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welcome to stuff. You missed in history, glass, a production of Iheart Radio, however, opened upon cast I'm homely fry band, I'm crazy wealth in Tracy. It's the best month of the year I know it's your absolute may bring. It is. In my heart its October every day, but now will generally in October, which means Halloween content, and for this to we're doing kind of an on ramp topic, because it's a subject, that I know you and I have both been kind of mentally prowling around forbids. It is Madame Lebowski, who is said to have gone simply by her initials of HP, be I have a heart

I am saying that so I'm gonna stick to her regular name yeah. I got a name she was known by in all of her work around the English speaking world. We're not gonna try to like We create her russian name and rush in because that's like not how she was known here right and boulevards key is a figure that is iconic in a number of ways. She was the founder of the theosophical movement. She the life of adventure, that is hard very hard to believe. Frankly, we'll talk a bit about the likely embellishment of some of her life story. You could also make the case that she in many ways set the image that persist to this day in pop culture of the fortune. Teller clad in flowing garments infringe she tended to play her otherness as she travelled through the world's him, make a name for herself and to make a living a polarizing figure to this day. There are still people

or scholars of her work and still people that are very vested in proving her work? But the important thing is that the EU, act. Her work is still felt in the world whether you believe her to have been a genuine mystic or a total fraud. So we are tackling medical of asked after many years of kind of looking at it again being like later later, yeah out, though, when we were we, we have each had time away from the office recently and it was like we're trying to get a handle on what was coming up on the zones. The one of us didn't do the same thing as the other one, while the other one was out and not reach a hopeful, and you sent me. Lived over and I was like I'm so glad this is finally on there while worked out well because you know this is it's a longer episode in part, because there's a lot of story for her, her life is, is

some ways well documented in other ways very fussily documented picking it apart is quite key, but I also wanted to try to read as many different sources and by other fees. I could because, as we know, and we ve talked about before some will be favourable to a subject, some will not some will fall in the middle and you kind of how to develop a sense of pattern, recognition to see like what is consistent biography to biography and what seems like biographer bias, and so, in her case, that's a really big part of the research. Is this kind of train assess out the bias is the actual yeah, I'm literally putting your quotes around actual facts because you'll see,

It starts right from the beginning of the life of Madame Blavatsky was just the tangle of intensity right from her birth. She was born Elena Petrovna Van Han and what was at the time russian Ukraine. She was born August 12th, one thousand eight hundred and thirty and she was born prematurely in the middle of a cholera epidemic. That's already, allied Billina their Billina Andrea Nevada Hon was still a teenager was thick with cholera. When she gave birth and both of them were not expected to live, a priest was brought ends baptized the baby quickly before she was expected to die, and so then Elaine is odd. Nada, who was also a child at the time accidently set the priest robes on fire with a candle that she was holding. This is so much

in a birth story, right, there's just a lot going on a lane. As german Father, Peter Van Han was a captain in the royal horse artillery he was in Poland when all of this happened, so he missed all of the. U no sort of Eve happenings, but also the whacking us with the child, setting a priest on fire accidentally. He she did not meet his daughter for six months to a year depending on the source. You look at accounts swerve around quite a bit on that point, so of course she did not die in infancy. She was also descended from royalty. Her grandmother was princess, Alina Pavlovna, Dilbert, Sakharov and defied convention of the day she educated herself and thing from greek language to Botany Polina seventeen year old mother also survived the delivery and became a

novel is shortly after that sometimes she's been called the Russian George signed because of the similarity of the themes in her work to that of our previous pod cast subject so young Elaine, I grew up in a household of when you really valued riding in learning yeah, her mothers novels are largely about women who are in marriages, the do not hold enough romance or happiness for them. Much like, oh god, I'm sure sounds work, though Alina was born into the aristocracy and have really positive role models in terms of education for women arenas the child was not really what you would call idyllic. Her fathers mill Terry Career, meant that they moved frequently. there are widely different assessments of what her relationship with her mother was lake. Some indicate the elder Alina was generally unhappy with her life and the constant moving and would have been very pleased to just break free of her family obligations entirely other

suggests it mother and daughter, were in fact, quite close now. One point: Peters orders took the family to Saint Petersburg My elder Billina was finally happy so much so that when the orders came to leave, she refused to go upon. Hans were separated for awhile. During this period, though, she did take her two daughters on a thousand miles journey with their grandfather to Astrakhan, which was at the mouth of the vulgar river. The family patriarch was travelling for work and the young Billina was exposed to Tibetan Buddhism there the first time later in life. She would describe this as having made a really lasting impression on her yeah. I didn't dig into it here, but most biographer make the point of lake. Her mother was so happy. In a city and in Saint Petersburg, though she refused to move with. father, but then she took kids out of Saint Petersburg and went on what was actually a very long, arduous journey. So it kind of points to the fact that maybe she just didn't want

