A Russian Theosophist in a letter dated November 1883, writes as follows:
We find the fact corroborated in the Moscow Gazette, the paper giving us, moreover, a second instance just come under the notice of science, of another such phenomenal growth.
A similar case took place in a Georgian family of Asiatics, at Tiflis in the year 1865. A boy of four was found to have become a full adult. He was taken to the hospital and lived there under the eye of the Government physicians, who subjected him to the most extraordinary experiments, of which, most likely, he died at the age of seven. His parents superstitious and ignorant people had made several attempts to kill him, under the impression he was the devil incarnate. There remains to this day a photograph of this bearded baby in the writer's family. Two other cases nearly similar the consequences of which were that two cousins in a village of Southern France, became respectively father and mother at the age of eight and seven, are on record in the Annals of Medicine. Such cases are rare; yet we know of more than a dozen well authenticated instances of the same from the beginning of this century alone. We are asked to explain and give thereupon our "occult views." We will try an explanation. We ask no one to believe; we simply give our personal opinion identical with that of other occultists. The latter statement, however, necessitates a small preface. Every race and people has its old legends and prophecies concerning an unavoidable "End of the world," the pious portions of civilized Christian nations having, moreover, evoluted in advance a whole programme for the destruction of our planet. Thus the Millenarians of America and Europe expect an instantaneous disintegration of our earth, followed by a sudden disappearance of the wicked and the survival of the few elect. After this catastrophe, we are assured, the latter will remain in the service of "Christ, who upon his new advent will personally reign on earth a thousand years" (on its astral skeleton, of course, since its physical body will have disappeared). The Mohammedans give another tale. The world's destruction will be preceded by the advent of an Imam, whose presence alone will cause the sudden death of the whole unclean brood of Kaffirs; the promised "Heaven" of Mohammed will then shift down its headquarters, and the paradisaical Houris will roam about at the service of every faithful son of the Prophet. Hindus and Buddhists have again a different version; the former believe in the Kalki Avatar and the latter in the advent of Maitreya Buddha. The true Occultist however whether Asiatic or European (the latter still to be found, rara-avis though he be) has a doctrine to this effect, which he has hitherto kept to himself. It is a theory, based on the correct knowledge of the Past and the never failing analogy in Nature to guide the Initiate in his prevision of future events were even his psychic gifts to be denied and refused to be taken into account. Now, what the Occultists say, is this: humanity is on the descending pathway of its cycle. The rear-guard of the 5th race is crossing slowly the apex of its evolution and will soon find itself having passed the turning point. And, as the descent is always more rapid than the ascent, men of the new coming (the 6th) race are beginning to drop in occasionally. Such children regarded in our days by official science as exceptional monstrosities, are simply the pioneers of that race. There is a prophecy in certain Asiatic old books couched in the following terms, the sense of which we may make clearer by adding to it a few words in brackets.
Thus we find1 from the above that the characteristics of the race that will follow ours are a darker skin, shortened period of infancy and old age, or in other words a growth and development that in the present age (to the profane) appear quite miraculous. It is not the sacred legends of the East alone that throw out hints on the future physiology of man. The Jewish Bible (See Genesis, Chap. vi, verse 4) implies as much, when speaking of antediluvian races (the 3rd race) it tells us, "There were giants in the earth, in those days," and makes a distinct difference between "the sons of God," and "the daughters of man." Therefore, to us, Occultists, believers in the knowledge of old, such isolated instances of premature development, are but so many more proofs of the end of one cycle and the beginning of another. Theosophist, January, 1884 H.P. Blavatsky
1 The seven Rounds decrease and increase in their respective durations, as well as the seven races in each. Thus the 4th Rounds as well as every 4h race are the shortest, while the 1st and 7th Rounds as the 1st and 7th root races are the longest. back to text |