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Isis Unveiled (book)

2018-04-16T21:12:02Z

Pavel Axentiev: /* Additional resources */ To the best of my knowledge, this is the correct link to the D.H. Caldwell's collection (previous was invalid)

{{DISPLAYTITLE:''Isis Unveiled'' (book)}}
'''ARTICLE UNDER CONSTRUCTION'''
 
'''ARTICLE UNDER CONSTRUCTION'''
 
 
[[File:Isis 1886 edition from Joma Sipe Facebook.jpg|thumb|1886 edition. Photo by Joma Sipe.]]
== Writing the book ==

Between September 17 and October 16, 1875, [[Helena Petrovna Blavatsky|Mme. Blavatsky]] was visiting with Professor and Mrs. [[Hiram Corson]] in Ithaca, New York for about three weeks. Their son Eugene Corson reported that,
<blockquote>
She spent her time at her desk, writing, writing, writing most of the day and way into the night, carrying on a huge correspondence by long letters. Here she started ''Isis Unveiled'', writing about twenty-five closely written foolscap pages a day. She had no books to consult; my father's very extensive library was almost wholly on English literature, Early English, Anglo-Saxon, English poetry, and classic literature, and she rarely consulted him about anything.

On one occasion she asked him for a Greek word on some text in the New Testament, and when my father said he could not remember it but would look it up for her at once, she said to him, half irritated and half joking: "You school-boy! Why, don't you know it?" My father got the Greek for her, and she went on with her writing.<ref>Eugene Rollin Corson, ''Some Unpublished Letters of Helena Petrovna Blavatsky'', London: Rider & Co., 27-28.</ref>
</blockquote>

During 1886 and 1887, [[Helena Petrovna Blavatsky|H. P. Blavatsky]] wrote, and then reworked it with the assistance of [[Henry Steel Olcott|Colonel Olcott]].

== Involvement of Alexander Wilder ==

After HPB finished the text, she involved [[Alexander Wilder]].
<blockquote>
When the work was ready, we submitted it to Professor Alexander Wilder, the well-known scholar and Platonist of New York, who after reading the matter, recommended it to Mr. Bouton for publication. Next to Colonel Olcott, it is Professor Wilder who did the most for me. It is he who made the excellent ''Index'', who corrected the Greek, Latin, and Hebrew words, suggested quotations and wrote the greater part of the ''Introduction'' 'Before the Veil.' If this was not acknowledged in the work, the fault is not mine, but because it was Dr. Wilder's express wish that his name should not appear except in footnotes. I have never made a secret of it, and every one of my numerous acquaintances in New York knew it."
<ref>H. P. Blavatsky, "My Books" in ''Theories about Reincation and Spirits and My Books'' (Point Loma, California: Theosophical Publishing Co., 1922), 33-34. Written April 27, 1891.</ref>
</blockquote>

As [[Boris de Zirkoff]] pointed out,
<blockquote>
"Many statements by HPB, particularly in Isis Unveiled, the Key and the Glossary are taken from Dr. Alexander Wilder's small booklet: New Platonism and Alchemy, Albany, N.Y., 1869.<ref>Boris de Zirkoff to Armand Courtois. January 18, 1970. Boris de Zirkoff Papers. Records Series 22. Theosophical Society in America Archives.</ref>
</blockquote>

== Sources of the material ==

Madame Blavatsky's mode of writing was unconventional. She wrote of very complex and abstract concepts, quoting many sources accurately, but rarely referring to any book in the process. Witnesses speculated that she was engaged in automatic writing, or clairvoyantly saw the words in the astral plane.

The Corson family gave this account:
<blockquote>
But quite aside from any evidence during her visit at Ithaca, many very reliable witnesses have repeatedly testified to her writing without the books before her or within her grasp. Olcott, who was longest associated with her intimately, who followed her by day while she wrote Isis Unveiled, and much of her other writing, can testify that she wrote automatically or clairvoyantly. She herself never took any credit for what she wrote, but always insisted that she was simply the amanuensis..<ref>Eugene Rollin Corson, 31.</ref>
</blockquote>

Antiquarian bookseller [[Charles Sotheran]], another of the [[Founding of the Theosophical Society|founding members]] of the Theosophical Society, provided assistance in finding quotations and in locating books.<ref>Josephine Ransom, ''A Short History of The Theosophical Society'' (Adyar, Madras, India: The Theosophical Publishing House, 1938), 114.</ref>

[[File:Isis Unveiled advertisement.jpg|right|300px|thumb|Advertisement from ''New York Tribune'', Saturday, September 29, 1877.]]

== Publication ==
''Isis Unveiled'' was published on [[September 29]], 1877. The first printing consisted of 1,000 copies that were sold within ten days. This original edition had a red binding with a symbolic figure of Isis in gold on the spine.

The first copy off the Press was secured by James Robinson, a lawyer, and taken to the newspaper for advance notice.

As far as it is known, the original manuscript was destroyed.

== About the title ==

Initially the title was to be ''The Veil of Isis''. However, an editorial footnote to a letter by [[Helena Petrovna Blavatsky|Madame Blavatsky]] discussed the change to the final title:
<blockquote>
This was the original title of ''Isis Unveiled'', changed to this latter after Vol. I had been printed off, upon the discovry that book entitled ''The Veil of Isis'' existed already.<ref>C. J. [C. Jinarājadāsa], "Two Glimpses of HPB (II) 1888," ''The Theosophist'' 53.12 (September,1932), 726. Note: ''The Veil of Isis'' was probably a work written by Thomas E. Webb in 1885, published by Dublin, Hodges, Figgis, & Co.</ref>
</blockquote>

== Impact of the work ==

Despite the important impact this book had at the time, it was regarded by [[Helena Petrovna Blavatsky|Mme. Blavatsky]] and the [[Masters of Wisdom]] as having several flaws, some due to the fact that it was the first, tentative effort, to bring to the West a certain truths. [[Koot Hoomi|Mahatma K.H.]], for example, was ready to admit that from the point of view of Westerners the book "often and purposely mislead the reader by withholding the necessary explanations and have given but portions of the truth".<ref>Vicente Hao Chin, Jr., ''The Mahatma Letters to A.P. Sinnett in chronological sequence'' No. 92 (Quezon City: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 295.</ref>

== Isis on Reincarnation ==

Controversy was aroused in the 1880's when reincarnation was taught by [[Helena Petrovna Blavatsky|Mme. Blavatsky]] and her [[Adept]] teachers because the concept had allegedly been previously rejected in ''Isis Unveiled'':

<blockquote>Reincarnation, i.e., the appearance of the same individual, or rather of his astral monad, twice on the same planet, is not a rule in nature; it is an exception.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Isis Unveiled'' vol. I, (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1972), 351.</ref></blockquote>

In light of later teachings, it is obvious that by [[Monad#The astral Monad|"astral monad"]] the author was not referring to the reincarnating entity, that is, to the [[Ego#Higher Ego|higher ego]]. As Mme. Blavatsky wrote:

<blockquote>In Isis we refer to the personality or the finite astral monad, a compound of imponderable elements composed of the fifth and fourth principles.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Collected Writings'' vol. IV (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1991), 185.</ref></blockquote>

Thus, in ''Isis'', Mme. Blavatsky was challenging the teaching of the [[Spiritism|Spiritists]], who were teaching the reincarnation of the [[Ego#Lower ego|personal ego]], something that in the [[Theosophy|Theosophical]] view only happens in exceptional cases:

<blockquote>It is preceded by a violation of the laws of harmony of nature, and happens only when the latter, seeking to restore its disturbed equilibrium, violently throws back into earth-life the astral monad which had been tossed out of the circle of necessity by crime or accident. Thus, in cases of abortion, of infants dying before a certain age, and of congenital and incurable idiocy, nature’s original design to produce a perfect human being, has been interrupted. Therefore, while the gross matter of each of these several entities is suffered to disperse itself at death, through the vast realm of being, the immortal spirit and astral monad of the individual — the latter having been set apart to animate a frame and the former to shed its divine light on the corporeal organization — must try a second time to carry out the purpose of the creative intelligence.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Isis Unveiled'' vol. I, (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1972), 351.</ref></blockquote>

However, as it was recognized by the [[Masters of Wisdom|Masters]], the passages in ''Isis'' can be misleading. [[Morya|Master Morya]] wrote to [[Alfred Percy Sinnett|Mr. Sinnet]]:

<blockquote>By-the-bye, I’ll re-write for you pages 345 to 357, Vol. I., of Isis — much jumbled, and confused by [[Henry Steel Olcott|Olcott]], who thought he was improving it!<ref>Vicente Hao Chin, Jr., ''The Mahatma Letters to A.P. Sinnett in chronological sequence'' No. 44 (Quezon City: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 123.</ref></blockquote>

To this, [[Koot Hoomi|Master Koot Hoomi]] commented:

<blockquote>If [[Morya|M.]] told you to beware trusting Isis too implicitly, it was because he was teaching you truth and fact — and that at the time the passage was written we had not yet decided upon teaching the public indiscriminately.<ref>Vicente Hao Chin, Jr., ''The Mahatma Letters to A.P. Sinnett in chronological sequence'' No. 44 (Quezon City: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 259.</ref></blockquote>

For more information see:

*[http://www.katinkahesselink.net/blavatsky/articles/v4/y1882_058.htm# Seeming “Discrepancies”] by H. P. Blavatsky.

