Theos-Talk Archives (April 2006 Message tt00294)

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This -- "The Esoteric World of Madame Blavatsky" -- is an 
unfortunate book. In it lies and truths are mixed without proper 
identification. Open slanders are called "testimonies" in such an 
unhappy volume. 
 
If Daniel Caldwell, the editor of this book,   is more than a 
troller, and if he has any true respect for HPB, or for the truth, 
he must some day do an honest self-criticism about this.
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Now I ask readers of this to pay special attention
to what Carlos says about lies and truths being mixed WITHOUT PROPER 
IDENTIFICATION.  

Now exactly what Carlos means may be subject to interpretation but I 
did warn the reader in my book about these testimonies.  Please, 
please notice and read what I say on the following pages in my book.

In some of my editorial notes
attention is called to the conflicting testimony and
even to the falsity of the charges against HPB:

p. 185: "Her phenomena and the reality of her
teachers were both controversial matters, eliciting
both believing acceptance (sometimes with independent
confirmation) and skeptical rejection, as the
following selections will illustrate."

p. 205: "Emma Coulomb later claimed that she
collaborated with HPB at Adyar, as she had earlier in
Bombay, in producing false phenomena; however, her
descriptions of what she did are not consistent with
the observatations of others, who witnessed the
phenomena, both Indian and Westerners, as some of the
following selections demonstrate."

p. 263: "Meanwhile, a vicious attack on Blavatsky by
two of her staff members at Adyar, Alexis and Emma
Coulomb, was rapidly building up....She wished to sue
the couple, already dismissed from Adyar for their
gross libel concerning her supposedly fraudulent
production of psychic phenomena...."

p. 264: "The Coulomb attack, as was later evident,
had no solid foundation whatsoever. It was based on
forged and partially forged letters, purporting to
have been written by H.P. Blavatsky, with instructions
to arrange fraudulent psychic phenomena of various
kinds."

p. 264: In 1963, Adlai Waterman....refuted Hodgson's
contentions against Madame Blavatsky....Another
refutation of some of Hodgson's charges against HPB is
Vernon Harison's article...."

p. 406: "In May 1884, the Coulomb couple were
expelled from the Theosophial Society for theft,
attempted extortion and slander...."

p. 415: "At first, relations between the two were
friendly but Solovyov turned against HPB and wrote a
book....in which he attempted to protray HPB as a
fraud."....Hasting, SOLOVYOFF'S FRAUD....

Again notice what Carlos wrote in another one of his articles about 
my book:

"In the disgusting volume The Esoteric World of Madame Blavatsky — 
while believing the editor has selected truthful documents — the 
reader will bump into many of the lies written against HPB. There he 
will see two texts by Emma Coulomb (pp. 35-36 and pp. 210-215) with 
no word from the 'editor' Daniel Cadlwell admitting he is publishing 
documents which have no trace of truth in them whatsoever."

Please pay attention to what he writes;  NO WORD FROM 
THE 'EDITOR'....

Now Carlos is asking me to have an "honest self-criticism about this"
matter so I ask in turn please Carlos have an "honest self-criticism 
about" whether you are telling your readers the truth about this.  

NO WORD???

Please reread what I quoted from my book.

For example:

"The Coulomb attack, as was later evident,
had no solid foundation whatsoever."

No word???????????????????

I would also suggest that readers consult the review of my book in 
the pages of THEOSOPHICAL HISTORY.

And maybe even Jerry HE will give his opinion of my book since he 
once was writing a review of it for some magazine.

Also I am very pleased that my book was listed for further suggested 
reading in the Blavatsky biographical article appearing in the 
definitive multi-volume 2nd edition of THE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF RELIGION.

And let me say that I know Carlos is no doubt a very sincere student 
of Theosophy and Madame Blavatsky's writings and teachings and I 
know he means well but apparently he cannot see the larger picture 
or see that other equally sincere students might see things 
differently.

Daniel
http://hpb.cc