From the Caves and Jungles of Hindostan by H. P. (Helena Petrovna) Blavatsky
page 25 of 328 (07%)
page 25 of 328 (07%)
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members of the Arya Samaj.
Needless to say, this was impossible. The Theosophical Society rests on the principle of complete non-interference with the religious beliefs of its members. Toleration is its basis and its aims are purely philosophical. This did not suit Dayanand. He wanted all the members, either to become his disciples, or to be expelled from the Society. It was quite clear that neither the President, nor the Council could assent to such a claim. Englishmen and Americans, whether they were Christians or Freethinkers, Buddhists, and especially Brahmans, revolted against Dayanand, and unanimously demanded that the league should be broken. However, all this happened later. At the time of which I speak we were friends and allies of the Swami, and we learned with deep interest that the Hardwar "mela," which he was to visit, takes place every twelve years, and is a kind of religious fair, which attracts representatives from all the numerous sects of India. Learned dissertations are read by the disputants in defence of their peculiar doctrines, and the debates are held in public. This year the Hardwar gathering was exceptionally numerous. The Sannyasis--the mendicant monks of India--alone numbered 35,000 and the cholera, foreseen by the Swami, actually broke out. ---------- As we were not yet to start for the appointed meeting, we had plenty of spare time before us; so we proceeded to examine Bombay. |
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