*[http://www.katinkahesselink.net/blavatsky/articles/v4/y1882_091.htm# Isis Unveiled And The Theosophist On Reincarnation] by H. P. Blavatsky.

*[http://www.katinkahesselink.net/blavatsky/articles/v7/y1886_006.htm# Theories About Reincarnation and Spirits] by H. P. Blavatsky.

== Online versions ==
*[http://www.theosociety.org/pasadena/isis/iu-hp.htm# ''Isis Unveiled'' in html format Vols. 1 & 2] by H. P. Blavatsky
*[http://www.hermetics.org/pdf/theosophy/H.P._Blavatsky_-_Isis_Unveiled_V_I.pdf# ''Isis Unveiled'' in PDF format Vol 1] and [http://www.hermetics.org/pdf/theosophy/H.P._Blavatsky_-_Isis_Unveiled_V_II.pdf# Vol 2] by H. P. Blavatsky

==Online resources==
===Articles===
*[http://www.blavatsky.net/index.php/17-hpblavatsky/hpb-articles/186-my-books My Books] by H. P. Blavatsky
*[http://www.wisdomworld.org/additional/StudiesInIsisUnveiled-Series/index.html# Studies in ''Isis Unveiled''] at WisdomWorld.org
*[http://www.easterntradition.org/article/Isis%20Unveiled%20-%20A%20Perspective.pdf# Isis Unveiled: A Perspective] by David Reigle

===Additional resources===
*[http://blavatskyarchives.com/hpbwritingsisis.htm# Online articles about ''Isis Unveiled''] compiled by Daniel H. Caldwell

== Notes ==
<references/>

[[Category:Books]]

Isis Unveiled (book)

2018-04-16T21:08:06Z

Pavel Axentiev: /* Articles */ Corrected link to the "My Books" article by H.P.B.

{{DISPLAYTITLE:''Isis Unveiled'' (book)}}
'''ARTICLE UNDER CONSTRUCTION'''
 
'''ARTICLE UNDER CONSTRUCTION'''
 
 
[[File:Isis 1886 edition from Joma Sipe Facebook.jpg|thumb|1886 edition. Photo by Joma Sipe.]]
== Writing the book ==

Between September 17 and October 16, 1875, [[Helena Petrovna Blavatsky|Mme. Blavatsky]] was visiting with Professor and Mrs. [[Hiram Corson]] in Ithaca, New York for about three weeks. Their son Eugene Corson reported that,
<blockquote>
She spent her time at her desk, writing, writing, writing most of the day and way into the night, carrying on a huge correspondence by long letters. Here she started ''Isis Unveiled'', writing about twenty-five closely written foolscap pages a day. She had no books to consult; my father's very extensive library was almost wholly on English literature, Early English, Anglo-Saxon, English poetry, and classic literature, and she rarely consulted him about anything.

On one occasion she asked him for a Greek word on some text in the New Testament, and when my father said he could not remember it but would look it up for her at once, she said to him, half irritated and half joking: "You school-boy! Why, don't you know it?" My father got the Greek for her, and she went on with her writing.<ref>Eugene Rollin Corson, ''Some Unpublished Letters of Helena Petrovna Blavatsky'', London: Rider & Co., 27-28.</ref>
</blockquote>

During 1886 and 1887, [[Helena Petrovna Blavatsky|H. P. Blavatsky]] wrote, and then reworked it with the assistance of [[Henry Steel Olcott|Colonel Olcott]].

== Involvement of Alexander Wilder ==

After HPB finished the text, she involved [[Alexander Wilder]].
<blockquote>
When the work was ready, we submitted it to Professor Alexander Wilder, the well-known scholar and Platonist of New York, who after reading the matter, recommended it to Mr. Bouton for publication. Next to Colonel Olcott, it is Professor Wilder who did the most for me. It is he who made the excellent ''Index'', who corrected the Greek, Latin, and Hebrew words, suggested quotations and wrote the greater part of the ''Introduction'' 'Before the Veil.' If this was not acknowledged in the work, the fault is not mine, but because it was Dr. Wilder's express wish that his name should not appear except in footnotes. I have never made a secret of it, and every one of my numerous acquaintances in New York knew it."
<ref>H. P. Blavatsky, "My Books" in ''Theories about Reincation and Spirits and My Books'' (Point Loma, California: Theosophical Publishing Co., 1922), 33-34. Written April 27, 1891.</ref>
</blockquote>

As [[Boris de Zirkoff]] pointed out,
<blockquote>
"Many statements by HPB, particularly in Isis Unveiled, the Key and the Glossary are taken from Dr. Alexander Wilder's small booklet: New Platonism and Alchemy, Albany, N.Y., 1869.<ref>Boris de Zirkoff to Armand Courtois. January 18, 1970. Boris de Zirkoff Papers. Records Series 22. Theosophical Society in America Archives.</ref>
</blockquote>

== Sources of the material ==

Madame Blavatsky's mode of writing was unconventional. She wrote of very complex and abstract concepts, quoting many sources accurately, but rarely referring to any book in the process. Witnesses speculated that she was engaged in automatic writing, or clairvoyantly saw the words in the astral plane.

The Corson family gave this account:
<blockquote>
But quite aside from any evidence during her visit at Ithaca, many very reliable witnesses have repeatedly testified to her writing without the books before her or within her grasp. Olcott, who was longest associated with her intimately, who followed her by day while she wrote Isis Unveiled, and much of her other writing, can testify that she wrote automatically or clairvoyantly. She herself never took any credit for what she wrote, but always insisted that she was simply the amanuensis..<ref>Eugene Rollin Corson, 31.</ref>
</blockquote>

Antiquarian bookseller [[Charles Sotheran]], another of the [[Founding of the Theosophical Society|founding members]] of the Theosophical Society, provided assistance in finding quotations and in locating books.<ref>Josephine Ransom, ''A Short History of The Theosophical Society'' (Adyar, Madras, India: The Theosophical Publishing House, 1938), 114.</ref>

[[File:Isis Unveiled advertisement.jpg|right|300px|thumb|Advertisement from ''New York Tribune'', Saturday, September 29, 1877.]]

== Publication ==
''Isis Unveiled'' was published on [[September 29]], 1877. The first printing consisted of 1,000 copies that were sold within ten days. This original edition had a red binding with a symbolic figure of Isis in gold on the spine.

The first copy off the Press was secured by James Robinson, a lawyer, and taken to the newspaper for advance notice.

As far as it is known, the original manuscript was destroyed.

