenuous.Besides,therewasotherandmoreurgentwork.

TheLastZoroaster

Among the lives of Alcyone, the life in Persia with the last Zoroaster isinteresting, because Bishop Leadbeater had a good deal of difficulty with thenames of the principal characters. The words were so strange that he had tolistencarefullyandrepeatthewordshimself,andslowlyspellthemphonetically.

It is interesting here to read the articlewhichMr.B.P.Wadia,who is a Parsi,wroteonthematterofthesenames.InhisarticleinTheTheosophistofJanuary1911,hesaidasfollows:First, then, the gentleman who looked up this particular life is Mr. C. W.

Leadbeaterwho, as far asmy knowledge goes—and I haveworkedwith himnowfornearlytwoyears—knowsnexttonothingaboutZoroastrianism.HehasnotstudiedtheancientPersianhistory,norevenhasperusedtheShâh-Nâmehinabridged translation.While looking up this life he was very much struck, hesays,bythelongandunpronounceablenamesheheard.Thisisnottheplacetogive a psychological explanation of how this is done; enough to say thatMr.LeadbeatercanhearaswellasseetheAkâshicRecordsfromwhichhereadsanddictates.ThePersiannameoftheveryhero—Alcyone—wasaposertohim;andIdoubtnotthathemusthavehearditmanytimesbeforehecouldpronounceit.Hefinallypronounceditasheheardit,andwhenhecametowriteitdownhecoulddonothingelsebutspellitphonetically.Soalsowithallothernames,When I first came across this life it was clear to me that I was fortunate

enough to hit upon a clear anddecisive proof ofMr.Leadbeater’s clairvoyantpowers.Therewereopenbeforemeonlytwowaysofexplainingtomyselfthisphenomenon ofMr. Leadbeater bringing out nearly a score of proper names,someofthemveryobscure;theywere(1)thatMr.Leadbeaterisatrulygenuineandscientificallyreliableseer;or(2)thatheisafraud(hewillpardonmysayingso),whoreadsencyclopaedias,obscurehistoriesandwhatnot,andthenpretendsthathecanhearandseeandworkonsubtlerplanes.Betweenthesetwothereisnomiddle course;wehave to accept theone and reject theother. I accept thefirstandabsolutely reject the second, for scoresof sound reasonswhichspaceforbidsmeheretogive.Mr.Wadia then goes into interesting details analysing the life.Hewas then

ManagerofTheTheosophicalPublishingHouseatAdyar.HehassincelefttheParentSocietyandnowdisownswhathewrotein1911.

TwoTechniquesofInvestigation

Dr.BesantandBishopLeadbeater,asbelongingrespectivelytotheFirstandSecond “Rays,”were naturally different in theirmethods of approach to truthandintheirmannerofwork.Onemannerinwhichthisdifferenceoftechniqueshoweditselfwasduringtheinvestigationintopastlives.Theparticularincident

which showed this differencewaswhen shewas “lookingup”her own life inAlexandria as Hypatia. Naturally there gathered round Hypatia hundreds ofdisciples, and Dr. Besant was curious to know who among them werereincarnatedasherhelpersinthislife.Now,whenBishopLeadbeaterneededtotraceapersonfromapast lifeinto

the present, hismethodwas to note the death of the person, his passage intoDevachan,andthenhisnewbirth.Iftheperiodwaslongago,hewouldneedtogothroughthisprocesslifeafterlifetillthepresentincarnationwasreached.Itwasofcoursealongandtiresomeprocess,butitwasintheendsure.ButDr.Besantwasimpatientoftheseslowmethods,whilesheadmiredthem;

sheevolvedatechniqueofherown,whichwasnoveltoBishopLeadbeater.Shedescribed her process as first looking at the ego of the person, and then asconstructingalongtube,andlookingthroughit,whenthefaceofthepersoninthepresent incarnationwould springupather at theother end. Itwasa rapidmethod.Butheaskedher,“Howareyousurethatyouseetherightpersonattheotherend?”Shelaughed;sheknewthattherewasapossibilityoferror.Probablyin999casesoutofa1,000hermethodwouldbeaccurate;astotheoneerrorin1,000,shewasnotgoingtoavoidsuchapossibilitybyspendingthelongtimenecessarywiththeslowbutsuretechniqueofhercolleague.Shewasalwaysforspeed, andwasneverafraidofmakingmistakes, for shewasutterly sure that,thoughtheymightbringhermuchsuffering,shewouldarriveattruthinspiteofevery obstacle. But he had the scientific temperament, and it was for him amatterofhonourtobeasaccurateaspossible.

SavonarolaandBruno

Anotherinterestingincidentduringtheseinvestigationsintopastliveswasthecomparisonwhich the two investigatorsmadebetweenSavonarola andBruno.TheformercameinthelifeofBeewhowasafriendofSavonarola.BrunowasDr. Besant, Bruno’s life was “looked up” by her, but Bishop Leadbeaterinvestigatedatthesametime.Asitwasherlifehemadeonlyafewcomments,thoughhenotedeverythingthatwashappening.Dr. Besant of course recalled Bruno’s fiery temperament, and his scornful

pride of the intellectual bigots of his day, who were unable to achieve orappreciatehisvastvisionof theuniverse.After thebetrayalbyMocenigoandtorture by the Inquisition, Bruno had of course periods of intense depression,

convincedthathis lifeandworkhadfailed.ThesituationwithSavonarolawasnotverydifferent.Butwhatwasnoteworthywasthedifferenceattheend,whentheywereburnt

bytheRomanChurchasheretics.Savonarolawas indeepestdepression to theend,forhefeltthathehadfailedtoachieve.ButitwasfarotherwisewithBruno.Thoughhewasgoingtobeburnt,thoughtheChurchhadcarefullyselectedfortheburningapublicholiday,sothatthecrowdsthatmightbepresentandhearanyspeechofBruno,andmightpossiblydemonstrate,shouldbebusyelsewherewiththeirholiday-making,Brunoattheendhadafeelingoftriumph,thathehadwon after all. As all know, at the place where he was burnt is now Bruno’sstatue, erected by the public subscription of his admirers inmany lands, whoappreciatethevalueofhismartyrdomtousherinthedayoffreedomofthought.

TheLawofKarma

All these lives which have been investigated have for me a very profoundinterest;theyrevealtheworkingofthatlawsodifficulttounderstand—thelawofKarma.IhaveoftenwishedthatIhadthetimetowritealongcommentaryonthe Lives of Alcyone, taking up point after point which illustrates Karma.ProbablyIamtheonlypersonwhoknowsalltheseriesoflivesthathavebeeninvestigated, and I have met nearly all the characters and know their presenthistory.Thereforetheyarealllinkedinmymindinonegreatschemeofabandofsoulstravellingthroughouttheagesbusyatawork,butalso,inthecourseofthat work, influencing each other for good or evil. Themore I read all theselives,andseetheinter-relationsofcertaincharacters,andhowtheyacceptedorrejectedopportunities,themoreIunderstandwhatissobeautifullydescribedintheLightofAsiawithregardtoKarma.SomeritwonwinneththehappierageWhichbydemerithaltethshortofend;YetmustthisLawofLovereignKingofallBeforetheKalpasend.SuchistheLawwhichmovestorighteousness,Whichnoneatlastcanturnasideorstay;TheheartofitisLove,theendofit

IsPeaceandconsummationsweet.Obey!Some day I hope to publish all the series of Lives in a uniform series of

volumes,forIhaveperfecttrustthatinthefuturethisrecordwillbeappreciatedatitstrueworth.

MapsofAtlantisandLemuria

Soon after Dr. Besant became a member of the London Lodge group,discussionstookplaceinitwithregardtothemigrationsofvariousracesofthepast. In connection with this, both she and Bishop Leadbeater investigatedcertainperiodsofAtlanteancivilisation.Inordertounderstandthedevelopmentof root-races, Bishop Leadbeater investigated the past shape of the earth, andafterconsultingthemapsandglobeskeptintheOccultMuseumoftheAdepts,drewthemapsofLemuriaandAtlantiswhichareinthebookbyMr.W.Scott-ElliotunderthetitleTheStoryofAtlantis.Itwasconsideredmoreeffectiveforpublicity that the maps should not be announced as due to clairvoyance.Mr.Scott-Elliotmerelysays,“ithasbeentheprivilegeofthewritertobeallowedtoobtain copies—more or less complete—of four of these”. I regret greatly thatwhentheoriginaldrawingswerepassedontohim,nocopieswerekept.Irecallhowyears laterBishopLeadbeaterexpressedgreat regret thataparticularmapwhich he drew, of a system of locks for canals, used byAtlantean engineers,couldnotberecoveredbyhim,asheconsideredthattheAtlanteanshadanovelideanotknown toengineers to-day. Itwas too tiresomea task todo theworkoveragain.

TheGospelNarrative

A striking research by the two investigators was into the origins ofChristianity.ThiswasdoneattherequestofMr.G.R.S.Mead.Mr.MeadhaddedicatedhimselftothesubjectofGnosticism,andthismeantunderstandingitsoriginsanditsrelationstotheearlyChristiancommunitiesscatteredinPalestineandroundAlexandria.Theinvestigationswereduringtheyears1897-8,andwereonceaweekinthe

evening at the then Headquarters in London at 19 Avenue Road. I was atCambridgeatthistime,butduringvacationsIwaspresentonafewoccasions.Dr.BesantassistedwhenshewasinEngland,butmostoftheworkwasdoneby

BishopLeadbeater.Mr.Meadtookveryfullnotes.Inthecourseoftheseinvestigations,thelivesandworkofmanyGnosticanda

few Jewish leaders were examined and recorded, including the principalpersonalitiesroundtheChristduringHismission,andthediscipleswhocarriedontheworkafterwards,asalsoSt.JohnofRevelation,whowasnot“thedisciplewhom Jesus loved” but another, a Jewish revolutionary with much psychismwhich gave him astral visions. The journey of the young Jesus to Egypt, theteacherswithwhomHecameintocontact,andotherfascinatingbitsofhistorywereallunravelledbitbybit.ThelifestoriesofValentinus,AmmoniasSaccas,Iamblichusandothers,andofAedesius,whowasMr.Mead,wereinvestigated.OneremarkableinvestigationwasintotheearlyChristianmanuscriptsofthe

Gospels.Hereand thereBishopLeadbeater,whoseGreekwasslight,carefullyspeltoutwordbywordatMr.Mead’srequestvariousextractswhichseemedtoilluminate theproblem. I regret greatly that no copywasmadeofMr.Mead’srecordoftheinvestigations.AfewyearsbeforehisdeathIwrotetohimofferinghim£100forhistranscriptionorforacopy,butIreceivednoreply.ItisfromtheseinvestigationsthatMr.Meadbegantoobtainacoherentidea

oftheeventsintheearlycenturiesofChristianityandGnosticism.Hethenwrotehis remarkable work, Fragments of a Faith Forgotten, which placed in anintelligible scheme the religious events of those centuries. The investigationswere undertaken for his benefit, as hewas doing an extremely valuableworkwithhiscontributiontothestoryofGnosticism,buthewasutterlyataloss,withthe ordinary historical material, to understand the relation of various eventsrecorded. The confusion was so vast that he begged for light, and so theclairvoyantresearchwasundertaken.

DidJesusLive100B.C.?

Itwas also after these investigations thathewrotehisbook:DidJesusLive100B.C.?Thisremarkablestatement, that thetruedateofJesusisonecenturyearlier than that given in Christian chronology, was first made by theMasterK.H. in1883.Aseriesofarticles,whichgave theEnglishversionofaFrenchmanuscript of Éliphas Lévi, appeared inThe Theosophist.Many special foot-notes were appended as the articles were published. These foot-notes weresignedE.O.,whichsignified“EminentOccultist”,atermgiventotheMasterintheearlycorrespondencewithMr.Sinnett,andusedbyHimforthefoot-notes,

insteadofthebetterknownK.H.IfwehadnowtheoriginalmanuscriptonH.P.B.’s desk before it went to the printer, we should find the foot-notes in bluepencil.OnepaperofÉliphasLéviwasnotpublishedinTheTheosophist,thoughithadtheE.O.foot-notes.Allthepaperswereissuedin1883asapamphlet.InonepaperinthepamphletÉliphasLévisaid:“Jesus,likeallgreatHierophants,had apublic and a secret doctrine.”To thisE.O. added the foot-note: “Buthepreacheditacenturybeforehisbirth.—E.O.”

