Excerpt from Echoes From the Orient: A Broad Outline of Theosophical DoctrinesWere such doctrines held only in India, it would be natural to pass the subject by with this brief men tion. But when it is found that a large body of peo ple in America and Europe hold the same beliefs, it is interesting to note such an un-western develop ment of thought. The Theosophical Society was founded in New York in 1875 with the avowed ob ject of forming a nucleus - Io} a Universal Brother hood, and its founders state that they believe the Indian Mahatmas directed them to establish such a society. Since its foundation it has gained members in all countries, including people of wealth as well as those in moderate circumstances, and the highly cultured also. Within its ranks there ¿ourish beliefs in the Mahatmas of India and in Reincarnation and' its twin doctrine, Karma. This last holds that no power, human or divine, can save one from the con sequences of acts performed, and that in this life we are experiencing the results due to us for all acts and thoughts which were ours in the preceding incarna tion.About the PublisherForgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.comThis book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully, any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.