== About the title ==

Initially the title was to be ''The Veil of Isis''. However, an editorial footnote to a letter by [[Helena Petrovna Blavatsky|Madame Blavatsky]] discussed the change to the final title:
<blockquote>
This was the original title of ''Isis Unveiled'', changed to this latter after Vol. I had been printed off, upon the discovry that book entitled ''The Veil of Isis'' existed already.<ref>C. J. [C. Jinarājadāsa], "Two Glimpses of HPB (II) 1888," ''The Theosophist'' 53.12 (September,1932), 726. Note: ''The Veil of Isis'' was probably a work written by Thomas E. Webb in 1885, published by Dublin, Hodges, Figgis, & Co.</ref>
</blockquote>

== Impact of the work ==

Despite the important impact this book had at the time, it was regarded by [[Helena Petrovna Blavatsky|Mme. Blavatsky]] and the [[Masters of Wisdom]] as having several flaws, some due to the fact that it was the first, tentative effort, to bring to the West a certain truths. [[Koot Hoomi|Mahatma K.H.]], for example, was ready to admit that from the point of view of Westerners the book "often and purposely mislead the reader by withholding the necessary explanations and have given but portions of the truth".<ref>Vicente Hao Chin, Jr., ''The Mahatma Letters to A.P. Sinnett in chronological sequence'' No. 92 (Quezon City: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 295.</ref>

== Isis on Reincarnation ==

Controversy was aroused in the 1880's when reincarnation was taught by [[Helena Petrovna Blavatsky|Mme. Blavatsky]] and her [[Adept]] teachers because the concept had allegedly been previously rejected in ''Isis Unveiled'':

<blockquote>Reincarnation, i.e., the appearance of the same individual, or rather of his astral monad, twice on the same planet, is not a rule in nature; it is an exception.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Isis Unveiled'' vol. I, (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1972), 351.</ref></blockquote>

In light of later teachings, it is obvious that by [[Monad#The astral Monad|"astral monad"]] the author was not referring to the reincarnating entity, that is, to the [[Ego#Higher Ego|higher ego]]. As Mme. Blavatsky wrote:

<blockquote>In Isis we refer to the personality or the finite astral monad, a compound of imponderable elements composed of the fifth and fourth principles.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Collected Writings'' vol. IV (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1991), 185.</ref></blockquote>

Thus, in ''Isis'', Mme. Blavatsky was challenging the teaching of the [[Spiritism|Spiritists]], who were teaching the reincarnation of the [[Ego#Lower ego|personal ego]], something that in the [[Theosophy|Theosophical]] view only happens in exceptional cases:

<blockquote>It is preceded by a violation of the laws of harmony of nature, and happens only when the latter, seeking to restore its disturbed equilibrium, violently throws back into earth-life the astral monad which had been tossed out of the circle of necessity by crime or accident. Thus, in cases of abortion, of infants dying before a certain age, and of congenital and incurable idiocy, nature’s original design to produce a perfect human being, has been interrupted. Therefore, while the gross matter of each of these several entities is suffered to disperse itself at death, through the vast realm of being, the immortal spirit and astral monad of the individual — the latter having been set apart to animate a frame and the former to shed its divine light on the corporeal organization — must try a second time to carry out the purpose of the creative intelligence.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Isis Unveiled'' vol. I, (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1972), 351.</ref></blockquote>

However, as it was recognized by the [[Masters of Wisdom|Masters]], the passages in ''Isis'' can be misleading. [[Morya|Master Morya]] wrote to [[Alfred Percy Sinnett|Mr. Sinnet]]:

<blockquote>By-the-bye, I’ll re-write for you pages 345 to 357, Vol. I., of Isis — much jumbled, and confused by [[Henry Steel Olcott|Olcott]], who thought he was improving it!<ref>Vicente Hao Chin, Jr., ''The Mahatma Letters to A.P. Sinnett in chronological sequence'' No. 44 (Quezon City: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 123.</ref></blockquote>

To this, [[Koot Hoomi|Master Koot Hoomi]] commented:

<blockquote>If [[Morya|M.]] told you to beware trusting Isis too implicitly, it was because he was teaching you truth and fact — and that at the time the passage was written we had not yet decided upon teaching the public indiscriminately.<ref>Vicente Hao Chin, Jr., ''The Mahatma Letters to A.P. Sinnett in chronological sequence'' No. 44 (Quezon City: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 259.</ref></blockquote>

For more information see:

*[http://www.katinkahesselink.net/blavatsky/articles/v4/y1882_058.htm# Seeming “Discrepancies”] by H. P. Blavatsky.

*[http://www.katinkahesselink.net/blavatsky/articles/v4/y1882_091.htm# Isis Unveiled And The Theosophist On Reincarnation] by H. P. Blavatsky.

*[http://www.katinkahesselink.net/blavatsky/articles/v7/y1886_006.htm# Theories About Reincarnation and Spirits] by H. P. Blavatsky.

== Online versions ==
*[http://www.theosociety.org/pasadena/isis/iu-hp.htm# ''Isis Unveiled'' in html format Vols. 1 & 2] by H. P. Blavatsky
*[http://www.hermetics.org/pdf/theosophy/H.P._Blavatsky_-_Isis_Unveiled_V_I.pdf# ''Isis Unveiled'' in PDF format Vol 1] and [http://www.hermetics.org/pdf/theosophy/H.P._Blavatsky_-_Isis_Unveiled_V_II.pdf# Vol 2] by H. P. Blavatsky

==Online resources==
===Articles===
*[http://www.blavatsky.net/index.php/17-hpblavatsky/hpb-articles/186-my-books My Books] by H. P. Blavatsky
*[http://www.wisdomworld.org/additional/StudiesInIsisUnveiled-Series/index.html# Studies in ''Isis Unveiled''] at WisdomWorld.org
*[http://www.easterntradition.org/article/Isis%20Unveiled%20-%20A%20Perspective.pdf# Isis Unveiled: A Perspective] by David Reigle

===Additional resources===
*[http://isisunveiled.net/# Online articles about ''Isis Unveiled''] compiled by Daniel H. Caldwell

== Notes ==
<references/>

[[Category:Books]]

Isis Unveiled (book)

2018-04-16T21:03:53Z

Pavel Axentiev: Corrected link to D. Reigle's article (Isis Unveiled - A Perspective)

{{DISPLAYTITLE:''Isis Unveiled'' (book)}}
'''ARTICLE UNDER CONSTRUCTION'''
 
'''ARTICLE UNDER CONSTRUCTION'''
 
 
[[File:Isis 1886 edition from Joma Sipe Facebook.jpg|thumb|1886 edition. Photo by Joma Sipe.]]
== Writing the book ==

Between September 17 and October 16, 1875, [[Helena Petrovna Blavatsky|Mme. Blavatsky]] was visiting with Professor and Mrs. [[Hiram Corson]] in Ithaca, New York for about three weeks. Their son Eugene Corson reported that,
<blockquote>
She spent her time at her desk, writing, writing, writing most of the day and way into the night, carrying on a huge correspondence by long letters. Here she started ''Isis Unveiled'', writing about twenty-five closely written foolscap pages a day. She had no books to consult; my father's very extensive library was almost wholly on English literature, Early English, Anglo-Saxon, English poetry, and classic literature, and she rarely consulted him about anything.

On one occasion she asked him for a Greek word on some text in the New Testament, and when my father said he could not remember it but would look it up for her at once, she said to him, half irritated and half joking: "You school-boy! Why, don't you know it?" My father got the Greek for her, and she went on with her writing.<ref>Eugene Rollin Corson, ''Some Unpublished Letters of Helena Petrovna Blavatsky'', London: Rider & Co., 27-28.</ref>
</blockquote>

During 1886 and 1887, [[Helena Petrovna Blavatsky|H. P. Blavatsky]] wrote, and then reworked it with the assistance of [[Henry Steel Olcott|Colonel Olcott]].

== Involvement of Alexander Wilder ==

After HPB finished the text, she involved [[Alexander Wilder]].
<blockquote>
When the work was ready, we submitted it to Professor Alexander Wilder, the well-known scholar and Platonist of New York, who after reading the matter, recommended it to Mr. Bouton for publication. Next to Colonel Olcott, it is Professor Wilder who did the most for me. It is he who made the excellent ''Index'', who corrected the Greek, Latin, and Hebrew words, suggested quotations and wrote the greater part of the ''Introduction'' 'Before the Veil.' If this was not acknowledged in the work, the fault is not mine, but because it was Dr. Wilder's express wish that his name should not appear except in footnotes. I have never made a secret of it, and every one of my numerous acquaintances in New York knew it."
<ref>H. P. Blavatsky, "My Books" in ''Theories about Reincation and Spirits and My Books'' (Point Loma, California: Theosophical Publishing Co., 1922), 33-34. Written April 27, 1891.</ref>
</blockquote>

As [[Boris de Zirkoff]] pointed out,
<blockquote>
"Many statements by HPB, particularly in Isis Unveiled, the Key and the Glossary are taken from Dr. Alexander Wilder's small booklet: New Platonism and Alchemy, Albany, N.Y., 1869.<ref>Boris de Zirkoff to Armand Courtois. January 18, 1970. Boris de Zirkoff Papers. Records Series 22. Theosophical Society in America Archives.</ref>
</blockquote>

== Sources of the material ==

Madame Blavatsky's mode of writing was unconventional. She wrote of very complex and abstract concepts, quoting many sources accurately, but rarely referring to any book in the process. Witnesses speculated that she was engaged in automatic writing, or clairvoyantly saw the words in the astral plane.

