J. J. van der Leeuw

Dr. Jacobus Johannes (J.J.) van der Leeuw was a Dutch Theosophist and writer.

Life

J. J. van der Leeuw was born in Rotterdam, on August 26, 1893. His nickname was "Koos". He studied law, and later earned a doctorate (LL.D) at the University of Leiden in 1920. A close friend of Jiddu Krishnamurti, he and his brother "Cees" (Cornelis Hendrik) assisted with the Order of the Star camps at the Eerde estate in Ommen. Koos went to Sydney, Australia in 1924 for occult training with Charles Webster Leadbeater, and there became a priest in the Liberal Catholic Church.

He died in Tanganyika on August 23, 1934 in a crash of the small airplane that he was piloting.

The Fire of Creation, 2nd edition, 1927

Writings

Dr. van der Leeuw's best-known work is The Conquest of Illusion, published in London. In announcing the book, publisher Alfred A. Knopf advertised:

The Conquest of Illusion is Dr. Van Der Leeuw's main work so far and embodies his philosophy. It is the book promised in the Foreword of The Fire of Creation under the title of The Rhythm of Life. This title was changed later to The Conquest of Illusion, under which title also Dr. Van Der Leeuw's lecture to the Ommen Camp, 1928, was given, and his lecture to the English Convention, which Dr. Besant, who presided, called "the clearest exposition of the nature of Reality she had ever heard".

These are van der Leeuw's books in the order of publication:

• Historical-Idealistic politics (1920)
• Practical Idealism and the P.I.A (1920)
• The Fire of Creation (1926), for which he received the Subba Row Medal
• Gods in Exile (1926)
• Dramatic History of Christian Faith. From the beginning to the death of St. Augustine (1927)
• The Conquest of Illusion. London: Alfred A. Knopf, 1928.
• Revelation or Realization, the conflict in theosophy (Lecture, 1930)
• The Task of Education in a World Crisis (1933)
• Why a world police force is inevitable (1934)
• We can banish the war! A powerful stand surpassing the thought of war (posthumously published in 1950, co-author is Adriaan Viruly)

He also wrote numerous article for journals. There are 56 articles by or about van der Leeuw listed in the Union Index of Theosophical Periodicals.

Additional resources

• "Johannes Jacobus (J. J.) van der Leeuw" in Wikipedia.
• Kingsgarden website.
• Conquest of Illusion.