Theos-Talk Archives (April 1996 Message tl00333)

A brief review, followed by some comments, on The White
Buddhist: The Asian Odyssey of Henry Steel Olcott, by Stephen
Prothero (Indiana University Press, 1996, $34.95.)

Theosophists and all readers interested in Col. Olcott should
welcome this first scholarly biography of either of the TS
founders.  The book is competently written, engaging enough for
the non-academic reader but still unmistakably the work of an
academician.  The author's scholarship is very sound, and he
applies the tools of a religious historian in approaching
Olcott from an angle unlike that of any previoous author.  The
conclusions follow from the evidence, and indeed the author is
quite cautious in drawing any conclusions at all.

What I most liked about the book was its insightful use of the
concept of "creolization" to explain Olcott's impact on
Buddhism.  Using a linguistic analogy, Prothero discusses the
way that African grammatical structures combined with European
vocabulary to produce "creole" dialects in the New World.  He
argues that while Olcott adopted a vocabulary of Buddhism, his
grammar remained that of liberal Protestantism.  "Olcott's
inability to separate his adopted religion from his inherited
culture suggests, in short, that the notion that individuals
can convert *from* some hypostatic religious tradition to*
another equally hypostatic one may be ill-conceived."(p. 182)
The author argues consistently and well for his perspective on
Olcott's role in Asian religious history.

My greatest concern with the book is its reluctance to deal
with issues that are crucial to any understanding of Olcott.
The author disavows the intent to write a full biography, and
concentrates overwhelmingly on questions of interreligious
communication and influence.  This is a valuable work, and
Prothero states in the introduction that his focus was
determined by available sources, as well as by his scholarly
interests.  Still, he is too avoidant for this reader's taste
of the crucial relationship in Olcott's life-- that with HPB.
He writes, "I quite intentionally finesse questions regarding,
for example, the genuineness of spiritual phenomena attributed
to Blavatsky and the reality of her beloved `Masters.'" This
may have made his work much easier to write and less
controversial to readers, but it also seems cowardly in light
of the importance of HPB and the Masters to any profound
understanding of Olcott.  (Prothero is, however, acute in
discussing the feud between the Founders later in their lives.)

The acknowledgments thank Radha Burnier, Norma Sastry, Dorothy
Abbenhouse, and John Algeo among other Theosophists.  The
author had the full cooperation of the Adyar and Olcott
libraries, and was allowed access to the Adyar archives'
collections of Olcott letters and diaries.  One might speculate
that his "finessing" and "bracketing" was the means by which he
obtained such cooperation.  I sincerely doubt that if he had
said "I certainly do intend to present a reasoned conclusion
about the reality of HPB's powers and her Masters, as well as
of Olcott's spiritual experiences," he would have gotten the
great cooperation recorded in the acknowledgment.