The Corson family gave this account:
<blockquote>
But quite aside from any evidence during her visit at Ithaca, many very reliable witnesses have repeatedly testified to her writing without the books before her or within her grasp. Olcott, who was longest associated with her intimately, who followed her by day while she wrote Isis Unveiled, and much of her other writing, can testify that she wrote automatically or clairvoyantly. She herself never took any credit for what she wrote, but always insisted that she was simply the amanuensis..<ref>Eugene Rollin Corson, 31.</ref>
</blockquote>

Antiquarian bookseller [[Charles Sotheran]], another of the [[Founding of the Theosophical Society|founding members]] of the Theosophical Society, provided assistance in finding quotations and in locating books.<ref>Josephine Ransom, ''A Short History of The Theosophical Society'' (Adyar, Madras, India: The Theosophical Publishing House, 1938), 114.</ref>

[[File:Isis Unveiled advertisement.jpg|right|300px|thumb|Advertisement from ''New York Tribune'', Saturday, September 29, 1877.]]

== Publication ==
''Isis Unveiled'' was published on [[September 29]], 1877. The first printing consisted of 1,000 copies that were sold within ten days. This original edition had a red binding with a symbolic figure of Isis in gold on the spine.

The first copy off the Press was secured by James Robinson, a lawyer, and taken to the newspaper for advance notice.

As far as it is known, the original manuscript was destroyed.

== About the title ==

Initially the title was to be ''The Veil of Isis''. However, an editorial footnote to a letter by [[Helena Petrovna Blavatsky|Madame Blavatsky]] discussed the change to the final title:
<blockquote>
This was the original title of ''Isis Unveiled'', changed to this latter after Vol. I had been printed off, upon the discovry that book entitled ''The Veil of Isis'' existed already.<ref>C. J. [C. Jinarājadāsa], "Two Glimpses of HPB (II) 1888," ''The Theosophist'' 53.12 (September,1932), 726. Note: ''The Veil of Isis'' was probably a work written by Thomas E. Webb in 1885, published by Dublin, Hodges, Figgis, & Co.</ref>
</blockquote>

== Impact of the work ==

Despite the important impact this book had at the time, it was regarded by [[Helena Petrovna Blavatsky|Mme. Blavatsky]] and the [[Masters of Wisdom]] as having several flaws, some due to the fact that it was the first, tentative effort, to bring to the West a certain truths. [[Koot Hoomi|Mahatma K.H.]], for example, was ready to admit that from the point of view of Westerners the book "often and purposely mislead the reader by withholding the necessary explanations and have given but portions of the truth".<ref>Vicente Hao Chin, Jr., ''The Mahatma Letters to A.P. Sinnett in chronological sequence'' No. 92 (Quezon City: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 295.</ref>

== Isis on Reincarnation ==

Controversy was aroused in the 1880's when reincarnation was taught by [[Helena Petrovna Blavatsky|Mme. Blavatsky]] and her [[Adept]] teachers because the concept had allegedly been previously rejected in ''Isis Unveiled'':

<blockquote>Reincarnation, i.e., the appearance of the same individual, or rather of his astral monad, twice on the same planet, is not a rule in nature; it is an exception.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Isis Unveiled'' vol. I, (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1972), 351.</ref></blockquote>

In light of later teachings, it is obvious that by [[Monad#The astral Monad|"astral monad"]] the author was not referring to the reincarnating entity, that is, to the [[Ego#Higher Ego|higher ego]]. As Mme. Blavatsky wrote:

<blockquote>In Isis we refer to the personality or the finite astral monad, a compound of imponderable elements composed of the fifth and fourth principles.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Collected Writings'' vol. IV (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1991), 185.</ref></blockquote>

Thus, in ''Isis'', Mme. Blavatsky was challenging the teaching of the [[Spiritism|Spiritists]], who were teaching the reincarnation of the [[Ego#Lower ego|personal ego]], something that in the [[Theosophy|Theosophical]] view only happens in exceptional cases:

<blockquote>It is preceded by a violation of the laws of harmony of nature, and happens only when the latter, seeking to restore its disturbed equilibrium, violently throws back into earth-life the astral monad which had been tossed out of the circle of necessity by crime or accident. Thus, in cases of abortion, of infants dying before a certain age, and of congenital and incurable idiocy, nature’s original design to produce a perfect human being, has been interrupted. Therefore, while the gross matter of each of these several entities is suffered to disperse itself at death, through the vast realm of being, the immortal spirit and astral monad of the individual — the latter having been set apart to animate a frame and the former to shed its divine light on the corporeal organization — must try a second time to carry out the purpose of the creative intelligence.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Isis Unveiled'' vol. I, (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1972), 351.</ref></blockquote>

However, as it was recognized by the [[Masters of Wisdom|Masters]], the passages in ''Isis'' can be misleading. [[Morya|Master Morya]] wrote to [[Alfred Percy Sinnett|Mr. Sinnet]]:

<blockquote>By-the-bye, I’ll re-write for you pages 345 to 357, Vol. I., of Isis — much jumbled, and confused by [[Henry Steel Olcott|Olcott]], who thought he was improving it!<ref>Vicente Hao Chin, Jr., ''The Mahatma Letters to A.P. Sinnett in chronological sequence'' No. 44 (Quezon City: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 123.</ref></blockquote>

To this, [[Koot Hoomi|Master Koot Hoomi]] commented:

<blockquote>If [[Morya|M.]] told you to beware trusting Isis too implicitly, it was because he was teaching you truth and fact — and that at the time the passage was written we had not yet decided upon teaching the public indiscriminately.<ref>Vicente Hao Chin, Jr., ''The Mahatma Letters to A.P. Sinnett in chronological sequence'' No. 44 (Quezon City: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 259.</ref></blockquote>

For more information see:

*[http://www.katinkahesselink.net/blavatsky/articles/v4/y1882_058.htm# Seeming “Discrepancies”] by H. P. Blavatsky.

*[http://www.katinkahesselink.net/blavatsky/articles/v4/y1882_091.htm# Isis Unveiled And The Theosophist On Reincarnation] by H. P. Blavatsky.

*[http://www.katinkahesselink.net/blavatsky/articles/v7/y1886_006.htm# Theories About Reincarnation and Spirits] by H. P. Blavatsky.

== Online versions ==
*[http://www.theosociety.org/pasadena/isis/iu-hp.htm# ''Isis Unveiled'' in html format Vols. 1 & 2] by H. P. Blavatsky
*[http://www.hermetics.org/pdf/theosophy/H.P._Blavatsky_-_Isis_Unveiled_V_I.pdf# ''Isis Unveiled'' in PDF format Vol 1] and [http://www.hermetics.org/pdf/theosophy/H.P._Blavatsky_-_Isis_Unveiled_V_II.pdf# Vol 2] by H. P. Blavatsky

==Online resources==
===Articles===
*[http://www.blavatsky.net/blavatsky/arts/MyBooks.htm# My Books] by H. P. Blavatsky
*[http://www.wisdomworld.org/additional/StudiesInIsisUnveiled-Series/index.html# Studies in ''Isis Unveiled''] at WisdomWorld.org
*[http://www.easterntradition.org/article/Isis%20Unveiled%20-%20A%20Perspective.pdf# Isis Unveiled: A Perspective] by David Reigle

===Additional resources===
*[http://isisunveiled.net/# Online articles about ''Isis Unveiled''] compiled by Daniel H. Caldwell

== Notes ==
<references/>

[[Category:Books]]

