Anthony Borgia (1896–1989)

This is one of the books that I read when I was 12 years old and rediscovered because it was mentioned on an Art Bell radio show in the 1990s. As a kid I had no idea what theosophy was, or that this type of work would later be described as "channeled." It purports to be an account of the afterlife as experienced by a Roman Catholic priest who is amazed to discover that he is not in either the hell, purgatory or heaven as taught by his church. Instead he is in a cottage in a green and pleasant countryside which contains libraries and concerts, art and craft workshops and is in general a pleasant holiday grounds. He is taught that there are less pleasant areas for less developed souls--not hell but grim and unpleasant, and that more developed souls than his at that point move to an area more like the Christian idea of heaven, with intimate contact with a divine power. The book made a tremendous impression on me since it was my first contact with an idea of the afterlife that was not explicitly Christian with ones fate determined by belief in and practice of the Christian religion. I had, of course, been exposed to Classic beliefs--the souls of the dead as encountered by Odysseus in the Greek underworld and the Norse ideas of Valhalla. But this was my first encounter with modern people telling of a different set of beliefs. "Heaven" with libraries in which the books told the truth of history, outdoor concerts enhanced by dancing patterns of light above the orchestra (light shows before they were invented) and all set in a universe in which the human soul was not judged on the accidents of a single lifetime, but given opportunity and time to learn and progress. Listening to Art Bell's guest (no idea who it was, but I recognized the description of the books being discussed) I fumbled for a pen and paper and scribbled the author and title. I headed for the U. Nevada library the next day to track the books down. I won't say they were just as I remembered, but the main points were there--and by this time I had more background--the publisher's imprint---oh, aha, The Theosophical Society--now meant something to me that it would not have to my 12 year old self. I had originally happened across the books in the religion and philosophy room of the downtown Los Angeles Library. I feel as if I could walk to the correct shelf and put my hand on them if the library had not been remodeled since 1960. Alas,an online check reveals that the Los Angeles library no longer has the book--deacqusitioned, I suppose--fancy word for forgetting that the purpose of a l ibrary is to preserve knowledge, not toss it in the trash when it is no longer in fashion. Sigh.… (mehr)