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Test Bank for Systems Analysis and Design: An Object-Oriented Approach with UML, 5th Edition by Dennis, Wixom, Tegarden instant download

The document provides links to various test banks and solution manuals for different editions of systems analysis and design textbooks, including those by Alan Dennis. It also includes a series of multiple-choice questions and true/false statements related to the Systems Development Life Cycle (SDLC) and methodologies in systems analysis. The content appears to be a resource for students or educators seeking study materials in the field of systems analysis and design.

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100% found this document useful (3 votes)
16 views

Test Bank for Systems Analysis and Design: An Object-Oriented Approach with UML, 5th Edition by Dennis, Wixom, Tegarden instant download

The document provides links to various test banks and solution manuals for different editions of systems analysis and design textbooks, including those by Alan Dennis. It also includes a series of multiple-choice questions and true/false statements related to the Systems Development Life Cycle (SDLC) and methodologies in systems analysis. The content appears to be a resource for students or educators seeking study materials in the field of systems analysis and design.

Uploaded by

haskeyonkopg
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c. b. create simple drawings of what is needed and allow the customer to
provide feedback
d. c. develop a detailed set of blueprints
e. d. actually build the project, often with some changes directed by the
customer
f. e. all of the above

Ans: e

a. 5. The four phases of the Systems Development Life Cycle are _____.
b. a. analysis, gathering, modeling, and diagramming
c. b. construction, installation, testing, and converting
d. c. initiating, planning, controlling, and implementing
e. d. planning, analysis, design, and implementation
f. e. system request, feasibility, staffing, and construction

Ans: d

a. 6. Understanding why an information system should be built and determining how


the project team will build it is part of the _____ phase of the SDLC.
b. a. analysis
c. b. system request
d. c. gathering
e. d. initiating
f. e. planning

Ans: e

a. 7. The _____ is generated by the department or person that has an idea for a new
information system.
b. a. economic feasibility analysis
c. b. requirements document
d. c. project charter
e. d. system request
f. e. project plan

Ans: d

a. 8. The project sponsor is the _____.


b. a. lead systems analyst on the project team
c. b. person or department that requested the system
d. c. lead computer programmer charged with writing the code for the system
e. d. project team leader in charge of developing the system
f. e. any of these choices may fill the role of the project sponsor
Ans: b

a. 9. Feasibility analysis examines several questions, including “_____?”


b. a. Can it be built (technical feasibility)
c. b. Do we have the right people to build it (organizational feasibility)
d. c. If we build it, can our computers handle the load (operational feasibility)
e. d. Can we get afford it (economic feasibility)
f. e. all of these

Ans: a

a. 10. The project plan is the document that is used to _____.


b. a. describe how the project team will go about developing the proposed system
c. b. outline the tasks to be addressed in developing the proposed system and
develop a time estimate for each task.
d. c. outline the technical, economic, and organizational feasibility of the proposed
system
e. d. summarize the business need and explain how the proposed system
supports that need and creates value
f. e. all of these

Ans: a

a. 11. In which phase of the SDLC is the project plan developed?


b. a. analysis
c. b. design
d. c. implementation
e. d. planning
f. e. reconstruction

Ans: d

a. 12. In which phase of the SDLC is the system proposal developed?


b. a. analysis
c. b. design
d. c. implementation
e. d. planning
f. e. system delivery

Ans: a
a. 13. The analysis phase of the SDLC answers which questions _____.
b. a. who will create the system and when will it be used
c. b. who will the system be for, what the system will do, when will it be used,
and where will it be used
d. c. why build the system, what the system will be, and how the system will work
e. d. why build the system, who will the system be for, when will it be used,
and how the system will work
f. e. why build the system, who will the system be for, when will it be used, and where
will it be used

Ans: b

a. 14. Deciding how the hardware, software, and network infrastructure will operate
occurs during the _____ phase of the SDLC.
b. a. analysis
c. b. design
d. c. implementation
e. d. planning
f. e. strategy

Ans: b

a. 15. In which phase of the SDLC is the system specification developed?


b. a. analysis
c. b. design
d. c. implementation
e. d. planning
f. e. system delivery

Ans: b

a. 16. Interfaces (e.g., menus, reports, forms) are specified during the _____ phase of
the SDLC.
b. a. analysis
c. b. design
d. c. implementation
e. d. planning
f. e. system delivery

Ans: b
a. 17. The phase of the SDLC when the system is actually built or purchased is the
_____.
b. a. analysis
c. b. construction
d. c. design
e. d. implementation
f. e. planning

Ans: d
Response: See page 6

a. 18. A development methodology that focuses on the processes as the core of the
system is said to be _____.
b. a. action-oriented
c. b. structure-oriented
d. c. process-centered
e. d. object-oriented
f. e. data-centered

Ans: c

a. 19. The principal disadvantages(s) with the waterfall development methodology is


(are) _____.
b. a. a long time elapses between completion of the system proposal and the delivery
of the system
c. b. if the team misses important requirements, expensive post-implementation
programming may be needed
d. c. the design must be completely specified on paper before programming begins
e. d. all of these
f. e. none of these

Ans: d

a. 20. _____ development is a structured design methodology that proceeds in a


sequence from one phase to the next.
b. a. Parallel
c. b. Phased
d. c. Agile
e. d. Rapid Application
f. e. Waterfall

Ans: e

a. 21. Any modern object-oriented approach to software development must be use case
driven, ____________, and iterative and incremental.
b. a. User-centric
c. b. Architecture-centric
d. c. Requirements-driven
e. d. Model-driven
f. e. Object-centric

Ans: e

a. 22. Iterative and Incremental development means that


b. a. the team is using a prototyping methodology
c. b. the system will be developed through versions
d. c. the system will be developed in phases
e. d. the system will undergo continuous testing and refinement
f. e. the team is using an agile methodology

Ans: d

a. 23. Users typically do not think in terms of data or processes; instead, they see their
business as a collection of logical units that contain both – so communicating in terms of
__________ improves the interaction between a user and an analyst or developer.
b. a. objects
c. b. business rules
d. c. business units
e. d. attributes and methods
f. e. workflow units

Ans: a

a. 24. In the Enhanced Unified Process, the Inception Phase involves several workflows
including _________.
b. a. analysis
c. b. design
d. c. implementation
e. d. all of these
f. e. none of these

Ans: d

a. 25. In the Enhanced Unified Process, the Production Phase involves several
workflows including __________.
b. a. analysis
c. b. design
d. c. implementation
e. d. all of these
f. e. none of these

Ans: e

a. 26. Overall, the consistent notation, integration among the diagramming techniques,
and application of the diagrams across the entire development process makes ________ a
powerful and flexible tool set for analysts and developers.
b. a. CASE
c. b. UML
d. c. DFDs
e. d. EPCs
f. e. Flow Charts

Ans: b

a. 27. In SCRUM, teams organize themselves in a symbiotic manner and set their own
goals for each ______________:
b. a. phase
c. b. module
d. c. week
e. d. function
f. e. sprint

Ans: e

a. 28. SCRUM belongs to the category of system development methodologies:


b. a. agile development
c. b. rapid application development
d. c. structured design
e. d. waterfall development
f. e. rapid prototyping

Ans: a

a. 29. Which following is one of the basic characters of object-oriented systems :


b. a. process
c. b. data
d. c. module
e. d. inheritance
f. e. garbage collection

Ans: d
a. 30. Polymorphism is made possible through ________________ :
b. a. static binding
c. b. dynamic binding
d. c. initialization
e. d. messaging
f. e. information hiding

Ans: b

True/False

a. 1. The primary objective of the systems analyst is to create a wonderful system.

Ans: False

a. 2. The planning phase is the fundamental process of understanding how an


information system should be built and determining who on the project team will build it.

Ans: False
a. 3. During the analysis phase of the SDLC the systems analyst will decide how the
hardware, software and network infrastructure, user interface, forms and reports will be
used.

Ans: False

a. 4. The new information system is purchased or built during the implementation


phase of the SDLC.

Ans: True

a. 5. The waterfall development methodology derives its name from the salmon that
swim up the waterfall against the current.