JesusChristandPontiusPilate

If Jesuswas born 100B.C.,what of the story of his having been crucifiedunderPontiusPilate? It is ahistorical fact that therewasaPontiusPilatewhowas a RomanGovernor, whowas in Judea at the time stated in the acceptedstoryofJesus.ThismysterywaselucidatedbythedecipheringofcertainGreektextswhichgave theoriginal formof theApostles’Creed.TheGreek textwasspeltoutwordbyword.ThewordMariawasoriginallyMaia, theGreekwordmeaning“mother”,and it referred to thedescentof theDivineLife intovirginmatter, which gave birth to manifestation. The phrase in the Creed, “JesusChrist”, [OYNXPI TON], iêsounkhriston, was found in two variants,[IHTPONAPITON], iêtronariston,meaning “the chiefest healer (or deliverer)”and IEPONAPITON, ieronariston, meaning “the most holy one.” The words“PontiusPilate,”inthephraseintheCreed,“sufferedunderPontiusPilate”,arenowinGreekIIONTIOYIIIΛATOY,pontioupilâtou;butinvestigationrevealedthat the earliestmanuscripts had instead IIONTOYIIIΛHTOY, pontou pilêtou,which would mean “[endured] the dense sea”, describing the descent of theDivineLifeintotheseaofmatteratmanifestation.Thewords“iêtron,”healer,or“ieron,”holyone,becamechanged to“iêsoun,”Jesus, and theword“pontos,”sea, into “pontios,” theRoman namePontius, by the addition of the i, callediota. The change of pilêtou, dense or condensed, to pilâtou,Pilate, needs: noexplanation,asthelongêwasoftenpronouncedaslongâindialectforms.Thusa formula which described the descent of the Divine Life into virgin matter,became,byanunderstandableerrorintranscription,apointinhistoryinthelifeofJesus.Allthiswasofcourseextraordinaryandseeminglyincredible,butMr.Mead

understood at once the significance of the clairvoyant record. Once thusconvinced of the earlier date, he found that therewas enough evidencewhichcouldbeput together tomakeabook.DidJesusLive100B.C.?whichbrings

togetheramassofstrikingstatementsinearlywriters,whichthrowdoubtontheaccepteddate,wastheresult.Later on Mr. Mead dissociated himself completely from the work of Dr.

BesantandBishopLeadbeater,andintheendhelostallfaithintheveracityofthe investigations. But in 1900, when he was engaged in writing the worksreferredto,hisfaithwasclearandprecise,forhehasthusputhimselfonrecordinTheVahan,themagazineoftheEnglishSection,forApril,1900:“Speakingformyself, Ihavehadtheopportunityof testingmanystatements

offriendswhocanreadtheoccultrecords;inhundredsofcasesIhavecheckedtheir statements with regard to dates and facts, where facts and dates werepreviously unknown on this plane both tomy informants andmyself. I have,therefore,confidenceinacceptingtheirstatementswithregardtothissubjectasareasonablehypothesiswhichImaybeabletoverifybyresearch.”

BaconandShakespeare

IrecallbeingpresentatoneoftheseinvestigationswheninsomewayFrancisBacon’sworkcametobeexamined.KnowingwhoBaconistoday,asoneoftheAdepts,BishopLeadbeater felt that to investigateBacon’saffairsclairvoyantlywaslikeapieceofimpertinence.ButhedidnotethatBaconwrotetheplaysthatpassasShakespeare’s.However,whatparticularlydrewmyattentionatthetimewasnot that fact,whichwasfairlyobvious tomeupontheexaminationof theevidence, but rather something elsewhichBishopLeadbeater noted on higherplanes. IfBacon isShakespeare,andalso if severalotherworkspassingunderthenamesofother authors are also fromBacon’sbrain, then, theremusthavebeenaterrificcreativeenergyinBaconatthetime.BishopLeadbeatersaidthat,ashewatched, itwasas ifsomewonderfulrayfromagreatcreativecentreontheinnerplaneshadconvergeduponBacon,sothathethrewoffoneworkafteranother in the way of plays, poems, philosophical theses, etc., without anyparticulareffort.ThislittleglimpseintothepowerofthecreativeconsciousnessbehindeverythingwasfarmorefascinatingtomethanthesolutionoftheBacon-Shakespeareproblem.

TheDevachanicPlaneManual

Another jointwork in occult researchbyDr.Besant andBishopLeadbeater

wasin1896.Oneweekendinearlysummer,theywenttoBoxHill,inSurrey,accompaniedbyMr.BertramKeightley.Theinvestigationsconcernedthelifeofthe Mental Plane and in Devachan. The work was not completed when theyreturned to London, and so during the course of several afternoon walks toHampsteadHeaththeinvestigationswerecontinued.Theresultwasthemanual,TheDevachanicPlanewhichBishopLeadbeaterwrotefromthematerialoftheirjointinvestigations.

AnOccultIncident

Atthis timeoccurredastrikingincidentwhichDr.Besantnarratedlater toafewofherintimatecircle.Onemorningonawakening,sherecalledvividlyhowthatnightshehadbeentakenbyherMasterandpresentedtoaGreatOne,whospoketoherafewgraciouswords.SherecalledHimvividly,howHeseemedtobetheembodimentofallconceivablePowerandyetspoketohersograciously.During the afternoon walk she narrated the incident to her colleague, andremarkingthatshecouldhardlybelievethatsuchanundreamtofprivilegecouldhavebeenhers,said,“Iwonderifitisonlyadream!”Thatnightshewascalledagain to thepresenceof theGreatOne.On thisoccasion,Hegaveher certaininstructionsastoherwork,andjustasHedismissedhersaid,“Ihopethistimeyouwillnot thinkmeonlyadream!”TheGreatOnethousandsofmilesawayheardwhat she saidonHampsteadHeath, forHisconsciousnessenvelopsandinterpenetrateseverypointonthisearth.Dr.Besanttoldushowinstantlyshefeltoverwhelmedwithshame,thatsheshouldhaveeverdoubtedthatshehadbeeninHisPresence.

TheGreatWaves

ItisintheseinvestigationsoftheMentalPlanethatIfindtheonlyrecordofwhatistermedinthebookthe“GreatWaves”.Theyaredescribedinthemanual.WhenthespecialGreatWavecame,Dr.Besantdesiredtoknowwhereitwouldlead,andshesaid,“Let’splunge in”.Hercolleague’s responsewas,“Iwonderwhether that isn’t rash, but if you aregoing, I’ll comealong.”Theywere justabout toplunge into theWavewhen from far away suddenly theMasterK.H.interferedandbarred theirway.Heexplained later that if theyhad soplungedintotheGreatWave,theywouldveryquicklyhavelostconsciousnessduringitsupwardsweep,andwhentheyreturnedtoconsciousnessagain,itmightpossibly

beonthestarSirius!

InvestigationsintoEarlyRounds

I shall always remember the next investigations because of the interestingsetting. After much enquiry, a lonely farm in Sussex, Lewis Park Farm, nearNutley, was found which had some rooms to let. This little farm was fairlyisolated,thenearestvillagebeingthreemilesaway.Theroadwasalonelyone,andinfrontofthefarmwastheCommon,whichwasapartofAshdownForest.A party consisting of Dr. Besant, Bishop Leadbeater, Mr. Bertram Keightley,myselfandmycatJi,wentdownontheafternoonofSaturday,August23rd.BySaturdayeveningwehadinstalledourselves,andsoonSundaymorningthetwoinvestigators walked to the Common across the road with rugs and cushions,withMr.Keightleyandmyselftotakenotes.Asamatteroffact,Mr.Keightleydidvery little in thewayof record,andIhad todomybest inanabbreviatedlonghandtorecordtheconversationofthetwo.Asthetwowerewatchingwhattheysawclairvoyantly,theywerecontinuallyconversingandcomparingnotes.One interestingpartof theirworkwaswhen they tried tounderstandcertain

complicatedhappeningsfromthestandpointoftwoplanes.TheAkashicrecordis contacted on the Higher Mental plane. Bishop Leadbeater, with his verycautiousandscientifictemperament,couldnotsometimeseasilyseethegeneraltrendofthings.ThenDr.BesantwouldtransferherconsciousnesstotheBuddhicplane.Fromthereshewouldgetakindofaeroplaneviewandunderstandwithflashesof intuition the significanceof it all.Shewould thengiveheropinion,whilehewouldtrytoapplyittowhathesaw,toseeiftheexplanationfittedthefacts,bothconversingallthetime.

ThePresentwithinthePast

One slight incident at the timemade a profound impressionuponme.Theywerewatching the firstappearanceonearthof the firstclassPitrisdirect fromtheir Pralaya on the Moon Chain. (These Pitris, therefore, have not been oneitherMarsorMercuryonthe1st,2ndand3rdrounds,noronMarsonthis4thround). The investigatorswatched the first incarnation of theMasterM.,whohaspronounced“FirstRay”attributes.Inthatfirstincarnationonourglobe,HebecamepromptlythechiefofthesavagesamongwhomHehadincarnated.As

theinvestigatorswerewatchingtheMasterwhenHewasaLemurianbabylyingon theground, therehappened somethingwhich startled them. Itwas, that theMaster as He is now, with His consciousness as the Adept, looked at themthrough the eyes of the baby of six hundred thousand years ago. ForHewasfollowing their investigations.Needless to say, theywere startled. This seemscompletelytoabolishtime,andparticularlytoenableanindividualtodaytolive,ifhewants to, in thepast,butwith theconsciousnessof thepresent. IdidnotrecallthisincidentwhenlaterIpropoundedtheideaofchangingthepast,whichImentioninmylittlebooks,InHisNameandFlowersandGardens.TheinvestigationsweredoneonSundayandMonday,morningandafternoon.

WereturnedtotownonTuesday.

TheMâyâDoctrine

Theseinvestigationsaretomesomeofthemostvaluable,becausetheygiveglimpsesofthatmysteriousocculttruthwhichunderlieswhatissaidaboutMâyâorcosmicillusion.OurmodernTheosophicaltrainingleadsustoseeeverythingfromanobjectivestand-point,i.e.,intermsofmatter,howeversubtle,andfrombelow,asisthecasewithmodernscience.Weproceedfromtheformtothelife,andthen,nowandagain,throughthelifeintoconsciousness.Butthereisanotherapproach,whereeverythingisknownintermsofconsciousness,particularlytheconsciousnessoftheLogos.Inotherwords,toseethecosmicprocessasHeseesit gives naturally a new set of values. Glimpses of this are revealed in theinvestigations. I published the record in The Theosophist.15 (15. TheTheosophist,August1911.)

ManWhence,HowandWhither

After Bishop Leadbeater returned toAdyar in 1909, a remarkable series ofinvestigationsweremadewhichbroughtforththevolume,Man:Whence,HowandWhither.ThebookcontainsmaterialwrittenbybothDr.BesantandBishopLeadbeater.IwasnotpresentinIndia,butIheardabouttheinvestigationsfromthe two amanuenses, Don Fabrizio Ruspoli and Mrs. A. Van Hook. Theinvestigators lay down on the verandah on the river side of the President’srooms, and under a mosquito net. Evening was the only available time forinvestigations, when both were free from their routine work and duties. Don

Fabrizioknewshorthand,andI thinkMrs.VanHookalso tosomeextent.Theinvestigationsmust have taken severalweeks, but unfortunately the shorthandtranscriptwasnotkeptafter thebookwaswritten.Wehadnot thendevelopedthe“archivessense,”fornobodycalculatedonthefussthathaslaterbeenmadewithchargesofvariouskindsofmutilationof theearlier teachings.Dr.Besantwroteouttheinvestigationsinherswiftanddramaticwayintocertainchaptersinthebook,butifwehadthestenographicrecord,Iexpectweshouldfindmanyinformativebitswhichtoherdidnotseemofmuchimportance.In the latterpartof thiswork is thedescriptionof the foundingof theSixth

RootRace.Inthisinvestigationshetooknopart.BishopLeadbeaterdescribesinhisintroductionhowitallhappened,andhowashetriedtodescribethewaytheconsciousness ofDevasworks, the greatDeva,who is the guardian ofAdyar,offered to help with an explanation, and showed them certain pictures of thefuture.

Dr.BesantrenouncesHerClairvoyance

Soonafter1913,whenDr.BesantbegantobeimmersedinherIndianpoliticalwork, she found thatkeepingherbrainopen to thehigher sensitivenesswhichgoes with clairvoyance, clairaudience, astral memories, etc,, was producing apressureonitwhichmightpresentlyresultinseriousdamagetothebraincells.AsshehadbeengivenasaspecialtaskthepoliticalworkforIndia,andasatallcoststhathadtobedone,sherenouncedhercontinuationofconsciousnessintothe invisible, and so shut the door on her clairvoyant faculties. But notcompletely, for alongher lineofmagic sheknewhow,when itwasnecessarythat she should rememberwhat happenedon theother side, tomake a specialarrangement,sothatwhenshereturnedfromthehigherworldsherbrainwouldregister the record.So,when she returned she recollectedwhat hadhappened,andwrotedowntheordersgiventoherwithregardtoherIndianwork.SheusedthentocommunicatewithhercolleaguewhowasinSydney,forusuallyhetoowas present with her when the orders were given, and so he was able tocorroborateandgivehisversionofwhattookplace.