William Quan Judge

2017-07-12T00:34:20Z

Pavel Axentiev: changed Chagres fever to Chagas disease

UNDER CONSTRUCTION
 
UNDER CONSTRUCTION
 
[[File:WQ Judge.jpg|210px|right|thumb|William Quan Judge]]
According to [[Josephine Ransom]],
<blockquote>
WILLIAM QUAN JUDGE, was born in Dublin, 1851. He was brought up a Methodist, but early showed strong occult tendencies. The family migrated to New York, 1864. Judge became a naturalized American citizen at 21. He worked as a clerk at an early age as he had to be self-supporting. he married in 1874, and had one daughter who died of diphtheria, 1876. At the time of the formation of The Society he was a law clerk in the office of the U.S. Attorney for the S. District of New York. He was later admitted to the Bar, and made a speciality of Commercial Law. He was modest, unassuming, eager for occult instruction and ready to work. Though at first H.P.B. objected to Judge becoming a Councillor, yet he won her friendly regard and kept it. He developed leadership, and became one of the most important figures in The Society. Then difficulties arose, and he led the secession of the majority of American Lodges, 1895. He passed away 1896.<ref>Josephine Ransom, ''A Short History of the Theosophical Society'' (Adyar, India: Theosophical Publishing House, 1938), 112.</ref>
</blockquote>

[[File:WQ Judge in chair.jpg|180px|right|thumb|William Quan Judge]]
[[File:Letters That Have Helped Me.jpg|right|270px|thumb|''Letters That Have Helped Me'', 4th edition, 1891]]
== Early life ==

== Foundation of the Theosophical Society ==

== Legal career ==

== Theosophical work ==
'''William Quan Judge''' served as editor of the periodical, [[The Path (periodical)|''The Path'']], from 1886-1896. Quoting from the first issue, [http://www.theosopher.net/dzyan/thepath/the_path_v1_n1_april_1886.pdf April 1886], Judge gives a reason for producing the publication: "to try on the one hand to point out to their fellows a Path in which they have found hope for man, and on the other to investigate all systems of ethics and philosophy claiming to lead directly to such a path, regardless of the possibility that the highway may, after all, be in another direction from the one in which they are looking."

[[File:Echoes of the Orient.jpg|200px|right|thumb|Letters of WQJ, compiled by Dara Eklund]]
== Writings ==

* '''''The Bhagavad Gita with Essays on the Gita''''', 1890. Known as the W. Q. Judge recension. Available at [http://www.theosociety.org/pasadena/gita/bg-eg-hp.htm Theosophical University Press Online].
* '''''Letters That Have Helped Me'''''. Available at [http://www.theosociety.org/pasadena/lthhm/lthhm-hp.htm Theosophical University Press Online].
* '''''The Ocean of Theosophy''''', 1893. Available at [http://www.theosociety.org/pasadena/ocean/oce-hp.htm Theosophical University Press Online].
* '''''Practical Occultism: From the Private Letters of William Q. Judge''''', edited by Arthur L. Conger. Available at [http://www.theosociety.org/pasadena/prac-oc/po-hp.htm Theosophical University Press Online].
* '''''Echoes of the Orient: the Writings of William Quan Judge''''' in 4 volumes, edited by Dara Eklund. Available at [http://www.theosociety.org/pasadena/wqj-echoes/wqj-echoes-hp.htm Theosophical University Press Online].

== Tributes and honors ==

The '''William Q. Judge Library''' is at the headquarters of the [[Temple of the People]] in Halcyon, California.

=== Obituary in ''Mercury'' ===

[[Mercury (periodical)|''Mercury'']], the journal of the American Section of the [[Theosophical Society (Adyar)|Adyar Society]] published this gracious and conciliatory obituary:

<blockquote>
On 21st of March William Q. Judge quitted this sphere of activity. The news saddened all for every heart kept a shrine sacred to the well-beloved co-worker of H.P.B. We remember only his virtues, which were many, his talents which were great, and we know that the good he did for the many years he labored as the Vice-President of the T. S. and Secretary of the American Section will bless his name for all time. All honor to his memory.<ref>J. Helen Smith, "Obituary" ''Mercury'' 2.9 (April, 1896), 276.</ref>
</blockquote>

=== Annie Besant on W. Q. Judge ===

Annie Besant wrote in the October, 1922 [p. 351], issue of [[The Theosophist (periodical)|''The Theosophist'']]:

<blockquote>
William Quan Judge [was] a much loved friend and pupil of H.P.B. and the channel of life to the American Branch of the T.S. A highly evolved man, with a profound realization of the deeper truths of life, he built up the Society in America from small and discouraging beginnings. No difficulties daunted him, and no apparent failures quenched his fiery devotion... He was beside H.P.B. through those early days, saw the exercise of her wonderful powers, and shared in the founding of the Theosophical Society. And throughout the remainder of her life on earth the friendship remained unbroken, and during the later years she regarded him as her one hope in America, declaring that, if the American members rejected him, she would break off all relations with them, and know them no more... His real work, the spread of Theosophy in America, was splendidly performed, and his memory remains a lasting inspiration... William Quan Judge must ever have his place among Theosophical Worthies.<ref>''The Theosophist'' (October, 1922), 351.</ref>
</blockquote>

== Death ==

Mr. Judge had been ill for some time, from lingering results of Chagas disease (often erroneously referred to as Chagres fever) contracted in Venezuela. His friend [[Ernest Temple Hargrove]] wrote to [[Jirah Dewey Buck|Dr. J. D. Buck]] early in 1896:

<blockquote>
I think that Judge is ten per cent weaker than when you saw him. Today and last night his cough seemed rather better; the mucus came away more easily. But he can hardly walk. He asked me last night "use your intuition. How long do you think this can last?" I said "If it goes on not more than a week." That was in reference to a crisis through which both he and I thought he was passing. For the drop was very sudden--ten percent in a day--yesterday. I do not know what caused it; nor does he. There is nothing else at all now. He gets more sleep now during the day.

Truly, even to the lay eye, it is a case full of contradictions, and it is impossible to take any view or form any opinion that is not flatly denied by facts within the next 24 hours. I should not be surprised at anything; not even at seeing him improved 20 per cent in a day.<ref>E. T. Hargrove letter to J. D. Buck. Dated "Thursday, 1896." Cincinnati Theosophical Society Papers. Records Series 20.02.01. Theosophical Society in America Archives.</ref>
</blockquote>

Mr. Judge passed away on [[March 21]], 1896 in New York.

==Online resources==
===Articles===
*[http://www.katinkahesselink.net/his/WilliamQuanJudge.htm# William Quan Judge] by Anonymous

=== Additional resources ===
* Van Mater, Kirby. "William Quan Judge: A Biographical Sketch." [http://www.williamquanjudge.net/ williamquanjudge.net]. Reprinted from ''Sunrise'' Magazine, April/May 1996.
*[http://www.blavatsky.net/index.php/w-q-judge# William Quan Judge page] on Theosophy.net
*[http://www.katinkahesselink.net/other/c/c_wqj.html# Articles by William Quan Judge] at Katinkahesselink.net

==Further reading==
* "William Quan Judge," The Canadian Theosophist [20:2], April 15, 1939, p. 35.

== Notes ==
<references/>

[[Category:Founders|Judge, William Quan]]
[[Category:General Secretaries in TS Adyar|Judge, William Quan]]
[[Category:Associates of HPB|Judge, William Quan]]
[[Category:Attorneys|Judge, William Quan]]
[[Category:Writers|Judge, William Quan]]
[[Category:Editors|Judge, William Quan]]
[[Category:Pseudonyms|Judge, William Quan]]
[[Category:Nationality Irish|Judge, William Quan]]
[[Category:Nationality Naturalized American|Judge, William Quan]]
[[Category:Received Mahatma Letters|Judge, William Quan]]
[[Category:Chelas|Judge, William Quan]]

[[ru:Джадж]]

Maude Travers

2017-05-29T19:34:59Z

Pavel Axentiev: Note on Eleusinian Soc. as per London Lodge page

'''Maude Louise Boyle-Travers''' (? - [[August 4]], 1929) was a psychic and member of the [[London Lodge]] of the [[Theosophical Society]]. She was the daughter of an Irish physician.<ref>Joscelyn Godwin, ''Atlantis and the Cycles of Time'' (Rochester, VT: Inner Traditions, 2011), 69-70.</ref>

Known under the pseudonym of "Mary". She became a close friend of [[Alfred Percy Sinnett|A. P. Sinnett]], who was convinced that she was in contact with the [[Masters of Wisdom]]. On [[October 11]], 1893, she married 44-year old [[William Scott-Elliot]], also a member of the London Lodge, and two years later, on [[October 9]], 1895, they had a son, Walter Travers Scott-Elliot.<ref>Daniel Cladwell and Michelle B. Graye, "Mari Unveiled," Theosophical History 1:8 (October, 1986), 206.</ref>

In 1909, following [[Charles Webster Leadbeater|C. W. Leadbeater]] rejoining the [[Theosophical Society (Adyar)]] upon invitation by [[Annie Besant]], "Mary" instigated the London Lodge members to unanimously withdraw from the Theosophical Society, subsequently forming the short-lived [[London Lodge #Eleusinian Society|Eleusinian Society]].