Ans: False

a. 6. The infrastructure analyst is responsible for the design of the new business
policies and processes.

Ans: False

7. The role of the project manager includes managing the team members, developing the
project plan, assigning resources and serving as the primary point of contact for people
outside the project team.

Ans: True

8. The role of the change management analyst includes ensuring that adequate
documentation and support are available to the users.

Ans: True

9. The business analyst is responsible for ensuring that the project is completed on time and
within budget and that the system delivers all benefits that were intended by the project
sponsor.

Ans: False

10. The project manager develops ideas and suggestions for how to improve business
processes, designs new business processes, and identifies the business value the new
system will create.

Ans: False

11. Determining who will use the system, what the system will do, and where and when it
will be used is performed during the analysis phase of the SDLC.

Ans: True

12. RAD (Rapid Application Development) adjusts the SDLC phases to get some of the
system developed and into the hands of the users quickly.

Ans: True

13. Agile development is considered a special case of RAD approach to developing systems.

Ans: False

14. Phased development is considered a special case of RAD approach to developing


systems.

Ans: True

15. Kim repeatedly performs the analysis, design, and implementation phases concurrently in
a cycle until the system is completed. She then goes back and from scratch does a
thorough design and implementation to complete the project. She is following a
throwaway prototype methodology.

Ans: True

16. Throwaway prototyping balances the benefits of well-thought-out analysis and design
phases with the advantages of using prototypes to refine key issues before the system is
built.

Ans: True

17. The creation of a design prototype that is not a working information system, but
represents a part of the system that needs additional refinement happens with the
prototyping methodology.

Ans: False

18. Parallel development relies on only one iteration of the analysis phase.

Ans: True

19. A local retailer has hired Geneva and Sydney to develop his new information system. He
is not sure what type of system he wants, but it must be completed in four months and he
needs to know regularly that the project is on schedule. Geneva and Sydney should use
the Waterfall Development methodology for constructing the system.

Ans: false

20. The primary advantage of the Waterfall Development methodology is requirements are
completely specified and held relatively constant prior to programming.

Ans: True

21. Extreme programming is ideal for developing large mission-critical applications.

Ans: False

22. An analyst with business skills that understands the business issues surrounding a system
is commonly called a project manager.

Ans: False

23. An analyst that focuses on the IS issues in a system, and who represents the interests of
the IS department is called a systems analyst.

Ans: True

24. The analyst that develops ideas and suggestions to improve the application of information
technology is commonly called a systems analyst.

Ans: True

25. An analyst that focuses on the technical issues of the organization (hardware, software,
databases and networks) is commonly called a change management analyst.

Ans: False

26. Scott has been assigned to focus on the users during the upcoming information systems
installation. Scott will provide user training and documentation. His role is to serve as a
change management analyst.

Ans: True

27. Michelle has been assigned the task of completing the project in a timely manner and
within budget. Her project team role is infrastructure analyst.

Ans: False
28. Systems analysts Lori and Mark are employed by the local hospital. They have been
assigned to develop a very complex patient monitoring system for the cardio-care unit
using a new display technology. Throwaway prototyping is a very suitable methodology
for this project.

Ans: True

29. Agile development methodology aims at eliminating the modeling and documentation
overhead in IS projects, while emphasizing simple, iterative application development.

Ans: True

30. Extreme programming is founded on core principles such as communication, simplicity,


feedback, and courage

Ans: True

31. In extreme programming programmers pair up to write the code.

Ans: True

32. Extreme programming depends on refactoring to ensure that the code is kept simple.

Ans: True

33. Jim Smith is a project manager in the IS department of an insurance company and he just
hired a group of four contractors to work on a project together with an in-house team of 4
full-time employees. He should use extreme programming as a methodology for the
project.

Ans: False

34. You are carrying out a project that involves information systems for the operation of
controls in a passenger jet craft. This is an ideal project for you to follow a throwaway
prototyping methodology.

Ans: True

35. For complex systems, throwaway prototyping is not a suitable methodology, since it will
lead to problems with maintaining the system.

Ans: False

36. For complex systems, prototyping is not a suitable methodology, since it will lead to
problems with maintaining the system.

Ans: True

37. For urgent projects, it is a good idea to use a prototyping methodology.

Ans: True

38. A project manager most likely would not have worked as a systems analyst in the past,
since project management career track is independent of the system analyst’s career
track.

Ans: False

39. Project team members focus on getting the project done, leaving change management to
the business managers.

Ans: False

40. The business analyst serves as the primary contact point with the project.

Ans: False

41. The Unified Process is not use-case driven.

Ans: False

42. Implementation is a phase in the Unified Process.

Ans: False

43. Project Management is a supporting workflow within the Unified Process.

Ans: True

44. The Enhanced Unified Process goes beyond building the system and includes
maintaining the system.

Ans: True

45. The environment workflow in the Unified Process is designed to deal with the
organizational and policy issues the project faces within the organizational environment.

Ans: False
46. One of the criticisms of the Unified Process is that if fails to deal with the system after it
has been delivered.

Ans: True

47. Under the Unified Process, the Configuration and Change Management workflow
includes risk management and scope management, among several other activities.

Ans: False

48. Under the Unified Process, the Project Management workflow includes risk management
and scope management, among several other activities.

Ans: True

49. The business modeling workflow uncovers problems and identifies potential projects.

Ans: True

50. In the Unified Process, the analysis phase follows requirements.

Ans: False

51. In the Unifies Process, analysis is a workflow, not a phase.

Ans: True

52. In the Enhanced Unified Process, the design and implementation workflows are the
primary focus of the production phase.

Ans: False

53. In the Enhanced Unified Process, the production phase focuses exclusively on supporting
workflows.

Ans: True

54. In the Unified Process, the implementation phase focuses on the deployment workflow.

Ans: False

55. The vision document is a deliverable in the inception phase.


Ans: True

56. The Unified Modeling Language is a collection of terms and diagrams designed to be
used in data-oriented software projects.

Ans: False

57. The Unified Modeling Language is a collection of terms and diagrams designed to be
used in object-oriented software projects

Ans: True

58. The Unified Modeling Language is a collection of terms and diagrams designed to be
used in process-oriented software projects

Ans: False

59. In the UML, the Deployment Diagram is a behavioral diagram that illustrates the
dynamic interaction of the system with its environment.

Ans: False

60. In the UML, the Activity Diagram illustrates all the interactions between the system and
its environment.

Ans: False

61. In the UML, the Use Case Diagram illustrates all the interactions between the system and
its environment

Ans: True

62. In the UML, the Class Diagram is an example of a structure diagram.

Ans: True

63. In the UML, the Use Case Diagram is an example of structure diagram.

Ans: False

64. Architecture Centric development requires functional (also known as external) diagrams
in addition to structure and behavioral diagrams; however, the UML only has structure
and behavioral diagrams.
Ans: True

65. SCRUM is a type of agile development methodology.

Ans: True

66. SCRUM has a designated team leader to lead the system development.

Ans: False

67. It is questionable whether Scrum can scale up to develop very large, mission-critical
systems.

Ans: True

68. Dynamic binding is one of the basic characters of object-oriented systems.

Ans: True

69. An object is same as its class since both have attributes and behaviors.

Ans: False

70. In object-oriented systems, the encapsulation means the system simply combines
processes and data into classes.

Ans: True

71. Abstract classes can produce instances.

Ans: False

72. Polymorphism means that the same message can be interpreted differently by different
classes of objects.

Ans: True

73. Dynamic binding is a technique that delays typing the object until run-time.

Ans: True
Short Answer

1. Indicate the four phases of the waterfall approach and mention its advantages and
disadvantages.

Ans: Waterfall is a sequential process that has each of the four phases (planning, analysis,
design, and implementation) completed following the previous one. The two advantages are that
requirements are identified long before programming and changes are minimized. The two
disadvantages are an extensive paper trail and the time that passes from initial proposal and
system completion.

2. Briefly discuss the RAD methodology and mention its advantages and disadvantages.

Ans: The RAD methodologies attempt to address the weaknesses of the structured design
methodologies by adjusting the phases of the SDLC to get parts of the system completed and in
the hands of the users quickly. Analysis, design, and implementation are all speeded up. The
advantages include the speed and quality of systems development, while the key disadvantage is
the need to manage user expectations.

