Theos-Talk Archives (April 2004 Message tt00509)

ali_haq_hassan wrote:
> I'd be interested to know that too. I don't think she went off 
> half-cocked as you imply...but it's possible. My opinion is that they 
> actually instructed her to do some showmanship for the very attention 
> it would draw....contrary to the history of the secret teachings- for 
> the purpose of establishing the TS exoterically...and as a needed slap 
> to the ultra-materialistic elements in science.
To do so, I'm going to give away an important professional secret of 
stage magicians; the effects that are described later by the audience 
are almost never exactly what they saw on stage. This is no accident. 
The magician goes out of his or her way to make the key move to the 
trick seem so natural that it goes by unnoticed. The "now you see it, 
now you don't, you're a jerk" crowd, for example, love a rather lame 
technique of reaching into their pocket to pull out some imaginary 
"woofle dust" (many of them don't even bother to come up with a more 
interesting term than "woofle dust") to hide the fact that they're 
putting their hand into their pocket. The person viewing the trick would 
not bother to mention that the magician reached into his or her pocket 
for "woofle dust" in describing the trick.

In the case of Blavatsky, however, people tended to observe a mite TOO 
well. In a number of cases, the "tells"; things that do not really make 
sense if the magic was real, but make a lot of sense if the magic is 
faked are part of the description. As far as the Mahatmas' involvement, 
there are indications that they were not at all happy with this:

----
Letter #54
Such is the true history, and facts with regard to her "deception" or, 
at best -- "dishonest zeal." No doubt she has merited a portion of the 
blame; most undeniably she is given to exaggeration in general, and when 
it becomes a question of "puffing up" those she is devoted to, her 
enthusiasm knows no limits. Thus she has made of M. an Apollo of 
Belvedere, the glowing description of whose physical beauty, made him 
more than once start in anger, and break his pipe while swearing like a 
true -- Christian; and thus, under her eloquent phraseology, I, myself 
had the pleasure of hearing myself metamorphosed into an "angel of 
purity and light" -- shorn of his wings. We cannot help feeling at times 
angry, with, oftener -- laughing at, her. Yet the feeling that dictates 
all this ridiculous effusion, is too ardent, too sincere and true, not 
to be respected or even treated with indifference.