B with Peter maybe wanted gap, but time, Elinor was nine, her parents were back together and the family was then living in Odessa, but at this point the Their billina, who had never really enjoyed robust health was sick and she was getting worse when He was finally diagnosed with tuberculosis during pregnancy, a doctor moved in with the family full time and that baby a Sunday Leonid was born in June. Eighteen, forty and he was see the family second son. They had had a boy named Sasha who had died in infancy several years earlier, and you may have have noticed reference to daughters a little bit ago, and that's because at that point there was already a second daughter. Her name was Vieira and help Andrea, have not survived the birth of her fourth trial despite her illness, but despite every treatment at the families, wealth and connections for her. She did not live a whole lot longer. She died in eighteen, forty, two at the age of just twenty, eight and in an

Hocker full story. Her last words to her daughter were that she would live a life like other women and that she would suffer a great deal since something that blue ascii would say throughout her life. Helena. Her sister Vieira and her brother Leonid were sent to live with their grandparents. A third of trophy sentiment that Helene It's not like other girls was something that was really part of the way the family described her from her youth. Her sister Vera described her is being singularly strange and most descriptions talk about her having a due out to her personality. On the one hand, she was really rebellious and stubborn and liked to play unkind, pranks and kind of talk back to adults and, on the other, she was bookish deeply interested in the metaphysical and really obsessed with hiding in the many tunnels and other strange hideaway is that were part of their grandparents house in the city,

of sorrow on the vulgar river, and this is also the point in the timeline where the stories of her unusual paranormal abilities are rooted. So, according to family stories, which are, of course not verifiable, Helena would play with what seem to be ghosts, and she would sleep, walk into the unused passages of the house and develop the ability to put birds to sleep using something that she called Solomons wisdom. We don't know what that was. There is literally nothing tries to explain what solomons with rights and, of course, the family law around Hyena mentions her fascination with the dead from the time she was a child once the children had relocated to sabotage and we're just not constantly moving around to accommodate their father, career any more their education settled in a more consistent and formalised structures,

even so, and in spite of coming from a pretty progressive family in terms of women in education, this was largely about preparing her to be an aristocratic wife. So she was learning French studying art and music, but things like math and science were not really part of the curriculum Nope. She was supposed to learn how to be a very pretty and quiet and to be able to entertain her husband with talks of culture, but not really. anything else, and there are a lot of stories of the way in which Billina in her early years comes into contact with the occult in the mystical just before her own deeper connection to that world is said to have manifested So she allegedly learned about be communication and plants that had mystical uses from what is usually referred to as a serve on the family property. His name is listed as Beranek Briac, black and while travelling

with her grandparents. She was again exposed to a number of other cultures and ideas and was once again completely fascinated with Tibetan Buddhism. In particular, she also started dimension a protector that she saw in her dreams during her late childhood, and she described this protector, which was her name for him as a tall man from India and worthwhile accidents that happen, her where she narrowly escaped serious injury and she attributed her lack of damage to the intervention of this protector figure you're in one instance, she had act at table with other furniture and climbed it to get a look at a portrait that was high on the wall of her grandparents home there's a whole layer to this story where the portrait is covered with a curtain and nobody wants any, the to see it, and so that makes it more alert, we don't ever find out what the portrait is, but when she ict behind it to the forbidden painting. Whatever it was

as was either so shocking or startling that she passed out and fell from this giant stack of furniture. and she claimed that when she came to, everything was back where it belongs to all of the furniture had been put back in its proper place and the only evidence of her clandestine climb was a handprint that she had left Hi. I'm a wall in on a dusty surface and then on another occasion she was thrown from a horse and she said that her protector had appeared and saved her by holding her head. So it did not. Impact on the ground are also a sort of incongruous piece of travel information that comes up around the same time that she started seeing this protector later in life, she mentioned having gone to England,

her father when she was twelve or thirteen. There's really no record of this trip. It's not corroborated by her sisters diary at the time. So a story and tend to be of two views on this sort of strange stand out piece in the whole. Madame blob, ascii puzzle: either it never happened or it happened, but she recalled the timeline incorrectly in this trip really took place closer to eighty fifty when she was seventeen or eighteen instead of twelve or thirteen, there will be so many inconsistencies with where she is and when accepting all of these stories, of course requires bit of faith, because there isn't a way to corroborate the appearance of a Spirit We appears to one person or even to if I simple events that are part of family his, but have no actual record right. We don't know she was thrown from a horse, no one of lake recorded that many way we. No, if she climbed this tableful of things and with somehow protected and clean.