Visionin1915oftheVictoryoftheAllies

OnSundays, after themiddaymeal, shewould closeher door and rest, and

receivenoone till tea time. I recallvividlywhathappenedonSunday,August15,1915.Whensheopenedherdoorjustbeforeteatimeat3o’clock,shecameoutonto“theroof”whereIwaswaiting,andshecalledmetooneside.ShethentoldmethatshehadbeensummonedtobepresentatacertainoccultCentre,andthatthereshehadbeenshowncertainpicturesofcomingevents.Amongthem,shewasshowninpicturescertaineventsyettohappenoftheWarandthefinalvictory of theAllies,whichwas therefore fore-ordained. She askedme not tomentionthatfactortomakeanyreferencetothatfinalityoftheWar.FromhermemorandumwhichIhave,itseemstohavebeenapartoftheoriginalplanoftheGreatHierarchy that theAllies should havemarched toBerlin and signedpeace there. I have enquired in various places why the Allies did not do so,because that seems to have been the idea of some of them once, though theygaveituplater.Ifthisoriginalplanhadbeencarriedout,perhapscertainofthecomplicationswhichhavesincearisenmighthavebeenpreventedormodified.Bishop Leadbeater,who too had been presentwhen the pictures of the futurewere shown, corroborated from Sydney what she remembered on awakening.HisletteronthematterisatAdyar.It was this fore-knowledge by Dr. Besant of the victory of Britain and the

Alliesthatmadehergostraightaheadandnotswerveinherpoliticalcampaignof Home Rule for India, even though the British Empire was at war. LordWillingdon, thenGovernorofBombay,wasquitebitter thatDr.Besant shouldnot realize how all the Provincial Governors and their administrations werestrivingeverynervetoassistBritainintheWar,andthat itwasnotfaironherpart to make the situation in India more difficult for them with her politicalagitation.ButDr.Besantdidnotswerve,fortworeasons:first,thatthevictoryoftheAllieswasassured, so therewasnoneedforher towastemuchenergyonthatwork,thoughasamatteroffactshegaveherhelpinrecruiting,andthrewinherweightwithherpen to show that the causeof theAllieswas the causeofrighteousness; and secondly, because Britain was lavish in her thanks to theDominions likeAustralia and Canada, andwas pledging herself to give themmorepowerinImperialaffairs,andutterlyignoredIndiaandhersacrifices.Dr.Besant did not intend to let India lose her rights by default in the matter ofImperialaffairs.OfcourseshereceivedmuchabusebecauseofherworkforIndiaatthistime

when the Empire was straining every nerve. I recall that when she visitedAustralia in1922,oneofourgroupheardanAustraliansayasshewent tothe

ferry,“That’sthewomanwhoworkedtohelptheGermanswinthewar.”

Krishnamurti’sSecondInitiation

AnotheroccasionwhensheandBishopLeadbeaterreceivedoccultorderswasin Benares, on January 12, 1912.We—the two leaders, Krishnamurti and hisbrother,GeorgeArundaleandmyself—werestayingatShântiKunj,Dr.Besant’shome.Thatmorning,soonaftereleven,afterbreakfast,wesawthatthetwowenttotheirroomsandclosedtheirdoors.Weneveraskedthereason,thoughitwascurious.Abouthalf-pasttwelvethedoorswereopened,andDr.Besantcalledusintoher room;we foundBishopLeadbeateralready there.Weall satdownonthebig“chowki”.She then told us that they had that morning received a “call” from their

Masterstoreportatonce,andsotheyhadlaindownandlefttheirbodies.First,theywenttothehomesoftheirMasters,andthenwithThemtothegreatoccultCentrewhosenameiswhisperedwithawe.Theretheyreceivedordersregardingthe preparation of Krishnamurti and myself to be presented for the SecondInitiationonthefullmoonofthemonthofChaitrafollowing.Thequestiontobediscussedbyuswashowtocarryouttheorders.Dr. Besant would have liked some place in India, like Kashmir; but

Krishnamurti’s father had fallenunder dark influences, andhad turned againstDr.BesantandallherplansforKrishnamurtiandhisbrother,andwasabouttofile a suit. Any moment there might be serious interference, if KrishnamurtiremainedinIndia.Afterlongdiscussion,itwasdecidedthatBishopLeadbeatershouldselectaplaceinSicily,becauseheandIhadbeeninTaorminain1907,andheknewmuchabouttheisland,andwasenthusiasticaboutitsbeauty.Whenoccultordersare received, actionhas tobe swift.DwarkanathTelang

wasletintothesecret,andheatoncetookchargeofthenecessaryarrangements.BishopLeadbeater and he left that same night,—itwas night, though about 4a.m. of next day—for the Bombay mail at Mughal Sarai. Bishop LeadbeatersailedfromBombayonthe15th.WhentheTheosophicalcompoundatBenaresthatmorningwoke to the fact that hehad left, thepartisansofKrishnamurti’sfatherpromptly started the rumour thatBishopLeadbeaterhad fled secretly toavoidarrest!

ObjectiveClairvoyance

BishopLeadbeater’sclairvoyancewasobjective,notsubjective.Thatistosay,itwasnotapicturewhichtookforminhismindbutonthecontrarythesightofa thingexternal tohim, likeanyotherobjecton thephysicalplane.Againandagainthoseofuswhowereclosetohimhadproofsofthis.Ihaveastenographicrecordofsomeoftheinvestigationsintochemicalcompoundsin1922,andthereadercantherenotehowheistryingtodescribewhathesees,justlikeanyonewhoislookingintoamicroscopeiswatching,notinganddescribing.Hewouldlookintoaman’sinside,andiftherewasanyobstruction,pointouttheparticularspotintheintestineswhichwastherootofthetrouble.Hiseyesweregenerallyopen.Whenhoweveralonganddetailedexaminationwasnecessary,hewouldclosehiseyes,forifopen,thementalconcentrationaffectedtheopticnerveandcreatedastrain.Once,whenhewasseriouslyill,whenhesufferedgreatlyfromhearttrouble,I

once asked himwhat his heart looked like.Hewas lying down, and glancingdownathisheart,hereplied,“Itlookslikeaboiledtomato”.Anydoctorwouldunderstand,foritmeantthattheheartinsteadofbeingspringyandsolid,hadthequalityofcollapseofaboiledtomato.

TheCancerCell

Intheyear1906Iwasmuchinterestedinthemysteryofcancer,andwhenImethimattheendoftheyearonmyreturnfromU.S.A.,Ihadprovidedmyselfwithseveralmicroscopicsectionsofcarcinomasandsarcomaswhich Iwantedhim to investigate. I found out afterwards that the slideswould have been nogood, because the cells having become dried would have collapsed. OnemorningaswewerewalkingupanddownthedeckonourtriptoSicily,Iaskedhimaboutcancer.Hesaidthathehadalreadyinvestigatedthecancercell,sothattherewasnoneedfortheslideswhichIhadwithme.However,helookedagain,andthensaidthatthecuriousthingaboutthecancercellwasthatitwasexactlylikethenormalcell,exceptthatitwasalooking-glassimageofit.Heusedthesimileofarighthandglovewhichcouldbeturnedinsideouttobethelefthandglove. He did not know what caused this enantiomorphism. He did notinvestigateiftherewasanykindoffilter-passingvirus.Hedidhoweverwonderif the microscope could ever show such a looking-glass inversion. He wasalwaysinterestedineverything,andIrecallonceaninvestigationintoepilepsy,asecond into incipient paralysis, and a third into a case of slowly increasingparalysis of the legs and arms which revealed the fact that certain grains of

matterwithinthenervecellsofthespinereactedtoelectricity,beingattractedorrepelled,andthat in thiscaseofpartialparalysis thegrainswhichshouldreactfailedtodoso.

TheSmallpoxGerm

Ihave recordedelsewherewhathenotedconcerning thesmallpoxgermanditswork.16 (16.TheTheosophist,March1933.) Ihadbeenvaccinated,and thesecondday Iwent to him and asked him to seewhatwas happening.Hewasalways ready, when his energies would permit, for any kind of investigationwhich anyone wanted, provided it seemed to be for a serious purpose ofknowledge.

FullUseofDiscoveredData

BishopLeadbeater,wheninvestigatingclairvoyantly,madethefullestusehepossiblycouldofanyknowledgehecouldprocureonthephysicalplane.IfhenotedsomethingatsomeperiodinChaldea,hewouldnotwastehistimetoferretout all the historical details by clairvoyance.Hewould consult somework onChaldeainhislargelibrarytoseeifitsauthorgavehimsomeleadingideasonthematter. Hewould then follow up and test whetherwhat had already beenrecordedbyhistoriansgavehimanyrealassistanceornot.Naturallyifsomeone,whoknew thathewas investigatingaparticular topic, foundhim looking intoencyclopedias, he would come to the conclusion that Bishop Leadbeaterobtained what he described only from books. Once or twice he had beenobservedbysomeofhisassistantsconsultingbooks,andtheyhadthisthoughtofsuspicion.Buttheydidnotknowthathesawtheirthought.Sometimes,Iwouldgettoknowofsomeoftheseinstancesfromacasualremarkofhis.

ThoughtForms

Asaninstanceofthesethoughtformswhichwereatonceseenisonewhichexists in thebookThoughtForms (No.19). It is ayellow thought formwhichhastheshapeofacorkscrew.Iaskedhimwhenhesawthiscuriousshape,andhesaidthatitonceissuedfromMr.Sinnett,whotried to“worm”thingsoutofhim,whenheappearedtobeholdingbacksomeknowledgewhichMr.Sinnettwanted.However,henevermindedwhatanyonethoughtofhim,andhealways

treatedtheindividualcourteously,asifthatparticularpartofhiscritic’slifewasunknown tohim.Of coursehenever entrusted to an assistant capableof suchsuspicions anyof his real intimateknowledge concerningmatters of anoccultnature.It is difficult for us to realize how his clairvoyance was not sporadic or

intermittent;itwascontinuousnightandday.Duringtheyear1906,whenmanyviolent and angry thoughts were sent towards him, he saw them all as theybuzzed roundhim like fliesdo inEgyptor thePunjab.Theywereofcourseanuisance,ashehadtobecontinuallybrushingthemaside,ashastobedonewithflies.

TheDetectiveandtheClairvoyant

A quaint instance of the usefulness of clairvoyant sight happened when in1894 he was called to assist a friend in Paris who was being persecuted byenemies. In the course of his efforts to assist his friend, he was continuallyshadowedbyadetective.Whenhewentupstairsonabus,themanwouldgetindownstairs,orwhenhegotintoatrain,themanwouldenterintothelastcarriageatthelastmoment.Thedetectiveappearedinvariousdisguises,butappearedinvariousdisguises,butunfortunatelyforhim,whilehecoulddisguisehimself,hecouldnotdisguisehisaura,sohewasseenatoncethroughallhisdisguises.

TheOccultBasisofAstrology

I must not forget to mention an unusual investigation which is interestingbecauseitrevealedthetruespiritualsignificanceofastrology.Mostastrologerstoday look upon their science from the standpoint of gaining indications offavourable or unfavourable aspects for undertakings. But when the innermeaningofastrology isunderstood,modernastrologyappearsverymuchasamere bony skeleton compared to the living body. It was through occultinvestigationthataglimpsewasobtainedofrealastrology.AmongtheTheosophistsinLondonweretwoastrologers,Mr.AlanLeoand

Mrs.BessieLeo.Theywerebothgreatlydevoted toDr.Besant, but as I shallnarrate,feltaprofoundgratitudetoBishopLeadbeaterforwhathedidforthem.Mr.AlanLeohadnothadtheopportunityofmuchhighereducationbuthewas(and possibly for the lack of that) very intuitive. ThoughMrs. Leo was also

intuitive,hewasthemoreintuitiveofthetwo.Hewasremarkableforanunusualunderstanding of the significance of the various indications received from hisastrological charts. He felt convinced that modern astrology is only the outerhuskofsomethingfargrander,andheandhiswifeaskedBishopLeadbeaterifhecouldnotinanywayassistthem.AsIhavealreadynarrated,thefirstinvestigationintopastlivesbeganwitha

life of Mr. John Varley, where he was a Chaldean priest, and performed aceremony of invocation of the Star Spirits. Bishop Leadbeater had thereforealready a touch with a period of the long past in Chaldea. At that epoch,Chaldeancivilizationhadareligionwhich,initshigheraspects,wasaworshipof thePlanetaryLogoi andStarSpirits, and in its lower, a systemof rules forconductguidedbythepositionoftheplanets.Thereligionwasfullofgorgeousceremonial,andlittlebylittleheinvestigatedthisreligionofastrologyinancientChaldea.ThematerialthussuppliedmeantagreatrevelationtotheLeos.Itmadethem

moremysticalandfullerofinsight,andwasindeedthebeginningofthestrikingcontribution to astrology given by both, and particularly by Alan Leo. Theseinvestigations were first published in The Theosophical Review,17 (17. TheTheosophicalReview,February,March,April1900.)andwerelaterincorporatedintoMan:Whence,HowandWhither,ChapterXIII.

AstrologyasaSpiritualReligion

Someday in thefuture,whenonceagain theThirdorAstrologicalRaywillinfluence mankind, true astrology will be the predominating religion of man-kind.Butitwillbereallyareligion,thatis,aworship,andnotthismoderntime-tableastrologybeyondwhichitsprofessorsdonotseemtobeabletopass.Trueastrologybeginswhenamanknowswhoishis“FatherStar”,andreachesoutinaspirationtowardsthePlanetaryLogosofhisRay,ortosomerepresentativeofthatgreatBeing.Whileamanwillusetheforces,whichthecombinationofthesphereswillgivehim,tofindoutthebestwaytoachievearesult,yethishighestlifewillbeincommunionwithhisFatherStar.ItisthisinnervisionofastrologywhichwasgiventoAlanLeowhichenabledhimtotheosophiseastrology.

