Lobsang Rampa, born as Cyril Hoskin (1910–1981)

Tuesday Lobsang Rampa was a writer who claimed to have been a Lama in Tibet before spending the second part of his life in the body of a British man. Cyril Henry Hoskin (8 April 1910 – 25 January 1981) described himself as the "host" of Tuesday Lobsang Rampa. The name Tuesday relates to a claim in The Third Eye that Tibetans are named after the day of the week on which they were born. Image File history File links Rampa. ... Image File history File links Rampa. ... Not to be confused with Llama. ... This article is about historical/cultural Tibet. ... is the 98th day of the year (99th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1910 (MCMX) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Friday [1] of the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ... is the 25th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... AUGUST 25 1981 US Marine Sean Vance is Born on the 25th of August {ear nav|1981}} Year 1981 (MCMLXXXI) was a common year starting on Thursday (link displays the 1981 Gregorian calendar). ... The Third Eye, published in 1956, is a book written by a British man, Cyril Hoskins, who claimed that he had been possessed by the spirit of a Tibetan monk named Tuesday Lobsang Rampa. ...

Lobsang Rampa

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The Third Eye

In November 1956 a book called The Third Eye was published in the United Kingdom. It was written by a man named Lobsang Rampa, and purported to relate his experiences while growing up in a monastery in Tibet after being sent there at the age of seven. The title of the book is derived from an operation similar to trepanation in which a third eye is drilled into Rampa's forehead, allegedly giving him the power of clairvoyance. The book describes the operation as follows: The Third Eye, published in 1956, is a book written by a British man, Cyril Hoskins, who claimed that he had been possessed by the spirit of a Tibetan monk named Tuesday Lobsang Rampa. ... This article concerns the buildings occupied by monastics. ... 18th century French illustration of trepanation Trepanation (also known as trepanning, trephination, trephining or burr hole) is a form of surgery in which a hole is drilled or scraped into the skull, thus exposing the dura mater in order to treat health problems related to intracranial diseases, though in the... 17th century representation of the third eye connection to the higher worlds by alchemist Robert Fludd. ... Clairvoyance (from 17th century French with clair meaning clear and voyance meaning visibility) is the purported ability to gain information about an object, location or physical event through means other than the known human senses,[1][2] a form of extra-sensory perception. ...

During the story, Rampa meets yetis, and at the end of the book he encounters a mummified body that was him in an earlier incarnation. He also takes part in an initiation ceremony in which he learns that during its early history the planet Earth was struck by another planet, causing Tibet to become the mountain kingdom that it is today. For other uses, see Yeti (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Mummy (disambiguation). ... Look up incarnation, incarnate in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

Original 1950s cover of The Third Eye

The manuscript of The Third Eye had been turned down by several leading British publishers before being accepted by Secker and Warburg for an advance of £800. Prior to the book's publication Fredric Warburg met "Doctor Carl Kuon Suo" who was apparently linked to the author of the work, and was intrigued by his personality. Warburg sent the manuscript of the unpublished book to a number of scholars, several of whom expressed doubts about its authenticity. Nevertheless, the book was published in November 1956 and soon became a bestseller. The Times Literary Supplement said of the book: "It comes near to being a work of art." Random House is a publishing division of the German media conglomerate Bertelsmann based in New York City. ... Fredric John Warburg (November 27, 1898 - May 25, 1981) was a publisher best known for his association with the British author George Orwell. ... For other uses, see Times. ...

