Theos-Talk Archives (November 2006 Message tt00611)

Earlier this year, Mr. Carlos Aveline wrote to Betty Bland about
Adyar's "tampering" with HPB's THE SECRET DOCTRINE.

Students of HPB's writings interested in the above subject may also
be interested in the following.

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TAMPERING WITH HPB'S "THE VOICE OF THE SILENCE"??

by Daniel H. Caldwell

I would like to start this article by quoting
two excerpts from what the late Dallas TenBroeck wrote several years 
ago on Theos-Talk about HPB's writings:

"If accuracy is desired the best way to secure this is to go
direct to the ORIGINAL (un-edited) text of HPB's
books and articles."

"After HPB died several of her students, in time, claimed to be
able to 'correct' her writings, and proceeded to do this. Also,
most of her writings . . . were amended and edited without any
notes to advise readers of the changes made. . . ."

In 1928, The Theosophy Company of Los Angeles
issued the following edition of the Voice:

Author: Blavatsky, H. P. (Helena Petrovna)
Title: The voice of the silence. . . /
translated and annotated by H.P.B.
Published: Los Angeles : Theosophy Co., 1928.
Description: iv, 110 p. : port. ; 15 cm.

Unfortunately, there are numerous changes
between the original 1889 edition of HPB's THE
VOICE and the Theosophy Company's edition.

In 1928 in the O.E. LIBRARY CRITIC,
Dr. H.N. Stokes commented on these changes
in the Theosophy Company's edition of the VOICE.
He wrote:

"There are 665 points of differences, of one sort
or another, viz.

In the preface. . . . . . . . 34
In the text. . . . . . . . . 274
In the notes. . . . . . . . .357

"These. . . consist of changes in punctuation, italics,
quotation marks, capitals, spelling of Sanskrit words,
omission of the important diacritical marks over the vowels,
and OTHERS. This averages one change to every three or
four lines." Caps added.

When compared to the original 1889 edition, one also finds
that many of HPB's words have been deleted or modified and
even new words have been added in this edition published by
the Theosophy Company.

Below are examples of some of these changes. Asterisks
indicate italics.

On page vii of the original Preface, HPB wrote:

"The original *Precepts* are engraved on thin
oblong squares; copies very often on discs."

The Theosophy Company's edition reads (p. ii):

"The original *Precepts* are engraved on thin
oblongs; copies very often on discs."

Notice the deletion of the word "squares." Also the
editorial change of "oblong" into "oblongs."

On p. 73 of the original VOICE, HPB wrote:

> The "great Master" is the term used by *lanoos* or
> chelas to indicate one's "Higher Self."

The Theosophy Company's edition reads (p. 3):

> The "great Master" is the term used by
> Lanoos or Chelas to indicate the HIGHER SELF.

As one can see, there are several changes in this one sentence
including deleting a word and adding another.


Again, HPB in the original wrote on pp. 74-75:

> It stands generally for the 100 years or "age" of Brahma, the
> duration of a Kalpa or a period of 4,320,000,000 years.

The Theosophy Company's edition reads (p. 5):

> It stands generally for the 100 years or "age" of Brahma, the
> duration of a Maha-Kalpa or a period of
> 311,040,000,000,000 years.

The Theosophy Company's edition has apparently "corrected"
and "improved" HPB's original.


Again, the 1889 edition, p. 78:

> These mystic sounds or the melody heard by the ascetic . . . .

The TC edition changes this to (p. 19):

> The mystic sounds, or the melody, heard by the ascetic . . . .

"These" has been changed to "The"

Is this an "improvement"? Is this a "correction"?


Again, the original VOICE, p. 87:

> *Upadya* is a spiritual perceptor, a Guru.

The TC editions reads (p. 49):

> *Upadhyaya* is a spiritual preceptor, a Guru.

Is this another "correction" of HPB's Sanskrit scholarship?


Once, again, the original VOICE reads on p. 82:

> Bodhidharma called them in China---from whence
> the names reached Tibet---the *Tsung-men* (esoteric)
> and *Kiau-men* (exoteric school).

The TC edition changes this passage to read: (p. 25)

> The *Bodhidharma*, Wisdom Religion in China---
> whence the names reached Tibet---called them the
> *Tsung-men* (Esoteric) and *Kiau-men* (Exoteric
> school).


On pp. x-xi of the original, one finds the following:

> . . . (*Bhagavatgita II*. 70). . . .

> . . . (*Bhagavatgita II*. 27). . . .

The TC edition (p. iv) changes the spelling of this Hindu text and
deletes the numbers "70" and "27".

Are these more editorial "corrections"?

The above examples document that some of HPB's own words
have been changed as well as deleted. Are these "improvements"
and/or "corrections"? 

These changes certainly indicate that the TC version has 
been "edited."

Also the spelling of many Sanskrit words has been
changed in the TC edition when compared with
the original 1889 edition of the VOICE.

HPB took great pains to put certain words and phrases in
italics or caps in the original edition of the VOICE.
In the 1928 edition of the VOICE, scores of
changes in italics and caps can be observed.
Therefore, many serious students of HPB's writings
have reasonably concluded that these changes marr
what HPB intentionally and consciously wanted to
emphasize or convey to readers of that work.

Furthermore, for some unknown reason the Theosophy Company NEVER
indicated in the 1928 edition or in any subsequent
reprints that there were numerous changes and corrections
made in this edition that were NOT in Madame Blavatsky's
original. Hence, whole generations of ULT students and other
readers of this edition were totally unaware that said
edition was not verbatim with HPB's first edition of 1889.

See related articles at:

http://theos-talk.com/archives/200005/tt00022.html

http://theos-talk.com/archives/200005/tt00024.html

http://theos-talk.com/archives/200005/tt00075.html