After by a friendly spirit, because, like there's not like, anybody files or report on when it came to this protector. Alina also didn't seem content to just use the idea as a means of explaining the unexplainable as a teenager, she became really fixated on studying what exactly was at work. When strange events happened around her, so she read, according to her own account, books on Alchemy MAGIC and the occult. These had been part of her great grandfathers, royal library and included in these volumes. There was even a book by the previous podcast subject, a fisherman that account is actually true reading the work of other exe

wars of the unknown gave her the base of knowledge that she then used as her jumping off point with her own mystical and philosophical explorations, holiness teenage years worry time full of significant change, as is pretty normal for a teenager, although hers is not always that normal, we're going to delve into that after we first pause for a sponsor break. Target. Each item you put in your card brings more good to life like a coffee brand that opens more eyes to black business, natural laundry detergent that puts a wider load on the planet. Wheelchair friendly, Halloween costumes that second take the lead in motion and make up celebrates beauty in every shape. Here. The good you want is always within reach, because our target we believe in good. We can all afford this episode of stuff. You miss than history glasses, brought to you by best fiends, if you,

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download. That is a lot of fun. Best themes is here download, best fiends for free on app store or Google play. That is friends without the are best themes play best themes, download free. When I was fifteen, her life shifted once again her grandfathers appointment as governor of Sarah Tab ended. and at that point, Polina Vieira and Leonid first spent a year with an ant before joining their grandparents in the georgian capital of Tbilisi, which was called ticketless at the time ass. She turned sixteen Alina had started to speak about a double life that she was leading

One was her normal everyday life and the other was her astral life. She also may be acquaintance of Prince Alexander Galitzin, who was similarly interested in the mystical and had travelled the world seeking out experts and practitioners of various occult and magical activities goliaths. It is said to have encouraged too late as interest in this secondary spiritual life and speed the advised her to travel the same way that he had to learn more about the unknown. When Alina with seventeen, there was once again a sudden change in her circumstance, but this time in the Form of a marriage seemingly out of nowhere. She wed Nick afford Lebowski a man in his forties who was vice governor of the caravan province of Armenia. How this match happened is another place in holiness life, where the stories differ really significantly some theories that she may have just run off and got married as an act of rebellion against her father or her govern.

so she was having some conflict with again. That depends on the source. You read it also have been hastily arranged marriage made by the family in the hopes of tethering the freezingly restless Selina to her home. In some way, but in later years she herself also said that Nick Afore, unlike a lot of the men closer to her age, never mocked her interest. mystical and would talk to her about things that he had learned in other places and cultures that might interest her ass. She studied such matters as was not a good match, though Alina got cold feet before the wedding even have banned, and she tried to back out, vanished for several days, and there were rumors that she had met up with Cleocin, but she returned from wherever she had gone in time for the wedding that wedding took place on July. Seventh, one thousand eight hundred and forty nine and she said to him

used to do the vow of honouring and obeying her new husband. But otherwise the ceremony did go as planned. According to a later, though, this marriage was never consummated and will come back This no sooner was this wedding. Over them Helena began a series of attempts to run away from her new husband and her new life. She and Nick Afore lived in the palace of sardines and caravan, and she spent a great deal of time. It seems evading guards who wished she would just stay put. Eventually, she did manage to get past the guards and she ran back to her family and toothless, am at

blame the decision was made to ship her off to her father and see if that might help, but she purposely missed the boat and then bribed a different boat captain to take her to Kurtz. She travelled with two members of their families, household staff and assured them tat. She was still planning to rendezvous with her father. Then she gave them the slip. Similarly, after some issues with the captain of the english ship, the Commodore, which was the captain she had bribed, she ran away again. The captain's boat was boarded by harbour police who were looking for run away aristocrat and while she managed to evade capture by addressing the cabin boy of captain, probably did not like all of this bus. Soon she was gone, and this was the start of just a wild decade, interest in the mystical and would talk to her about things that he had learned in Skis life are very murky. She did not trust her family not to send her back

husband. If she told them where she was said, she didn't, with the possible exception of her father, who might have occasionally been sending her money and because of the cloak and dagger nature travels plenty of unlikely stories about just what she was up to during those years of travel abound boulevard. Turkey's own accounts of this period of her life shifted and changed over the years, sometimes in ways that contradicted another or created impossibility in terms of the timeline. The first place that Madame Boulevard Ski explored was Constantinople. Later she shared that it was here that she met opera singer, a Guardy metternich after finding him stabbed and left for dead in the street will of asking stood watch over him with a pistol to ward off anybody who had ill intent, while waiting for somebody to help her arranged for him to get help should find some non nefarious help eventually