OccultChemistryin1895

One work of research made by Dr. Besant and Bishop Leadbeater isoutstanding.Itistheresearchintothenatureoftheatom.Weknowthatnoteventhemostpowerfulultra-microscopecanactuallyshowthestructureoftheatom.All the theories about the atom are built upon photographic records on thesensitized plate, as the atom is driven hither and thither, or broken up bypowerfulcurrentsofelectricityormagnetism.Butnoscientistdreamsthat it ispossibleevertoseetheatominpurisnaturalibus.Howissuchathingpossible?Curiouslyenough,therehasalwaysbeenatraditioninIndianoccultismthatitispossible by Yoga to develop a power which is described as making oneselfinfinitesimallysmalloraslargeastheearth.

ClairvoyantMagnification

Therationaleofthisisfairlyclear.Ourconceptionofsizedependsuponourconceptionofourselves.Iwhoam5ft.3½inchesnaturallyconsideramanwhois6ft.asverytall,whileonewhoissixfeetwouldthinkofanotherwhois6feet4inchesasonlyslightlytallerthanhimself.Similarly,wesaythatweputabookdown on the table, but a cat will say that he has to jump up on to the table.Similarly,too,isitwithregardtosize.Itisourstandardofmeasurewhichgivesus our scale of long or short, large or small, light or heavy.Now, one of thefaculties developedbyYoga is tomakeoneself so infinitesimally small as theobserver thatbycomparison tohim theatom is large.This is the techniqueofmagnification which is adopted in clairvoyance. The object itself is notmagnified,buttheobserverisminimized.ThefirstinvestigationsintoOccultChemistrywereatthetimewhentherewas

muchtalkintheLondonpapersaboutthediscoveryofArgonbyLordRayleighandProfessorRamsay.Therewasalsoat the timemuch speculationabout thegasHelium,whichwasknowntoexistintheSun,butwhosepresencehadnotthenbeendetectedontheearth.

Hydrogen,Oxygen,Nitrogen

Our occult investigators looked into the atmosphere round them and sawvariousobjectsby theirclairvoyantmagnification.Naturally theseobjectsborenolabels,andthereforecouldnotbedeclaredasOxygen,HydrogenorNitrogen.But a very active element was noted, which answered to the chemical

descriptions of Oxygen. Then by counting the units of which Oxygen wascomposed, two other elements, Hydrogen and Nitrogen, were located bycounting theirunits, takingHydrogenas theunitofweight.Eachatomwas inveryrapidmovement,andbeforeitcouldbeexamined,itsmovementhadtobesloweddownbytheexerciseofwillpower.Thenadiagramintwodimensionswasmadeofit.

U.P.A.—the“UltimatePhysicalAtom”

This investigation involved also the examination of the ultimate indivisibleparticle, which was then found not to be the chemical atom but somethingsmaller still. Our investigators saw that the ultimate unit, which they called“ultimatephysicalatom”wasaverycomplexobject,notmadeupof“matter”atall,butcomposedofaseriesofforcesinaveryintricatespiralformation.The moment they saw this, they were reminded of a drawing of the atom

whichappearedinthework,ThePrinciplesofLightandColorbyE.D.Babbittin 1878. I was once informed that this work was the result of spiritualisticcommunications. If so, it is the first time that a discarnate entity has donesomething “worth while” with regard to science. A picture of the ultimatephysicalatomisgiven,butBabbittsaysthatithasonlythreeordersofspirals,whereasour investigatorsnotedsevenordersofspirals.Thereis,however,oneradicalmistakeinBabbitt,andthatiswhenhemakestheatomsgooneintotheother, touching head to tail. According to Chemistry no two atoms can everreallytouch,andthedistancebetweenanytwoatomsisconsiderable,comparedtotheirsize.Thiswasfoundtobeperfectlycorrectonclairvoyantexamination.Furthermore our investigators saw two variants of the atoms, a positive and anegative; each was the looking-glass image of the other, with their spirals inreversedirection.Babbitthasnoideaofthisdualnatureoftheatom.Hemakesoneendofhisatomnegativeandtheotherpositive.Babbitt’satomwasalsotooelongated.After the three gases,Hydrogen,Oxygen andNitrogen,were examined, the

nextworkwastofindouthowtheycametobeconstructedoutoftheultimatephysicalatoms.Thiswasdonebypushingeachgasintoahigherstate,whenitwasfoundthatthegasdisintegratedintosmallerunits,andthenpushingitstillhigher and higher till the units were no longer divisible. The last unit is the“ultimate physical atom”, lately christened “Anu”, the Sanskrit word for the

smallestparticleofmatter.Dr.Besantwrote thedescriptionof theworkdone,andpublishedherarticlewithadiagraminLucifer,November1895.

ElementsNo.2andNo.3

I have mentioned that there was much talk at the time about Helium. TheatomicweightofHeliumhadnotthenbeendetermined.Ourinvestigatorssawavery light gas in the air, and a drawing was made of it, but it was notincorporatedintothearticlebyDr.BesantonHydrogen,OxygenandNitrogen,as the investigators were not quite certain if it was Helium. The diagram,however,which I drew at the time bears the label “Helium.” Later,when theinvestigationswereresumedin1907,theweightofHeliumhadbeenascertainedby chemists; this unusual gas, whoseweight is 3, is a different element. It iscurious that this element has not yet been discovered by chemists.When thearticles on the second series of investigationswere published, I christened theelement“Occultum”,as twooccultistswere itsdiscoverers.Similarly, in1934,therewasfoundinthestratosphereanelementwithweight2.AstheworkwasdoneatAdyar,Ichristenedit“Adyarium”,andpublisheditsdiagram.18(18.TheTheosophist,December1932.)

OccultChemistryin1907

ItiswiththesecondseriesofinvestigationsintoOccultChemistrythatIwascloselyidentified,forIwasakindof“generalmanager”toarrangethework.In1907,apartyconsistingofMrs.UrsulaM.BrightandMissEstherBright,Mrs.AVanHookandHubertVanHookrentedroomsinahouseatWeisserHirsch,nearDresdenforthesummer.TheplanwasthatDr.Besant,BishopLeadbeaterandIshouldjointheparty.Whenthepartywascomplete,everyafternoonwhentheweatherwasfineourtwoinvestigatorsandtheirassistantswentoffintothewoodswithrugsandcushions.Thetwoinvestigated,whiletheotherslistenedorread.ItwasthenthatthelivesofArcorandBeewereinvestigated.Butthemostimportantinvestigationwastocontinuetheworkbegunin1895.

We had for our guidance the general conception of the Periodic Law, whichCrookes had formulated in his pendulumdiagram.Crookeswas known to theinvestigators, as hewas amember of the “senior inner group” of the LondonLodgeoftheSociety.Hisdiagramgaveaclearideaofthetheorypropoundedby

himoftheformationofthechemicalelementsfromanoriginalsubstancewhichhe termedprotyle.Crookespropoundeda rhythmicalandperiodicalmannerofformationwhich, to him, explained the variousmysteries involved in valencyand in dia- and para-magnetism, and also the positivity and negativity of theelements.SeveraloftheelementsinthetableofelementslikeIron,Sulphur,Carbon,are

readilyprocurable,butthereareotherswhichareveryrare,ornoteasilyfoundexcept in laboratories. Such, for instance, is Sodium, which, with thecombinationofChlorine,makestheparticleofsalt,butpureSodiumisonlykeptinlaboratories.MoredifficulttoobtainwasScandium,andarequestwassenttoCrookesforthis.Itwas,however,soonfoundthatitwasnotnecessarytohaveanelementinitspurecondition.Providedanelementwasfoundasacomponentinachemicalcompound,itwaspossible,bydissociatingthebondswhichheldits radicles in combination with the radicles of other elements, to make itsradiclesuniteagaintorebecometheelementbyitselfalone.Eventhen,however,therewerecertainelementswhichexistedincompounds

whichwereonlyinrareminerals.Mypartoftheworkthenwastonotewheretheelementsweretobefoundincompounds,andtolocatetheselatterinvariousmineralsintheDresdenMuseum.Imadeapreliminaryexpeditionwithlistsandlocated inwhat caseswere theminerals.Then in a second expedition,BishopLeadbeatercametotheMuseumandlookedattheminerals,andgotafairideaofwhattheelementwhichwasbeinghuntedwaslike.

BishopLeadbeater’sContribution

Thisworkofinvestigationoftheelementswasdoneintwodepartments,andherethedifferingtemperamentsofthetwoinvestigatorscameintoplay.BishopLeadbeater was extremely scientific and meticulous in observation. He neverventured to form any kind of a hypothesis unless he had examined manyinstancesofonekind,sothatonthewholetherewasprobablylittleliabilitytoerror. As an instance of his care in observation, he wrote to Dr. Besant withreference tohis striking articleon “TheAetherofSpace”,wherehedescribedtheAnuorthe“ultimatephysicalatom”:Yes,Icountedallthose1680turnsinthewireoftheatom,notonce,butmany

times. I tried altogether 135 different specimens, taken from all sorts ofsubstances,organicand inorganic,because Iwanted tobe reasonablysure that

therewerenovariations.Itwasawearisometask,butithadtobedone.

Dr.Besant’sContribution

ButDr.Besantwasveryimpatientofthisdetailedcataloguingwork.Knowingthat she could rely upon him to attend to that department of the work, sheconcentrated on splitting up the elements into their component parts upon theetheric, super-etheric and sub-atomicplanes.Notonlydid shedo this, but shemappedout the flowof forceswithin each sub-group. I havegreatly regrettedthat, at the beginning of this work, none of us realized what it would laterdevelopinto,andthatIdidnotthenhaveblankdiagramsready,ofasphere,sothatDr.Besantcouldmaptheforceasitmovedinthreedimensions.But,therewaslittletimetoorganizedetailsofwork;thepartywastodisperseafterthreeweeks,andboththeinvestigatorshadmuchotherworktodo.Herdiagramsaredrawnonaplane,so thatwhennowwedesire tounderstand indetailwhethertheforcesflowedabovetheplaneofthepaperorbelow,weareleftinthedark.Dayafterday,eachafternoonthepartymovedouttotheforestandtherethe

investigationsweredone.Fortunately,theweatherwasmostlyfine.Dr.Besant’sdrawings in pencil are still at Adyar,mounted in a special book. So, too, arewhatBishopLeadbeaterdrewoftheelements,withallrelevantcorrespondence.Since each element seemed to follow a certain geometrical construction

accordingtothesystemofthePlatonicsolids,itwasnotnecessarytodraweverypartof it.Thedrawingof thecentreandofone“funnel”or“spike”wasquiteenough; we could tell from its place in the Periodic Law, and by noting thenumberoffunnels,thatitbelongedtosuchandsuchafamily,andsobuiltinaparticularway.WhenBishopLeadbeater drew the centre and the funnel or spike, and said

howmanyofeachoftheselattercomposedtheelement,hepassedthediagramtome,andIdidthenecessaryarithmeticandlabelledtheelement.

C.JinarajadasaasDraftsman

After the preliminary drawing of each element by Bishop Leadbeater, mysecond task began, which was to draw the final diagram. Day by day, andsometimes in the evenings, I worked at the diagrams, mapping them out asclearly as possible. I had had no experience in geometrical drawing, but

managedsomehowtomakefairlydecentdrawings,whichDr.BesantusedwhenshepublishedthearticlesinTheTheosophist,Jan.-Dec.1908.Irecalloneinterestingincident.Ifanyonewilllookatthediagramoftheinert

gasesHelium,Neon andArgon in the book, hewill note thatNeon is placedunusually in thediagram, squeezed inacuriousway.Whathappenedwas thatonlyonevarietyofNeonwasfound,curiousway.WhathappenedwasthatonlyonevarietyofNeonwasfound,while twovarietieswerediscoveredofArgon,Krypton,Xenon,and“Kalon.”SoIdrewthediagram,labellingasNeonwhatismarked in the diagramasMeta-Neon.But after the diagramwas finished, thetrueNeonwasdiscovered.Therewasnotimetodrawanotherdiagramandplacethemetavarietybyitsside,asdonewithArgon.So,asthenewNeondiagramwassmall,Isqueezeditintothecompleteddiagram,andchangedtheoldlabelNeontoMeta-Neon.Themappingout of eachnewelementwas always an exciting adventure to

me,becauseofthemannerinwhichtheconceptionoftheoperationoftheThirdLogosdevelopedinmymind.Itwaslikethewatchingbyahorticulturistoftheopeningof someexquisitenewflower from thebud,withall the revelationofbeautywhichitcontained.The investigations at Weisser Hirsch were published by Dr. Besant on her

return to India.Thedrawingsof the elementswere thosewhich I did, but shefoundsomedraftsmaninMadrastodrawinblackandwhitefromherpencilleddrawingsof thedisintegrations. Ihadby then left forU.S.A.andsocouldnotlook at the proofs before the publication in The Theosophist. Several errors,therefore,appearedwhichcouldhavebeenavoidedwithclosersupervisionthanDr.Besantcouldgiveatthetime.56elementsand6isotopesweredescribed.Anovel idea which develops from an examination of the diagrams of bivalent,trivalent and tetravalent elements is that each valency is a duad of two halfvalencies.Hydrogencansplitupitsvalencyintotwohalves,andevenintosixofonesixtheach.

