Theos-Talk Archives (November 1997 Message tt00177)

David Green wrote:

> Dear Theosophy friends,
>
> I've been reading Dr Campbell's book on Theosophy.
> A friend also gave me a book on Initiates of the
> Masters. In a used bookstore I recently
> found another book by Prof Elwood.
>
> Dr Campbell writes that Mrs. Blavatsky's leading
> disciples were lead astray. W Judge was guilty
> of forging letters of the Masters and A Besant
> was hypnotized and deluded.
>

Because Judge was never proved to have forged Mahatma letters, nor was
that really the charge made against him. Also, Judge's accusers would
not allow Judge to see the evidence they had against him, even though
copies of it was distributed to key members in Europe. As for Besant,
to say that someone was hypnotized and deluded is pretty
sensationalistic, don't you think? It credits a great deal of
supernatural power to the hypnotist. To make a long story short, Dr.
Campbell's book is filled with incomplete information, incorrect
information, and misleading information. Dr. Tillett, the author of THE
ELDER BROTHER once commented that he found some thirty errors of fact on
a single page in Campbell's book without half trying. As in real life,
the reasons behind anything that ever happens are always complicated.
When I hear a simple explanation, it is a clear tip off for me that
someone has found or formulated a simplistic answer to support his own
simplistic viewpoint. If you are going to read secondary histories,
then I suggest that you read a lot of them from several different points
of view. Better yet would be to read the source documents for yourself.

> Professor Elwood writes that there are still
> groups that profess great devotion to Judge
> and Besant. How can people still
> hold these two persons in high regard?
>
> Dave
>
>

Because they believe Judge and Besant to be innocent, and they find
their respective writings, lives, and values to be inspirational and
meaningful to them.

>

JJHE