and montraville was treated and recovered. The two of them remained friends for the remaining two decades of the fingers. Life Helene is also said to have made the acquaintance of the countess Sophia kiss live in Constantinople, who she travelled with for several months, often disguised as a young man. They went to Egypt in Greece together before heading to Eastern Europe, met Vets and Billina Ben turned up together somewhere in Europe, Petrovitch wrote to holiness grandfather to tell him that the two were married this is all very bleary. We don't know if this was like. I'm your friend a minute tell your grandparents that were together now. I'm explained this to your husband or if he really thought they were getting me. It's again. Everything murky murky, Marquis, But we do know that by the early eighteen fifties, boulevard ski was first in Paris and then in London and in England that she had what she claimed was a significant spiritual experience

She met a man from India who she claimed to already know. Remember that protect her from her childhood. She said that this man, and who she called Master Maria, sometimes she'll, just call him. The master was one and the same and the specifics around exactly when and where she met him shifted in her own accounts. She told different people that she had seen him in a crowd, first and recognised whom others than she had met him at Waterloo Bridge when she was considering suicide. Another version was it: she ran into him at the great exhibition and so that she met him in the seaside town of Ramsgate. But all

These versions, even though they are different, include his seeking her out to tell her that she must spend several years in Tibet and before trying to make a path to Tibet, though she headed the Canada. She was inspired by the writing of James Fenimore Cooper to seek out first nations peoples. Charlie's encounters disappointing though, and she attributed this disappointment to the indigenous population. Having been exposed to christian missionaries. There's the layers here. There are so many layers and she's very problematic when it comes to her interactions with full of other cultures. because she does that thing where she simultaneously fetish. ices them and criticizes the heck out of them as not being what she wanted them to be its very problematic. But after this time in Canada, she,

said to have moved south to New Orleans and then into Texas before leaving North America for India and she, Eighty india. She stayed in Bombay first for two years, and it said that during this time, masters of Should wisdom also told her to go to bed to learn about the integration of science, religion and philosophy, but she couldn't we make your way into two bets that was tricky at this time. Europeans not so much welcome. Tibet was very closed off. At this point she decided to head back to England when she got there. She had quite the tale of her journey. She claimed that the ship she was on had wrecked near the cape of Good, And that she was one of twenty one survivors after allegedly meeting with the master again in the home of someone she says she didn't know a label of asking made her way to North America again, yet this

the point merge her story where I was like she's lost all sense of even grounding her tales in any sort of reality like this all I took a ship from India, anyone shipwrecks twenty one of survived the snow account of how she got back to Europe. From that point, yeah it's a little bit little bit could game, but she landed in New York and then she headed West first to Chicago and then to salt Lake City and from there she moved on to San Francisco, where she boarded a steamer too I am from there. It was on to India and this time, with the help of a guide and disguised herself, she claimed to have entered Tibet in eighteen. Fifty six at last, the time line of her travels was written up and published by boulevard Ski in Moscow comical under the pen name, RADA, by from Tibet, she

eventually ordered by the mysterious master, to travel back to Europe. All of this is disputed. It's entirely possible, but she was just hanging out in Europe this whole time. That's how he said earlier to bet was pretty closed off to Europeans. She might have managed to gain access to to bed. If she was traveling with one of the people that she named checked as a spiritual master from the surrounding area, but I mean can a long odds on this. There has never been any corroborating information for these claims, but while the years from eighteen, forty, nine to eighteen, fifty eight are really only known by what Lebowski said she did. We do know that she was back in Russia with her family on Christmas. Eighteen, fifty eight once again the family noted, strange phenomena that seem to always surround her. Elinor went back to her husband.

For in eighteen, sixty two, but a guardian petrovitch then showed up in ticketless. Not long after claiming his own rights as her husband, this whole thing is really messy and unclear and then to confuse the situation further, she adopted a boy named Yuri with Nick Afore. The couple didn't stay together: Yuri died at the age of five and was buried as Yuri Metro, bitch theories. Actual parentage is also a matter of debate. Madame Lebowski said that this was the out of wedlock, son of her sister in law and bear in mind ORF rumours, arose and continued

