There are those whose feet are firmly on The Path, who are known as ''Old Souls'' and who possess inner knowledge. They are aware of Truth, they have no need of a book such as this. But for the vast majority, who may indeed be true seekers, because of the way we are educated in the so-called civilized world, analysis, proof, the opinion of others is often necessary. I believe this book provides what they need. It has been diligently researched, and even if some of the reports printed here are, at the least, inaccurate, that is not the fault of the author. She has merely reproduced what has been said and written about a personage who defies our present stage of understanding. It is for the reader to form his or her own opinion. Excerpt:In January 1981 two prominent Tibetan identities died in exile.

The lady known as ''Amala'', or ''mother of the nation'', died after a long illness in Dharamsala, India. She had given birth to sixteen children, including her most famous son His Holiness the Fourteenth Dalai Lama. Her two other sons had been recognised as ''tulkus'' or reincarnations of high lamas. She was beloved by the whole Tibetan nation in exile who mourned her passing.In an emergency ward of the Foothills hospital in Calgary the famous author and mystic known as Tuesday Lobsang Rampa also breathed his last after decades of ill health. His nineteen books about Tibet and the occult arts had sold in the millions and his admirers could be found on six continents. Despite his fame, however, there were no accolades or eulogies from the Tibetan community. He died unrecognised and unclaimed by the people of Tibet whom he had tried to help.

Lobsang Rampa, who resembled an Englishman with a Devonshire accent, claimed that he was a Tibetan lama. His critics claimed that he was Cyril Hoskin, a Cornish plumber who had written ''The Third Eye'', a book about Tibet which was one of the greatest literary hoaxes of all time. Rampa insisted that he was a high Tibetan lama who had transmigrated into the willing body of Cyril Hoskin to perform his mission in life. His detailed recollections of Tibet and China, wealth of knowledge about the occult arts and disarming sincerity led many readers to believe in his authenticity.Rampa''s critics were vociferous in their condemnation of the author. They included Tibetan and oriental scholars, the Press and the Tibetan community in exile, including some famous personalities. The author clung on tenaciously, writing nineteen books and continually proclaiming his innocence and authenticity. After his death his books were relegated to the New Age fringe while other authors shamelessly plagiarised his material.

By the 1990s Lobsang Rampa occupied a full page of ''The Guinness Book of Fakes, Frauds and Forgery''' and most of his books were out of print. The internet brought together many of Dr Rampa''s loyal readers who had benefited from his teachings on the mystical arts and affirmations of the Afterlife. The new millennium has revealed Rampa''s silent influence in such esoteric fields as UFOlogy, astral projection, aura photography, alternative history and the immortality of the human spirit. His positive image of Tibet has been instrumental in garnering support for this beleaguered land and introducing Buddhism to westerners. Ironically, ''The Third Eye'', written off by some as a hoax, remains the most popular book about Tibet ever written.Lobsang Rampa''s personal motto was "I lit a candle". In commemoration of ''The Third Eye''s fiftieth anniversary it is time to rekindle the flame of knowledge that Rampa first lit in 1955. Overall, Rampa''s true identity is irrelevant as it is his knowledge that lives on.

It is time to recognise Lobsang Rampa for what he was, a true mystic and trailblazer of the New Age. HIS CHARACTERLobsang Rampa was a truly unique individual with many extraordinary attributes. A man of such complexity cannot be summed up in a few pages or even a few volumes, so the following account is merely scratching the surface. In some ways he was a man of contradictions. He was a celibate monk who had a devoted wife, an intensely private man who wrote extensively about his life, a self professed Tibetan who had no contact with the Tibetan community and a Buddhist who practised many western occult arts. He often complained about people who sent him letters without return stamps, but he always answered them at great personal expense.Rampa''s life was cursed by ill health. He suffered from coronary thrombosis, diabetes, arthritis and paraplegia.

He was almost totally deaf and became proficient at lip reading. His spine and hands were damaged beyond repair as a result of years of torture in prison of war camps. Although he often came across as grumpy in his later years, he never lost his wicked sense of humour and keen wit. Rampa was a generous man who had little interest in material possessions. Over the years he gave a colour television away to a stranger, a wheelchair to an injured policeman and a house full of furniture to newlyweds. Friends and acquaintances often received expensive gifts which they were unable to return without insulting him. During his lifetime he personally answered many thousands of letters from his admirers, usually bearing the cost of postage himself. He had a sincere desire to help people and his advice was often sought by numerous famous identities whose anonymity he respected.