3. Explain the idea of prototyping and indicate when prototyping is appropriate.

Ans: Prototyping performs the analysis, design, and implementation phases of the SDLC
concurrently and cyclically until the system is completed. This approach allows the analyst to
quickly refine the user-requirements and to quickly get a system in the hands of the users (as
long as it’s not a large, complex application that many people need to use).

4. Explain the idea behind throw-away prototyping? When is it appropriate?

Ans: Throw-away prototyping is done at a different point in the SDLC than prototyping. It is
done after a fairly thorough analysis phase has determined the user requirements, but when
various technical issues may need to be solved or some of the user requirements may still be
unclear. The design prototype is not a working system, just part of it. Thus, when the prototype is
finished, there is not a complete system to deliver to the users. It may take longer to develop
systems using throwaway prototyping. But it is suitable in projects where the requirements
and/or technology issues are not well understood after the analysis phase. Projects that need to
deliver reliable systems often use the throwaway prototyping technique.

5. Describes the roles of and activities performed by the business analyst and system analyst.

Ans: A BUSINESS ANALYST identifies the business value that a system will create, develops
ideas and suggestions that improve the business process, and designs new processes and policies.
Work experience of a business analyst is probably in the functional field or application, such as
accounting, marketing or production management.

A SYSTEMS ANALYST develops ideas and suggests technology innovation to business


processes, designs new business process and information systems, and ensures that IS standards
are maintained. Work experience of a systems analyst is probably in analysis and design,
programming, or some business area.

6. Describes the roles of and activities performed by the infrastructure and change management
analysts.

Ans: An INFRASTRUCTURE ANALYST ensures the new system conforms to organizational


standards and identifies infrastructure changes needed (to the network, database, hardware and
software). Work experience of an infrastructure analyst is probably in networking, database
administration, or various hardware or software systems.

A CHANGE MANAGEMENT ANALYST ensures that there is adequate documentation, user


support, training, and change management strategies. Work experience of the change
management analyst is probably in organizational behavior (any business field).

7. Explain the role of a project manager in an IS project.


Ans: The project manager is responsible for completing the project on-time and within budget.
He/she is also responsible for ensuring that the completed system delivers all the benefits that
were originally intended by the project sponsor. Project manager manages team members,
develops work plan, assigns resources and is the primary point of contact for the project.
He/she would have worked as a systems analyst for a significant amount of time prior to
becoming the project manager.
8. Briefly summarize the purpose of the planning phase in SDLC. Explain why it exists and
what it contributes to the completion of the system.

Ans: The purpose of the planning phase is to determine if the system request will provide value
to the organization and to prepare a plan for completing the project. The Planning Phase exists so
that the IS department and the project sponsors/users can develop an initial vision of the new
system, establish its primary objectives, and perform a preliminary feasibility study that will
evaluate the project's value to the organization and its estimated costs. With this information the
organization's management can objectively assess whether the project has merit. The work done
in this phase helps establish the project scope, define objectives and expectations, develop a plan
for the project, and determine if the project warrants committing additional resources to its
completion.

9. Briefly summarize the purpose of the analysis phase in SDLC. Explain why it exists and
what it contributes to the completion of the system.

Ans: The purpose of the analysis phase is to determine the business needs of the new system and
to develop a preliminary concept for the new system. The Analysis Phase exists in order to
assure that the problems being experienced by the business unit are well understood and will be
resolved through the features and functionality of the proposed system. The Analysis Phase
serves to gather sufficient information to assure that the system will correct the actual problems
of the organizational unit. System objectives will be clarified during this phase, and user and
business requirements will be defined in detail.

10. Briefly summarize the purpose of the design phase in SDLC. Explain why it exists and what
it contributes to the completion of the system.

Ans: The purpose of the design phase is to determine how technology will be used to fulfill the
business needs defined in the Analysis phase. Design decision will be made regarding the
technology infrastructure, user interface, file and database, and program components of the new
system. These system elements must be designed prior to construction so that the system will
meet user and business needs upon implementation.
11. Briefly summarize the purpose of the implementation phase in SDLC. Explain why it exists
and what it contributes to the completion of the system.

Ans: The purpose of the implementation phase is to develop a production version of the system.
The system components that were outlined in the design phase are created using the target
technology, tested, and then introduced to the end users. This phase brings all the previous ideas
into fruition as an actual working system is put into production in the organization.

12. Briefly describe the idea behind structured design approach to systems development.

Ans: Structured design represents a number of methodologies that adopt a formal, step-by-step
approach for proceeding through the SDLC. These methodologies emphasize carefully
determining user requirements on paper prior to actual construction of the system. Waterfall
development model and parallel development model are examples of structured design.

13. Briefly describe the idea behind the RAD approach to systems development.

Ans: The RAD (Rapid Application Development) methodologies attempt to accelerate the
process of developing systems, and also utilize a variety of new tools and techniques that help
avoid the painstaking preparation of paper-based specifications. Most RAD methodologies
recommend the usage of special tools such as CASE tools and special techniques such as joint
application development (JAD) sessions. Such tools and techniques improve the speed and
quality of systems development. However, managing user expectations of what is possible and
what is not becomes difficult in RAD methodologies. Phased development, prototyping and
throwaway prototyping are examples of RAD methodology.

14. Briefly summarize the role and contribution of the Business Analyst, Systems Analyst,
Infrastructure Analyst, Change Management Analyst, and Project Manager on a systems
development project team.

Ans: The Business Analyst role exists to assure that the interests of the end users and project
sponsor are represented on the project team. The Systems Analyst role exists to assure that the
available information technology is applied appropriately to the users/sponsors business needs.
The Infrastructure Analyst role exists to deal with technical concerns about the new systems
hardware, software, and networking components. The Change Management Analyst role exists
to attend to the process of assimilating the new system in the organization. The Project Manager
role exists to ensure timely completion of the project, fulfillment of user/sponsor requirements,
and appropriate usage of project resources.

15. Briefly explain the idea behind extreme programming (XP).

Ans: In XP, developers not only accept change but embrace change. They provide quick
feedback to the end-users on a continuous basis, and follow the KISS principle for system
development. Developers make incremental changes as the system grows in functionality and
size. Continuous testing, programming in pairs by developers and close interactions with end
users are hallmarks of the XP approach. XP relies on refactoring, which is a disciplined way to
keep the code simple.

16. Briefly compare and contrasts the roles and responsibilities of the project manager and the
business analyst.

Ans: The project manager leads the project team; the business analyst is a team member. The
project manager is responsible for overall project success; the business analyst is responsible for
making sure the interests of the users and sponsor are met. The project manager’s primary focus
is on the project; the business analyst’s primary focus is on the business. The project manager
oversees technical and business people on the project team and does not necessarily have to be a
technical wizard or an expert in the business, but it helps if he/she is proficient at both; the
business analysts is the business expert on the team charged with making sure the technology
delivers business value and does not have to be a technical wizard, but it helps if he/she is
proficient with technology.

17. Briefly explain the idea behind Object-Oriented Systems Analysis and Design (OOSAD)

Ans: OOSAD decomposes a problem using both process and data models, emphasizing neither.
It uses “objects” and these carry both data and processes. OOSAD was a response to traditional
approaches that deliberated on whether to focus primarily on data models or on process models.
Emphasizing data models has its benefits as does emphasizing process models. By taking a
balanced approach OOSAD seeks to gain the key benefits from modeling data structures and
process flows.

18. Briefly explain what the creators of the Unified Modeling Language (UML) mean by
use-case driven, architecture centric, and iterative and incremental.

Ans: USE-CASE DRIVEN means that use cases are the primary tools for modeling the
behavior of the system. A use case is a description of the interaction between the system and
the user as the user seeks to accomplish a particular goal. Rather than decomposing processes
into sub-processes, and sub-processes into sub-sub-processes, etc., etc., . . . , as is done in
traditional structural analysis, use cases allow the analyst to focus on one process at a time
without losing track of how all the use cases are interrelated.

