Hodgson Report: Difference between revisions
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The report drew international attention. The ''Boston Courier'' printed a lengthy and scathing article, saying the SPR "Has made no more egregious blunder than its report on Theosophy." It quoted a letter signed by almost seventy citizens of Negapatam (now Nagapattinam), India, on one of Richard Hodgson's major assertions: | The report drew international attention. The ''Boston Courier'' printed a lengthy and scathing article, saying the SPR "Has made no more egregious blunder than its report on Theosophy." It quoted a letter signed by almost seventy citizens of Negapatam (now Nagapattinam), India, on one of Richard Hodgson's major assertions: | ||
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<ref>"Theosophy and the Psychical Society," ''Boston Courier'' 63:21 (July 18, 1886). The entire article is reproduced in the "''Boston Courier'' reaction" section of this wiki page.</ref> | The existence of the Mahatmas or Sadhus was not invented by Madame Blavatsky or any other individual. Our forefathers who had lived and gone long before the birth of Madame Blavatsky and the Coulombs had full belief in the existence of the Mahatmas and their psychical powers, and even had personal interviews with them. There are persons in India, even at the present day,who have no connection with the Theosophuical Society, and yet have interviews with such Superior Beings... Let Mr. Hodgson and the Committee, if they are in earnest, make deep researches into the matter and find that their conclusions were not only hasty but also entirely unfounded. The report of Mr. Hodgson and the conclusion of the Committee thereon, cannot at all affect in the least our belief in the existence of the Mahatmas, but will only betray their grossest ignorance of the Occult history of the Hindus.<ref>"Theosophy and the Psychical Society," ''Boston Courier'' 63:21 (July 18, 1886). The entire article is reproduced in the "''Boston Courier'' reaction" section of this wiki page.</ref> | ||
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Revision as of 15:02, 9 April 2013
ATTENTION: Janet is working on this article, and it is in a state of flux!
The Hodgson Report was a report by the Society for Psychical Research (SPR) on H. P. Blavatsky, her performance of psychic phenomena, and the production of the Mahatma letters. In December, 1884, Richard Hodgson of the SPR visited the Adyar headquarters of the Theosophical Society in India. A. P. Sinnett refuted the report in a 60-page booklet, The Occult World Phenomena and the Society for Psychical Research, published in 1886.[1]
A. P. Sinnett response
Boston Courier reaction
The report drew international attention. The Boston Courier printed a lengthy and scathing article, saying the SPR "Has made no more egregious blunder than its report on Theosophy." It quoted a letter signed by almost seventy citizens of Negapatam (now Nagapattinam), India, on one of Richard Hodgson's major assertions:
The existence of the Mahatmas or Sadhus was not invented by Madame Blavatsky or any other individual. Our forefathers who had lived and gone long before the birth of Madame Blavatsky and the Coulombs had full belief in the existence of the Mahatmas and their psychical powers, and even had personal interviews with them. There are persons in India, even at the present day,who have no connection with the Theosophuical Society, and yet have interviews with such Superior Beings... Let Mr. Hodgson and the Committee, if they are in earnest, make deep researches into the matter and find that their conclusions were not only hasty but also entirely unfounded. The report of Mr. Hodgson and the conclusion of the Committee thereon, cannot at all affect in the least our belief in the existence of the Mahatmas, but will only betray their grossest ignorance of the Occult history of the Hindus.[2]
Testimony by C. W. Leadbeater
In an article published in The Theosophist, C. W. Leadbeater wrote the following:
I was at Adyar myself when Mr. Hodgson came out there to make that investigation. He was very young and obviously not very well acquainted with psychic matters. I had my own opinion of the way in which he carried out his investigation! I gave him a considerable amount of testimony, but he did not refer to that in any way in drawing up his decision, and I know the same was the case with several others of our people there. He cross-examined us but apparently made no use whatever of what we told him of the honesty of Madame Blavatsky; perhaps he did not believe us; at any rate he sent in a report which induced people to condemn her.[3]
Online Resources
Articles and pamphlets
- The Great Mare's Nest of the Psychical Research Society by Annie Besant
- The Society for Psychical Research and the Theosophical Phenomena. The Report of the S.P.R. on Madame Blavatsky at Blavatsky Study Center
- Paranormal Features of Some of the Appearances of the Mahatmas by Daniel H. Caldwell
- H. P. Blavatsky and The Society for Psychical Research by Grace F. Knoche
- Press Release of Society for Psychical Research, 1986 at Blavatsky Net
Books
- First Report of the Committee of the Society for Psychical Research at The Blavatsky Archives Online
- Obituary: The "Hodgson Report" on Madame Blavatsky by Walter A. Carrithers, Jr.
- H. P. Blavatsky and the SPR. An Examination of the Hodgson Report of 1885 by Vernon Harrison, Ph.D.
- The Coulomb Conspiracy against Theosophy by Charles J. Ryan, from H. P. Blavatsky and the Theosophical Movement, Ch. 13.
- The "Occult World Phenomena" and the Society for Psychical Research by A. P. Sinnett
Additional resources
- The Coulomb Case. Some Suggested Reading - Pro and Con at Blavatsky Study Center
Notes
- ↑ A. P. Sinnett, The Occult World Phenomena and the Society for Psychical Research, London: George Redway, 1886. Available online at Blavatsky Archives.
- ↑ "Theosophy and the Psychical Society," Boston Courier 63:21 (July 18, 1886). The entire article is reproduced in the "Boston Courier reaction" section of this wiki page.
- ↑ Charles Webster Leadbeater, "Theosophy and the T.S." The Theosophist vol:1, No. 11 (November, 1930), 941.