Radium

Whilethearticleswereappearing,therewasmuchtalkaboutRadium.ItwasstatedthatRadiumcouldbefoundinpitchblende.Iprocuredthatandsomeotherminerals and sent them to Bishop Leadbeater, who by that time had come toreside again at Adyar. He had, however, seen the Radium atom before my

material reachedhim.Hesentme itsdiagram,andIdrewit for illustration,asbeforeIhaddonetheothers,andsentittoDr.Besant.

OccultChemistryin1909

InTheTheosophistforJuly1909,isalongarticleof14pages,describingtheadditional work done on Occult Chemistry. Twenty-six more elements aredescribed,andthetypeandweightofeachisgiven.ItisapitythatwhenthesecondeditionofOccultChemistrywasissued,under

theeditorshipofMr.A.P.Sinnett in1919, that thismaterialofJuly1909wasnot incorporated. I was astonished that Dr. Besant gave Mr. Sinnett, whopracticallyknewnothingoftheworkdone,thepreparationofthesecondedition.Asamatterof fact, except foran introductorychapterbyMr.Sinnett,of littlevalue,nothingwasadded to thebook tobring itup todate,nor to correct thetypographicalerrors.Onmyenquiring,Dr.BesantsaidthatMr.Sinnett,whoforaconsiderabletimehadhadagrievanceagainstherandhermanagementoftheSociety,hadchangedandbecomemore friendly, and shedesired, therefore, togivehimthisworktopleasehim,thoughsheknewhewasnotverycompetent,ashisknowledgewassoslightonthedetailsofOccultChemistry.

Isotopesdiscoveredin1907

One noteworthy fact recorded in these investigations was the existence ofisotopes. Itwas in1913 that isotopeswerediscoveredbychemists,andbeforethat therewas no thoughtwhatsoever that such duplicates of an element everexisted.Butalready,in1907,isotopeswererecorded,anddiagramsgiven,oftheisotopesoftheinertgases,argon,neon,xenon,andkrypton.Itwasatthistimethat another inert gas, heavier than krypton, was noted, and I christened it“kalon”,“thebeautiful”,andalsodrewitsisotope.Thisgas,however,hasnotyetbeendiscovered.AnisotopeofPlatinumwasdescribed;itisprobablywhatwasdiscoveredinCanadaafewyearsago,andlabelledCanadium.Butithadnotyetbeenofficiallyrecognized.InApril1908,againBishopLeadbeaternotedthepossibilityof isotopes,for

writing toDr.Besant,he said, “It isquitepossible that, this [Radium]beingaheavy element, theremay be two or three forms of it differing only by a fewatoms ineach spikeor funnel.”Healso sensed thepossibility,whichhas later

become one of the accepted facts, that the speed of a particlemay change itsmass. For in the same letter hewrites, “As to thematter of atomicweight, itoccurstomethatthatmaynotalwaysdependentirelyonthenumberofultimateatoms.Mayitnotconceivablybeaffectedbytheirarrangementandthedirectionand rapidity of theirmotion? I do not know enough ofmechanics to be sureaboutthis;butitseemstomethattwoatomsrevolvingroundacommoncentreofgravity,something like the twoballs in the`governor’ofamachine,mightexertapullatrightanglestotheirmotionagainstordinarygravitywhichwouldmean a diminution of weight. Besides, we do not yet know that positive andnegative atoms are exactly equal inweight.” Today themass of the proton isknowntobefargreaterthanthatoftheelectron.Intheinvestigationsof1909,two isotopes, one of Mercury which is solid, and another of Illinium, werementioned,andtheirdiagramsfiled.Illiniumhasnotyetbeenofficiallyadopted—itisnotintheAtomicWeightsCommission’slistof1937—butin1909bothitandanisotopeofit,asalsoActiniumthennotknown,weredrawnandfiled.

AFourthInter-PeriodicGroup

One interesting series of three elements is a fourth inter-periodic group.According to Mendeléeff’s arrangement of the Periodic Law, there are threegroups of inter-periodics, (1) Iron, Cobalt, Nickel; (2) Ruthenium, Rhodium,Palladium;(3)Osmium,Iridium,Platinum.Asonelooksat thearrangementofthePeriodicLaw,thereisagapwhereproperlyspeakinganotherinter-periodicgroup should exist, between the 2nd and 3rd groups mentioned above. It isstrange that this discrepancy in the Periodic Law has not been noted andemphasized. But such omissions of observation happen now and then, evenamongthemostcarefulobserversinscientificinvestigations.Weknowthat,asamatteroffact,evenaslongagoas1785,CavendishhadnotedaresiduarygasinNitrogen. He recorded the details of his experiments and concluded that theresiduum was something other than Nitrogen. Subsequent investigators knewthatNitrogenfromtheairwasheavierthanNitrogenliberatedfromcompounds;butnobodyparticularlythoughtitworthwhiletofollowupthemattertill1894,whenLordRaleighandProfessorRamsaytookitup.ThenitwasfoundthattheheavyresiduumwasnotNitrogenbutanewgas,Argon.In the same kind of way, one of these days when the curious gap in the

PeriodicLaw is recognized, possibly a special huntwill bemade for the newinterperiodicgroup.Thedifficultyliesinthattheycomeamongthe“rareearths”

ofwhichthereissolittletobeobtainedforexperimentalpurposes.

C.Jinarajadasa’sForecast

However, when I had completed the diagrams for the three inter-periodicgroups, (1) Iron,Cobalt,Nickel; (2)Ruthenium,Rhodium, Palladium, and (3)Osmium,Iridium,Platinum,itoccurredtomebyaclosestudyofthediagramsthatsurelyanotherinter-periodicgroupofthreeelementsmustexistbetweenthesecondandthirdgroups.Iworkedoutatheoryoftheirconstruction,andsentmytheoretical diagrams, with weights according to my calculations, calling theelementsX,Y,Z.Mycalculationswere:

Name “anu” weight

X. 2590 143.3

Y. 2618 145.4

Z. 2646 147

Istatedthenthatprobablytheycameamongtherareearths.Intherareearthmaterial which I sent fromU.S.A., Bishop Leadbeater did find the three newinter-periodics.What was interestingwas that the diagramswhich I suggestedwere nearly

accurate, and my inaccuracies were due to the fact that whenever the humanmind conceives, theMind of the Third Logos has something more ingeniousstill.Outof the threeweightswhich I suggested, the lastwasaccurate, so thatwhileIsuggestedthat thenumberofultimatephysicalatomsin thethreewere2590,2618and2646,theywereinreality2646,2674and2702.

99Elements,not92

Asmentionedabove,thesethreeinter-periodicshaveyettobediscovered,butwhentheyarefound, therhythmicperiodicityof the lawwillbecomplete.Onthe other hand, these three elements, with Adyarium, Occultum, Canadium(which is really not an isotope of platinum but a new metal), and KalonnecessitateanewformulationofMoseley’slawofatomicnumbers.Thereare99elements, not counting isotopes, according to Occult Chemistry. Chemistry is

positivethattherecanbeonly92.

C.Jinarajadasa’smodel

InCrookes’lectureattheRoyalInstitutionin1887,hepresentedamodelofthePeriodicLawwithtwolemniscatesslowlydescending.Itoccurredtometoconstructanewmodelwith four lemniscates. Imade thismodel,whichwasalargeone,andforseveralyearsitwasinmyoffice,andforawhileintheAdyarLibrary.ItgavefarmorebeautifullythanthemodelofCrookestheideaof thePeriodicLaw.Butveryfewseemedtobeinterestedinit,andasthemodelwasintheway,Ihavetakenittopiecesandputitawayinabox-roomtoawaitmorepropitiousdays.

DiscoveryataDistance

AnotherinterestingfactisthatBishopLeadbeatersoonfoundthatitwasnotnecessaryforhimtohaveanelementbeforehimforinvestigation,providedheknewwhere that elementwas to be located. Thus, for instance, in connectionwiththeinvestigationsatAdyarin1933,oneelementhuntedforwasMasurium.It seemed likely that this newelementmightbe foundamongRubidiumsalts,but I had no Rubidium salts, and at the moment of investigation I could notprocureanyinMadras,noteveninthelaboratoryofthechiefCollegeinMadras.It was therefore necessary to look for it elsewhere. I had with me severalchemicals procured fromHilger & Co. Their address was on the samples, inRochester Place, Camden Road, London. Bishop Leadbeater could find thisstreeteasily,andfromAdyarhelocatedthelaboratoriesofHilger&Co.Hethensawwhere all the chemicalswere stored in bottles on shelves.Thenext thingwastofindoutwherewerethebottlescontainingRubidiumsalts,andforthishehadtotapthemindofoneoftheassistantswhowasworkingamongthebottles;he then located the salts, butMasuriumwasnot among them.Hepromised totake up the investigation at night during sleep, and to see if he could locateMasuriumamongthechemicalsattheDresdenMuseum,whichhehadvisitedin1907.However,IwentatoncetotheLibraryoftheMadrasUniversityandsearched

in various volumes, and finally found a volume ofChemical Abstract, whichreferredtotheoriginalGermanpaperwhichrecordedthefirstinvestigationinto

Masurium.FortunatelytheLibraryhadtheGermanpaperalso,andthereIfoundthatMasuriumwasdiscoveredincertainoxides.TheseoxideswereamongtherareearthswhichIhadprocuredfromHilger&Co.Another instance of the way that an examination could be carried on at a

distance was in the case of the Radium emanations. Of course we had noRadiumatAdyar,butweknewthatsomewaskeptinMadrasHospital.BishopLeadbeaterdidnotfeeluptothetaskofwanderingaboutthevariouscorridorsoftheHospitaltogototheplacewhereRadiumwaskept,norasamatteroffactwasitnecessary,providedIwent.Iprocuredthenecessaryintroduction,andsawtheneedlesofRadiumin the leadcabinet.WhenIgotback, thepicture inmymind of the room and the cabinet was sufficient, and he then watched theRadium emanations. For various causes, this particular investigation intoRadiumwentnofurther.

OccultChemistryin1919

AsIhavenotedabove,theOccultChemistryinvestigatorstotheendof1909hadexamined86elements.Soonafterthisperiod,boththeinvestigatorsbecameabsorbedinmanyduties,andImyselfwasnotwiththem,asmyworkwasthenintheUnitedStates.Iwaswiththemagainattheendof1911,butthatwasthetimewhentherewasmuchanxietyconcerningthewelfareofKrishnamurtiandhisbrother,owingtothehostileattitudeoftheirfather.Furthermore,inFebruary1912,Dr.Besantputthetwoboysinmycharge,andIwasawayinEnglandwiththemtilltheendof1913,whenagainIreturnedtoIndia.AtthistimeDr.Besantbecameabsorbedinherpoliticalwork,andtwomonthsafterItookupresidenceinAdyar,BishopLeadbeaterleftforJavaandAustralia.Inthedevelopmentofeventsafterthewar,bywhichtimeIhadbecomeVice-

PresidentofTheTheosophicalSociety,IhadtogotoAustraliain1919.BishopLeadbeaterwasthenresidinginSydney;hewasaffectedwithdiabetes,andwasan invalidwith aweakheartwhichkept himagreat deal of eachday in bed.However,IknewthathewasalwayskeenonOccultChemistry,andsomademypreparationstouseanyopportunitythatmightarisetoaskhimtoinvestigate.Notknowinghowmanyyearshemightlive,myplanwas,nottocompletethe

remainingelementsofthePeriodicTable,butrathertoaskforinvestigationsintocompounds. No compound had been examined in the investigations; whileHydrogen and Oxygen had been described, there was no mapping out of the

molecule of water. As chemistry was not a subject I had taken up for anyexamination,thoughIhaddonesomephysics,Iarrangedforaveryrapidcourseon theoretical chemistrywith a teacher ofSydneyUniversity, so as to preparemyself for the next stage in the investigations. I began to collect variouscompoundstooffertoBishopLeadbeater.

ModelsoftheMoleculesofWaterandSalt

IrecallquiteanexcitingafternooninSydney,whenhetelephonedovertometosaythathehadmademodelsofwaterandofsalt.Themodelforthefirstwasmade with a candle through which several lady’s hat pins were struck, andsimilarlythemodelofsalthadasitscentreanapplethroughwhichthepinswereskewered.IntheinvestigationsthatfollowedinAustralia,intheyears1920and1922,whereverpossible I arranged forBishopLeadbeater’s secretary,MissV.K.Maddox,totakedownverbatimtheconversationbetweenhimandme,aswediscussed operations. I have published in The Theosophist19 (19. TheTheosophist, from March 1924 to August 1933, in various issues.) manydiagramsofvariouscompounds, thoughstill there remainagoodmanywhichareonlyinthestageofroughdiagrams.OnethatinterestsmegreatlyisIndigo,whoseformulaisC16H10N2O2.Ihavelongwaitedtomakethemodel.

