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The Masters Revealed: Madame Blavatsky and the Myth of the Great White Lodge Paperback – July 22, 1994

by K. Paul Johnson (Author)

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"Previous works about the mysterious Madame Blavatsky are full of conflicting information, since she left behind a trail of concocted legends. The Masters Revealed, by K. Paul Johnson, strips away most of the fantasy and provides a wealth of new material.

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“Previous works about the mysterious Madame Blavatsky are full of conflicting information, since she left behind a trail of concocted legends. The Masters Revealed, by K. Paul Johnson, strips away most of the fantasy and provides a wealth of new material.

“K. Paul Johnson’s book is a real original. In straight-forward, readable prose, it presents a panorama of heroes, heroines, and eccentrics. Tracing Madame Blavatsky’s secret life, it often reads like an occult whodunit about a woman who was, in fact, as fascinating as the legends she created about herself.” ― New York Times Book Review

“Johnson is a tireless and careful researcher...he has presented to the reader willing to set aside personal bias and prejudgment on the central question of Blavatsky’s ‘teachers’ a reasoned and well-documented case for identifying their personae.

“Whether read as a ‘whodunit’ or as fact, it is a remarkable piece of research in a hitherto unexplored field of study.” ― The Quest

“Readers will be fascinated, as I was, to see basic profiles of historical personalities behind Morya and Koot Hoomi, as well as to gain some understanding of the way Blavatsky wove together many strains of esoteric teaching.” ― Hal W. French, University of South Carolina

“There is darn little non-partisan writing about Theosophy and this book fills a real need. Johnson shows that the Theosophical movement is intertwined with the intellectual and political history of its time. He has marshalled an impressive body of evidence to show that the Theosophical masters are neither disembodied spirits nor are they fictions but are specific historical personages whose identities were disguised for various reasons.” ― James Burnell Robinson, University of Northern Iowa

From the Back Cover

The existence of Madame Blavatsky's occult 'Masters' has been fiercely debated for more than a century. Although scores of books have been written about her, none has focused on the historical identities of these elusive teachers. This book profiles 32 of Blavatsky's hidden sponsors, including leaders of secret societies in Europe and America, religio-political reformers in Egypt and India, and even British government agents. The milieu in which she carried out her spiritual quest is vividly revealed as a hotbed of revolutionary plots and secret coalitions. But beyond all the politics was a genuine spiritual awakening of global significance.

Paperback: 288 pages
Publisher: SUNY Press (July 22, 1994)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0791420647
ISBN-13: 978-0791420645
Product Dimensions: 5.4 x 0.7 x 8.3 inches
Shipping Weight: 13.4 ounces
Average Customer Review: 4 customer reviews
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,129,773 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #367 in Theosophy
- #13252 in Westerns (Books)

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Joseph P. Fulton

Best Original Research into a Misunderstood Movement in Years

July 26, 2010

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

First, by way of disclosure, I am a friend of the author and admire his work greatly, so do not expect this review to be completely unbiased. Secondly, I am a Theosophist, albeit one who does not fall into the category of a "true believer", although that was so at one time.

The Theosophical Movement is plagued by a cultish atmosphere which (as mentioned in other reviews of this book) tends to breed those who consider every statement that paints HPB in an unfavorable light as being the agency of dark forces, those who sweetly accept the dictates of "those who know" without question. Opposite are those who consider HPB a worthless fraud and huckster of the worst kind. And yes, there is a another POV...those who recognize the merit of HPB's work while acknowledging her all-too-human frailties. In any case, this is a situation where truth is far stranger than any fiction. HPB and her cohorts on four continents were quite comfortable with using terminology such as "adept", "master", or "magus" to describe each other, something that seems to get lost in today's world among students of modern Western Esotericism. In many ways, the community that she moved in was very similar to the "digerati" of today. Many have questionable (interesting) pasts and are famous to each other, and they'll all have biographers in a 100 years, and a few will have their own cult following.

All in all, instead of denigrating the memory of Blavatsky and her peers, this book paints a picture of a diverse group of people who really did change the world...for better or worse. Well the determination of that is up to the reader.

I would suggest strongly for those who are interested further in Theosophical History, and that of Western Mysticism/Occultism, in general, to use this as a companion to the "Mahatma Letters to A.P. Sinnett" (A. Trevor Barker) and "Old Diary Leaves" (H.S. Olcott).

