The Doctrine of the Heart- Verily Those Who Have Eyes to See May See, and Those Who Have Ears to Hear May Hear

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UNDER the title of THE DOCTRINE OF THE HEART are here printed a series of papers consisting chiefly of extracts from letters received from Indian friends. They are not given as being of any 'authority', but merely as containing thoughts that some of us have found helpful, and that we wish to share with others. They are intended only for those who are resol- utely seeking to live the higher life, and are addressed to those especially who know that this life leads to a definite entering on the Path of Discipleship under the Great Ones who trod it in the past, and who remain on earth to help others to tread it in their turn. The thoughts in these letters are thoughts that belong to all religions, but the phrases and the sentiment are Indian. The devotion is of the noble and intense kind known in the East as Bhakti-the devotion that surrenders itself wholly and unreservedly to God and to the Divine Man through whom God is manifest in the flesh to the devotee. This Bhakti has nowhere found more perfect expression than in Hinduism, and the writers of these letters are Hindus.

accustomed to the luxuriant richness of the Sanskrit, and tuning the harsher English into some faint harmony with the poetical sweetness of their mother tongue. The chill and reserved dignity of the Anglo-Saxon and his emotional reticence are wholly alien from the out- flowing of religious feeling that wells up from the eastern heart as naturally as song from the lark. Here and there in the West we find a true Bhakta (devo- tee), such as St Thomas a Kempis, St Theresa, St John of the Cross, St Francis of Assisi, St Elizabeth of Hungary. But, for the most part, religious feeling in the West, however deep and true, tends to silence and seeks to hide itself.

Annie Besant (1847-1933), second President of the Theosophical Society (1907-1933) was described as a 'Diamond Soul' for she had many brilliant facets to her character. She was one of the outstanding orators of her time, a champion of human freedom, educationist, philanthropist and author. She has more than three hundred books and pamphlets to her credit, and guided thousands of men and women all over the world in their spiritual quest.

In her earlier days in England, she did remarkable work as a Freethinker and Fabian socialist, and supported many noble causes, including women's suffrage. From 1893, she lived in India and worked indefatigably for the cultural and spiritual renaissance of the country. She organized the Home Rule movement and inspired Indians with a dynamic vision of India's future.