ARCHITECTURE CENTRIC means that the development of the system is based on an initial
understanding of the overall software architecture of the system from three perspectives or
views.
 The functional view is a description of the system from the perspective of the user and
Other documents randomly have
different content
with many of your boasted improvements. The schools for the poorer
children, though far less useful than they ought to be, are good in
contrast with the vile surroundings to which they are doomed by your
modern Society. The infusion of a little practical Theosophy would help
a hundred times more in life the poor suffering masses than all this
infusion of (useless) intelligence.
q. But, really——
eo. Let me finish, please. You have opened a subject on which we
Theosophists feel deeply, and I must have my say. I quite agree that
there is a great advantage to a small child bred in the slums, having
the gutter for playground, and living amid continued coarseness of
gesture and word, in being placed daily in a bright, clean school-room
hung with pictures, and often gay with flowers. There it is taught to be
clean, gentle, orderly; there it learns to sing and to play; has toys that
awaken its intelligence; learns to use its fingers deftly; is spoken to
with a smile instead of a frown; is gently rebuked or coaxed instead of
cursed. All this humanises the children, arouses their brains, and
renders them susceptible to intellectual and moral influences. The
schools are not all they might be and ought to be; but, compared with
the homes, they are paradises; and they slowly are reacting on the
homes. But while this is true of many of the Board schools, your
system deserves the worst one can say of it.
q. So be it; go on.
eo. What is the real object of modern education? Is it to cultivate and
develop the mind in the right direction; to teach the disinherited and
hapless people to carry with fortitude the burden of life (allotted them
by Karma); to strengthen their will; to inculcate in them the love of
one’s neighbour and the feeling of mutual interdependence and
brotherhood; and thus to train and form the character for practical life?
Not a bit of it. And yet, these are undeniably the objects of all true
education. No one denies it; all your educationalists admit it, and talk
very big indeed on the subject. But what is the practical result of their
action? Every young man and boy, nay, every one of the younger
generation of schoolmasters will answer: “The object of modern
education is to pass examinations,” a system not to develop right
emulation, but to generate and breed jealousy, envy, hatred almost, in
young people for one another, and thus train them for a life of
ferocious selfishness and struggle for honours and emoluments instead
of kindly feeling.
q. I must admit you are right there.
eo. And what are these examinations—the terror of modern boyhood
and youth? They are simply a method of classification by which the
results of your school teaching are tabulated. In other words, they form
the practical application of the modern science methods to the genus
homo, qua intellection. Now “science” teaches that intellect is a result
of the mechanical interaction of the brain-stuff; therefore it is only
logical that modern education should be almost entirely mechanical—a
sort of automatic machine for the fabrication of intellect by the ton.
Very little experience of examinations is enough to show that the
education they produce is simply a training of the physical memory,
and, sooner or later, all your schools will sink to this level. As to any
real, sound cultivation of the thinking and reasoning power, it is simply
impossible while everything has to be judged by the results as tested
by competitive examinations. Again, school training is of the very
greatest importance in forming character, especially in its moral
bearing. Now, from first to last, your modern system is based on the
so-called scientific revelations: “The struggle for existence” and the
“survival of the fittest.” All through his early life, every man has these
driven into him by practical example and experience, as well as by
direct teaching, till it is impossible to eradicate from his mind the idea
that “self,” the lower, personal, animal self, is the end-all, and be-all, of
life. Here you get the great source of all the after-misery, crime, and
heartless selfishness, which you admit as much as I do. Selfishness, as
said over and over again, is the curse of humanity, and the prolific
parent of all the evils and crimes in this life; and it is your schools
which are the hotbeds of such selfishness.
q. That is all very fine as generalities, but I should like a few facts, and
to learn also how this can be remedied.
eo.Very well, I will try and satisfy you. There are three great divisions of
scholastic establishments, board, middle-class and public schools,
running up the scale from the most grossly commercial to the idealistic
classical, with many permutations and combinations. The practical
commercial begets the modern side, and the ancient and orthodox
classical reflects its heavy respectability even as far as the School Board
pupil teacher’s establishments. Here we plainly see the scientific and
material commercial supplanting the effete orthodox and classical.
Neither is the reason very far to seek. The objects of this branch of
education are, then, pounds, shillings, and pence, the summum bonum
of the XIXth century. Thus, the energies generated by the brain
molecules of its adherents are all concentrated on one point, and are,
therefore, to some extent, an organized army of educated and
speculative intellects of the minority of men, trained against the hosts
of the ignorant, simple-minded masses doomed to be vampirised, lived
and sat upon by their intellectually stronger brethren. Such training is
not only untheosophical, it is simply UNCHRISTIAN. Result: The direct
outcome of this branch of education is an overflooding of the market
with money-making machines, with heartless selfish men—animals—
who have been most carefully trained to prey on their fellows and take
advantage of the ignorance of their weaker brethren!
q. Well, but you cannot assert that of our great public schools, at any
rate?
eo.Not exactly, it is true. But though the form is different, the animating
spirit is the same: untheosophical and unchristian, whether Eton and
Harrow turn out scientists or divines and theologians.
q. Surely you don’t mean to call Eton and Harrow “commercial”?
eo. No. Of course the Classical system is above all things respectable,
and in the present day is productive of some good. It does still remain
the favourite at our great public schools, where not only an intellectual,
but also a social education is obtainable. It is, therefore, of prime
importance that the dull boys of aristocratic and wealthy parents should
go to such schools to meet the rest of the young life of the “blood” and
money classes. But unfortunately there is a huge competition even for
entrance; for the moneyed classes are increasing, and poor but clever
boys seek to enter the public schools by the rich scholarships, both at
the schools themselves and from them to the Universities.
q. According to this view, the wealthier “dullards” have to work even
harder than their poorer fellows?
eo.It is so. But, strange to say, the faithful of the cult of the “Survival of
the fittest” do not practice their creed; for their whole exertion is to
make the naturally unfit supplant the fit. Thus, by bribes of large sums
of money, they allure the best teachers from their natural pupils to
mechanicalise their naturally unfit progeny into professions which they
uselessly overcrowd.
q. And you attribute all this to what?
eo. All this is owing to the perniciousness of a system which turns out
goods to order, irrespective of the natural proclivities and talents of the
youth. The poor little candidate for this progressive paradise of
learning, comes almost straight from the nursery to the treadmill of a
preparatory school for sons of gentlemen. Here he is immediately
seized upon by the workmen of the materio-intellectual factory, and
crammed with Latin, French and Greek Accidence, Dates and Tables, so
that if he have any natural genius it is rapidly squeezed out of him by
the rollers of what Carlyle has so well-called “dead vocables.”
q.But surely he is taught something besides “dead vocables,” and much
of that which may lead him direct to Theosophy, if not entirely into the
Theosophical Society?
eo. Not much. For of history, he will attain only sufficient knowledge of
his own particular nation to fit him with a steel armour of prejudice
against all other peoples, and be steeped in the foul cess-pools of
chronicled national hate and blood-thirstiness; and surely, you would
not call that—Theosophy?
q. What are your further objections?
