There are many who probably have no idea who T. Lobsang Rampa was. Incidentally, today (January 25) happens to be his 30th death anniversary, so it is just as fitting that this article come out now lest people forget his contributions to the spread of the esoteric sciences.
The "T" in his name stands for "Tuesday" so the complete name is "Tuesday Lobsang Rampa." It stems from the Tibetan practice of prefixing the day one was born in to one's name. Lobsang Rampa came out with the book The Third Eye in 1956 which was supposed to be an autobiography of his life growing up and training in a lamasery in Tibet. It also described an operation whereby his third eye was fully opened, giving him enhanced clairvoyant abilities.
T. Lobsang Rampa went on to author 18 more books, the last being published a few months before his death on January 25, 1981.
Controversy arose soon after publication of The Third Eye when a private investigator found out that the person calling himself T. Lobsang Rampa was someone named Cyril Henry Hoskin, a British native and an ordinary working man who had never been to Tibet. Although Rampa never denied that the body was born as Cyril Henry Hoskin, he said that the soul of T. Lobsang Rampa took over the body through a process called transmigration of the soul when Rampa's original physical body became too worn out to continue (Rampa's horrific experiences are detailed in Doctor from Lhasa and The Rampa Story). Because of this, Rampa was continually hounded and criticized by the press throughout his life.
Normally, that would be that and we wouldn't take a second look at an alleged crackpot writing fiction. However, I have recently finished reading all 19 of Rampa's books, and I found that a lot of the esoteric subjects he had discussed were already familiar because of the pranic healing courses I had attended plus the different esoteric works I already read prior to encountering Rampa's books. For instance, he talks about the silver cord, the higher soul, the astral body, colors of the aura, among others. Any student of the inner sciences would understand these terms. To the sincere student, Rampa's books are serious works about esoteric subjects.
If we look at it, how else could an ordinary working man have amassed such in-depth knowledge about the esoteric sciences? And this in the era before the age of the Internet and when such occult information was not so easily accessible? In the body of esoteric literature, such transmigrations are not as rare as we think. For example, the spirit of a very advanced Hermetic adept is supposed to have taken over the body of Franz Bardon when he was 16 years old.
Aside from traditional esoteric subjects, Rampa also discusses about inner earth, extraterrestials and the true history of the human race. Although I do not have direct knowledge of those subjects, since he was spot on about the esoteric topics then I tend to give weight to these other subjects.
Even with my background, my understanding of esoteric sciences was definitely enriched by reading Rampa's books, and he writes with such a humorous air and wit that these normally heavy subjects are surprisingly easy to read and absorb. In fact, my best friend who can't make heads or tails of traditional occult works was able to read through The Third Eye and Doctor From Lhasa and is in fact starting on the third volume.
My first encounter with Rampa actually happened when I was still in high school. It turns out one of my brothers had a copy of Doctor From Lhasa and while I simply treated it as a novel back then, I was intrigued with the concept of astral travel and in fact told my best friend about it. A few months back I was surprised it had made an impression on my friend when he mentioned that he remembers our talks during those times. I had forgotten about it myself until my friend reminded me.
It really is too bad that esoteric subjects or anything deviating from the "official" line is usually not taken seriously and often discouraged, although I would say more and more people are getting into these inner sciences compared to before (and I guess we can thank the Internet for that). But if one were interested in starting to learn these inner sciences, you won't go wrong by starting with T. Lobsang Rampa's books.
Although he has gone off to a much better place, to our eternal benefit the knowledge Rampa shared is still here with us to stay. He may not be as famous as some avesha avatara, but his works definitely rank up there in terms of how much they help in advancing the consciousness and understanding of those willing to tread that path. His coming definitely was a blessing to the human race, though not many know it.
Here's to T. Lobsang Rampa, and an overdue thank you.
