Theos-Talk Archives (August 2004 Message tt00439)

Hey,

In the process of searching amazon.com, I've noticed a pattern that 
appears to have gone unremarked among Theosophists. This is the 
overwhelming domination of Steiner books over those of HPB or any 
other of her successors, attested by these statistics:

1) 2242 books mentioning Rudolf Steiner vs. 1429 mentioning Blavatsky

2) 10 of the top 30 bestselling books classified as Theosophy are by 
Steiner; 3 each are by Blavatsky and CWL (one of the latter co-
authored by Besant)

Over the years I've noticed a lot more comment here about other 
figures seen as distracting from Blavatskian Theosophy than about 
Steiner. Yet in terms of publications, Steiner blows them all out of 
the water-- not just CWL and Besant but Blavatsky herself. 
Theosophists don't seem to be bothered by this or even to notice it-- 
yet worry about the much less influential Bailey for example.

Can anyone offer any theories about why Steiner has been so 
successful? I find his writings to be full of unsupported assertions 
and claims to occult authority, and less entertaining reading than 
other such claimants. But obviously, somebody somewhere finds his 
writings to be of great value-- more than appreciate HPB it seems.

Cheers,

Paul