Theos-Talk Archives (February 2005 Message tt00451)

If one is interested in gaining 
an OVERVIEW of Johnson's views on the Masters
Morya and Koot Hoomi and closely related subjects, 
you should read the following SELECTED sections 
from Johnson's book THE MASTERS REVEALED:

• "Foreword" by Joscelyn Godwin, pp. xv-xix

Three extracts from Godwin's "Foreword" outline 
succinctly Johnson's argument:

"The principal Masters in question were Koot 
Hoomi and Morya, supposedly residents of 
Shigatse in Tibet...." (p. xv) 

"The theme of this book is that HPB's Masters 
were not the Himalayan sages whom she 
invented to distract her co-workers...." 
(p. xviii) 

"Mr. Johnson's suggestion---and he makes 
it clear that it is no more than that --- 
is that the Mahatmas Morya and Koot Hoomi 
are fictitious Tibetan personae that conceal 
well-documented historical figures: Ranbir 
Singh and Thakar Singh." (p. xviii) 

Then after Godwin's "Foreword", read the following nine chapters of 
THE MASTERS REVEALED written by Paul Johnson:

• "Introduction: The Masters and the Myth", pp. 1-15

Johnson in this "Introduction" summarizes his views on the Masters 
KH and M as follows:

"Thakar Singh Sandhanwalia, founding president of the Amritsar Singh 
Sabha, corresponds in intriguing ways to clues about Koot Hoomi's 
identity in the writings of Olcott and HPB.... 

"Maharaja Ranbir Singh of Kashmir has many correspondences to Morya 
as described by HPB.... 

"Although much of HPB's portrayal of Morya and Koot Hoomi was 
designed to mislead in order to protect their privacy, enough 
accurate information was included to make a PERSUASIVE CASE for 
their identities as these historical figures...." (pp. 5-6.) Caps 
added


• "Giuseepe Mazzini", pp. 38-43

• "Ooton Liatto", pp. 59-62

In this chapter on Ooton Liatto, Johnson wrote the telling comment:

"The names Ooton Liatto and Hilarion Smerdis have been equally 
impossible to find in biographical and historical reference books. 
While both may be pseudonyms, there is little doubt that two real 
adepts visited Olcott in New York." p. 62  

• "Maharaja Ranbir Singh of Kashmir" , pp. 120-147

• "Thakar Singh Sandhanwalia", pp. 148-175

• "Sarat Chandra Das", 191-194

• "Ugyen Gyatso", pp. 195-197

• "Sengchen Tulku", pp. 198-206

• "The Occult Imprisonment", pp. 242-245

A careful reading of these selected chapters should give one a 
fairly accurate understanding of what Johnson's ideas about the 
Master K.H. and M. involve.

If you want to read critiques of Johnson's claims, you can read the 
following:

• "The Theosophical Mahatmas: A Critique of Paul Johnson's New
Myth" by David Pratt 
http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/dp5/johnson.htm

• "K. Paul Johnson's House of Cards?: A Critical Examination of 
Johnson's Thesis on the Theosophical Masters Morya and Koot Hoomi"
by Daniel H. Caldwell
http://blavatskyarchives.com/johnson.htm

Johnson answered my "House of Cards?" critique and his answer can be 
found at:

• "Strain at a Gnat, Swallow a Camel: A Reply to Daniel
Caldwell's Criticisms" by K. Paul Johnson 
http://members.tripod.com/~dlane5/pjimp.html

And my follow-up replies can be found at:

• "A Closer Look at Some of K. Paul Johnson's Arguments
Concerning H.S. Olcott's Testimony about the Masters" by Daniel H. 
Caldwell
http://blavatskyarchives.com/johnsonparanormal3.htm

• "I view M. as a composite character...." by Daniel H. Caldwell
http://blavatskyarchives.com/johnsonmcomposite.htm

And related material can be found at:

• "Chart Showing Interpretations of Some of Henry S. Olcott's 
Encounters with the Masters" by Daniel H. Caldwell
http://blavatskyarchives.com/masterschart.htm

• "Henry S. Olcott's Testimony: Nine Accounts of Meeting Masters
and Adepts" compiled by Daniel H. Caldwell
http://blavatskyarchives.com/olcottaccounts.htm

• "A Casebook of Encounters with the Theosophical Mahatmas"
compiled by Daniel H. Caldwell
http://blavatskyarchives.com/mastersencounterswith.htm

And see especially the following source for more
important information about Johnson's book and his ideas:

• "H.P. Blavatsky and K. Paul Johnson"
http://www.katinkahesselink.net/his/index_sb.htm#johnson

My own view of Johnson's book can be summarized in the words of Dr. 
John Algeo, who wrote:

"Johnson's evidence for identifying the Masters is so weak that he 
seems to make whatever connections he can, however remote and 
inappropriate...There is no real evidence, but only a few 
circumstantial coincidences and a good deal of Wonderland 
logic...The Masters Revealed is a record of historical research with 
a flawed thesis that dooms it to frustration. Johnson has...not 
revealed HPB's Masters. He has not touched the mystery." 
John Algeo, past President, Theosophical Society in America.  

Algeo's review of Johnson's book can be found in "Theosophical 
History," Volume V, July, 1995, pp. 232-247. Available online for 
sale in pdf format. See:

http://www.theohistory.org/pdf-s.html

Daniel H. Caldwell
BLAVATSKY STUDY CENTER
http://blavatskystudycenter.org