“GodGeometrizes”

This work of Occult Chemistry has always been to me one of intensestfascination, because every element and compound investigated revealed theinspiring quality of that divine work which the Platonists described as “Godgeometrizes”. I was always impregnatedwith a sense of beauty as I watchedthesediagramsastheyweredrawnonebyone.For,notonlyistheMindoftheThird Logos wonderfully exquisite in ingenuity, but it possesses a quality ofbeautifulbuildingwhichthrillsme.ThesenseofbeautyissomethinglikewhatonehaswhenwatchingtheWoolworthBuilding inNewYorkfromadistance.Asitrisesfromstorytostory,thereisacombinedmajestyandabeauty.Inthesameway,asonetakestheelementsofonefamilyoneafteranother,andnotestheir structure, from the lightest of the family to the heaviest, one feels likesingingapsalminglorificationoftheworkofthewonderfulDivineMind.

TheStructureofBenzene,NaphthaleneandAnthracene

Aninstanceofthisbeautifulbuildingisthestructureofbenzene.Itsstructureisstilloneofthedisputedpointsamongstchemists.Benzeneiscomposedof6Carbonatomsina“ring”,andtoeachofthemaHydrogenatomislinked.Nowin1895 the structureofHydrogenwasdescribed, and thatofCarbon in1907.Whenbenzeneasseenbyclairvoyancewasdescribedin1922,onesawinitthewonderoftheDivineThought,whichcombinedthe6Carbonand6Hydrogenatoms.Thatsenseofwonderincreasedwithnaphthalene,thesecondoftheringseries.Themodeofstructureofthe“benzenering”issoclear,thatthenIwentontobuildamodelofanthracene,thethirdmemberoftheseries,thoughitwasnot examinedclairvoyantly, and thebeautyof its structure ismost impressive.So,too,buttoalesserdegreeofexquisiteness,isthebuildingofthealiphaticoropenchainseries.

TheStructureofDiamond

Oneeventofexcitementwasthebuildingofthemoleculeofdiamond.BishopLeadbeaterputontothetaskofmaking594paperoctohedrathegroupofyoungpeoplewhowerethenlivingatTheManorinSydney.Alltheseoctohedrawerestuck tomake the diamondmodel, which was then despatched tome. A boxarrivedwiththemodel inside.Thediagramsdescribingthediamond, includingoneplate incolour,appeareddulyinTheTheosophist20 (20.TheTheosophist,September 1925.). Of course the model was most interesting, but it wassomething of awhite elephant, for I could only hang it from the ceiling. In acoupleofyearsthedampnessoftheclimateofAdyarslowlymadethemodelfallintopieces.

Crookes’sAstralLaboratory

Another interesting incident in connectionwith these investigationswas thehelpwhichSirWilliamCrookesgave.Heknewin1907of theworkbegunofclairvoyant investigation. In 1933 at Adyar, there was the need to find somecompoundwhichwouldhavetheelementRadon.Thisisoneoftheinertgases,andthenextheavierofthefamilyafter“Kalon”.Asthereseemedtobenowayoffindingthesourceoftheelement,finallyitoccurredtoBishopLeadbeatertoaskSirWilliamCrookes,whoisstillontheastralplane.Heiscontinuinghisold

workof research, andhas a laboratoryofhisown.Hehas all the radio-activeelements kept in specially strong receptacles of etheric matter. Sir WilliamCrookesknewwhatwaswanted,andhehadjustonesingleatomoftheelement.ItseemstobesorarethatinalltheseasofTuscaroraDeep,hehadfoundonlythis single specimen. Whether the Radon, which is a product of RadiumEmanation,andiswhatmightbetermedanalchemicalproduct,isa“star”oftheinertgasesgroupornot,wasnotinvestigated,forwantofaspecimen.

ArtificialandNaturalErbium

BishopLeadbeatercould investigateatany time,providedhisbrainwasnottired.Severalof the investigations in1933 tookplace in the eveningwhilehewaslyingonasofa,andamasseurwasworkinguponhislegsandfeet.Thisdidnotinterferewithhisclairvoyantobservations.Oneparticulareveningwhiletheoldmasseurwaspoundinghim,weweretryingtolocateErbium.Now,in1909Gadolinium had beenmapped out. Erbium is of the same family but heavier.ThoughwecouldnotgetatanysubstanceatthemomentwhichhadErbium,hethought that he would make an experiment. He put together the parts thatappearedinthecentralrodofGadolinium,thistimethreeofthemandnottwo,to see if theywould cohere.Theywould not; butwhen the connecting rod ofSilver of 19wasplaced in themiddle of the three, therewas not only perfectcohesion but also a very great vitality. Then the funnels of Gadoliniumwerestuck on; everything held. This seemed to show that the experiment was asuccess,andthatwhatwasputtogetherwasreallyanatomofErbium.But obviously thiswas not enough, and so the searchwas continued.What

wastobedonenext?WeknewthatIodineexistsinthesea.Immediately—andthiswhilehewasbeingmassaged—itoccurred tohim to look into the sea forErbium, which is of the same family as Iodine and Gadolinium. Havingconstructed Erbium alchemically, he got into touchwith a sea nature spirit, atriton,whoheknewlivedintheseanearAdyarbeach.Heaskedthetritonifheknewanythingof thekind in thesea,andshowedhim thealchemicalErbium.Thecreatureanswered,“Yes,wewillbringit”,andquicklybroughtahandfulofnatural Erbium. The atoms of Erbium which the triton produced were likespiculae,orahandfuloftinypencilsheldinthehand.ThetritonwascurioustoknowwhyBishopLeadbeatershouldwanttoseethem,butofcoursecouldnotunderstandforwhatreasonhewasaskedtoproducewhatweretohimlittletoys.

Polonium

Another instancewhennature spirit scoutswereusedbyBishopLeadbeaterwas when he investigated Polonium in August 1933. We found in theEncyclopediaBritannica that Polonium exists in pitchblende. I had sent somepitchblendein1909fromU.S.A.,andtherewasstillafewbitsofpowder left.But thePoloniumthatexisted in ithaddeparted fromthepowderwhen itwasexamined in 1933. The Encyclopedia stated that pitchblende existed in someminesinCeylon,inthedistrictofSabaragamuwa.BishopLeadbeaterhadbeenin thatProvince in the early years of hiswork inCeylon; so that night,whileasleep,hewenttoCeylonandlocatedthemines.ButtofindanatominamineisliketryingtolocatesomesmallstarintheMilkyWay.However,hearrangedforsomenaturespiritstoactasscoutsandlookfortheelement.Ofcourseitwasakindofgametothecreatures.At last, inall theminesinthatregion,hefoundonlythreePoloniumatoms.

LostOpportunities

Oneincidentinallthistouchesmepersonally,asitshowsthatowingtosomecuriousdullnessonmypartIlostastrikingopportunity.TheelementMasuriumwasdiscoveredspectroscopically;andwhenitwasfoundincertainminerals,theannouncement was duly made. So we knew that it existed in oxides ofcolumbite, gadolinite and tantalite. The investigation was then easy, as I hadalreadywithmetheseminerals,amongtherareearthsprocuredfromHilger&Co.BishopLeadbeaterinvestigatedandgavemethediagramonSeptember5th,1932.Tendays later I found that,asamatterof fact,Masurium, thoughnotunder

that name, had not only been noted but that also the diagram for it had beendrawnin1909.AmongthemassofpapersintheOccultChemistrybox,Ifoundaslipwithdiagramsofthreeelements,andonewasmarked“unknownelement”.WhenthediagramforMasuriumwasmadein1932,itwasexactlythesameasthis forgotten diagramwhichwas drawn in 1909.Had that diagrambeen thenpublished, our Theosophical investigators could have claimed priority ofdiscovery, as the actual chemical weight of the then unknown element wasgiven,asalsoitsplaceinthePeriodicTable.In a similarmanner, throughmywant of careful study, I failed to note that

Illiniumwas discovered,mapped out and its place andweight announced, in.July1909.Theseblundersleadustothestrangefactthat,wheneverwemighthavegiven

aninstanceofproof,withregardtooccultfacts,withoutanypossiblechallenge,alwayssomethinghappenedtopreventthefinalityintheproof.Itiswellknownthat, in the early days of Spiritualism,many striking objectswere transportedfromdistances,showing that thespiritswereable touseextraordinarypowers.But in each such instance there was just one final link in the chain missing.Therewasalwaysaloopholefordoubt.Similarly,inthephenomenadonebytheAdepts in connectionwithMadameBlavatsky’swork at Simla, itwould havebeentheeasiest thingforThemtohavetransportedtheLondon“Times”of thedaytoSimla,aswasoncesuggested.Butinallcasesofphenomena,therewasthe omission through oversight, or for some other reason, of some importantevidentialfact.

WhytheAdeptsrefusetogiveProofs

When the Adepts were asked on this matter, we were informed that Theypurposelypreventedanyphenomenonwhichwouldbeabsolutely“watertight”inthematterofproof.ItisTheirplanthat,whilehumanityisatthepresentstage,wherea largenumberofpowerfulmindslackanadequatemoraldevelopment,noopportunity shall begiven to theseunscrupulousminds tohave acompletetrust in the existence of occult powers. So long as there is scepticism on thematter,mankind is protected from exploitation by the unscrupulous.Weknowalready how mankind has been exploited economically and industrially byselfishminds controlling the resources of nature.How great a calamitymightoccur, if theseselfishmindswere touseoccultpowersalsoforexploitation, isnotdifficultforanyonewithalittleimaginationtoconceive.

Catalysis

Onegreathandicaphasbeenthatwherevertheinvestigationstookplace,therewas no chemical laboratory, nor a chemist who could perform the necessaryexperiments.Thus,forinstance,noneofushadeverbeeninalaboratorywherethemassspectroscopewasbeingused,andsoBishopLeadbeatercouldnotgetintotouchwiththatwork.Therewerehowever, threeinstanceswhenanactual

experiment was made. The first experiment was to watch what happens incatalysis.Forchemistryasyetgivesnoexplanationofthisphenomenon.ItwasdoneinSydney,whenIheatedpotassiumchlorateandmixeditwithmanganesedioxide. Itwas thennoted that a totallynew force,nothithertonoticed inanypreviousobservation,waspresenttomakecatalysis.Thesecondexperimentwasin Adyar, when Mr. Y. Prasad, who was a science teacher, performed theexperiment of making water from hydrogen and oxygen in the presence ofspongyplatinum.

Deuterium

AthirdinterestingexperimentwastodiscoverthenatureofheavyHydrogenor Deuterium.Mr. K. Zuurman, Superintendent of our Electrical Department,arranged a simple apparatus to dissociate the water into its constituents ofHydrogenandOxygen,usingthehousecurrent.Intheprocessitwasfoundthatthecurious“doubleHydrogen”wasformednowandthen,whileHydrogenwasgiven off from the cathode terminal. During a period of some two or threeminutes, only three double Hydrogen or Deuterium atoms were formed. ThereasonfortheexistenceofDeuteriumisthattherearetwovarietiesofHydrogen,whichwehavelabelledAandB,andoneofthemisslightlymorepositivethantheother.Soonecombineswiththeothertomakeanewbody.

TheLastInvestigationin1933

The last investigationwasonOctober13th,1933.OnceagainMr.Zuurmanassisted, and he brought his radio receiving set, for I wanted to see if it waspossible to find outwhatwas the electron after all. For it is not our ultimatephysical atom, but might possibly be an astral atom. The thermionic valve,which is supposed to be throwing off streams of electrons, was examined. Astenographicreportwastakenatthetime.Just as this work was suspended, Bishop Leadbeater thought that he had a

glimpse of what lay at the back of the nature of positive and negative inelectricity. Itseemedas if thisdistinctionwentasfarbackas thenatureof the“bubble”itselfinKoilon.Forthefirsttimeitseemedasifwemighthituponthegreatestofallprinciplesofknowledge,astowhatafterallispositiveandwhatnegative.Buthewastired,andnextdayIleftforBrazil.

No“NextYear”

The last words of the stenographic report are what I said as the work wassuspended: “We will now adjourn till next year.” But next March BishopLeadbeaterpassedawayat theageofeighty-seven,andso therewasno“nextyear.”

ThirdEditionof“OccultChemistry”

Ihavementioned that thesecondeditionunder theeditorshipofMr.Sinnettwasnothingmorethanareprintofthefirst,anddidnotincorporatethematerialthathadaccumulatedbetweenthetwoeditions.Sincethatsecondedition,therehavebeenmanyimportantresearches.IhavegivenasummaryoftheworkdoneinTheTheosophistofJuly,1933.Thematerial for the third edition is ready. Theworkwill require at least a

year’scloseattention,andIamwaitingfor the timewhenIcanbefreedfromother and more urgent work. The book will be quarto size, quite different informat from the twopreviouseditions.The sizecanbe seenbyconsulting thelargediagramalreadypublishedinTheTheosophist,October,1932.Iamhopingfortheassistanceofotherstosuperviseseveralsectionsofthework,asthenewmaterial is considerable.When the thirdedition ispublished, it shouldcontainaboutthreetimesthematerialpublishedintheothereditions.As I was the organizer and recorder, my aim was to arrange for the

investigations to cover aswide a field as possible, so as to leavematerial forstudyforfuturegenerations.Iamcertainlyprofoundlygladthatalltheelementshave beenmapped out, and that the PeriodicTable is complete; butwhen theworkwasresumedinAustraliain1920,Iputasidethecompletionoftheworkupon the elements, anddirected the investigations into compounds. Iwas alsoanxioustohaveafewcrystalsmappedout.Allthisworkisofcourseonlylikethescratchingofonesmallcornerofalargefield.ButitisanewkindofstudyofNature, andmy aim, inwhichmy two leaders heartily co-operated,was todraw,asitwere,theoutlinesofagreatcontinent,andleavethelandstobefilledinbysucceedinggenerations.

