Our “telephone operator” should therefore be a man possessed of the greatest circumspection and discrimination, and while he should never interfere with the expression of any opinion, no matter how much opposed the latter may be to his own opinion, he should at the same time be permitted to cut down the messages sent over his wires to certain limits and to present them, if necessary, in a more suitable form.
As regards the liberty of speech, it would be an absurdity if such a society were to attempt to prescribe to any of its members what kind of opinions or dogmas he should express; because whatever opinions he may pronounce, they could never be regarded as being the opinions of the society as a whole; for the society as such “represents no particular creed” and “is entirely unsectarian.” If in spite of this solemn assertion anyone chooses to believe that the opinions publicly expressed by a member of the society represent the creed of the society, such an unfortunate circumstance can only be deplored, but will do no serious harm. On the other hand if a “president” or “board of control” should attempt to preside over more important things than merely over the meetings of the members, and if a “board of control” would attempt to control the conscience and the opinions of the members, instead of merely exercising its control over the external affairs of the society; and if an “official organ” would attempt to postulate what ought and what ought not to be believed by the members of the society, such a proceeding would be in direct opposition to the spirit, the object and the purpose of that society, and in contradiction to the principles upon which it was founded; and while it should be the object of every lover of truth to assist the growth of a true “Theosophical Society,” and to maintain its purity of principle, it should also be his aim to suffocate in the germ everything that is opposed to liberty and freedom of speech.
I beg every member of the Theosophical Society to well consider these points, for upon their consideration and decision, depends the solution of the question, whether the Theosophical Society shall end in a farce, or whether it shall be the great movement which it was intended to be.
F. Hartmann.
Kemplen (Bavaria), Aug. 23, 1886.
Apollonius and the Mahatmas.
[READ BEFORE THE MALDEN BRANCH, T. S.]
The journey to India made by the great adept, Apollonius of Tyana, has a special interest for us modern students of occultism. The story of this journey, related in the life of Apollonius by Philostratus, has been held by many to be a fable, and Mr. Tredwell, in his laudable work, omits any account of it. To an earnest Theosophist, however, the internal evidence of the narration is too strong to be resisted, although it is told at third hand probably with the adornments which an accomplished Greek author thought needful for the requisite grace of style.
Apollonius may perhaps be said to have been the Master whose mission was to set the temples in order for the departure of the glorious classic era. Born in the same century as Jesus of Nazareth, nowhere did the teachings of the two, so far as it appears, come into open contact, although the fame of the former spread far and wide in Europe, Asia and Africa during his lifetime. It is said, however, that although no creed bears his name, his work in the world was nevertheless immense and his teachings have, in many unperceived ways, influenced millions of human beings down to the present day.