Some time in early 1923, Dr Annie Besant, then President of the Theosophical Society, penned some lines that have since become familiar to members throughout the world, have been translated into several languages, and have, indeed, become a nearly indispensable part of every theosophist's vocabulary. The words have been set to music, they have been chanted and sung, and few gatherings of the Society have been held since that year have been opened without the recitation of these words. At every International Convention, successive Presidents of the Society have inaugurated the proceedings with the antiphonal recitation of what has come to be known as the 'Universal Prayer' or 'Universal Invocation' . Simple in the extreme, the words possess the magical power of a mantram....