eo. Added to this is a smattering of selected, so-called, Biblical facts,
from the study of which all intellect is eliminated. It is simply a memory
lesson, the “Why” of the teacher being a “Why” of circumstances and
not of reason.
q.Yes; but I have heard you congratulate yourself at the ever-increasing
number of the Agnostics and Atheists in our day, so that it appears that
even people trained in the system you abuse so heartily do learn to
think and reason for themselves.
eo. Yes; but it is rather owing to a healthy reaction from that system
than due to it. We prefer immeasurably more in our Society Agnostics,
and even rank Atheists, to bigots of whatever religion. An Agnostic’s
mind is ever opened to the truth; whereas the latter blinds the bigot
like the sun does an owl. The best—i.e., the most truth-loving,
philanthropic, and honest—of our Fellows were, and are, Agnostics and
Atheists (disbelievers in a personal God). But there are no free-thinking
boys and girls, and generally early training will leave its mark behind in
the shape of a cramped and distorted mind. A proper and sane system
of education should produce the most vigorous and liberal mind, strictly
trained in logical and accurate thought, and not in blind faith. How can
you ever expect good results, while you pervert the reasoning faculty of
your children by bidding them believe in the miracles of the Bible on
Sunday, while for the six other days of the week you teach them that
such things are scientifically impossible?
q. What would you have, then?
eo. If we had money, we would found schools which would turn out
something else than reading and writing candidates for starvation.
Children should above all be taught self-reliance, love for all men,
altruism, mutual charity, and more than anything else, to think and
reason for themselves. We would reduce the purely mechanical work of
the memory to an absolute minimum, and devote the time to the
development and training of the inner senses, faculties and latent
capacities. We would endeavour to deal with each child as a unit, and
to educate it so as to produce the most harmonious and equal
unfoldment of its powers, in order that its special aptitudes should find
their full natural development. We should aim at creating free men and
women, free intellectually, free morally, unprejudiced in all respects,
and above all things, unselfish. And we believe that much if not all of
this could be obtained by proper and truly theosophical education.
WHY, THEN, IS THERE SO MUCH PREJUDICE
AGAINST THE T.S.?
q. If Theosophy is even half of what you say, why should there exist
such a terrible ill-feeling against it? This is even more of a problem than
anything else.
eo. It is; but you must bear in mind how many powerful adversaries we
have aroused ever since the formation of our Society. As I just said, if
the Theosophical movement were one of those numerous modern
crazes, as harmless at the end as they are evanescent, it would be
simply laughed at—as it is now by those who still do not understand its
real purport—and left severely alone. But it is nothing of the kind.
Intrinsically, Theosophy is the most serious movement of this age; and
one, moreover, which threatens the very life of most of the time-
honoured humbugs, prejudices, and social evils of the day—those evils
which fatten and make happy the upper ten and their imitators and
sycophants, the wealthy dozens of the middle classes, while they
positively crush and starve out of existence the millions of the poor.
Think of this, and you will easily understand the reason of such a
relentless persecution by those others who, more observant and
perspicacious, do see the true nature of Theosophy, and therefore
dread it.
q. Do you mean to tell me that it is because a few have understood
what Theosophy leads to, that they try to crush the movement? But if
Theosophy leads only to good, surely you cannot be prepared to utter
such a terrible accusation of perfidious heartlessness and treachery
even against those few?
eo. I am so prepared, on the contrary. I do not call the enemies we have
had to battle with during the first nine or ten years of the Society’s
existence either powerful or “dangerous”; but only those who have
arisen against us in the last three or four years. And these neither
speak, write nor preach against Theosophy, but work in silence and
behind the backs of the foolish puppets who act as their visible
marionnettes. Yet if invisible to most of the members of our Society,
they are well known to the true “Founders” and the protectors of our
Society. But they must remain for certain reasons unnamed at present.
q. And are they known to many of you, or to yourself alone?
eo. I never said I knew them. I may or may not know them—but I know
of them, and this is sufficient; and I defy them to do their worst. They
may achieve great mischief and throw confusion into our ranks,
especially among the faint-hearted, and those who can judge only by
appearances. They will not crush the Society, do what they may. Apart
from these truly dangerous enemies—“dangerous,” however, only to
those Theosophists who are unworthy of the name, and whose place is
rather outside than within the T.S.—the number of our opponents is
more than considerable.
q. Can you name these, at least, if you will not speak of the others?
eo. Of course I can. We have to contend against (1) the hatred of the
Spiritualists, American, English, and French; (2) the constant opposition
of the clergy of all denominations; (3) especially the relentless hatred
and persecution of the missionaries in India; (4) this led to the famous
and infamous attack on our Theosophical Society by the Society for
Psychical Research, an attack which was stirred up by a regular
conspiracy organized by the missionaries in India. Lastly, we must
count the defection of various prominent (?) members, for reasons I
have already explained, all of whom have contributed their utmost to
increase the prejudice against us.
q.Cannot you give me more details about these, so that I may know
what to answer when asked—a brief history of the Society, in short;
and why the world believes all this?
eo.The reason is simple. Most outsiders knew absolutely nothing of the
Society itself, its motives, objects or beliefs. From its very beginning the
world has seen in Theosophy nothing but certain marvellous
phenomena, in which two-thirds of the non-spiritualists do not believe.
Very soon the Society came to be regarded as a body pretending to the
possession of “miraculous” powers. The world never realised that the
Society taught absolute disbelief in miracle or even the possibility of
such; that in the Society there were only a few people who possessed
such psychic powers and but few who cared for them. Nor did it
understand that the phenomena were never produced publicly, but only
privately for friends, and merely given as an accessory, to prove by
direct demonstration that such things could be produced without dark
rooms, spirits, mediums, or any of the usual paraphernalia.
Unfortunately, this misconception was greatly strengthened and
exaggerated by the first book on the subject which excited much
attention in Europe—Mr. Sinnett’s “Occult World.” If this work did much
to bring the Society into prominence, it attracted still more obloquy,
derision and misrepresentation upon the hapless heroes and heroine
thereof. Of this the author was more than warned in the Occult World,
but did not pay attention to the prophecy—for such it was, though half-
veiled.
q. For what, and since when, do the Spiritualists hate you?
eo. From the first day of the Society’s existence. No sooner the fact
became known that, as a body, the T.S. did not believe in
communications with the spirits of the dead, but regarded the so-called
“spirits” as, for the most part, astral reflections of disembodied
personalities, shells, etc., than the Spiritualists conceived a violent
hatred to us and especially to the Founders. This hatred found
expression in every kind of slander, uncharitable personal remarks, and
absurd misrepresentations of the Theosophical teachings in all the
American Spiritualistic organs. For years we were persecuted,
denounced and abused. This began in 1875 and continues to the
present day. In 1879, the headquarters of the T.S. were transferred
from New York to Bombay, India, and then permanently to Madras.
When the first branch of our Society, the British T.S., was founded in
London, the English Spiritualists came out in arms against us, as the
Americans had done; and the French Spiritists followed suit.
q. But why should the clergy be hostile to you, when, after all, the main
tendency of the Theosophical doctrines is opposed to Materialism, the
great enemy of all forms of religion in our day? Theo. The Clergy
opposed us on the general principle that “He who is not with me is
against me.” Since Theosophy does not agree with any one Sect or
