Theos-Talk Archives (February 2002 Message tt00150)

E. Gerry Brown's account of H.P. Blavatsky's attempt to commit acts 
of psychic murder against Brown and his family no doubt will be 
upsetting to Blavatskyphiles. Indeed, one correspondent sent a 
lengthy reply expressing his displeasure over its publication. 

Of immediate concern, however, is the connection of this document 
with Brown's relations with Olcott and Blavatsky around 1875 and 
early 1876 (I thank Ted Davy, former editor of the Canadian 
Theosophist for reminding me of Michael Gomes' important 
article, "Studies in Early American Theosophical History: I. Elbridge 
Gerry Brown and the Boston `Spiritual Scientist'" (Canadian 
Theosophist, 69/6 [Jan.-Feb. 1989: 121-129 and 70/1 [Mar.-Apr.1989]: 
14-17).

Brown's journal, The Spiritual Scientist, was heavily supported by 
H.P.B. and Olcott to the tune of perhaps $631 if the amount written 
in the second volume of H.P.B.'s Scrapbook is correct. The journal 
was obviously of crucial importance to the two founders of the 
Theosophical Society for publicity purposes. Indeed, in June of 1875 
Serapis (as pointed out by Professor Godwin) wished for Brown to be 
the third member of a Triad that was to advance the cause of the 
Lodge (of the Masters) in America (Gomes: 121-22). By the beginning 
of 1876, however, a falling out between Brown on the one hand and 
Olcott and H.P.B. on the other occurred. In the Scrapbook containing 
the 1875 circular "Important to Spiritualists," H.P.B. 
annotates: "Several hundred dollars, out of our pockets were spent on 
behalf of the Editor [Brown], and he was made to pass through a 
minor `diksha.' This proving of no avail—The Theosophical Society was 
established. The man might have become a POWER, he preferred to 
remain an ASS . . . ." (Gomes: 123) 

What was the reason for this abrupt change in attitude of the Editor? 
Could our document shed any light on the sudden turn of events? 
Perhaps Brown's initial importance prior to the founding of the 
Society led to the document portraying H.P.B. in an overbearing and 
imperious manner because so much was at stake. What were her reasons 
for being so adamantly opposed to the marriage? Who was his future 
wife, who is described as "one of the most sensitive and perfect 
mediums I [the interviewer] have known . . . ." On a mundane matter, 
when were they married? This would obviously pinpoint the time that 
these events occurred. Can we assume that much of the description was 
embellished? If so, what does this tell us about the Browns? Or about 
H.P.B.'s attitude toward Spiritualistic phenomena? A careful reading 
of the document suggests caution in accepting every statement 
verbatim. It is obviously written for the consumption of a 
Spiritualist audience and not the general public. Consequently, Brown 
going into detail about the number of spirit entities involved in the 
assaults, his conversations with them and his eventual winning the 
spirit band over to his side would naturally be accepted by 
Spiritualists. In conclusion, the document is significant, not so 
much because of the reference to H.P.B. attempting psychic murder on 
the Browns; more significantly, it gives us some insight into the 
personal life and personality of E. Gerry Brown, his relations with 
Olcott and H.P.B., and the times in which he lived. The document 
therefore is a fairly significant contribution to our knowledge of a 
generally unknown player in early Theosophical history. If it induces 
the historian to investigate his life, then the document will have 
served its purpose.

See: http://www.theohistory.org/description-of 
issues/descript_of_issues_v4.html#Anchor-35882
(Brigitte)