Theos-Talk Archives (June 2007 Message tt00102)

Jake,

Thanks for your comments below.  Before I reply specifically to some 
of your comments, I am going to post a number of things I posted 
months ago on this forum about this "phoney" KH letter and some of 
the comments you had made.  As far as I know you did not in turn 
reply to my specific points.

I believe it is important to consider all the specific points very 
carefully and try to find evidence that will either confirm or 
falsify the speculations or contentions made.

First the previous postings....

Daniel


--- In theos-talk@yahoogroups.com, "proto37" <proto37@...> wrote:
>
> That "Phoney" KH letter in ES Instruction V
> 
> 
>     There was some discussion on this 
> before, and I had a few more bits of 
> information come to light.  The quotes 
> in question are on p. 696 BCW XII:
> 
> 
>     "....And so with regard to concentration 
> the Blessed Master Koot Hoomi .'. writes:  
> 'Your best method is to concentrate on 
> the Master as a Living Man within you.  
> Make His image in your heart, and a focus 
> of concentration, so as to lose all sense 
> of bodily existence in the one thought."
>  ... and some following paragraphs.
> 
> 
>    I think this is a phoney mahatma 
> communication, Dan thought it was genuine, 
> and compiled some references to it 
> from Julia Cambell Ver Planck (later 
> Julia Keightley) in The Path.  I believe 
> MacDonald in "Fohat" refered to it as 
> possibly a metaphor for the "Higher Self."
> 
> 
>    Here's another reference to Ver 
> Planck that supports partially MacDonald's 
> idea and adds 'mental image'.
> 
> 
>       ".....'A medium is an open door', 
> might be added this, - 'The positive 
> idealist is a closed temple.'  "The image 
> of the Master is the best protection 
> against lower influences;  'think of 
> the Master as a living man within you', 
> says an MSS.  This refers to the mental 
> image of that master, who may be either 
> an adept or the Higher Self."  from 
> "The Lion in the Path," The Path, Sept., 
> 1890, p 178, "Jasper Niemand" (Ver Planck)
> 
> 
>    Zirkoff in his introduction to 
> these ES Instructions, also casts 
> doubt on the veracity of everything 
> in them (as they were published after 
> HPB's death.)  He writes on BCW XII, p. 653:
> 
> 
> 
>    "[E. S. Instructions I, II and III are the actual words of H.P.B.
> They are therefore genuine texts, the authorship of which is not in
> doubt, as originals bearing her signature are extant.
> 
> 
>    "This, however, cannot be said about Instructions IV and V, and 
the
> First Supplementary Paper to Instruction IV. Originally, when 
printed
> by the H.P.B. Press in London, all the three were signed jointly by
> Annie Besant and William Quan Judge. When printed by the Aryan Press
> in New York, Instruction IV was the only one signed jointly, while 
the
> other two were signed by W. Q. Judge alone.
> 
> 
>    "These later Instructions are based on H.P.B.'s words taken down 
in
> shorthand and in the form of Notes by some of her students during 
the
> meetings of the Inner Group in London. The text that has come down 
to
> us exhibits many uncertainties.
> 
> 
>    "We include them in the present Volume with some reservations, 
even
> though many passages in them are doubtless by H.P.B. herself.
> 
> 
>    "The best discussion of the background of this later material may
> be found in The Theosophical Forum (Point Loma, Calif.), Volume XVI,
> April, May, June, 1940; XVII, July, August, September, October,
> November, December, 1940; Vol. XVIII, January, February, March, 
April,
> 1941, wherein Dr. Joseph H. Fussell, formerly secretary to Mr. 
Judge,
> presented the available data in a Series entitled "Leaves of
> Theosophical History: H.P.B.'s 'Inner Group.']"
> 
> 
> 
>     If anyone is interested in seeing 
> this series of articles by Fussell, I 
> have them in digital and can post them here.
> 
> 
>     Julia Cambell Ver Planck (Julia Keightley) 
> was someone who took to Theosophy like a 
> fish to water, and was Judge's most important 
> support on The Path.  She was the "Jasper 
> Niemand" in "Letters that have Helped Me" 
> and other articles, and other nom de plumes 
> in that magazine.  I think she was also 
> responsible primarily for that highly 
> interesting series "Tea Table Talk."  Tea 
> Table Talk was originally a "joint" venture 
> and "Julius" originally supposedly a joint 
> "nom de plume," but from all the womanly 
> worship in the numerous stories about clever 
> children in it, had to have been primarily 
> from a woman's pen, even though "Julius" 
> describes themselves as a "bachelor."  Ver 
> Plack also published a book of similar 
> children's stories.  Any man would be too 
> embarrassed to publish such.  (Fullerton 
> didn't have the ease of writing style exhibited.)
> 
> 
>     While Ver Planck has some of the most 
> valuable material in The Path, she was 
> also no doubt subject to some of the 
> vagaries of "pledge fever" that everyone 
> else is.  Some of her pieces exhibit a 
> "forced inspiration" as if under these 
> type of pressures, and don't exactly ring 
> true, as well as being on the grandoise side.  
> (Similar can be seen in an early theosophical 
> book of "forced" inspiration by "Cave".  
> Emmett Small tipped me to this.)  It is 
> sort of a "chela lust" to be giving out 
> grand sayings.  I think maybe Ver Planck 
> was subject to this and possibly "mediated" 
> this questionable KH communication - in 
> imitation of HPB's abilities.  The only 
> references in non-ES material to this 
> letter are from Ver Planck/Keightley as 
> far as I know.
> 
> 
>         - jake j.
> 
> ---------------
>