Baird T. Spalding

Baird Thomas Spalding (1857-1953) was an American writer. He is the author of the historical and spiritual book series : "Life and Teaching of the Masters of the Far East".

Works

"Life and Teaching of the Masters of the Far East" span six volumes and were copyrighted in 1924 and 1937, being published by DeVorss publications in 1964. They describe the travels to India and Tibet and surrounding nations of a research party of eleven scientists in 1894. During their trip they claim to have made contact with "the Great Masters of the Himalayas", immortal beings with whom they lived and studied, gaining a fascinating insight into their lives and spiritual message. This close contact enabled them to witness many of the spiritual principles evinced by these Great Masters translated into their everyday lives, which could be described as 'miracles'. Such examples are walking on water, or manifesting bread to feed the hungry party.

These books have remained consistently popular with spiritual seekers, those interested in the philosophy of the East and those who enjoy a good story because of their accessible nature and easy-to-follow format. However, despite most of the action taking place in India, the Great Masters make it clear that the greatest embodiment of the Enlightened state is that of the Christ (as personified by Jesus): “"The Masters accept that Buddha represents the Way to Enlightenment, but they clearly set forth that Christ IS Enlightenment, or a state of consciousness for which we are all seeking - the Christ light of every individual; therefore, the light of every child born into the world."” (From the foreword, Volume I, "Life and Teaching of the Master of the Far East", DeVorss publications.)

Authenticity

There has been some degree of controversy surrounding Baird Spalding and the authenticity of the events described in the "Life and Teachings". Some people have argued that there is no way to prove that these encounters actually took place whilst others feel that, not only is the evidence readily available, the high quality of the teachings contained therein are themselves evidence of contact with a higher power.

Spalding said that he made extensive notes of his findings, translations of ancient texts in Tibetan, Sanskrit and Hebrew, which have mysteriously never been published. He also trained in post graduate studies at Stanford and Berkeley universities. Records, however, seem to be unforthcoming.

Contact

Spalding discussed quantum physics years before mainstream science picked up on it. He was reported to have had contact with Albert Einstein, Nikola Tesla and Charles Proteus Steinmetz and is said to have taught Tesla and Thomas Edison about the vibrational nature of the universe. Spalding himself was a well-respected geophysicist and mining engineer.

Within six months of Spalding's death whilst prospecting in Arizona, his book publisher and long term-friend Douglas DeVorss was murdered in what was reported to be a 'heat of passion' killing. A recent documentary made by Jeffery Thayer, executive producer with ReGenesis, is a webisode series entitled "What Happened to Baird?" [http://evolutionopensource.blogspot.com/ Evolution website] . This discusses the various controversies surrounding Baird Spalding.

External links

* [http://www.algonet.se/~hermesat/baird.htm Biography]