He was actually the child of Billina and Montraville. Yes, a big it's a big cluster and mystery. We don't know they're. So many I feel like she was so good at creating such pastiche confusing details about her life that no one could untangle them would be like wait. This does about up in eighteen. Sixty four Lebowski had a horse riding accident that actually left her in a coma for several months, and she said that when she came out of that coma, her paranormal ability- had been fully actualized. After this, she was once again on the move throughout Europe before once again receiving instructions from the master to go to Constantinople than India and into Tibet. Again all unsubstantiated we're about to get to the phase of Slovakia's life where she became associated with spiritualism before we get into that. Let's take a quick break and hear from some of the sponsors that keep stuffy myth

history, glass going. This episode is Brodie by: U S bank. I learned an interesting from the sponsor, actually a little bit surprising, shocking, maybe even dismaying, and that is the fact that, even though America has the largest economy, we rank fourteenth in financial literacy, whether you he'll, financially savvy you're. Not you probably have some questions when it comes to banking and finances, and that's why, whether you're a customer or not? U S, bank put it their financial iq. This I helped understand your money and reach or financial goals. Protect Eureka it's from online fraud by your own home or plan for retirement just type in you question and learn something new like tips to avoid online fraud, whatever or financial pursuit. U S bank gives you the insights and strategies to increase your knowledge visit. U S back dot com, slash insights, to get started you as banks

equal housing, winder member after I see. Sales force brings companies and customers and Philly together how we bring negative commerce and city centre. Together we bring spired marketing and historic legacy together and all, where the two and five we help you customer service and customer success together. In this John sales force, the world's number one crm: we bring company customers together visits else worse dot, com, slash, learn, more in eighteen. These boulevard ski became involved with the spiritualist movement fuel

long time listener to the pod cast. You may recall that the modern spiritualist movement is usually cited as beginning with the Fox sisters and their claims of communication with spirits in eighteen, forty, eight previous ho, Sarah and Dublin. I did a whole episode on their story, so by the time Helene above ASCII became connected to it. Spiritual of them had been getting attention, particularly in the United States, for a couple of decades and had grown very popular, even though it has also had plenty of doubters right from the big and although Madame Lebowski became connected to spiritualism, she was ideologically map a hundred percent aligned with it. The idea of spiritualism involved communication with the souls of the deceased. She didn't believe that events like say answers were making contact with the dead, but instead that the entities being reached were elemental, rules or shells, not actual souls

really love Assad's, though oh she certainly did because that was part of her fully actualized parents mobility is, after she came out of their como was ass. She could contacts other realms through sciences, and it is through her work, conducting seances that she met the man who would become one of her greatest admirers and most enthusiastic collaborators. Madame Blavatsky had made her way back to North America by one thousand. Eight hundred and seventy three

She was living in New York City at the time and she was actually kind of struggling to get by. She was working in a sweatshop making artificial flowers to support herself, and then she met Henry steal. All caught at a seance in Vermont Alcott was in a lot of ways. The last person you would expect to have responded positively to spiritual of them. He had served in the U S: Army. During the american civil war, we had a career as a lawyer working on fraud cases and by the time you met love ascii. He was working as an investigative journalist. He found himself at blue Vosges seance because he was conducting investigative research into what a lot of people suspected were knots, virtual experiences at all, but the work of charlatans all kind had already written a number of articles about spiritual them and what was becoming more and more fascinated by it here. There's a whole a story about the farm that thereat, which was run

these people, they were having sciences and making money off of ITALY. They were Reno charging, entry fees and booking spiritualist to come in and do these I want to call them performances, but these events, but even before the seance began, ok could not help but notice Selina, who stood out in the farming town of Chicken in Vermont. Her manner of dress, including a bright red tunic and a fur tobacco ouch her many rings her blonde curly hair, which all caught described as like the fleece of cots wild. You and the fact that he overheard her speaking friends to a friend or drew the journalist in he was completely fascinated. Here's

he rode over later quote this lady Madame Helen P, Lebowski has got a very eventful life travelling in most of the lands of the Orient searching for antiquities at the base of the pyramids, witnessing the mysteries of Hindu temples and pushing with an armed escort far into the Interior of Africa. The adventures she has encountered the strange people she has seen the perils by sea and land she has passed through would make one of the most romantic story is ever told by a biographer and the whole course of my sperience. I never met so interesting and, if I may say, without offence, eccentric, a character, all cats endorsement when are really long way in terms of validating, but that's his personal story, and he also called her quote a lady of such social position as to be incapable of entering into a vulgar conspiracy with any pair of tricks,

theirs to deceive the public, he was like all in. He believed everything she said without backtracking. It seemed the science that all cut witnessed, sounds a little more like a stage, show various spirits, made appearances as in showing up on stage a native american woman, a man from the country of Georgia, the Spirit of a german man and the french Canadian Father of one of the attendees who gave responses to questions posed in French by making wrapping This is in one instance is said to have audibly uttered the word. We a journalist writing for the Smithsonian Edward how're, described all caught as having one of the most dramatic midlife crises in history and his relationship with Lebowski. Some take some their relationships, the grass the model of ask

