Theos-Talk Archives (March 2000 Message tt00055)

SUBJECT:   Tim Maroney on his new book about HPB 
and the Book of Dzyan

Below is Tim Maroney's answers to several people's
questions about his new book, etc.  I look forward 
to reading Maroney's treatment of what 
David Reigle, Evans-Wentz, and Vernon Harrison 
have written about HPB and her work.  Specifically
I hope he gives his own detailed assessment of the 
origin of the Book of Dzyan/Stanzas of Dzyan.  David
Reigle is looking forward to this part of the book.
Now Tim Maroney's responses.

Daniel

------------------------------------------------------

I'd like to thank Daniel for his note, though seeing 
how much he disliked K. Paul Johnson's work, I 
don't think he'll be a big fan of mine.Still, I hope
for a respectful climate of disagreement, if disagreement 
there must be.

Ramadoss asked:
> Have you considered making your book available for 
> on-line download?

I've been giving away quite a bit of my work for many years.
This time I'm trying the conventional publication route, 
something I've done before with magazine articles and 
am now trying for the first time with a book. I'm
interested in seeing the difference in impact between 
the media. (It's definitely not a money thing -- I expect 
this book to make me less than one's week's net wages 
at my day job.)

There is more than a book's worth of essays at 
maroney.org if you're interested.

Jerry wrote:
> Is it worth buying and taking the time to read for those of us
> who have already read the SD and the B of D, and Cranston's
> book, etc. What new thought(s) does it give us?

Well, have you read the SPR report? Or a detailed treatment 
of the use of Theosophy in H. P. Lovecraft's stories and letters? 
Or, the "Theogenesis" of the Temple of the People? Or 
a specific response to Reigle, Evans-Wetz, or Harrison? If 
not, then I think you'll find something of interest. But if you
don't I'll try harder next time!

Chuck wrote:
> Well, it's written by a Thelemite, which means it will have an
> interesting point of view if nothing else, certainly a more 
> sensible one than the usual hagiographic nonsense the 
> orthodox would have us believe.

I'd like to think so, though I would have put it a bit more
gently.

The word "hagiographer" does appear in the book, with respect to
Sylvia Cranston. I do not feel that she has given an adequate 
treatment to some of the more difficult issues in Blavatsky's 
biography. I'm trying to break out of the false dichotomy 
between Cranstonesque hero worship and Washingtonian
muck-raking.

I'd like to clarify that while I do work in the Thelemic
current, I am no more an orthodox Crowleyan Thelemite 
than I am an orthodox Blavatskian Theosophist. I have 
an idiosyncratic point of view derived as much from my
studies of modern psychology and countercultural 
dynamics as anything else. In the cases of both HPB and 
AC, I take their spiritual contributions very seriously but 
I have no intent of glossing over their character flaws -- 
and it seems to me it would be ridiculous to deny that 
both had serious defects, just as ridiculous as it would 
be to neglect their real contributions.

> You may remember that Tim Maroney was on this list a few years
> back and we had a fascinating discussion about my premise 
> that Aleister Crowley, not Krishamurti, was the World Teacher.

Thanks! I'm sorry that I haven't had a great deal of time for
mailing list participation lately....

--
Tim Maroney    tim@maroney.org

------------------------------------------------
More on Tim Maroney's book at:
http://www.chaosium.com/cthulhu/fiction/6027.shtml
http://www.maroney.org/About_Dzyan.html




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