Controversy over authorship of The Third Eye

The explorer and Tibetologist Heinrich Harrer was unconvinced about the book's origins and hired a private detective from Liverpool named Clifford Burgess to investigate Rampa. The findings of Burgess' investigation were published in the Daily Mail in February 1958. It was reported that the author of the book was a man named Cyril Henry Hoskin, who had been born in Plympton in Devon in 1910 and was the son of a plumber. Hoskin had never been to Tibet and spoke no Tibetan. In 1948, he had legally changed his name to Carl Kuon Suo before adopting the name Lobsang Rampa. An obituary of Fra Andrew Bertie, Grand Master of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta, claims that he was involved in unmasking Lobsang Rampa as a West Country plumber.^[1] Heinrich Harrer Heinrich Harrer (July 6, 1912 – January 7, 2006) was an Austrian mountaineer, sportsman, geographer, and author. ... A private investigator, or PI, is a person who undertakes investigations. ... For other uses, see Liverpool (disambiguation). ... The Daily Mail is a British newspaper, currently published in a tabloid format. ... Plympton is a suburb located in south-east Plymouth. ... For other uses, see Devon (disambiguation). ... Joe Kessler is a plumber! A plumber is a tradesperson who specializes in installing and maintaining systems used for potable (drinking) water, sewage, drainage, venting, heating and air-conditioning, or industrial process plant piping. ... Andrew Willoughby Ninian Bertie (born 15 May 1929) is the current Grand Master of the Knights Hospitaller. ... Motto Tuitio Fidei et Obsequium Pauperum(Latin) Defence of the faith and assistance to the poor Anthem (Latin) Hail, thou White Cross Capital Palazzo Malta, Rome Official languages Italian Government  -  Grand Master Fra Andrew Bertie Currency Scudo The Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, of Rhodes and...

Rampa was tracked down by the British press to Howth in Ireland and confronted with these allegations. He did not deny that he had been born as Cyril Hoskin, but claimed that his body was now occupied by the spirit of Lobsang Rampa. According to the account given in his third book The Rampa Story he had fallen out of a fir tree in his garden in Thames Ditton, Surrey while attempting to photograph an owl. He was concussed, and on regaining his senses had seen a Buddhist monk in saffron robes walking towards him. The monk spoke to him about Rampa taking over his body and Hoskin agreed, saying that he was dissatisfied with his current life. When Rampa's original body became too worn out to continue, he took over Hoskin's body in a process of transmigration of the soul. WGS-84 (GPS) Coordinates: , Irish Grid Reference O283393 Statistics County: Elevation: sea level Population (2002)  - Town:  - Rural:   8706  n/a Howth (pronounced to rhyme with both; known as Binn Éadair in Irish) is a generally affluent residential area in the Fingal County Council administrative area of County Dublin, Ireland. ... For other uses, see Spirit (disambiguation). ... FIR may stand for: finite impulse response (a property of some digital filters) far infrared, i. ... This article or section is not written in the formal tone expected of an encyclopedia article. ... This article is about the English county. ... For other uses, see Owl (disambiguation). ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ...

Rampa maintained for the rest of his life that The Third Eye was a true story, and in the foreword to the 1964 edition of the book, he wrote:

Later career

Rampa claimed that his 1964 book Living with the Lama was dictated to him telepathically by his cat

Lobsang Rampa went on to write over a dozen more books containing a mixture of religious, New Age and occult material, although none achieved the same degree of success as The Third Eye. One of the books, Living With The Lama, was claimed to have been dictated telepathically to Rampa by his pet Siamese cat, Mrs. Fifi Greywhiskers. Faced with repeated allegations from the British press that he was a charlatan and a con artist, Rampa went to live in Canada in the 1960s. He and his wife San Ra'ab became Canadian citizens in 1973. New Age describes a broad movement characterized by alternative approaches to traditional Western culture. ... For other uses, see Occult (disambiguation). ... Telepathy, from the Greek τῆλε, tele, remote; and πάθεια, patheia, to be effected by, describes the hypothetical transfer of information on thoughts or feelings between individuals by means other than the five classical senses. ... The Siamese is one of the first distinctly recognised breeds of Oriental cat. ... Look up Charlatan in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... A confidence trick, confidence game, or con for short, (also known as a scam) is an attempt to intentionally mislead a person or persons (known as the mark) usually with the goal of financial or other gain. ...