as a home reykir who caused all cuts divorce, he was actually already estranged from his wife and in the legal proceedings to end that marriage before the two of them met rumours of an affair between the two of them, persisted, though in part because he moved in with her when they both got back to New York. Even so wow Boulevard Ski in all, caught may have been emotionally very intimate. It really does seem unlikely that they had a romantic relationship, at least not one that manifested physically we mention that Hyena always said her. First marriage was never consummated and she claimed later and If that she had never had a sexual relationship with anyone, generally described herself in a way that today might be categorized as a sexual. She once said quote: I have Keno inconstant eruption in my brain- and a glacier at the foot of the mountain, but She and oh caught tended to refer to one another is chum

we're close, but her the regulation is a mistress who lured him away from his wife really doesn't quite track. By the way was known to have had mistresses key sounds like something of a ladies man, but it doesn't appear that move. Ascii was one of them. All tat was a major boon to Madame Duval gives public persona through his writing, as well as a source of financial support. Their shared apartment became an epicenter for spiritualist gatherings and they routinely hosted sciences and discussions at the paranormal there, all of us. We would invite journalists to visit, so they would see that she was no trickster, just merely a woman who is in touch with other realms and it was in Haven for discussion of the paranormal and a cult Colonel Henry Yolcuat suggested that they formalize their gatherings under an official organization that could study. All of the mystical and spiritual subjects that they were all interested in, and this marks the beginning of the theosophical society which sought to create- and I

Kennedy for itself that was separate from the spiritualist movement and to help shape that identity a lane began. Writing the numerous reasons that provides gave was and remains, a figure of controversy is really clear in her writing. From this period she published her book ISIS unveiled in eighteen, seventy seven all caught edited it, and she levelled a lot of criticism at both organised religion and the scientific community. She thought that both groups were missing the real path to enlighten met and incite the osprey according to Helena. Lebowski was the answer and it was to quote her quote. The synthesis of science, religion and philosophy was a way to bring those

three disciplines together. This book was both praised and pans, and wove ascii, put all of the reviews into a scrap book. Isis unveiled is something of a hodgepodge. It borrows from religions all over the world pulling in ideas which boulevard ski adapted from memory, although she that it was largely dictated to her telepathic Lee by masters of ancient and secret knowledge, its deepest. roots, Aryan, Helena's versions of Buddhism and Hinduism, but she

braided show many varied ideas, because she envisioned Theosophy is something that could unite the world's varied systems of beliefs. Although a muddle of ASCII had managed to amass following in the United States, it didn't really sustain itself and ass. Her influence and the members of the theosophical society fizzled out. She and all caught decided to move on and supporting Blackie in town in her gifts. He had really squandered his good name among his fellow journalists. In the United States, who really just taken some mocking him openly about it. You, he kind of tank, this career, to prepare to leave with an eye towards India. Alina Lebowski became a U S, citizen and the thinking here was that if things went badly oversee, she would have the protection of the consulate in India she

and the colonel also sold off all of their belongings. They cleared out their cool apartment and, on December seventeenth, eighteen, seventy eight. They left the? U S for India and more specifically than simply going to India they'll all caught and blood ascii intended for the theosophical society to join up with the area summit, which was a Hindu reform movement that had started in eighteen. Seventy five all caught emblematic e were novelties in Bombay. They openly criticised colonialism and they embraced eastern religious ideas and in doing so they kind of became media darlings. For a time through spiritualist named Alfred Percy Senate, who edited a british newspaper that published in India. The founders of the theosophical society were booked at seances, threw out british society that lived in Bombay at the time Colonialism seemed to be a little more palatable. If that meant, it led to paying gigs for them, these say on has featured all kinds of paranormal happenings when

Then it's why, for example, mentioned a lost brooch that she longed to find boulevard, told her it ray materialized in her flower beds, those flower beds were I got up and lo the brooch. she has also said to have produced a spray of roses in mid air which fell on the heads of people in the room when a visitor said that she could not produce a miracle all caught emblem: ASCII set up their theosophical society headquarters in Bombay an eighteen. Seventy nine, Madame Boulevard Ski became the editor of their periodical, the Theosophists, which was a role she would have for the next nine years, all caught toward the Indian Sub continent, giving lectures He spoke against british efforts to convert Buddhists to Christianity and on a trip to Sri Lanka, which was, of course, still called Ceylon at the time he and omg Lebowski publicly took buddhist vows, all caught took a deep interest in Ceylon and contributed.

