Theos-Talk Archives (July 2001 Message tt00179)

It should be kept in mind that books published by TS organizations are 
likely to be biased to those facts which reflect well on them and not 
mention those facts that may not look good on it. Of course this should be 
expected.

In view of this, I would suggest the following (which are not published by 
any of the theosophical organizations) - in addition, which would add some 
very interesting information and provide a better overall picture of the 
organizations.

1. Is This Theosophy? - Ernest Wood; ISBN: 0-7661-0829-5; Published by 
Kessinger Publishing; www.kessingerpub.com (Originally published in 1936 by 
Rider & Co.

2. The Elder Brother; A biography of C W Leadbeater - Gregory Tillett; 
(Hard to find, but still could be found)

In addition to the above, very interesting information on TS organizations, 
both old info and recent info can be found in the archives of the two 
theosophical maillists -- theos-l and theos-talk. Both these maillists are 
not moderated (censored) and are privately owned and hence not 
influenceable and influenced by any of the theosophical organizations and 
the participants come from all the TS organizations and some to none of them.

Personally I have come into various bits and pieces of info in these 
maillist discussions in the last 5 years that I was unaware of during my 
last more than four decades of association with theosophy.

mkr

At 10:34 AM 7/18/01 -0700, you wrote:


> > DTB One needs to get one's facts straight and stop relying on
> > second hand opinions and views. To which one adds (sadly) a
> > fresh layer.
> >
> > If any one is further interested in straightening the record I
> > will be glad to supply what facts I have and can find
> >
> > Best wishes,
> >
> > Dallas
> DK>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
>
> Thank you. Things are not getting much clearer, tho. I need a
> scorecard to figure out who are the players, and which teams they are
> playing on. The more I read here, the more confusing things seem to be
> getting. I am ordering books from various publishers to try to clear
> it up.
>
> Books recomended by several impartial unbiased
> observers-
>
> You, (Dallas) recommend -
>
> The Theosophical Movement: 1875 - 1950, Theosophy Company, 245 W 33rd
> St., Los Angeles, CA 90007
>
> I will write to them asking for their catalog, to get this one.
>
> President John Algeo answered my inquiry, saying,:
>
> " The best general histories are these:
>
> Ransom, Josephine, a Short History of the Theosophical Society, With
> a preface by G. S. Arundale, Adyar, Adyar, Madras: Theosophical
> Publishing House, 1938. Pp.xii, 591.
>
> Ransom, Josephine, The Seventy-Fifth Anniversary Book of the
> Theosophical Society; A Short History of the Society's Grouth from
> 1926-1950, 1950. Adyar, Madras: Theosophical Publishing House Pp. Xii,
> 252.
>
> For the American Section, the best history is this:
>
> Mills, Joy. 100 Years of Theosophy; A History of the Theosophical
> Society in America. Wheaton, Ill.:TPH, 1987.
>
> A brief and impartial history by an academic that covers the whole
> movememt and not just the Adyar Society is this, which has some
> inaccuracies, but is not ill-intentioned:
>
> Campbell, Bruce F. Ancient Wisdom Revived: A History of the
> Theosophical Movement. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1980.
> Pp. X + 249."
>
> The only one of these that I see in the QUEST catalog is the Joy Mills
> book, so I am sending for that one. I don't suppose any of these are
> available on line?
>
> I was really surprised at seeing Mrs. Tingley called a Spiritualist
> Medium. When I saw that mentioned in OLD DIARY LEAVES, I just assumed
> that it was Mr. Olcott's bias that prompted it. There is no mention of
> that in the SUNSET "biography" of her. I am not sure how many teams
> Mrs. Tingley was playing on.
>
> Seeing this in more than one source, especially when the sources
> disagree with each other in almost all other things, gives more weight
> to it.
>
> But then that leads to real questions about the mental health of Mr.
> Judge at the end of his life. Why would he be going to a medium to
> contact Mme. Blavatsky after she was dead?
>
> Not only was she against the "spirits" when she was alive, but the
> fact that she was "overshadowed" by the Mahatmas, who pretty much
> wrote (thorogh her) all of the books and articles, and stood watch
> over the body at all times.
>
> When she was asking her niece about Pi (3.141+), her explanation was
> that she didn't know anything about what she was writing, and that
> some other intelligence was using her as a stenographer essentially.
>
> She gave much the same story to others at various times. KH claimed
> that he (and M) wrote ISIS & The SD. About the time of her death,
> various insiders wrote about seeing HPB as a spirit, metamorsing into
> a high Adept.
>
> I would think that by the time Mr. Judge met Mrs. Tingley all of the
> Mahatma's Astral bodies, and those who used to stand guard around HPB
> when she was alive, would have retired to their usual abode, and the
> intelligence that had been the human woman, HPB, would have had almost
> no interest to Mr. Judge. I can understand him seeking to communicate
> with any of the Adepts (still living). Evidently they weren't
> communicating with him. But, for him to be seeking a Medium, and then
> to ask after Mme. Blavatsky instead of those Adepts all around,
> mystifies me. Hence I wonder if Mr. Judge had suffered a fall, or an
> accident, with a sudden change of personality in the months before his
> death.
>
> I suppose that I can find some answers in these books that you and
> other impartial observers reccomend. As I assume that you and Mr.
> Algeo are not on the same page, I would be interested in your
> evaluation of the books reccomended.
>
> Dennis