Theos-Talk Archives (January 2005 Message tt00722)

Dallas:

I assume that therefore, any of the "questionable" communications from
the latter period of HPB, and all those after her demise, could be
authenticated, if the originals are still in existence, by examining
them with a powerful microscope? Those that show that Herringbone
pattern can be assumed to be "authentic", and those without that
pattern would be questionable, or disallowed as genuine?

Dennis

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "W.Dallas TenBroeck" <dalval14@earthlink.net>
To: <study@blavatsky.net>
Sent: Thursday, January 20, 2005 4:16 AM
Subject: Theos-World Plagiarism, Forgery, duplication of documents,
signatures, etc...


>
> Jan 19 2005
>
>
> Dear Friends:
>
> Coincidences ?
>
> I had placed some notes on the PRECIPITATION of Letters (Masters,
and
> others) to illustrate the prevalence of psychic phenomena and events
that
> occurred when THEOSOPHY was being newly re-promulgated at the close
of the
> 19th century.
>
> Apart from demonstrating the power and availability to the Adepts
and their
> chelas (over 125 years ago) of the subordinate psychic powers being
used to
> transfer and receive written communications, there was always the
question
> of authenticity. In part. This was discussed in the earlier
positing I
> made.


<<<<<<<< SNIP >>>>>>>>>>>

>
> Early in 1997, The Theosophical University Press published a
monograph
> by Dr. Vernon Harrison. There is described and illustrated from the
> originals, the strangest feature of the precipitation of some
letters,
> said to be from the Mahatmas, which has come to light.
>
> Examination of some letters at high magnification clearly shows that
> what appears to the unaided eye as a continuous line, forming
several
> letters, words, -- a letter; is in fact a close series of very fine
> lines each separated from the other by a white space. This series
of
> small lines have been shaped into an apparently continuous sweep of
> what appears to the unaided eye (as we see it) a continuous line.
>
> It is as though the original had been photographed with an apparatus
> that used a diffraction grating, and the resulting interference
> pattern into which the lines and letters had been transformed, had
> been then transferred (precipitated ?) on to the final paper that
was
> sent to the recipient. In some cases this printing is found lying
on
> the surface of the paper, in others it appears to be embodied in the
> substrate, so as to form a portion of the paper, and is an integral
> part of it.
>
> Needless to say that at the time of such precipitation (in the
period
> between 1880 and 1885) no technology existed in the West that could
> produce such an effect. In fact it would be difficult to achieve a
> similar effect, using the modern technologies of today.
>
> Since "precipitation" of letters said to be from the Mahatmas, or
> other sources, became one of the forms of entertainment by and among
> Spiritualists and early Theosophists the Master K.H. found it
> necessary to declare that all actual messages from Them would be
> preceded by a sentence.