B. Ranga Reddy was a member of the Theosophical Society Adyar and this text
is part of a lecture delivered at the Blavatsky centenary birth celebration at
Adyar, 12 August, 1931.
In the beginning of May, 1882, on invitation H.P.B. and Colonel Olcott
went to Nellore, to form a branch of the Theosophical Society at that place. They
went by sailing-boat, accompanied by Bros. Soobiah Chetty and Ayul Naidu, a
retired Deputy Collector, and reached Nellore at about 11 p.m. Some of the
would-be members were waiting at a bungalow secured for their lodging. When one
vakil, Narayanaswami Chetty, was introduced to H.P.B., the first question she
asked him was:
- “Are
you going to plead for India?”
The Founders stayed at Nellore for three days, and forty-one persons
joined the Society. Of these, I am the only surviving member now.
From Nellore they went to Guntur, travelling by the same boat on the
Buckingham Canal. At a place called Ramayapatam, one Tiruvungadam Pillai,
Ongole Sub-Collector’s Sheristadar, joined them in the boat, and he was
admitted there as a member of the Society. He had a bandage on one of his legs.
H.P.B. asked him what was the matter with his leg. He explained that there was
a long-standing ulcer, which no doctor had been able to cure.
H.P.B. said that in the following year a great man would appear and cure
the ulcer. According to this prophecy, just at the end of twelve months, a
travelling fakir was brought to Pillai’s house by a friend. He stayed for some
days. One day the fakir asked him about the ulcer, rubbed it with his saliva,
and asked him to wash the leg with simple water. As soon as it was washed, the
ulcer began to heal, and the healing was complete in a few hours. To all this,
the late Jiddu Narayaniah, the father of Krishnaji [Krishnamurti] was an eye-witness.
After a few days, when the fakir was well acquainted with the local
people, Narayaniah (he was then the head-clerk of the Sub-Collector’s office)
requested him to allow a photograph to be taken. The fakir said it might be
taken, if anyone could do it. A local photographer was called in; he tried, and
exhausted all his chemicals, but did not succeed.
Sometime afterwards, the fakir was approached and requested again by
Narayaniah to allow his photo to be taken, as they were very anxious to have
one. After his consent was given, the photographer got the necessary chemicals
from Madras, tried once more, and succeeded. Only two copies of the photograph
were allowed; then the negative was destroyed by the fakir. One of these was
given to Narayaniah, and the other to Tiruvungadam Pillai. Both kept the
photographs till their death.
After forming a Lodge at Guntur, the Founders returned to Nellore, on
their way back to Madras. In the meanwhile the President of the Nellore Lodge
(he was the Assistant Collector) resigned his office owing to the pressure put
upon him by the I.C.S. Collector. The Founders called a meeting, probably to
appoint a new President, when a letter dropped from the ceiling. It is this:
« As a bystander and a deeply interested one, I only discern somewhat of
the truth that is hidden in the hearts of all of you. Are all of you sincere in
your promises?
Take care lest rashly made promises broken should turn back on you and
thus become your greatest punishment. Be true, sincere and faithful. Work for
the cause and our blessings will ever be upon you. Doubt and forget your sacred
promises and — in the darkness of guilt and sorrow will ye repent.
You may all see in the case of your Ex-President one of the reasons why
there is no longer intercourse between the Hindus and those whom they call
Mahatmas. There was a time when a man of large fortune and influential family
would have considered it a duty to work for his country regardless of any
consequences. And until that feeling once more prevails, you must not expect to
be looked upon with confidence or respect by those who —think what you may—
still watch over the destinies of India tho' themselves unseen and unsuspected.
Meanwhile blessings upon you all. »
One day when the Founders were at Nellore, a learned Sannyasi,
Branmanandaswami, interviewed H.P.B., and had some conversation with her. At
the end, she said that Nellore was a good place for learning Samskrit, and
asked the members of the Lodge to start a Samskrit school, promising to pay a
monthly subscription of Rs. 5 for the maintenance of it. Soon after the
Founders left Nellore, a Samskrit school was started, with about half a dozen
students and a teacher on Rs. 15 per mensem.
This school has gradually developed into a residential college, with its
own buildings worth Rs. 20,000, and is now maintained at a cost of Rs. 7,000 a
year. There are ten teachers, and about eighty students, thirty of whom are
given free board. The subjects taught are Rig Veda, Yajurveda, Ayurveda,
Vyakarana, Jyotisha and all other subjects required for Sahitya. Thus the seed
planted by H.P.B. has grown into a large tree, and it may be destined to become
a first-class institution for imparting Samskrit learning in Southern India. This
is the only institution of the kind started by H.P.B., but it is lacking funds.
I request that some help may be given to it by those who have an
interest in the language of the Devas, and in memory of H.P.B. Today we have
enjoyed her birthday banquet. It is usual everywhere to give birthday presents.
As her physical body is no more here, birthday presents may be given to her
child, the Samskrit College at Nellore. The coming year, 1932, will be the 50th
year of this institution, and a Jubilee celebration will take place at Nellore.
I beg to invite you all to that celebration.
(Theosophist, October 1931, p.50-52)
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