Lobsang Rampa died in Calgary on 25 January 1981, aged 70. This article is about the Canadian city. ... is the 25th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... AUGUST 25 1981 US Marine Sean Vance is Born on the 25th of August {ear nav|1981}} Year 1981 (MCMLXXXI) was a common year starting on Thursday (link displays the 1981 Gregorian calendar). ...

Books by Lobsang Rampa

Wikisource has original text related to this article:

The Rampa Story

• The Third Eye (1956)
• My Visit to Venus (1957, but see note below)
• Doctor from Lhasa (1959)
• The Rampa Story (1960)
• Cave of the Ancients (1963)
• Living with the Lama (1964)
• You Forever (1965)
• Wisdom of the Ancients (1965)
• The Saffron Robe (1966)
• Chapters of Life (1967)
• Beyond The Tenth (1969)
• Feeding the Flame (1971)
• The Hermit (1971)
• The Thirteenth Candle (1972)
• Candlelight (1973)
• Twilight (1975)
• As It Was! (1976)
• I Believe (1976)
• Three Lives (1977)
• Tibetan Sage (1980)

My Visit to Venus is based on work which Lobsang Rampa did not approve for publication and was published some years after it was written. It describes how Rampa meets the masters of several planets during a trip in a spaceship. Image File history File links Wikisource-logo. ... The original Wikisource logo. ... The Third Eye, published in 1956, is a book written by a British man, Cyril Hoskins, who claimed that he had been possessed by the spirit of a Tibetan monk named Tuesday Lobsang Rampa. ...

Books by persons living with Lobsang Rampa

Books by his wife San Ra'ab Rampa

• Pussywillow (1976)
• Tigerlily (1978)
• Autumn Lady (1980)
• Wild Briar (1982)
• Le Testament de Lobsang Rampa (French,1984) ^[2]

Books by Sheelagh Rouse (alias Buttercup)

• 25 years with T. Lobsang Rampa (2005) ISBN 978-1-4116-7432-5
• Grace, The World of Rampa (2007)

See also

• Third eye
• Trepanation
• Channelling

17th century representation of the third eye connection to the higher worlds by alchemist Robert Fludd. ... 18th century French illustration of trepanation Trepanation (also known as trepanning, trephination, trephining or burr hole) is a form of surgery in which a hole is drilled or scraped into the skull, thus exposing the dura mater in order to treat health problems related to intracranial diseases, though in the... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Mediumship. ...

References

Further reading

• The Guinness Book of Fakes, Frauds and Forgeries by Richard Newnham, ISBN 0-85112-975-7.
• Prisoners of Shangri-La: Tibetan Buddhism and the West by Donald S. Lopez Jr., ISBN 0-226-49311-3
• Lobsang Rampa - New Age Trailblazer by Karen Mutton, ISBN 0971316600

External links

Excerpts from Rampa's writings, advocacy of his views

• T. Lobsang Rampa – extracts from his easily read, deep wisdom books – excerpts from Rampa's writings
• LobsangRampa.net – a website maintained by followers of Rampa, containing links to a mailgroup and other Rampa-themed websites
• Tuesday Lobsang Rampa – a comprehensive website maintained by a follower of Dr. Rampa in English & Spanish which has all 19 books available to download free in pdf format.
• T. Lobsang Rampa – New Age Trailblazer – a website advertising an eBook by Karen Mutton about Rampa's life and works

Criticism/skepticism

• T. Lobsang Rampa – an article on Rampa in the Skeptic's Dictionary
• Tuesday Lobsang Rampa – an encyclopedia article from James Randi's website
• The Third Eye – a short critical article at the Museum of Hoaxes website
• Fictitious Tibet: The Origin and Persistence of Rampaism – a long critical article by Agehananda Bharati, first published in Tibet Society Bulletin, Vol. 7, 1974