Theosophical Siftings

An Open Letter

Vol 2, No 11

An Open Letter
To the Readers of "Lucifer"and All True Theosophists by H.P. Blavatsky

The Theosophical Publishing Society, England

As Lucifer as started as an organ of the Theosophical Society and !eans of co!!unication bet een the senior Editor and the nu!erous "ello s of our Society for their instruction, and as e find that the great !a#ority of subscribers are not !e!bers of the Theosophical Society, hile our o n brothers ha$e apparently little interest in, or sy!pathy ith, the efforts of the fe real or%s of the Theosophical Society in this country, such a state of affairs can no longer be passed o$er in silence& The follo ing lines are, therefore, addressed personally to e$ery "&T&S&'"ello of the Theosophical Society(, as to e$ery reader interested in Theosophy, for their consideration& ) as%, is Lucifer orth of support or not* )f it is not, then let us put an end to its e+istence& )f it is, then ho it li$e hen it is so feebly supported* Again, can nothing be de$ised to !a%e it !ore popular, or theosophically instructi$e* )t is the earnest desire of the undersigned to co!e into closer relation of thought ith her Theosophist readers& Any suggestion to further this end, therefore, ill be carefully considered by !e, and as it is i!possible to please all readers, the best suggestion for the general good ill be follo ed out& -ill, then, e$ery reader try and reali.e that his help is no personally solicited at this effort of solidarity and brotherhood* The !onthly deficits of Lucifer are considerable, but they ould cheerfully be borne / as they ha$e been for the last year by only t o de$oted "ello s / if it ere felt that the !aga.ine and the arduous efforts and or% of its staff are appreciated and properly supported by the Theosophists, hich is not the case& To do real good and be enabled to disse!inate theosophical ideas broadcast, the !aga.ine has to reach ten ti!es the nu!ber of readers that it does no & E$ery subscriber or "&T&S& has it in his po er to help in this or%, the rich subscribing for the poor, the latter trying to get subscriptions, and e$ery other !e!ber !a%ing it his duty to notify e$ery brother theosophist of the present deplorable state of affairs concerning the publication of our !aga.ine& )t needs a fund, hich it has ne$er had, and it is absolutely necessary that a subscription list should be opened in its pages for donations to ards such a publication fund of the !aga.ine& Na!es od donators, or their initials, and e$en pseudony!s 0 if they desire it 0 ill be published each !onth& )t is but a fe hundred pounds hich are needed, but ithout these Lucifer ill ha$e to cease [Pa e!"# )t is the first and last ti!e that ) personally !a%e such an appeal, as any call for help, e$en for the cause so dear to us, has al ays been unutterably repugnant to !e& 1ut in the present case ) a! forced to sacrifice !y personal feelings& 2oreo$er, hat do e see around us* No appeal for any or !o$e!ent that is considered good by its respecti$e sy!pathisers is e$er left ithout response& The English!an and the A!erican are pro$erbially generous& Let 34eneral3 1ooth cla!our in his War Cry for funds to support the Sal$ation A5!y, and thousands of pounds pour in fro! sy!pathetic 6hristians& Let any paper open a subscription list for any !ortal thing, fro! the erection of an institute for the inoculation of a $irus, ith its poisonous effects on future generations, or the building of a church or statue, do n to a presentation Page 1

Theosophical Siftings

An Open Letter

Vol 2, No 11

cup, and the hand of so!e portion of the public is i!!ediately in its poc%et& E$en an appeal for funds for 37o!e3 for poor stray dogs, is sure to fill the subscription list ith na!es, and those ho the ani!als ill gladly gi$e their !ite& -ill, then, Theosophists re!ain !ore indifferent to the furtherance of a cause, hich they !ust sy!pathise ith, since they belong to it, than the general public ould for street dogs* These see! hard ords to say, but they are true, and #ustified by facts& No one %no s better than !yself the sacrifices !ade in silence by a fe , for the acco!plish!ent of all the or% that has been done since ) ca!e to li$e in London, t o and a half years ago& The progress acco!plished during this ti!e by the Society in the face of e$ery opposition 0 and it as terrible 0 sho s that these efforts ha$e not been !ade in $ain& 8et, as none of the 3fe 3 possess the purse of "ortunatus, there co!es a day hen e$en they cannot gi$e hat they no longer possess& )f this appeal is not responded to, then the energy that supports Lucifer !ust be di$erted into other channels& "raternally yours, 7&P&1la$ats%y

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