11/9/25
I had another of those epiphanies this morning, which consist of seeing something afresh that you already knew. Typically, these things don't sound like much when you repeat them, but here goes.

I have a number of saved searches on Google Scholar, which alerts me when key phrases like "A Christmas Carol, Dickens" or "The Raven, Edgar Allan Poe" show up in a scholarly paper. I was looking through today's haul, and I did find a couple where I thought it was worthwhile to write to the author. But these folks aren't teachable. You've heard it said that you can't fill a glass that's already full (no, that's not the epiphany). But it's true—they already know, so you can't tell them anything. I write primarily to plant the seed of an idea. Maybe it will germinate ten years from now; perhaps twenty.

But what occurred to me is that these scholars, and the literary imposters they admire so much, deserve each other. It is no accident that the Wisdom of Academia has believed these liars and con artists. I am reminded of something my Guru reportedly said, apropos of false spiritual masters: "False seekers are drawn to false masters."

From my perspective, having a 50-year background in spiritual studies, there is no possible way that Edgar Allan Poe could have written "The Raven." There is no possible way that Charles Dickens could have written "A Christmas Carol"—not even in six years, no less in six weeks! Same with the others who plagiarized Mathew and Abby Whittier's writing. It's embarrassingly obvious.

Who could be fooled by people like this? I mean, not initially, because anyone can be fooled briefly. But after decades of study and analysis from every conceivable angle? Only other imposters.

I mean this from the spiritual perspective. Certainly, the scholars are clever, and erudite, and educated. But they are mere children, most of them, in the spiritual realm. Therefore, they have very little spiritual discernment. They can't see the obvious. Nobody in his or her right spiritual mind could possibly think that these imposters wrote these works.

It sounds like I'm exaggerating, but I'm not. If anything, I'm euphemizing. I could prove it to you right now, but then, who's listening? Buy—and read—my forthcoming book, "The Sacred Carol: Rediscovering the True Authorship of a Christmas Classic," if you'd like it proven to you.

Sincerely,

Stephen Sakellarios, M.S.