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Son of Surya

A bit disappointing

December 30, 2008

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

I was expecting a different book when I bought this. It is not so much about meeting the masters, but more a factual book about the life of many of the masters described by Blavatsky. The masters themselves do not speak in this book. An in-depth analysis is made about Blavatsky, and the reader is left to decide for himself what to believe.
If you are looking for a critical book about Blavatsky and her supposed masters, you will not be disappointed, although I found the book to be bone-dry to read at times.
If, on the other hand, you want to get to know the masters better, there are much better books available, such as "Lords of the seven rays" by Mark L. Prophet, from The Summit Lighthouse, a later dispensation of the Ascended Host.

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A SCHOLARLY STUDY OF THE ORIGINS OF MME. BLAVATSKY'S DOCTRINES

January 6, 2014

Format: Paperback

K. Paul Johnson has also written books such as Edgar Cayce in Context: The Readings: Truth and Fiction,Initiates of the Theosophical Masters,Pell Mellers: Race and Memory in a Carolina Pocosin, etc.

He wrote in the Introduction to this 1994 book, "By 1884, Theosophy had acquired many Indian disciples and was beginning to attract Europeans in large numbers. But charges of fraud against Madame Blavatsky were made that year by two disgruntled employees... who claimed to have participated in fakery of psychic phenomena aimed at proving the Mahatmas' existence... Their accusations led to an investigation by Richard Hodgson... [of] the Society for Psychical Research. He concluded that the Masters were nonexistent and all their alleged phenomena fraudulent, but Theosophists rejected his report as based on lies... opinion on the Hodgson report has been polarized.... In 1986, the [SPR] published a critique by ... a handwriting expert, which discredited crucial elements of Hodgson's case against HPB. But Theosophists have overinterpreted this as complete vindication, when in fact many questions raised by Hodgson remain unanswered." (Pg. 2-3) Later, he adds, "While Hodgson's suspicion that HPB and the supposed chelas of the Masters were engaged in deception was indeed justified, he went further than this. He erroneously concluded that the Masters were nonexistent and that Blavatsky's mission was to advance Russian interests." (Pg. 7)

He states, "After moving to New York in 1873, HPB ... met ... Masonic and Rosicrucian associates... The TS was also linked with a mysterious Brotherhood of Luxor based in Egypt... HPB noted in her scrapbook that she had been ordered to found a 'secret society like the Rosicrucian lodge.' As lateas 1878, HPB and Olcott were considering making the TS a Masonic order... Thus it would be hard to overestimate the influence of secret societies in the early years of Theosophy." (Pg. 5)

He wrote, "Although many of HPB's associates in Egypt and india were notably anti-British, her links with British diplomats ... indicate the difficulty of evaluating her political allegiance... the evidence on this question is ambiguous and confusing." (Pg. 74) Later, he notes, "Sinhalese Buddhists continue to regard Theosophy's arrival in their country as a milestone in their national history." (Pg. 190)

He admits, "the mystery of the source of HPB's teachings remains almost untouched... In asking from which traditional spiritual lineage HPB acquired the doctrines found in her writings, one falsely assumes a single source... It is unikely that any historical figure could meet this criterion. But it has become clear that HPB gradually developed a synthetic overview of religion, philosophy, and science. From Rosicrucianism and Freemasonry she acquired belief in secret transmission of ancient wisdom by adept brotherhoods. An idealistic belief in the possibility of human liberation from political and religious oppression was also part of her heritage from Western secret societies. Her contacts with Kabbalah and Sufism persuaded her that ancient wisdom was preserved outside Christendom in forms purer and more reliable than she had previously encountered. From personal experience with Spiritualism she became familiar with a wide range of psychic phenomena. And... she developed a love of the Indian people and a deep respect for their varied religious traditions." (Pg. 145)

He points out, "HPB herself admitted ... 'It is very rarely that Mahatma K.H. dictated verbatim,' and confessed further that 'when I thought my authority would go for naught, when I sincerely believed acting agreeably to the Master's intentions and for the good of the cause' she had 'insisted that such and such a note was from Master' although it was 'often something reflected from my own mind.'" (Pg. 175)

He concludes, "this book is not an attempt to promote a reductionist view of Theosophical history. Because it emphasizes political factors to a far greater degree than previous studies of HPB, it may be misinterpreted as denying her spiritual motivation. But there is no reason to doubt that from first to last she saw the TS primarily as an agent of spiritual values, and allied herself with whatever political and social forces seemed useful to that purpose at the time." (Pg. 242)

This is an excellent, scholarly, and not unsympathetic perspective of HPB and the Theosophical Society, that will be of great interest to any students of such.

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Pages with related products. See and discover other items: western new york history books

The Masters Revealed: Madame Blavatsky and the Myth of the Great White Lodge Paperback – July 22, 1994