Creed, it is considered the enemy of all alike, because it teaches that
they are all, more or less, mistaken. The missionaries in India hated
and tried to crush us because they saw the flower of the educated
Indian youth and the Brahmins, who are almost inaccessible to them,
joining the Society in large numbers. And yet, apart from this general
class hatred, the T.S. counts in its ranks many clergymen, and even one
or two bishops.
q.And what led the S.P.R. to take the field against you? You were both
pursuing the same line of study, in some respects, and several of the
Psychic Researchers belonged to your society.
eo. First of all we were very good friends with the leaders of the S.P.R.;
but when the attack on the phenomena appeared in the Christian
College Magazine, supported by the pretended revelations of a menial,
the S.P.R. found that they had compromised themselves by publishing
in their “Proceedings” too many of the phenomena which had occurred
in connection with the T.S. Their ambition is to pose as an authoritative
and strictly scientific body; so that they had to choose between
retaining that position by throwing overboard the T.S. and even trying
to destroy it, and seeing themselves merged, in the opinion of the
Sadducees of the grand monde, with the “credulous” Theosophists and
Spiritualists. There was no way for them out of it, no two choices, and
they chose to throw us overboard. It was a matter of dire necessity for
them. But so hard pressed were they to find any apparently reasonable
motive for the life of devotion and ceaseless labour led by the two
Founders, and for the complete absence of any pecuniary profit or
other advantage to them, that our enemies were obliged to resort to
the thrice-absurd, eminently ridiculous, and now famous “Russian spy
theory,” to explain this devotion. But the old saying, “The blood of the
martyr is the seed of the Church,” proved once more correct. After the
first shock of this attack, the T.S. doubled and tripled its numbers, but
the bad impression produced still remains. A French author was right in
saying, “Calomniez, calomniez toujours et encore, il en restera toujours
quelque chose.” Therefore it is, that unjust prejudices are current, and
that everything connected with the T.S., and especially with its
Founders, is so falsely distorted, because based on malicious hearsay
alone.
q.Yet in the 14 years during which the Society has existed, you must
have had ample time and opportunity to show yourselves and your
work in their true light?
eo. How, or when, have we been given such an opportunity? Our most
prominent members had an aversion to anything that looked like
publicly justifying themselves. Their policy has ever been: “We must
live it down”; and “What does it matter what the newspapers say, or
people think?” The Society was too poor to send out public lecturers,
and therefore the expositions of our views and doctrines were confined
to a few Theosophical works that met with success, but which people
often misunderstood, or only knew of through hearsay. Our journals
were, and still are, boycotted; our literary works ignored; and to this
day no one seems even to feel quite certain whether the Theosophists
are a kind of Serpent-and-Devil worshippers, or simply “Esoteric
Buddhists”—whatever that may mean. It was useless for us to go on
denying, day after day and year after year, every kind of inconceivable
cock-and-bull stories about us; for, no sooner was one disposed of,
than another, a still more absurd and malicious one, was born out of
the ashes of the first. Unfortunately, human nature is so constituted
that any good said of a person is immediately forgotten and never
repeated. But one has only to utter a calumny, or to start a story—no
matter how absurd, false or incredible it may be, if only it is connected
with some unpopular character—for it to be successful and forthwith
accepted as a historical fact. Like Don Basilio’s “Calumnia,” the rumour
springs up, at first, as a soft gentle breeze hardly stirring the grass
under your feet, and arising no one knows whence; then, in the
shortest space of time, it is transformed into a strong wind, begins to
blow a gale, and forthwith becomes a roaring storm! A calumny among
news, is what an octopus is among fishes; it sucks into one’s mind,
fastens upon our memory, which feeds upon it, leaving indelible marks
even after the calumny has been bodily destroyed. A calumnious lie is
the only master-key that will open any and every brain. It is sure to
receive welcome and hospitality in every human mind, the highest as
the lowest, if only a little prejudiced, and no matter from however base
a quarter and motive it has started.
q. Don’t you think your assertion altogether too sweeping? The
Englishman has never been over-ready to believe in anything said, and
our nation is proverbially known for its love of fair play. A lie has no
legs to stand upon for long, and—
eo. The Englishman is as ready to believe evil as a man of any other
nation; for it is human nature, and not a national feature. As to lies, if
they have no legs to stand upon, according to the proverb, they have
exceedingly rapid wings; and they can and do fly farther and wider
than any other kind of news, in England as elsewhere. Remember lies
and calumny are the only kind of literature we can always get gratis,
and without paying any subscription. We can make the experiment if
you like. Will you, who are so interested in Theosophical matters, and
have heard so much about us, will you put me questions on as many of
these rumours and “hearsays” as you can think of? I will answer you
the truth, and nothing but the truth, subject to the strictest verification.
q. Before we change the subject, let us have the whole truth on this
one. Now, some writers have called your teachings “immoral and
pernicious”; others, on the ground that many so-called “authorities”
and Orientalists find in the Indian religions nothing but sex-worship in
its many forms, accuse you of teaching nothing better than Phallic
worship. They say that since modern Theosophy is so closely allied with
Eastern, and particularly Indian, thought, it cannot be free from this
taint. Occasionally, even, they go so far as to accuse European
Theosophists of reviving the practices connected with this cult. How
about this?
eo. I have heard and read about this before, and I answer that no more
utterly baseless and lying calumny has ever been invented and
circulated. “Silly people can see but silly dreams,” says a Russian
proverb. It makes one’s blood boil to hear such vile accusations made
without the slightest foundation, and on the strength of mere
inferences. Ask the hundreds of honourable English men and women
who have been members of the Theosophical Society for years whether
an immoral precept or a pernicious doctrine was ever taught to them.
Open the Secret Doctrine, and you will find page after page
denouncing the Jews and other nations precisely on account of this
devotion to Phallic rites, due to the dead letter interpretation of nature
symbolism, and the grossly materialistic conceptions of her dualism in
all the exoteric creeds. Such ceaseless and malicious misrepresentation
of our teachings and beliefs is really disgraceful.
q. But you cannot deny that the Phallic element does exist in the
religions of the East?
eo. Nor do I deny it; only I maintain that this proves no more than does
its presence in Christianity, the religion of the West. Read Hargrave
Jenning’s Rosicrucians, if you would assure yourself of it. In the East,
the Phallic symbolism is, perhaps, more crude, because more true to
nature, or I would rather say, more naïve and sincere than in the West.
But it is not more licentious, nor does it suggest to the Oriental mind
the same gross and coarse ideas as to the Western, with, perhaps, one
or two exceptions, such as the shameful sect known as the
“Maharajah,” or Vallabhachârya sect.
q. A writer in the Agnostic journal—one of your accusers—has just
hinted that the followers of this disgraceful sect are Theosophists, and
“claim true Theosophic insight.”
eo. He wrote a falsehood, and that’s all. There never was, nor is there at
present, one single Vallabhachârya in our Society. As to their having, or
claiming Theosophic insight, that is another fib, based on crass
ignorance about the Indian Sects. Their “Maharajah” only claims a right
to the money, wives and daughters of his foolish followers and no
more. This sect is despised by all the other Hindus.
But you will find the whole subject dealt with at length in the Secret
Doctrine, to which I must again refer you for detailed explanations. To
conclude, the very soul of Theosophy is dead against Phallic worship;
and its occult or esoteric section more so even than the exoteric
teachings. There never was a more lying statement made than the
above. And now ask me some other questions.