IsthereanyCorroboration?

Often the question is asked, what corroboration is there from present daychemistryof these investigations?Weknow that at themomentmuchwork isbeingdoneonthenucleusoftheatom.Butthereisnobridgeasyetbetweenthework of the clairvoyant investigators and the work done by the chemists andphysicists with the mass spectroscope. The two groups of investigators areworkingfromtwodifferentstandpoints.Theclairvoyantinvestigatorwatchestheatom as it is in its normal condition, not in anyway affected by electrical orother forces.The laboratory investigator throws into theatomcurrentsofhighvoltage, and produces results fromwhich he deduces the nature of the atom.Since all atoms behave alike under electricity according to certain laws, thedescriptionoftheatomfromthelaboratoryisacorrectindicationofitsnature,butoftheatomunderexceptionalcircumstances.ItisasifsomescientistfromMars, desiring to know the behaviour of human beings, were to come in anairshipanddropbombsonLondonat stated intervals.Hewoulddiscover thattheinhabitantslivedintunnels,whicharethe“Tube”stations;andiftheywerebeingperiodicallybombed,thattheywerelivingallthetimeundertheearth.Buthis scientific observations would not describe the life of London. It wasProfessorWhittaker who gave an accurate commentary on the work done byphysicistsinthelaboratorywhenhesaid,“Somethingunknownisdoingwedonotknowwhat;thatiswhatourtheoryamountsto.”Iwouldnotlikeinanywaytoimplythattheworkdonebythescientistsisnotaccurateorvaluable.Ithinkitamostwonderfultestimonytowhatthescientificimaginationandingenuityarecapable of, under rigorous scientific training. But the two kinds of research,throughclairvoyanceandthoughthespectroscope,areverymuchliketheworkdoneintunnellingamountainforarailway.Theworkisdonefrombothsidesofthemountain,andslowlythetwogroupsof tunnellerscomenearerandnearer,and at lastmeet.As the situation stands now, the occult investigators and thelaboratoryinvestigatorsarenotlikelytomeetforseveralgenerations.

TheAimsoftheInvestigators

Iwouldlike,sinceDr.BesantandBishopLeadbeaterarenolongerwithus,toexplainontheirbehalfandformyselfourmotivesinallthiswork.Noneofuseverdreamedofanykindoffameaccruingtousfromtheseresearches.Wehaveneverplannedforrecognition.AlwaysouraimwastoknowjustalittlemoreofthewaythattheDivineMindmanifestsinNature.Therewasneveranythoughtofproving the truthof these researches toanybody.The investigators,withall

the accuracy at their command, recorded what they saw. They left it at that.Whetheranyonedisbelievedorscoffednevercountedwiththem,fortheywerefirst and foremost Theosophistswho knew the significance of the phrase “theDivineWisdom”.TheyhadalreadyreceivedsomuchinspirationfornoblelivingandservicefromwhattheyknewofTheosophy,thattheydesiredtoknowmoreoftheWisdom.Itmightwellbesaidthattheirmottowas,“TothegloryoftheGrandGeometricianoftheUniverse,andfortheperfectingofHumanity.”

TheFaceoftheGrandGeometrician

I,however,whohavebeenso inspiredandbroadenedinmyoutlookby thiswork,andhavealsofollowedtheworkofscientists,knowthattheinvestigationsintoOccultChemistrywillbethemostlastingcontributiontoknowledgewhichthe Theosophists of these generationswill havemade. For, as the generationspass, ourmainTheosophical ideaswill be professed by thewholeworld.Buttherewill always remain, as awonder for centuries to come, thismagnificentwork,whichliftsatinycorneroftheveilwhichhidesfrommantheFaceoftheGrandGeometrician.December,1937.

THREEMENOF“C.W.L.”

IThasbeencustomaryamongthemanyfriendsofBishopLeadbeatertocallhim by his initials “C.W.L.”. In Australia, however, his friends have alwayscalled him “Brother”, certainly a less crude manner of designating him.However,forthepurposeofthisarticleIshallusetheinitialsC.W.L.There are many works written by C.W.L. which record his clairvoyant

knowledge. That knowledge is presented in a clear manner, and from thestandpointofascientistwhostateswhathehasobserved,withoutclaimingfromothersanybelief.Itisonlyasfuturegenerationsdevelopmenandwomenwithsimilar trained clairvoyant ability that the validity of his knowledge will beproved.Buttherearethreeinstancesofanothertypeofclairvoyanceonhispartwhichareinteresting.Supposeamanpicksout threeIndianboysofobscureparentage, innoneof

whomisevidentanyoutstandingcharacteristic;supposehethensays,thateachofthemwillplayarôleontheinternationalstageoftheworld;then,seeingthatsuch a future is the last event likely to happen to these three boys, onemightwellsaythat,iftheprophecyisprovedtrue,themanexercisedanunusualgiftofprophecy.The threeboys concerned are—C. Jinarajadasa, J.Krishnamurti andD. Rajagopalacharya.When C.W.L. “picked out” these three boys, their ageswere12,14and13.

C.Jinarajadasa

WhenC.W.L.lefttheTheosophicalHeadquartersatAdyarin1885totakeup,underColonelOlcott’sdirection,work inCeylon,he threwhimselfvigorouslyinto that work. It was not to organize Theosophical Lodges, but to assist inColonelOlcott’splanofrevivingthewaningspiritofBuddhismintheland.Onepart of C.W.L.’s work of organization consisted in opening several BuddhistSundaySchoolsinandnearColombo.Hegatheredroundhimselfseveralboys,whobecamemostenthusiasticforhimandhiswork.Anelderbrotherofmine,nowdead,wasoneofthese.

C.W.L.organizedtheseboysinvariousways;forinstance,ascarolpartiestosingBuddhistcarols,andhelpinsuchwaysaswerewithintheircapacitiessoastoarouseBuddhistenthusiasm.Eachweek,onSaturdaymornings,hetookthemtoapart inColomboHarbourwhereswimmingwaspossible,and taught themall swimming. Then as thework developed, he organized in 1886 an EnglishSchoolforboys.ThisSchoolgrew,andisnowtheimportantCollegeinCeylonwithoverathousandboys,calledAnandaCollege.WhenC.W.L.wenttoCeylon,hisMastertoldhimthathewouldtherefindhis

brother Gerald, who had been killed in Brazil in 1862 under dramaticcircumstances.HehasnarratedthestoryofthatperiodofhislifewithhisbrotherinBrazilinhisbook,ThePerfumeofEgypt,andthestoryiscalled“SavedbyaGhost”. TheMaster did not tell himwho his brother was in this incarnation,except that he was in Ceylon. C.W.L. therefore was on the look out for thisbrother.Iwasnotinthefirstgroupofboysroundhim,thoughtowardstheendIdid

join one of the carol parties.But therewere several other boyswho tookpartwithenthusiasminhismanyschemes,mybrotherbeingoneofthem.Ithinkhemusthave“triedout”severaloftheboystoseewhichwashisbrother.Finally,invariousways, he found that Imust be the brother. I had joined the School in1886, and so he knew me. On my side, there was no special emotionalrecognition of an old link, as has happened tome oftenwith regard tomanypersons;butontheotherhand,therewasanintuitiveunderstandingofhimandofhiswork,andafullco-operation.I think he must have been quite sure that I was his brother after a certain

incident.Thiswaswhen,afteranafternoon’swalk,heexplained tomea littleabout thework of theMasters, and described briefly the characteristics of theMastersM.andK.H.HethenaskedmeifIcaredtobeoneofTheirdisciples,andofwhichMaster.After a fewmoments’ thinking I replied that theMasterK.H.attractedme.Themoment Iwas“found”, thenextwork tobedonewas to arrange that I

shouldbegiven theproperopportunities toequipmyself toenter theMaster’swork.Obviouslytherewasscarcelyanyopportunity,particularlyineducation,inCeylon,seeingthatmyparentswerepoor.AtthistimeeventssohappenedthatMr. A. P. Sinnett, between whom and C.W.L there was a very cordial bond,desiredC.W.L.tocometoEnglandtoundertaketheeducationofhissonDennySinnett.C.W.L.thensawthattherewasasplendidopportunityforme,ifIcould

betakentoEngland.Mr.SinnettexpressednoobjectiontoanIndianboycomingtoresidewithhim,andbeingassociatedintheeducationofhisson.TheproblemthenwastogetmetoEngland.Heretherearoseagreatobstaclefrommyparents.Theyweresimple-minded

piousBuddhists, and in those daysEnglandwas far away, and to theOrientalimagination a kind of wild woollyWest. Although I was the second son, yetwhen I cautiously put out feelers on the matter of my going to England, theresponsewasaverydecidednegative.Theyconsidered that Icouldgetall theeducationanyboyneededintheGovernmentCollegeinColombo.However,theplanofmygoingtoEnglandhadtobecarriedout.DuringourSaturdaymorningswims,weusedtogoouttoanEnglishsailing

shipwhichwasintheharbour,andwhichhadbeenthereseveralweeks.Ononeoccasionweclimbedonboard,andIhadtodive—sometimesC.W.L.’strainingwasnottender—fromthesideoftheship.C.W.L.foundthatthisshipwastosail soon byway of the Cape to London. Somehow he got in touchwith theChief Mate, and made an arrangement with him for me to be taken as apassenger.Theshipwastosailalmostimmediately,andtheplanwasthenformetogetonboardjustbeforeshesailed,andleavenotracksbehindme.BitbybitIcollectedafewclothes,whichwereputinacarpetbag,andona

certain afternoon I took them to a particular place inColombowhere a sailorfromtheshipmetme,andIgavethebagtohim.ThateveningIslippedawayfromhome,andwenttothebeach,whereIfoundC.W.L.Itwasutterlydark,andamonsoonwindwasblowing,withhugewaves. Iwas told that theship’sboatwasouttherebeyondthewaves,andthatIwastoswimout.Ihadononlyadhoti and a coat. I stripped and gave these to C.W. L. and plunged into thewaves.JustbeyondthebreakersIsawsomethingwhite,andthiswastheboat.Twosailorshauledmein.IstillvividlyrecallthesensationofcoldandshiveringasIlaycrouchedatthebottom,withastrongwindblowing.Theboattookmetotheship,andtheChiefMateconductedmetoacabin,whereIfoundmycarpetbag. I stayed locked in thecabin thatnightand thewholeof thenextdayandnight,alsoapartofthefollowingday.Iwaslockedinnotasaprisonerbuttopreventanyofthesailors,stevedores

and others knowing ofmy presence on board, and to prevent the police whowereinquiringaftermefromgettingtoknowwhereIwas.IhadputinthecarpetbagtwovolumesofJulesVerne,soIwashappyenough.

In themeantime, naturally there wasmuch commotion in my home. I wassought foronall sideswithno result. It seems thatmyfatherhadan idea thatC.W.L.musthaveknownwhereIwas,andnextdaybewentandthreatenedhim,butofcoursetonopurpose.C.W.L.wouldnotgivemeaway.Towardseveningthe family capitulated, and intimated to C.W.L. that if I returned, theywouldgive me their formal consent to go to England. As a matter of fact the shipshouldhavesailed thedayafter Igotonboard,andI shouldhavebeenoutofColomboHarbourwhenthefamilycapitulated.Buthersailingwasdelayedforsomereason.Whenthefamilyatlastagreed,C.W.L.cametomeonboardandexplained,andsoIreturnedhome.Butunfortunatelyformyself,lostasplendidopportunity of becoming a good sailor, because in the slow journey round theCapeIshouldhavelearnedagooddealofthemysteryofsailingships.Inall thiswhichmight readasanexcitingadventure, I recall that therewas

nottheslightestsenseofexcitementoradventure.Acertaindecisionwasmadewhichwascommonsenseand inevitable.All theactionswhich followedweremovements towards a goal fromwhich there could be no swerving. That daywhen Ihanded thecarpetbag to thesailor,andslippedaway to thebeachandswamout,therewasnottheslightestemotionalexcitementorupheaval.Itwasas if the ego had taken charge, and the personality acted according to aprearrangedplan.MyactiontoprovethatIdidmeanwhatIsaid,whenIstatedIwouldfollow

theMaster,broughtmetheopportunityofbecomingHisdisciple.ThathappenedafewdaysaftertheshipleftColombo.Ihavenarratedinthesectioncalled“TheMaster”,inChristandBuddha,howthathappened,andhowitwasprecededbygreatemotionalsuffering.ThendulyIleftwithC.W.L.forEnglandinNovember,1889.Thechiefevents

ofmysubsequentlifeareknowntomostofmyfriends.HehadbythistimetoldmethatIhadinmylastincarnationbeenhisbrotherGeraldLeadbeater.OncehementionedcasuallythatoneofmyhabitsasGeraldwastogetunderthedining-roomtableandtheresitsingingsomeofthehymnsIlearntaboutJerusalemtheGolden,andsimilarattractivehymnsaboutHeaven.Ihaveoftenthoughtofthischaracteristic of Gerald, because it is now pronounced in me, for all theTheosophical knowledge concerning theHeavenWorld is always vivid inmymind.Indeed,sometimesIthinkthatIamtheonlyTheosophistwhoreallyhasany real belief inDevachan.Years afterwards I found a bookof verses ofmythenmother,withpoemstoGerald.