The Buddhist community there in a variety of ways, from opening schools to writing religious study texts to designing a flag which is still in use today, so I started working as a healer. He believed that magnetism had curative properties and that he could manipulate

to administer to all manner of ailments, while the beginning of Levice keys and all cuts time in Bombay and sail on was joyous. The tides eventually turned. The members of the fierce afghan society asked all caught to stop healing people in the public version of the story was that they felt like it was depleting his energy, but there was also likely some kind of urgent about it being problematic. Then all caught emblem ascii became embroiled in a dispute when a woman that they had taken under their wing as a medium named Emma Coloma, started to hold obviously fake seances to make easy money. Next, the head of the Arias Somali denounced the ossified very publicly, as he believed, the incorporation of all faiths was not in line with his group's ideology

had come to view wove, ascii and all caught as untrustworthy yeah. He had pamphlets written up talking about how he had changed his mind and believed that they were charlatans and things only got worse from their Alfred Percy Syn here we mentioned just a little while ago, had published a book of letters and these low Others were alleged to have come from the masters that Madame Lebowski knew, but one of them was obviously plagiarized from an american periodical and someone recognised it, and so the press which Initially, welcome that the pacifists turned on Lebowski. They first started to question her legitimacy as a psychic, and soon she was just flat out accused of being a fraud in all the papers. she and all caught, move their headquarters from Bombay to moderate in eighteen. Eighty, two to get away from the controversy Bauer for a while, but within a few

years there was another much bigger controversy, Emma column who had been doing this fake Faye Ounces, published a series of letters and Madras Periodical. She said they were written to her by Helene above ASCII. They clearly instructed her to create fake, miraculous and paranormal events to support their various stories. Bowl of ascii in all caught dismiss these letters as fakes, but they ve themselves viewed with just a whole new level of suspicion. Yeah, there's a really fun story in their about making a life size doll that they kind of like Lakewood Puppeteer, ring in like darkness to try to convince people. They were being visited by the the masters than ski, often reference there, some very fun and

theatricality to it, and that is how the London society for psychical research came to open an investigation into boulevard ski and that the esophagus society that investigation, which was conducted by Richard Hodgson was aided by none other than Emma Coup, who showed how, among other things, the miracle of things like letters dropped. The visitors lapse, seemingly from thinner was actually achieved through a bit of theatrical trickery. There was a thread and hook system in the ceiling, a handwriting expert was also called upon to weighing on whether the letters that Globe had provided as as evidence of men, oblonskys treachery were indeed written by Lebowski. We have talked on the show before about some of the people. With handwriting analysis, but this was very damning at the time in eighteen, eighty five, Paris psychologists Richard Hodgson filed his report, which concluded that will of ass. He was a fraud all caught with

found through merely have been incredibly gullible after the Hudson report. Will that's you lift India, although she continued to edit that the office, the damage of this report, was far reaching, in addition to discrediting glove ascii in a very public way and also sewed some conflict between her and all caught when Helene above ASCII filed a slander suit against Richard Hudson and the society for psychical research. All caught did not support that. He instead wanted to just let things died down the way they had in the past. Today, no that's really felt like a betrayal. It essentially ended their partnership and their friendship, Madame Lebowski, who was quite ill at the time due to a problem with her liver, took a steamer to Europe, Despite the apparent seriousness of her health when she left India, she did make a recovery after spending some time in Belgium. She asked the least Ski Lodge of London in eighteen. Eighty seven in

He may be eight. She release the work. This is probably most well known for which is called the secret doctrine, and that was a comprehensive look at the ossify. While she was writing this book, she had shifted focus away from the paranormal and wrote more extensively about philosophy. The books sub head is: there is no religion higher than truth, and the introduction of asking makes her goal clear quote. The aim of this work may be thus stated to show that nature is not a four too. It is concurrence of atoms and to assign a man his rightful place in the scheme of the universe, to rescue from degradation, the archaic truths which are the basis of all religions to uncover, to some extent the fundamental unity from which they all spring fine.

To show that the occult sight of nature has never been approached by the science of modern civilization. In eighteen, eighty nine she published two more books. The voice of silence has the subtitle translated from the book of the golden precepts, which a common origin with the secret doctrine. The rules and ethics presented here contrast the two paths of spiritual attainment, though pursued by those seeking knowledge for their own enlightenment, the other and by those whose aspirations are prompted by compassion for all her other book to come out that year was key to the ass if he being a clear exposition in the form of question and answer of the ethics, science and philosophy for the study of which the theosophical society. has been founded, even though these were very popular and they continue to actually be printed. They were her really final achievements. Madame Blavatsky died on May eighth, one thousand eight hundred and ninety one at the tail end of an influenza epidemic

date of her death is now celebrated annually by Theosophists as White Lotus Day long after her death, starting in nineteen, fifty but amble of ask is collected, writings were published, the full publication spend fifteen volumes and it came out over the course of forty years. There's blood that is often credited with bringing Buddhism and Hinduism to the western audience, and this is a little bit tricky to celebrate. Of course, since these ideas were being channel through european lens we also dont, know really what the depth of her exposure was to these things before she started talking about. ass, though she were an expert, and since the study of these belief, systems on the part of Lebowski is difficult. to corroborate in any level, particularly in her earlier years. I just want people to recognize it that has to be taken with the grain of salt.