IS THE THEOSOPHICAL SOCIETY A


MONEY-MAKING CONCERN?
q. Agreed. Well, have either of the Founders, Colonel H. S. Olcott or H.
P. Blavatsky, ever made any money, profit, or derived any worldly
benefit from the T.S., as some papers say?
eo. Not one penny. The papers lie. On the contrary, they have both given
all they had, and literally beggared themselves. As for “worldly
benefits,” think of the calumnies and vilification they have been
subjected to, and then ask the question!
q. Yet I have read in a good many missionary organs that the entrance
fees and subscriptions much more than covered all expenses; and one
said that the Founders were making twenty thousand pounds a year!
eo. This is a fib, like many others. In the published accounts of January,
1889, you will find an exact statement of all the money ever received
from any source since 1879. The total received from all sources
(entrance fees, donations, etc., etc.) during these ten years is under six
thousand pounds, and of this a large part was contributed by the
Founders themselves from the proceeds of their private resources and
their literary work. All this has been openly and officially admitted, even
by our enemies, the Psychic Research Society. And now both the
Founders are penniless; one, too old and ill to work as she did before,
unable to spare time for outside literary work to help the Society in
money, can only write for the Theosophical cause; the other keeps
labouring for it as before, and receives as little thanks for it.
q. But surely they need money to live?
eo.Not at all. So long as they have food and lodging, even though they
owe it to the devotion of a few friends, they need little more.
q. But could not Madame Blavatsky, especially, make more than enough
to live upon by her writings?
eo.When in India she received on the average some thousand rupees a
year for articles contributed to Russian and other papers, but gave it all
away to the Society.
q. Political articles?
eo. Never. Everything she has written throughout the seven years of her
stay in India is all there in print. It deals only with the religions,
ethnology, and customs of India, and with Theosophy—never with
politics, of which she knows nothing and cares less. Again, two years
ago she refused several contracts amounting together to about 1,200
roubles in gold per month; for she could not accept them without
abandoning her work for the Society, which needed all her time and
strength. She has documents to prove it.
q.But why could not both she and Colonel Olcott do as others—notably
many Theosophists—do; follow out their respective professions and
devote the surplus of their time to the work of the Society?
eo. Because by serving two masters, either the professional or the
philanthropic work would have had to suffer. Every true Theosophist is
morally bound to sacrifice the personal to the impersonal, his own
present good to the future benefit of other people. If the Founders do
not set the example, who will?
q. And are there many who follow it?
eo. I am bound to answer you the truth. In Europe about half-a-dozen in
all, out of more than that number of Branches.
q.Then it is not true that the Theosophical Society has a large capital or
endowment of its own?
eo. It is false, for it has none at all. Now that the entrance fee of £1 and
the small annual due have been abolished, it is even a doubtful
question whether the staff at the headquarters in India will not soon be
starved to death.
q. Then why not raise subscriptions?
eo. We are not the Salvation Army; we cannot and have never begged;
nor have we ever followed the example of the Churches and sects and
“taken up collections.” That which is occasionally sent for the support of
the Society, the small sums contributed by some devoted Fellows, are
all voluntary donations.
q.But I have heard of large sums of money given to Mdme. Blavatsky. It
was said four years ago that she got £5,000 from one rich, young
“Fellow,” who went out to join them in India and £10,000 from another
wealthy and well-known American gentleman, one of your members
who died in Europe four years ago.
eo. Say to those who told you this, that they either themselves utter, or
repeat, a gross falsehood. Never has “Madame Blavatsky” asked or
received ONE PENNY from the two above-named gentlemen, nor
anything like that from anyone else, since the Theosophical Society was
founded. Let any man living try to substantiate this calumny, and it will
be easier for him to prove that the Bank of England is a bankrupt than
that the said “Founder” has ever made any money out of Theosophy.
These two calumnies have been started by two high-born ladies,
belonging to the London aristocracy, and have been immediately traced
and disproved. They are the dead bodies, the carcases of two
inventions, which, after having been buried in the sea of oblivion, are
once more raised on the surface of the stagnant waters of slander.
q. Then I have been told of several large legacies left to the T.S. One—
some £8,000—was left to it by some eccentric Englishman, who did not
even belong to the Society. The other—£3,000 or £4,000—were
testated by an Australian F.T.S. Is this true?
eo. I heard of the first; and I also know that, whether legally left or not,
the T.S. has never profited by it, nor have the Founders ever been
officially notified of it. For, as our Society was not then a chartered
body, and thus had no legal existence, the Judge at the Court of
Probate, as we were told, paid no attention to such legacy and turned
over the sum to the heirs. So much for the first. As for the second, it is
quite true. The testator was one of our devoted Fellows, and willed all
he had to the T.S. But when the President, Colonel Olcott, came to look
into the matter, he found that the testator had children whom he had
disinherited for some family reasons. Therefore, he called a council,
and it was decided that the legacy should be refused, and the moneys
passed to the legal heirs. The Theosophical Society would be untrue to
its name were it to profit by money to which others are entitled
virtually, at any rate on Theosophical principles, if not legally.
q. Again, and I say this on the authority of your own Journal, the
Theosophist, there’s a Rajah of India who donated to the Society
25,000 rupees. Have you not thanked him for his great bounty in the
January Theosophist for 1888?
eo.We have, in these words, “That the thanks of the Convention be
conveyed to H. H. the Maharajah ... for his promised munificent gift of
Rupees 25,000 to the Society’s Fund.” The thanks were duly conveyed,
but the money is still a “promise,” and has never reached the
Headquarters.
q.But surely, if the Maharajah promised and received thanks for his gift
publicly and in print, he will be as good as his promise?
eo.He may, though the promise is 18 months old. I speak of the present
and not of the future.
q. Then how do you propose to go on?
eo.So long as the T.S. has a few devoted members willing to work for it
without reward and thanks, so long as a few good Theosophists
support it with occasional donations, so long will it exist, and nothing
can crush it.
q. I have heard many Theosophists speak of a “power behind the
Society” and of certain “Mahatmas,” mentioned also in Mr. Sinnett’s
works, that are said to have founded the Society, to watch over and
protect it.
eo. You may laugh, but it is so.

THE WORKING STAFF OF THE T.S.


q. These men, I have heard, are great Adepts, Alchemists, and what
not. If, then, they can change lead into gold and make as much money
as they like, besides doing all kinds of miracles at will, as related in Mr.
Sinnett’s “Occult World,” why do not they find you money, and support
the Founders and the Society in comfort?
eo. Because they did not found a “miracle club.” Because the Society is
intended to help men to develop the powers latent in them through
their own exertions and merit. Because whatever they may or may not
produce in the way of phenomena, they are not false coiners; nor
would they throw an additional and very strong temptation on the path
of members and candidates: Theosophy is not to be bought. Hitherto,
for the past 14 years, not a single working member has ever received
pay or salary from either the Masters or the Society.
q. Then are none of your workers paid at all?
eo. Till now, not one. But as every one has to eat, drink, and clothe
himself, all those who are without any means of their own, and devote
their whole time to the work of the society, are provided with the
necessaries of life at the Headquarters at Madras, India, though these
“necessaries” are humble enough, in truth! (See Rules at the end.) But
now that the Society’s work has increased so greatly and still goes on
in increasing (N.B., owing to slanders) in Europe, we need more
working hands. We hope to have a few members who will henceforth
be remunerated—if the word can be used in the cases in question. For
every one of these Fellows, who are preparing to give all their time to
the Society, are quitting good official situations with excellent
prospects, to work for us at less than half their former salary.
q. And who will provide the funds for this?
eo.Some of our Fellows who are just a little richer than the rest. The
man who would speculate or make money on Theosophy would be
unworthy to remain in our ranks.
q. But you must surely make money by your books, magazines, and
other publications?
eo. The Theosophist of Madras, alone among the magazines, pays a
profit, and this has regularly been turned over to the Society, year by
year, as the published accounts show. Lucifer is slowly but steadily
ingulfing money, never yet having paid expenses—thanks to its being
boycotted by the pious booksellers and railway stalls. The Lotus, in
France—started on the private and not very large means of a
Theosophist, who has devoted to it his whole time and labour—has
ceased to exist, owing to the same causes, alas! Nor does the New
York Path pay its way, while the Revue Théosophique of Paris has only
just been started, also from the private means of a lady-member.
Moreover, whenever any of the works issued by the Theosophical
Publishing Company in London do pay, the proceeds will be devoted to
the service of the Society.
q. And now please tell me all you can about the Mahatmas. So many
absurd and contradictory things are said about them, that one does not
know what to believe, and all sorts of ridiculous stories become
current.
eo. Well may you call them “ridiculous!”
XIV.
THE “THEOSOPHICAL MAHATMAS.”