It is perhaps not without interest that when I made my first trip to SouthAmericain1928,thefirstlandtobevisitedshouldbeBrazil.Herethenisthestoryofaboyofobscureparentage,ofnooutstandingability,

whoisselectedbyC.W.L.,andforwhomhisprophecyisinbrief,“ThisboyisoneoftheMaster’speople,andhewillplayarôleontheworld’sstage”.Isnotthisakindofclairvoyance?

J.Krishnamurti

ThefatherofJ.KrishnamurtiandhisbrotherNityanandawasJidduNaraniah,aTeluguBrahmin,whohadjoinedtheTheosophicalSocietyinitsearlyyears.In1909hewastheAssistantSecretaryoftheEsotericSchoolinIndia.Hehadbeena Government servant and had lately retired as a Tahsildar, a minoradministrative officer. InFebruary of that yearC.W.L. came to live again atAdyar,andsoonafterMr.NaraniahalsocametoAdyar.Thereisafragmentofunpublished autobiography by Mr. Krishnamurti where he describes his lifewhen he first came toAdyar.Themother of the childrenwas dead, and thereseemedtobenoonelookingafterthemproperly.OnSeptember2,1909,C.W.L.wrotetoDr.Besantasfollows:September2nd,1909.Naraniah’s children are verywell behaved, andwould cause us no trouble;

VanManenandIhavetaughtsomeofthemtoswim,andhavealsohelpedtheelderwithEnglishcompositionandreading,sowehavecometoknowalittleofthem. Also (but this is not generally known) I have used one as a case toinvestigate for past lives, and have found him to have a past of very greatimportance, indicating far greater advancement than his father, or indeed thanany of the people at present at Headquarters—a better set of lives even than——’s though I think not so sensational. I am sure that he is not in thiscompoundbyaccident, but for the sakeof its influence; I shouldnotbeat allsurprisedtofindthatthefatherhadbeenbroughtherechieflyonaccountofthatboy;andthatwasanotherreasonwhyIwasshockedtoseethefamilysovilelyhoused, for it seems tome that ifwe are to have the karma of assisting evenindirectlyatthebringing-upofonewhomtheMasterhasusedinthepastandiswaiting touseagain,wemayaswell at leastgivehim thechance togrowupdecently!

ItwasthenthathebegantheinvestigationofthelivesofKrishnamurti,whowasgiven the “starname”Alcyone.The followingextracts fromhis letters toDr.Besantgivesusthestory:November4th,1909.I sendyouherewith another ten lives ofAlcyone, in the hope that youwill

make time to read themon the steamer, for I feel that it is important thatyoushouldsee thembeforeyouarrive,so thatyoumayknowexactlyhowmattersstand.November11th,1909.Isentyou toPortSaidanotherbatchof theAlcyone incarnations,preceding

thepreviousset,sothatyouhavenowtwentysuccessivelives,andIthinkyouwillagreethattheyaretranscendentlyinteresting.November23rd,1909.I rejoice greatly at your approach, and I hope you have decided to come

straight through from Bombay, now that the troubles there are settled. As tolives,ifwedonottakeVarley’s,IsuggestbeginningwithOrion’s;buttherewillstillbetimetotalkoverthiswhenyoucome.WecalledyouHeraclesbecauseofthemanylaboursthroughwhichyouhavepassed.I have already done three lives of the C set, and find them fully up to the

othersininterest.Ishallhavethemreadytoshowyouwhenyouarrive.December22nd,1909.I think Master’s Indian children have known that they were much in your

thoughts, for theyhavespokenconstantlyofyou,and theyoftenfeelyounearthem.Atnight inyourroomtheyseemalwaystosenseyouverystrongly,andKrishna sees you in the Shrine-room in the early morning. Everything goesexcellently with them, and I think it will not be long before the acceptancecomes.ThereismoreofthiscorrespondencebetweenC.W.L.andDr.Besantwhen

she was away from Adyar, describing the training of Krishnamurti and theinstructions received from theMasters concerning him. I have published it inTheTheosophistforJune,July,September,OctoberandNovember,1932.AllthosewhoknewKrishnamurtiasaboynotedthathecertainlywasnotas

wide awake intellectually as was his brother Nityananda. Indeed some of his

father’sfriendsstillrecallthecasualwaythefatherwouldrefertotheboyasofadullmind.Bothboys,andespeciallytheelder,weretimid,anditwasapartofC.W.L.’sworktotrainthemtodevelopasenseofassuranceandcourage;helpedbyDr.Besant,hesurroundedthemwithfriendswhoseaffectionforthemwouldmakethemblossomout,tilltheylostthesuppressednaturewhichcharacterizedthemwhentheyfirstcametoAdyar.Asamatteroffact,aswasnotedbytheEnglish“coach”whopreparedthetwo

boys for London Matriculation, while Nityananda had the sharper mind,Krishnamurti’smindwas the biggermind.He had awider grasp of a subject,thoughhewashandicappedbynotbeingable toexpresshis thought readily. Isympathisedwithhiminthis,becauseItoomaturedlate,andwasnotbrilliantinpassingexaminations.Onceagain,hereisaboywho,accordingtohisfather,isdullinmind,whom

C.W.L.selects,andaboutwhomheprophesiesthattheboywillplayanunusualrôleontheworld’sstage.Isthatnotclairvoyanceagain?

D.Rajagopalacharya

ThefatherofD.RajagopalacharyawasMr.V.K.Desikacharya,anAyyangarBrahmin of South India, who was a Sub-judge. He had been many years amember of the Theosophical Society and was also in the Esoteric School. InDecember1913,theKeralaTheosophicalConferencemetatCalicut,andC.W.L., was asked to preside and give lectures. I had from him the story of whathappened.ThenightbeforehestartedfromAdyar,theMasterK.H.toldhimthathe(C.W.L.)wouldfindattheConferenceoneoftheMaster’speople.WhenC.W.L.gottoCalicut,helookedatthememberspresent,buthesawnoonewithanaurawhichseemedtobeatalloutoftheordinary.However,hedidnotdoubttheMaster’s statement, though he didwonder. The second day, however,Mr.Desikacharyaturnedupwithoneofhissons,Rajagopalacharya.Hehadintendedtobepresentonthefirstday,butatajunctionstationhiscookmissedthetrain.AsMr.DesikacharyawasanAyyangarBrahmin,andcouldnotacceptfoodfromany otherBrahmins exceptAyyangars, he had always to travelwith his cook.OwingtothisaccidenthisarrivalattheConferencewasdelayedbyaday.Whentheboyturnedup,andC.W.L.sawhisaura,herealizedthatthiswasthepersonconcerning whom the Master had spoken. He has entered in his diary onDecember26,“MetD.Rajagopalacharyaandinstantlyrecognizedhimasoneof

us.”Thefatherwasofcoursemostcordialandanxiousineverywaythathisson

shouldhavetheveryunusualprivilegeofclosecontactwithC.W.L.Theboyalso felt a strong attraction to C.W. L. and responded eagerly to his intensefriendliness.WhenC.W.L. returned toAdyar,hewrote to theboyeveryday.This was often his custom with regard to various young people. It was notmerelytokeepupthefriendship,butalsotosendthemstrength,foreachletterthatwas sentwas highlymagnetized so as to bringbefore the youngperson’smindthegreat ideals towhich theegowaspledged. IhaveatAdyar theboy’sletters fullofaffection,andalwaysasking forguidancehow to live the lifeofdedicationtotheMaster,whichhehadacceptedwithjoy.But inFebruary1914,C.W.L.hadtogotoJavaandAustralia,anddidnot

quite know what to do to continue the work for young Rajagopal. I had,however,thencometoAdyarandsettleddowntowork;sohethengaveintomychargethegeneraldirectionofRajagopal.Beforeheleft,IhadtogotoCeylon,and I arranged that on theway back Iwould diverge fromTuticorin to go toPalghat,whereMr.DesikacharyawasactingasSub-judge.WhenImettheboy,webecamegreatfriends.Istayedwiththefamilytwoorthreedays,andonmyreturntoAdyar,arrangementsweremade,withthefather’scordialco-operation,tosendRajagopaltotheTheosophicalSchoolinBenares.WhenRajagopalcametoAdyarhelivedwithmywifeandmyself.Ashewas

calledRaja,andIwasalsocalledRajabymyfriends,hebecame“YoungRaja”andIbecame“OldRaja.”Fromthistimeon,duringhisholidays,hestayedwithus at Adyar. Later on he entered Madanapalle Theosophical College. All atAdyarlikedhimimmensely,fortheboyhadremarkablecharm.At Madanapalle Rajagopal began to show certain characteristics which

recalledsomethingofhistruegreatnessasanego.BeforeC.W.L.left,andafterhehaddiscoveredRajagopal,he investigatedhis last life.ThestarnameNagawasgiventohim,andNagainhislastincarnationwasSt.BernardofClairvaux.The life is narrated inTheLivesofAlcyone, vol. II, pp. 725-9, as also inTheTheosophist,December,1920.Rajagopal found at Madanapalle that, in the neighbourhood of the College

whichwasontheoutskirtsofthetown,therewereseveralvillageswheretherewasnoschoolanywherenear.Movedbythetragedyofthechildrenandoftheelders who could not read or write, he organized a night school. He got the

villagerstocleanoutacowshed,andseveralofhisfellowstudentsansweredhiscall togooutand teachseveralnightsaweek.Theprocuringofbooks, lights,etc.,wasdonebyRajagopalbyappealingtohisfriends.InthecourseofhisstayattheCollege,heorganizedtwoothernightschools,

and for two of themhe built two small buildings. The first schoolwas calledVasanta,afterDr.Besant;thesecondKrishna,afterKrishnamurti;andthethirdRaja,aftermyself.Itwascharacteristicoftheboythathedidnothimselfteachintheschools,but

heorganizedtheothers todothatwork.Ateveryvisit toAdyarhewasfullofthiswork,andDr.Besantandmyselfandhisother friendscordiallysupportedhiminhisidealism.Thenhappenedaneventwhichalsorevealedsomethingoftheego.Oneofthevillagesinthevicinityhadadisastrousfireandwasnearlytotally destroyed. Rajagopal then had the brilliant idea of making a modelvillage, instead of allowing the villagers to rebuild the village after the oldcrowded and insanitary pattern. This meant, of course, much planning andcollectingmuchmoneyandmaterial.Buthisenthusiasminfectedothers,andhepersuaded even the localGovernment officer to promise the necessary timberfreefromaGovernmentforestnearby.HecamedownposthastetoAdyarwithhis great scheme. Dr. Besant was at this time full of her plans for thereorganization of India.Not only did shewarmly approve but she promised acontribution of Rs. 2,000. Others also promised various sums for theconstructionofthismodelvillage,whichwastobestrictlyanIndianvillageofhuts, but arranged on a new plan, with all that was necessary in the way ofschool,sanitation,well,temple,etc.ThissplendideffortstartedbyRajagopalcametonothing,owingtotheaction

ofonesingleindividual.Intheplanofthereconstructedvillage,apieceoflandat one corner was necessary to round off the scheme; but the individual whoownedthislanddemandedanexorbitantpriceforit.Asthismoneycouldnotbefound,andastheindividualwasobviouslyholdingoutforthelargesummerelybecauseofthescheme,theprojectcollapsed.In 1919Rajagopal accompaniedmywife andmyself toAustralia andNew

Zealand.Needlesstosayeverywherehemadewarmfriends.WhenhereturnedfromNewZealandandAustraliahehadcollected£200forhisnightschools.Ihave always admired (and envied) this gift of Rajagopal. He had only topropoundhisschemeandoffersofhelpcame.Itmaystillbeasecret,butthereisnoharminrevealingitnow,thatwhenhebecametheSecretaryoftheStarTrust

atOmmen,anditwasnecessarytomakecertainchangesinEerdeCastle,duringone Camp he organized his set of helpers, and in the course of the Campmeetings,andwithoutmakinganypublicmentionofit,hecollectedover£8,000forthescheme.Once again we find an Indian boy of obscure family for whom C. W. L.

prophesies,“Hereisaladwhowillplayarôleontheworld’sstage.”

“C.W.L.”We find, then, that C.W.L. takes three Indian boys out of an obscure

environment,makesmuchofthem,trainsthemandhelpsthem,andbelievesinastriking future for them. They “make good”. Is that not a testimony to whatC.W.L.was?Everkindly, a rigid taskmaster, trainingus toperformeach taskefficiently,

inspiringuswitha lofty idealof truthandhonour,unsparingofhimself in theMaster’s work, giving us an unforgettable vision of Righteousness—these hetaughtme,myBrotherofthepast,thepresentandtheunendingfuture.

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