The earliest manifestations of intelligence were made by writings of Sanscrit through Hindu mediums. Even here, it must be confessed, there was nothing very convincing for the incredulous, as these apparent writings might be an effect of chance. But fuller communications were soon obtained, so that words and sentences began to be produced in reply to the questions propounded. The correctness of these replies, their correlation with the questions asked, excited astonishment. The mysterious being who gave these replies, when questioned as to its nature, declared itself to be a "spirit" or "soul," gave itself a name, and stated various particulars about itself. This is a circumstance of noteworthy importance, for it proves that no one suggested the idea of spirits as an explanation of the phenomenon, but that the phenomenon gave this explanation of itself. Hypotheses are often framed, in the positive sciences, to serve as a basis of argument; but such was not the case in this instance.

The mode of communication furnished by these spirits formed entire discourses, filling many pages, treating of the deepest questions of philosophy, morality, metaphysics, psychology, spiritism, occultism, etc., and as rapidly as though written by the hand of a philosopher instead of a common Hindu medium.

This presented itself simultaneously all over India and in various other countries.

Do these intelligences reside in the human race, or are they beyond the pale of humanity? Such is the next point to be cleared up, and of which the complete explanation will be found in the present work, such as it has been given by the spirits themselves, to be written in Sanscrit.

Spirit manifestations in India do not occur mysteriously, but in broad daylight, so that every one can see them and ascertain their reality; they are not the privilege of a single individual, but are obtained by tens of thousands of persons every day at pleasure. These effects have necessarily a cause; and as they reveal the action of an intelligence and a will, they are evidently beyond the domain of merely physical effects.

Many theories have been broached in relation to this subject; these we shall presently examine, and shall then be able to decide whether they can account for all the facts now occurring. Let us, meanwhile, assume the existence of beings distinct from the Earth Plane, since such is the explanation given of themselves by the intelligences thus revealed to us, and let us see what they say to us.

The beings who thus enter into communication with us designate themselves, as I have said, by the name of spirits or souls, and as having belonged, in many cases at least, to men who have lived upon the earth. They say that they constitute the spiritual world, as we, during our earthly life, constitute the corporeal world.

I will now briefly sum up the most important points of Hindu Magic doctrine which they have transmitted to me, in order to reply more easily to the objections of the incredulous.

"God is eternal, immutable, immaterial, unique, all-powerful, sovereignly just and good.

"He has created the universe, which comprehends all beings, animate and inanimate, material and immaterial.

"The material beings constitute the visible or corporeal world, and the immaterial beings constitute the invisible or spiritual world, that is to say, the spirit-world, or world of spirits.

"The spirit-world is the normal, primitive, eternal world, pre-existent to, and surviving, everything else.

"The corporeal world is only secondary; it might cease to exist, or never have existed, without changing the essentiality of the spiritual world.

"Spirits temporarily assume a perishable material envelope, the destruction of which, by death, restores them to liberty.

"Among the different species of corporeal beings, God has chosen the human species for the incarnation of spirits arrived at a certain degree of development; it is this which gives it a moral and intellectual superiority to all the others.

"The soul is an incarnated spirit, whose body is only its envelope.

"There are in man three things: (I) The body, or material being, analogous to the animals, and animated by the same vital principle; (2) the soul, or immaterial being, a spirit incarnated in the body; (3) the link which unites the soul and the body, a principle intermediary between matter and spirit.

"Man has thus two natures: by his body he participates in the nature of the animals, of which it has the instincts; by his soul, he participates in the nature of spirits.