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Date Posted: 02:42:31 10/28/03 Tue
Author: ketch - 5 Sep 2003
Subject: Re: Yogananda, Notovitch and nonsense
In reply to: yogi - 4 Sep 2003 's message, "Re: Yogananda, Notovitch and nonsense" on 02:41:59 10/28/03 Tue

This is no evidence at all. To put things in perspective, compare the few reports of this non-existent tradition with the hundreds, perhaps thousands of equally credible reports of sightings of Bigfoot, the Yeti, the Loch Ness monster, alien abductions etc. A handful of uncorroborated accounts means nothing.

Of the people you mention what are they witnesses to? Sri Daya Mata did not hear or see anything firsthand, neither did Dr Robert S. Ravicz or Edward F. Noack , they are simply repeating hearsay.

Madame Caspari saw nothing but some closed scrolls which she could not read and which were not translated to her.

William O. Douglas repeated a few rumours he claimed to have heard, which may simply have been repeating Notovitch's claims.

Adhedenanda was a highly political Indian nationalist who may have had ulterior motives for his claims.

His Holiness Sri Bharati Krishna Tirtha might have a contribution to make if he actually produced the document he claims to have seen at Puri, but so far none have turned up.

Nicholas Roerich was himself a controversial character whose travel claims, and descriptions have been disputed.

Against this put the statement of the Abbot of Himis that the visit from Notovitch never happened and "I have never heard of [a manuscript] which mentions the name of Issa, and it is my firm
and honest belief that none such exists. I have inquired of our
principal Lamas in other monasteries of Tibet, and they are not acquainted
with any books or manuscripts which mention the name of Issa."

Clearly the Tibetans themselves were completely unaware of their supposed tradition.

The plain fact is that sometimes people do lie. It is easy to get away with such things especially when somewhere obscure and inaccessible like Tibet (at that time) is concerned. As recently as the 1970's the late Cyril Henry Hoskins, a plumber from the town of Plimpton in Devon (South West England) was able to convince many that he was the Tibetan Master Tuesday Lobsang Rampa, and wrote a series of dreadful books about his experiences and wisdom. Despite the fact that Hoskins nonsense was exposed by Tibetan refugees there are still people today who buy his books and believe in him.

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