== Notes ==
<references/>

[[Category:Clairvoyants]]

The Perfect Way (book)

2017-05-29T19:28:11Z

Pavel Axentiev: New York edition; correction to the 1913 link

'''''The Perfect Way''''' is a book written by [[Anna Bonus Kingsford]] and [[Edward Maitland]], offering an [[Esotericism|esoteric]] interpretation of the [[Christianity|Christian]] teachings. It is one of the most influential books written by early Theosophists. Originally the material was presented as a series of nine lectures in London, during the months of May, June, and July, in 1881.

== Concepts presented ==
'''THIS SECTION UNDER CONSTRUCTION''' 
'''THIS SECTION UNDER CONSTRUCTION''' 

== Editions and publication ==
'''THIS SECTION UNDER CONSTRUCTION''' 
'''THIS SECTION UNDER CONSTRUCTION''' 

This book was published in London in 1888, and in New York in 1882.

The New York edition is available from the [https://archive.org/details/perfectwayorfin00unkngoog Internet Archive].

The revised American edition is available from the [http://www.theosophical.ca/books/PerfectWay_ABKingsfordEMaitland.pdf# Canadian Theosophical Association website].

The third edition, edited by Samuel Hopgood Hart, was published in 1913 and is available at [https://ia801209.us.archive.org/15/items/b24873020_0002/b24873020_0002.pdf Internet Archive - the link refers to E. Maitland's biography of A. Kingsford].

== Reviews ==

[[Edward Maitland]] wrote that "among the earliest resuilts of the introduction of that book to an American public was the following paragraph ina Boston paper:"
<blockquote>
''The Perfect Way'' is the title of a book which has excited great attention in London, and in Boston circles of modern scientific and theosophic discussion, and the name of the author has been sought in vain. [[Clara Erskine Clement Waters|Mrs. Waters]] (Clara Erskine Clement), who has just returned from Europe, solves the mystery. The author of these remarkable lectures is Dr. Anna Kingsford of London, a woman described as having the face and figure of a Greek goddess, so perfect is her beauty. She is of the golden-blonde type, and her manner is one of exceptional dignity and grace. The Metaphysical Club of Boston were deeply interested in ''The Perfect Way'' last year. A remarkable book it is, whether one accepts its ideas or not. Dr. Kingsford's theory of life, in brief outline , is that it is a series of reincarnations, by means of which the soul acquires its experiences; that the deeds and aspirations of one life predetermine entirely the quality of the next incarnation.<ref>Edward Maitland, ''Anna Kingsford: Her Letters, Diary, and Work'' Volume II, Third Edition, edited by Samuel Hopgood Hart. (London: John M. Watkins, 1913), 229. Available at [https://ia801209.us.archive.org/15/items/b24873020_0002/b24873020_0002.pdf Internet Archive]].</ref>
</blockquote>

== The Master's comments ==

[[Koot Hoomi|Master K.H.]] commented positively on the book writing to [[Alfred Percy Sinnett|A. P. Sinnett]]:

<blockquote>Well may you admire and more should you wonder at the marvellous lucidity of that remarkable seeress, who ignorant of [[Saṃskṛta|Sanskrit]] or [[Pāli|Pali]], and thus shut out from their metaphysical treasures, has yet seen a great light shining from behind the dark bills of exoteric religions. How, think you, did the "Writers of the Perfect Way" come to know that Adonai was the Son and not the Father; or that the third Person of the Christian Trinity is — female? Verily, they lay in that work several times their hands upon the keystone of [[Occultism]]. Only does the lady — who persists using without an explanation the misleading term "God" in her writings — know how nearly she comes up to our doctrine when saying: — "Having for Father, Spirit which is Life (the endless Circle or [[Parabrahman|Parabrahm]]) and for Mother the Great Deep, which is Substance ([[Prakṛti|Prakriti]] in its undifferentiated condition) — Adonai possesses the potency of both and wields the dual powers of all things." We would say triple, but in the sense as given this will do.<ref>Vicente Hao Chin, Jr., ''The Mahatma Letters to A.P. Sinnett in chronological sequence'' No. 111 (Quezon City: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 379.</ref></blockquote>

== Notes ==
<references/>

[[Category:Books|Perfect Way, The]]

Charles Johnston

2017-02-11T20:36:08Z

Pavel Axentiev: Corrected Internet Archive link to "Why the World Laughs"

[[File:HPB and family.jpg|right|350px|thumb|Charles Johnston between wife Vera and H. S. Olcott, with H. P. Blavatsky and her sister Vera in front. Image from TSA Archives.]]
[[File:Charles Johnston with sled.jpg|right|180px|thumb|Charles Johnston]]
'''Charles Johnston''' ([[February 17]], 1867 - [[October 16]], 1931) was a [[Sanskrit]] scholar and translator of several Hindu classics, and was married to [[Helena Petrovna Blavatsky|H. P. Blavatsky's]] [[Vera Johnston|niece]]. He was a founder of the Dublin Lodge of the [[Theosophical Society]] of which [[William Butler Yeats]] and A.E. or Æ, as [[George William Russell]] was known, were also members. The Johnstons became members of the [[Theosophical Society in America (Hargrove)|Theosophical Society in America]] headed by [[Ernest Temple Hargrove]] in New York.

== Early life ==
Charles Johnston was born in Ireland, at Ballykilbeg, County Down, on [[February 17]], 1867. His father was a prominent Orangeman, a Member of Parliament for Belfast and leader of the temperance movement. His mother was the daughter of Sir John Hay, a Scottish baronet. Johnston's education was at Derby, England, and later at Dublin University, where he became acquainted with the Irish poets [[William Butler Yeats]] and [[George William Russell]], who became known as A.E. or Æ.<ref>H. B. M.<nowiki>[</nowiki>Henry Bedinger Mitchell<nowiki>]</nowiki> "Charles Johnston", ''The Theosophical Quarterly'' 29.3 (January, 1932), 214.</ref>

As a 17-year-old, in November, 1884, Johnston read [[Alfred Percy Sinnett|A. P. Sinnett's]] [[The Occult World (book)|''The Occult World'']], and the following year joined the [[Theosophical Society]]. When Madame Blavatsky was attacked by the [[Society for Psychical Research]] in the [[Coulomb affair]], Johnston "made a vigorous protest in H.P.B.'s defence"<ref>Charles Johnston, ''The Theosophical Quarterly'' 29.1 (July, 1931).</ref> [[File:Charles Johnston and family.jpg|right|280px|thumb|Charles Johnston with wife Vera, mother, and brother Lewis in 1895]]He read [[Esoteric Buddhism (book)|''Esoteric Buddhism'']], [[Isis Unveiled (book)|''Isis Unveiled'']], [[Light on the Path (book)|''Light on the Path'']], and ''Five Years of Theosophy'', and in 1887 met Madame Blavatsky in person. During his years at university, he had prepared for the Bengal Civil Service exam, which he passed brilliantly in 1888. In August of that year, he married [[Vera Jelihovsky Johnston|Vera Vladimirovna de Zhelihovsky]], daughter of Madame [[Vera Petrovna de Zhelihovsky]] and H. P. Blavatsky's niece. They had met while she was staying with her aunt in London. The ceremony took place at H.P.B.'s home, 17, Lansdowne Road, London. [[Henry Steel Olcott|Col. Olcott]], visiting London at the time, represented Vera's mother and the rest of the family at the civil marriage at the registrar's office.<ref>Henry Steel Olcott, ''Old Diary Leaves'' Fourth Series (Adyar, Madras: The Theosophical Publishing House, 1974), 71.</ref>

