Theos-Talk Archives (February 2002 Message tt00096)

Tuesday, February 05, 2002


Dear Daniel:

I responded to a similar inquiry from Bill Meredith a few hours
ago. I tried to be explicit. Of course you are right it is the
POSTS that disgust me. I am disgusted that they are not fair and
square, and have not offered the same forum to other facts and
views made by contemporaries of the events in question, and
already published. Such being the case I am not going to repeat
what is already done and available. Those who are truly
interested will go to your archives, and others, including a
number of published books and articles, to discover what has been
stated recorded and preserved there.

I find no good reason to be openly contemptuous and disrespectful
of those who are -- and I mean all of us-- our TEACHERS, whether
we acknowledge that or not. Their lives are their lives, and
while the past cannot be altered, we are not always able to
secure complete or exact information as to the accuracy of some
collateral reporting. Our common basis, then, is what is already
in print. Speculations and opinions thereon are not "history."

So far. as I read those posts, they have on the main, repeated
slanders that were quashed and settled years ago. On the basis
of fairness and accuracy in reporting, I have always understood
that true scholarship was impersonal. Hence in the service of
accuracy, such true scholarship reveals every side of a question
as a matter of course. If this is not done, then the research is
either fragmentary and unfinished, or it is opinionated, and as
such, it does not yet deserve the designation of "history."

If there are any who are seriously interested in repeating the
work of the past, as you have, then the reference material is
already available in full. There is no novelty (to me) in what
is being offered. I consider that you have been largely
responsible, as has been Mr. Michael Gomes, in providing us all
with those basic documentary references that are so needed. For
this I thank you. I am sure you are able to verify the same
statements that I have, but of course, you also have your own
point of view, as I have mine, in interpreting them.

Incidentally, in my esteem, and as I have already said, the study
of the life and work of individuals, now long dead (such as H P
B) -- and to whom the ability to now respond is thereby denied --
is not THE STUDY OF THEOSOPHY as a PHILOSOPHY. I have tried to
make that plain. Somehow, I get the feeling this is not
understood. I have protested any taking advantage of this fact.

Of course these are my opinions and my methods. And I recognize
they are not the only ones, nor the best ones. I do however,
strongly feel, that with the passing of every generation, it is
important for all historical evidence to be reviewed and
resifted. It is necessary to have a few individuals who are
impersonal, impartial and willing to dedicate their time and
energy, as you have, to do this. This substitutes knowledge for
guesswork. Guesswork is not history.

Best wishes,

Dallas.

===================================

-----Original Message-----
From: Daniel H. Caldwell [mailto:danielhcaldwell@yahoo.com]
Sent: Tuesday, February 05, 2002 9:11 AM
To: Theosophy Study List
Subject: Dallas wrote: ". . . they disgust me."

Dallas, you wrote in part:

"I have not been reading fully the posts by Brigitte
or Paul Johnson -- they disgust me."

Dallas, I am assuming that it is the POSTS by Brigitte
and Paul that disgust you. Right?

Could you please tell us what it is in their posts
that is disgusting you?

I'm hoping you will deal with specifics. I realize
that you feel strongly about people writing
"negatively" about HPB since she is no longer alive to
respond to what is written about her. But you must
certainly realize that probably both Paul and Brigitte
believe that they are seeking for the truth about
Madame Blavatsky's life and claims. IF they think she
committed certain frauds, or told "lies,"
etc., I assume it is because they believe the evidence
indicates that. If you see it differently, then I
suggest you give us your reasons for seeing the
evidence in a different light. Or if you have other
evidence that they have not presented, then please
give that. This would be more helpful to all readers
than simply writing that you are disgusted with their
postings.

Daniel H. Caldwell
BLAVATSKY ARCHIVES
http://www.blavatskyarchives.com/introduction.htm