Theos-Talk Archives (April 1998 Message tl00105)

---"K. Paul Johnson" <pjohnson@vsla.edu> wrote:
>
> > Dallas TenBroeck  writes:
> > 
> > I read a posting dated April 6th 1998 from "dport@ozmail" in which
> > it is alleged without any corroborative reference given that HPB
> > smoked hashish daily.  This appears to be a deliberate insult aimed
> > at HPB.  But it demands evidence that supports it.
>But there are two sources for her use of hashish earlier in
> her life (again, the *daily* bit is unsupported): Albert Rawson's
> article in the February 1892 issue of Frank Leslie's Illustrated,
> entitled "Madame Blavatsky-- A Theosophical Occult Apology," and
> an article by Hannah Wolff in (I think) Two Worlds.  At any rate
> this source is listed in some available bibliographies, including
> Marion Meade's if I'm not mistaken.
> > 
> > If this is true, may we have a reference that is reliable?
> 
> Somehow I doubt that you will accept Rawson or Wolff as reliable,
> precisely because they make these statements about hashish.  But
> that is circular reasoning.

I have also read about it in one of those Time-Life books...(Mysteries
of the Unknown...etc etc.) but they probably got the information from
the same sources.  All throughout their article on HPB, they were
trying to declare HPB a fraud, it seemed.  That is the only place
where I personally found reference to the hashish.  I think the book
was called "Occult Phenomenon"...not sure.

JST.