Shortly after the wedding, the Johnstons left for India, arriving in November. He contracted malaria, and became so ill that he was sent home after only two years in the Civil Service position for which he had trained. In order to make a living he turned to writing for periodicals:
<blockquote>
He succeeded in connecting himself with some English journals, to which he sent letters on foreign news, and he contributed, to the more serious reviews, articles on ethnological, political and economic questions. Thus employed, for the next six years he and his wife traveled extensively in Europe, visiting her relatives - Madame Blavatsky's nearest kin - in Russia, and staying in different places in England, Holland, Belgium, Germany, Austria, and France. They lived for some time in Salzburg, where Dr. Franz Hartmann then resided, and where Mr. Johnston finally threw off his jungle malaria.<ref>H. B. M.<nowiki>[</nowiki>Henry Bedinger Mitchell<nowiki>]</nowiki> "Charles Johnston", ''The Theosophical Quarterly'' 29.3 (January, 1932), 207.</ref>
</blockquote>

== Life in New York ==

The Johnstons emigrated to the United States, becoming naturalized citizens in 1908. In 1900, they were living in Queens; in 1910 had moved to Manhattan; and in 1920 were in Brooklyn.<ref>U. S. Census records, 1900, 1910, 1920.</ref> At the request of the American Theosophical Society leader [[William Quan Judge]],
<blockquote>
Mr. Johnston undertook a series of translations from the Sanskrit, which were made a regular feature of the Theosophical Society's literary activity, being published by Mr. Judge as the "Oriental Department papers". It was from the work done in this connection that his first separate volume on the Indians scriptures, ''From the Upanishads'', was culled.<ref>H. B. M.<nowiki>[</nowiki>Henry Bedinger Mitchell<nowiki>]</nowiki>, 211.</ref>
</blockquote>
The Theosophical Society was in turmoil in the years just after 1895, when most American lodges chose to follow Mr. Judge into formation of an American society that was dissociated from the international headquarters based in Adyar, India. Judge's death in 1896, and the changes instituted by his successor [[Katherine Tingley]] created difficulties that led to the formation of the [[Theosophical Society in America (Hargrove)|Theosophical Society]] that was led by [[Ernest Temple Hargrove]]. The Johnstons became mainstays of that group. Charles Johnston served for more than 25 years as Chairman of the Executive Committee.

== Teaching ==
[[File:Charles Johnston advert.jpg|right|200px|thumb|''Theosophy'' September 1897. Image from Boris de Zirkoff Papers, TSA Archives.]]
Charles Johnston lectured for the Theosophical Society, travelling across the United States and Europe to visit branches. He also lectured and taught at educational institutions.
<blockquote>
He lectured at Cooper Union, and for the New York Board of Education. In 1908, he was Special Lecturer in Political Science at the University of Wisconsin... and he also delivered a number of addresses at Columbia University in New York. At one time he taught at the Russian Seminary.<ref>H. B. M.<nowiki>[</nowiki>Henry Bedinger Mitchell<nowiki>]</nowiki>, 211.</ref>
</blockquote>

In his first months in New York, he advertised a [[Sanskrit]] course on the inside back cover of ''Theosophy'' magazine in September 1897. It mentions classes formed in New York, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New Jersey, Georgia, Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Oregon, California, and Canada.<ref>"Sanskrit Revival" advertisement in ''Theosophy'' 12.6 (September 1897).</ref>

== Later years ==

Mr. Johnston was an active member of the Linnaean Society, a group of amateur and professional naturalists in the New York City area who studied natural history and especially ornithology.

According to Henry Bedinger Mitchell, "In 1918-19, he served as Captain in the Military Intelligence Division at Washington."<ref>H. B. M.<nowiki>[</nowiki>Henry Bedinger Mitchell<nowiki>]</nowiki>, 211.</ref>

The 1930 United States Census listed Johnston as a writer and editor, with Encyclopedia Britannica as an employer.

He died on [[October 16]], 1931 of heart disease at St. Luke's Hospital in New York City. A funeral service was held at the Chapel of the Comforter, where [[Clement Acton Griscom, Jr.]], [[Henry Bedinger Mitchell]], and [[Ernest Temple Hargrove]] were active members. According to the ''New York Times'' obituary of October 17, "He was a widower and is survived by two sisters, Mrs. Samuel Brew who is now in British Columbia and another sister in Ireland".<ref>Letter from Paul North Rice of New York Public Library to Boris de Zirkoff. November 8, 1951. Boris de Zirkoff Papers. Records Series 22. Theosophical Society in America Archives.</ref> He was buried in Woodlawn Cemetery in New York.<ref>Dr. Clarence C. Clark letter to Boris de Zirkoff. November 30, 1951. Boris de Zirkoff Papers. Records Series 22. Theosophical Society in America Archives.</ref>

== Writings ==

Mr. Johnston wrote a great number and variety of articles and books, ranging from scholarly writings on scriptures to popular volumes of humor, travel, and history. The flair and grace of an Irish poet are apparent even in the serious works. See, for example, the introduction to ''The Song of Life'', and the dedication of ''From the Upanishads'', addressed to his Irish friend [[George William Russell]]. ''Ireland: Historic and Picturesque'' is a charming travelogue, and ''Kela Bai: An Anglo-Indian Idyll'' is a tale from India.

=== Articles for Theosophical periodicals ===
During 46 years of service to the Theosophical movement, Johnston was very prominent and highly esteemed for his writing. The first article that Johnston wrote for the Theosophical Society was printed in the December 1886 issue of [[The Theosophist (periodical)|''The Theosophist'']], when he was only 19 years old. After his death, [[The Theosophical Quarterly (periodical)|''The Theosophical Quarterly'']] summarized his contributions:
<blockquote>
A succession of articles followed, totaling 16 in all. He contributed 27 articles to [[Lucifer (periodical)|''Lucifer'']], beginning with the first volume, December, 1887, and continuing until the Society ceased to concern itself with that publication, which passed into alien hands. Five of these comprised his first translations from the [[Upanishads (book)|Upanishads]], while in addition there were eight half-pages of translated aphorisms. He contributed 15 articles to [[The Irish Theosophist (periodical)|''The Irish Theosophist'']]; 20 to the [[The Path (periodical)|''Path'']]; 8 to [[Theosophy (periodical)|''Theosophy'']] in the less than two years of its brief existence; 53 translations in the series of [[Oriental Department Papers (periodical)|''Oriental Department Papers'']], all from the Sanskrit; 53 that have been identified in the [[The Theosophical Forum (periodical)|''The Theosophical Forum'']] (where in the later volumes all articles were unsigned), of which 26 were translations; and 242 articles to the [[The Theosophical Quarterly (periodical)|''Theosophical Quarterly'']], from its first to the current volume, not including reviews, answers to questions, or his addresses reported during the sessions of Convention. This is an average of 8 1/2 articles a year for the QUARTERLY, or more than two for each issue. The total number of articles is, therefore, about 434, of which 170 were translations, or an average of almost 10 articles a year for the 44 years he was writing for the [[Theosophical Movement|Movement]].<ref>Q.<nowiki>[</nowiki>author unknown<nowiki>]</nowiki>, "Mr. Johnston and the Upanishads", ''The Theosophical Quarterly'' 29.3 (January, 1932), 214-215.</ref><ref>The "alien hands" referred to in this quotation were those of [[Annie Besant]] and [[G. R. S. Mead]]</ref>
</blockquote>

This was all voluntary effort; he was not compensated for this work.
The [[Union Index of Theosophical Periodicals]] has over 200 articles listed [http://www.austheos.org.au/cgi-bin/ui-csvsearch.pl?search=Charles+Johnston&method=exact&header=field4 under the name Charles Johnston]. Many other articles were published with the initials [[CJ]], but some of those were written by [[Curuppumullage Jinarājadāsa|C. Jinarājadāsa]] of Adyar. The "CJ" articles of Charles Johnston appear in the following journals: [[Theosophical Quarterly (periodical)|''Theosophical Quarterly'']], [[Theosophy (periodical)|''Theosophy'']], [[The Path (periodical)|''The Path'']], [[The Irish Theosophist (periodical)|''The Irish Theosophist'']], and possibly some in [[The Theosophist (periodical)|''The Theosophist'']].
[[File:CJohnston book.jpg|right|200px]]
=== Articles for non-Theosophical periodicals ===
He also published numerous articles for non-Theosophical journals and newspapers, including several articles in [[The Open Court (periodical)|''The Open Court'']]:
* "The Vedanta Philosophy" in February, 1906. Available at [http://opensiuc.lib.siu.edu/ocj/vol1906/iss2/2/ OpenSIUC].
* "The Kingdom of Heaven and the Upanishads" in December, 1905. Available at [http://opensiuc.lib.siu.edu/ocj/vol1905/iss12/1/ OpenSIUC]. Previously published in ''Metaphysical Magazine'', April, 1897. Johnston suggests the the poetic words of Jesus on "the kingdom of heaven is within you" are similar to wording found in the Upanishads.<ref>"Book Reviews," ''Mercury'' 3.10 (June, 1897), 315.</ref>
* "The Childhood and Youth of St. Paul" in April, 1911. Available at [http://opensiuc.lib.siu.edu/ocj/vol1911/iss4/1/ OpenSIUC].

