E-mail David Christopher Lane
directly at dlane@weber.ucsd.edu
Author: David Christopher Lane Publisher: Alt.religion.eckankar Publication date: 1996
E-mail David Christopher Lane
directly at dlane@weber.ucsd.edu
I
want to go back to the home base now.
Tomo Geshig, "the wondrous ECK master," VERSUS Tomo Geshe, "the Buddhist Rimpoche"
In trying to track down the literary/historical sources for Twitchell's Vairagi order, I was once sent an anonymous letter from a group of "ex-Eckists" in 1989 who hinted to me in a one page letter that Chapter Nine, "The Visions of Lai Tsi," was primarily based (if not straight out plagiarized in parts) from Lama Anagarika Govinda's Chapter two, "The Guru's Vision," as found in The Way of The White Clouds. Naturally, my interest was peaked. After tracking down the book, I found to my chagrin that the Twitchell had plagiarized more widely than I suspected.
I invite anyone to research these two chapters for themselves to notice the striking similarities. I have already included two examples, and I will include three or four more in the weeks to come.
However, a more curious development. In the same Chapter Nine of the Shariyat-Ki-Sugmad, where Twitchell bases much of his writing and ideas on Govinda's text, he goes on to mention another Eck Master, "Tomo Geshig."
Guess what? In Govinda's text, he writes in Chapter Two, "The Guru's Vision" (written four years prior, by the way, to Twitchell's account) of a Buddhist Lama by the name of (surprise?), "Tomo Geshe."
Twitchell merely dropped the "e" and added the "ig."
Yet, typical with the Twitch, he neither cites nor references his sources.
[Sidebar: Before we start using that lame "Akashic" record excuse, please keep in mind that Govinda wrote his text four years prior to Twitchell. It seems as if Twitchell is always a few years behind the original author. Coincidence? Astral Memorex? Or, my favorite, old-fashioned cribbing.]
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Parts of this study will be included in the forthcoming GAKKO CAME FROM VENUS: Exploring the Lost World of Paul Twitchell and Eckankar......
Online for free starting in late Summer 1996
The Neural Surfer
http://weber.ucsd.edu/~dlane
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E-mail The Neural Surfer directly
at dlane@weber.ucsd.edu
I want to go back to the home base now.