ARE THEY “SPIRITS OF LIGHT” OR “GOBLINS


DAMN’D”?
q. Who are they, finally, those whom you call your “Masters”? Some say
they are “Spirits,” or some other kind of supernatural beings, while
others call them “myths.”
eo.They are neither. I once heard one outsider say to another that they
were a sort of male mermaids, whatever such a creature may be. But if
you listen to what people say, you will never have a true conception of
them. In the first place they are living men, born as we are born, and
doomed to die like every other mortal.
q. Yes, but it is rumoured that some of them are a thousand years old.
Is this true?
eo. As true as the miraculous growth of hair on the head of Meredith’s
Shagpat. Truly, like the “Identical,” no Theosophical shaving has
hitherto been able to crop it. The more we deny them, the more we try
to set people right, the more absurd do the inventions become. I have
heard of Methuselah being 969 years old; but, not being forced to
believe in it, have laughed at the statement, for which I was forthwith
regarded by many as a blasphemous heretic.
q. Seriously, though, do they outlive the ordinary age of men?
eo. What do you call the ordinary age? I remember reading in the Lancet
of a Mexican who was almost 190 years old; but I have never heard of
mortal man, layman, or Adept, who could live even half the years
allotted to Methuselah. Some Adepts do exceed, by a good deal, what
you would call the ordinary age; yet there is nothing miraculous in it,
and very few of them care to live very long.
q. But what does the word “Mahatma” really mean?
eo. Simply a “great soul,” great through moral elevation and intellectual
attainment. If the title of great is given to a drunken soldier like
Alexander, why should we not call those “Great” who have achieved far
greater conquests in Nature’s secrets, than Alexander ever did on the
field of battle? Besides, the term is an Indian and a very old word.
q. And why do you call them “Masters”?
eo. We call them “Masters” because they are our teachers; and because
from them we have derived all the Theosophical truths, however
inadequately some of us may have expressed, and others understood,
them. They are men of great learning, whom we term Initiates, and
still greater holiness of life. They are not ascetics in the ordinary sense,
though they certainly remain apart from the turmoil and strife of your
western world.
q. But is it not selfish thus to isolate themselves?
eo. Where is the selfishness? Does not the fate of the Theosophical
Society sufficiently prove that the world is neither ready to recognise
them nor to profit by their teaching? Of what use would Professor Clerk
Maxwell have been to instruct a class of little boys in their
multiplication-table? Besides, they isolate themselves only from the
West. In their own country they go about as publicly as other people
do.
q. Don’t you ascribe to them supernatural powers?
eo. We believe in nothing supernatural, as I have told you already. Had
Edison lived and invented his phonograph two hundred years ago, he
would most probably have been burnt along with it, and the whole
attributed to the devil. The powers which they exercise are simply the
development of potencies lying latent in every man and woman, and
the existence of which even official science begins to recognise.
q. Is it true that these men inspire some of your writers, and that many,
if not all, of your Theosophical works were written under their
dictation?
eo. Some have. There are passages entirely dictated by them and
verbatim, but in most cases they only inspire the ideas and leave the
literary form to the writers.
q. But this in itself is miraculous; is, in fact, a miracle. How can they do
it?
eo. My dear Sir, you are labouring under a great mistake, and it is
science itself that will refute your arguments at no distant day. Why
should it be a “miracle,” as you call it? A miracle is supposed to mean
some operation which is supernatural, whereas there is really nothing
above or beyond Nature and Nature’s laws. Among the many forms of
the “miracle” which have come under modern scientific recognition,
there is Hypnotism, and one phase of its power is known as
“Suggestion,” a form of thought transference, which has been
successfully used in combating particular physical diseases, etc. The
time is not far distant when the World of Science will be forced to
acknowledge that there exists as much interaction between one mind
and another, no matter at what distance, as between one body and
another in closest contact. When two minds are sympathetically
related, and the instruments through which they function are tuned to
respond magnetically and electrically to one another, there is nothing
which will prevent the transmission of thoughts from one to the other,
at will; for since the mind is not of a tangible nature, that distance can
divide it from the subject of its contemplation, it follows that the only
difference that can exist between two minds is a difference of STATE.
So if this latter hindrance is overcome, where is the “miracle” of
thought transference, at whatever distance?
q.But you will admit that Hypnotism does nothing so miraculous or
wonderful as that?
eo. On the contrary, it is a well-established fact that a Hypnotist can
affect the brain of his subject so far as to produce an expression of his
own thoughts, and even his words, through the organism of his
subject; and although the phenomena attaching to this method of
actual thought transference are as yet few in number, no one, I
presume, will undertake to say how far their action may extend in the
future, when the laws that govern their production are more
scientifically established. And so, if such results can be produced by the
knowledge of the mere rudiments of Hypnotism, what can prevent the
Adept in Psychic and Spiritual powers from producing results which,
with your present limited knowledge of their laws, you are inclined to
call “miraculous”?
q.Then why do not our physicians experiment and try if they could not
do as much?[56]
eo. Because, first of all, they are not Adepts with a thorough
understanding of the secrets and laws of psychic and spiritual realms,
but materialists, afraid to step outside the narrow groove of matter;
and, secondly, because they must fail at present, and indeed until they
are brought to acknowledge that such powers are attainable.
q. And could they be taught?
eo.Not unless they were first of all prepared, by having the materialistic
dross they have accumulated in their brains swept away to the very last
atom.
q. This is very interesting. Tell me, have the Adepts thus inspired or
dictated to many of your Theosophists?
eo. No, on the contrary, to very few. Such operations require special
conditions. An unscrupulous but skilled Adept of the Black Brotherhood
(“Brothers of the Shadow,” and Dugpas, we call them) has far less
difficulties to labour under. For, having no laws of the Spiritual kind to
trammel his actions, such a Dugpa “sorcerer” will most
unceremoniously obtain control over any mind, and subject it entirely
to his evil powers. But our Masters will never do that. They have no
right, except by falling into Black Magic, to obtain full mastery over
anyone’s immortal Ego, and can therefore act only on the physical and
psychic nature of the subject, leaving thereby the free will of the latter
wholly undisturbed. Hence, unless a person has been brought into
psychic relationship with the Masters, and is assisted by virtue of his
full faith in, and devotion to, his Teachers, the latter, whenever
transmitting their thoughts to one with whom these conditions are not
fulfilled, experience great difficulties in penetrating into the cloudy
chaos of that person’s sphere. But this is no place to treat of a subject
of this nature. Suffice it to say, that if the power exists, then there are
Intelligences (embodied or disembodied) which guide this power, and
living conscious instruments through whom it is transmitted and by
whom it is received. We have only to beware of black magic.
q. But what do you really mean by “black magic”?
eo. Simply abuse of psychic powers, or of any secret of nature; the fact
of applying to selfish and sinful ends the powers of Occultism. A
hypnotiser, who, taking advantage of his powers of “suggestion,” forces
a subject to steal or murder, would be called a black magician by us.
The famous “rejuvenating system” of Dr. Brown-Sequard, of Paris,
through a loathsome animal injection into human blood—a discovery all
the medical papers of Europe are now discussing—if true, is
unconscious black magic.
q.But this is mediæval belief in witchcraft and sorcery! Even Law itself
has ceased to believe in such things?
eo. So much the worse for law, as it has been led, through such a lack of
discrimination, into committing more than one judiciary mistake and
crime. It is the term alone that frightens you with its “superstitious”
ring in it. Would not law punish an abuse of hypnotic powers, as I just
mentioned? Nay, it has so punished it already in France and Germany;
yet it would indignantly deny that it applied punishment to a crime of
evident sorcery. You cannot believe in the efficacy and reality of the
powers of suggestion by physicians and mesmerisers (or hypnotisers),
and then refuse to believe in the same powers when used for evil
motives. And if you do, then you believe in Sorcery. Yon cannot believe
in good and disbelieve in evil, accept genuine money and refuse to
credit such a thing as false coin. Nothing can exist without its contrast,
and no day, no light, no good could have any representation as such in
your consciousness, were there no night, darkness nor evil to offset
and contrast them.
q.Indeed, I have known men, who, while thoroughly believing in that
which you call great psychic, or magic powers, laughed at the very
mention of Witchcraft and Sorcery.
eo.What does it prove? Simply that they are illogical. So much the
worse for them, again. And we, knowing as we do of the existence of
good and holy Adepts, believe as thoroughly in the existence of bad
and unholy Adepts, or—Dugpas.
q. But if the Masters exist, why don’t they come out before all men and
refute once for all the many charges which are made against Mdme.
Blavatsky and the Society?
eo. What charges?
q. That they do not exist, and that she has invented them. That they are
men of straw, “Mahatmas of muslin and bladders.” Does not all this
injure her reputation?
eo. In what way can such an accusation injure her in reality? Did she
ever make money on their presumed existence, or derive benefit, or
fame, therefrom? I answer that she has gained only insults, abuse, and
calumnies, which would have been very painful had she not learned
long ago to remain perfectly indifferent to such false charges. For what
does it amount to, after all? Why, to an implied compliment, which, if
the fools, her accusers, were not carried away by their blind hatred,
they would have thought twice before uttering. To say that she has
invented the Masters comes to this: She must have invented every bit
of philosophy that has ever been given out in Theosophical literature.
She must be the author of the letters from which “Esoteric Buddhism”
was written; the sole inventor of every tenet found in the “Secret
Doctrine,” which, if the world were just, would be recognised as
supplying many of the missing links of science, as will be discovered a
hundred years hence. By saying what they do, they are also giving her
the credit of being far cleverer than the hundreds of men, (many very
clever and not a few scientific men,) who believe in what she says—
inasmuch as she must have fooled them all! If they speak the truth,
then she must be several Mahatmas rolled into one like a nest of
Chinese boxes; since among the so-called “Mahatma letters” are many
in totally different and distinct styles, all of which her accusers declare
that she has written.
q.It is just what they say. But is it not very painful to her to be publicly
denounced as “the most accomplished impostor of the age, whose

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