We do have to know now that the theosophical society persists. Despite these bumpy times during the Vosges life, her books continue to be pretty popular. Additionally, the boulevard Large and London is still there, although it has changed locations from where it was when Madame of initially established it and ass that damning report of eighteen. Eighty five, the declared Madame Lebowski of fraud in ninety eighty six, the society for psychical research retracted it due to her view that found that Hodgson had set out to discredit blocks, and that his research and his methods were biased towards that, although there are a lot of the issues that Hudson raise that remain unanswered. This is one of the things you sometimes find argued about on the internet that some people will say this is vindication of Madame Lebowski and others are like no, no they're just pointing out that the research was bad, not way and really on whether that conclusion would have

and reached the guys like. I said she continues to be very polarizing. I find her utterly fascinating, but I don't have a strong opinion. I have some opinions, but they're not strong and they're kind of cloudy for me anyway, which is unusual just because there's always part of me. That's like I don't know. I don't. I don't know anything. So you have some Luther bail for us. I do the listener meal is from our listener. Josie, who did the magic thing? Incentives, pictures of kiddies, but everything that ties in to us spooky season as she calls it sure it's greetings, lovely people it's getting close to spooky season and then always reminds me of the very first episode of your podcast I heard, which was the solder family mystery. I

We believe it was the first podcast I ever heard in my life, and I was so entranced that I been urged all your mystery episodes and then all of your other episodes you guys are always might go to favorite, podcast and every October. I look back fondly on their feeling of excitement being swept up in your history, mysteries. You guys you such a fantastic job, your graceful, professional and always a delight. I appreciate both so much. I was actually going to name my cats after you guys she went belly and Bessie instead because of their horse and catholic personalities respectively. If my cabin, has Pica and will eat metal. I remember one of you mentioning the key Z, metal, also, my love of Bessie Smith in your podcast, has hosted quite a few adventurous. Nellis hey. I had a

it had pyka, it's not fun, so my hat is off to you because you have to manage it in crazy ways. That is why I stopped using pins when I say so cuz I had a cat that would eat them or would try. He never successfully did cuz. I was caught him, but that was stressful times. She goes on. Some of your podcast have been so enchanting. I've listened to them multiple times, specifically the fort shot, indian school basketball team, Theodosia, Austin Burr. When I recently watched Hamilton, I was just waiting around for them to mention her. The Memphis sanitation strike, Catalina, the lieutenant Nun, Halifax Explosion, Maria Tallchief, the ballerina, and so many more, my boyfriend

and I began slant promotion episode and I'm especially fond of your super ancient history episodes as well. You cover such an array of topics and make them also interesting being a female carpenter. I always appreciate your episodes about female pioneers being Canadian, I'm always throw this. He can. Eighty in history episodes. I always love to hear more history about Canada and the canadian american relationship and past wars and feuds and the indigenous people of this continent. You ve taught me so much really valuable as canadian schools Don T this work as they should not just in Canada by the way and now. Finally, my podcast suggestion, which is the Toronto Circus Riot of eighteen fifty five. She goes on to tell us that before she was a carpenter I used to fiddle around as an actor and performer and my old director, Angola put on this show she share some information about. It shows the loves any history, but simply because she Sicilian

the UN and always looking to reconnect to her routes, and then she apologises for it being long, don't it's delightful, so that is Joe see. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Jesse of those cats are cute. I don't even know what I would do with the information that someone named a cat after me, so it's probably safest that you did not show up at your house. The big show me they get a nobody wants that. If you would like to write to us, you can do so at history. Pine cast an eye heart radio, dot com you can also find us everywhere and social media as missed in history, and you are welcome and encourage to subscribe to the podcast. You can do that on the eye. Radio out Appleton casts or wherever it is. You listen stuffy. Unless the district class, the production of Iheart radio for more plant can provide, radio, either by her radio, have added mankind's or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.

sales force, brings companies and customers together in the city of brotherly love from fish town to downtown. We hope you give customers the personal experiences they love. So in love. You back it sales force, dot, com, slash, learn more Welcome to teach me something new, a pike for my heart radio in Britain Cow. I knew spread mine, I'm an entrepreneur, a ceo, a mom and I'm curious about a lot of things. We ve already learned so much together and I can't wait for what's next, my co host investing engine, I our back with brand new episodes every Wednesday listen to tee. Something new on the Iheart radio, Apple pie, tasks or wherever you get your pipe gas.