=== Theosophical and scholarly books ===
*'''''Useful Sanskrit Nouns and Verb in English Letters'''''. London: Luzac, 1892. Text available online at [http://archive.org/details/cu31924023201126 Internet Archive]. Advertised on page 59 of ''Luzac's Oriental List and Book Review, Volume 4'' by Luzac & Co., booksellers. Advertisement is available online at [http://books.google.com/books?id=Np5UAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA59&lpg=PA59&dq=m.r.a.s.+sanskrit+prizeman&source=bl&ots=g1qQXpQraT&sig=MQrxto_FzYYMPlI5LLvsXPcQtjw&hl=en&sa=X&ei=X-13UemkGMawqgHP44CgCg&ved=0CDoQ6AEwAg#v=onepage&q=m.r.a.s.%20sanskrit%20prizeman&f=false Google Books.]
*'''''The Awakening to the Self'''''. Translation of Sankarâchârya. New York: Johnston, 1897.
*'''''From the Upanishads'''''. Portland, ME: Thomas Mosher, 1899. Available online at [http://archive.org/details/fromupanishadsby00thomiala Internet Archive] and [http://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uc2.ark:/13960/t6639n558;view=1up;seq=11 Hathitrust].
*'''''The Memory of Past Births'''''. New York: Theosophical Society Publishing Co., 1899. Available to [http://archive.org/details/memoryofpastbirt00johnrich Internet Archive] and [http://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/007366099 Hathitrust].
*'''''Karma: Works and Wisdom'''''. New York : Metaphysical Pub. Co., 1900. Available at [http://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/008434946 hathtrust].
*'''''The Song of Life'''''. Flushing, NY: Charles Johnston, 1901. A translation of the "dialogue of Janaka and the sage", preceded by "a modern paraphrase of the Teachings". Available at [http://archive.org/details/songlife00johngoog Internet Archives].
*[[Bhagavadgītā (book)|'''''The Bhagavad-gîta: "The Songs of the Master"''''']]. Flushing, N.Y.: C. Johnston, 1908. Available online at [http://archive.org/details/cu31924097311702 Internet Archive].
*'''''Parables of the Kingdom'''''. Flushing, NY: Charles Johnston, 1909.
*'''''The system of the Vedânta according to Bâdarâyaṇa's Brahma-sûtras and Cankara's commentary thereon set forth as a compendium of the dogmatics of brahmanism from the standpoint of Çankara'''''. Chicago, The Open Court Publishing Company, 1912. Available at [http://archive.org/details/systemvedntaacc00deusgoog Internet Archive] and [http://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/001380098 Hathitrust].
*[[Yoga Sutras of Patanjali|'''''Yoga Sutras''''']] of [[Patanjali]]. New York: Quarterly Book Department, 1912. Available online at [http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Yoga_Sutras Wikisource] and [http://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/009013672 Hathitrust].
*'''''Eastern and Western Psychology: a Theosophical Need'''''. New York: Theosophical Society, 1917.
*'''''The Great Upanishads, Isha, Kena, Katha, Prashna, Upanishads Volume 1'''''. New York: Quarterly Book Department, 1927.
*[[The Crest-Jewel of Wisdom (book)|'''''The Crest-Jewel of Wisdom''''']] by [[Śankarâchârya]]. San Diego: Theosophical University Press, 1946. Translated by Charles Johnston. Available at [http://www.theosociety.org/pasadena/crest/crest-1.htm Theosophical University Press Online].

=== Popular books ===
*'''''Kela Bai: An Anglo-Indian Idyll'''''. New York: Doubleday & McClure, 1900. Novel. Available at [http://archive.org/stream/kelabaiangloindi00johniala#page/106/mode/2up Internet Archive].
*'''''Ireland: Historic and Picturesque'''''. Philadelphia: Henry T. Coates & Co., 1902. Illustrated travelogue. Available at [http://archive.org/stream/cu31924028049298#page/n11/mode/2up Internet Archive] and [http://archive.org/details/irelandhistoricp00johnrich a second Internet Archive version].
*'''''Ireland's Story'''''. Boston: Houghton, Mifflin, 1905, 1923. Written with Carita Spencer. Illustrated history of Ireland. Available at [http://archive.org/details/irelandsstory00john Internet Archive].
*'''''Why the World Laughs'''''. New York: Harper & Bros, 1912. A book of humorous stories from many countries. Available at [https://archive.org/details/whyworldlaughs01johngoog Internet Archive] and [http://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/001438664 Hathitrust].

== Additional resources ==
*[http://www.universaltheosophy.com/bios/charles-johnston# Charles Johnston] Biographical Sketch by ''Universal Theosophy''
*[http://www.universaltheosophy.com/writings-johnston# The Writings of Charles Johnston] compiled by ''Universal Theosophy''
* Obituary in ''The Canadian Theosophist'' 12 (November, 1931), 268.

== Notes ==
<references/>

[[Category:Journalists|Johnston, Charles]]
[[Category:Writers|Johnston,Charles]]
[[Category:Editors|Johnston,Charles]]
[[Category:Educators|Johnston, Charles]]
[[Category:Sanskrit scholars|Johnston,Charles]]
[[Category:Associates of HPB|Johnston,Charles]]
[[Category:Nationality Irish|Johnston,Charles]]
[[Category:Nationality Naturalized American|Johnston,Charles]]
[[Category:TS Hargrove|Johnston,Charles]]

Martandrao Babaji Nagnath

2017-01-19T21:51:19Z

Pavel Axentiev: Addition of the story from Old Diary Leaves, Second Series (pp. 23-24) + the opening sentence

{{Template:Article needs expansion}}
 
 
 
'''Martandrao B. Nagnath''' was one of the early Indian members of the Theosophical Society.
 
----
[[Henry Steel Olcott]] describes one of their conversations soon after the arrival at Bombay in 1879. Following the resignations of M. M. and A. M. Kunte, H. S. Olcott
<blockquote>said to another Hindu friend, whom I knew to be really dependent on his paltry Government appointment of Rs. 40 per month: "Martandrao Bhai" suppose, on going to office to-morrow morning, you should find on your desk a note to the effect that you had to choose between your membership in the, Theosophical Society and your place, as we were under suspicion of political designs, what would you do?" The man's face grew serious, he seemed as if casting up the chances, and then, in a stumbling sort of utterance peculiar to him, and with a shake of the head and compression of the lips, he answered: "I— I could—d not go against my principles!" I threw my arms about him and shouted to H. P. B. in the, next room: "Come! come and see a true Hindu and a brave man!" That man's name is Martandrao 'Babaji Nagnath; he is a Maratha Brahmin.<ref>H. S. Olcott. [http://www.theosophy.ph/onlinebooks/odl/odl202.html Old Diary Leaves, Second Series (1878-83)], pp. 23-24.</ref></blockquote>
----
Martandrao B. Nagnath was frequently with [[Founders#The Founders|the Founders]] at Bombay from 1879 to 1889. He recorded some instances of his seeing the "generally unseen Brothers of the 1st Section of the Theosophical Society." He wrote:

<blockquote>I have had constant occasions to visit [Theosophical] headquarters at Breach Candy, Bombay. My connection with the Founders of the Society has been close, and my opportunity good for studying Theosophy. I am therefore inclined, for my satisfaction and for the information of students of Nature, to record here my experiences of certain phenomena, which came under my observation on several occasions in the presence of brother Theosophists and strangers. I have also had the rare privilege to see the so-called and generally unseen Brothers [Mahatmas] of the 1st section of the Theosophical Society.
 
In the month of April 1881, on one dark night, while talking in company with other Theosophists with Madame Blavatsky about 10 p.m. in the open verandah of the upper bungalow, a man, six feet in height, clad in a white robe, with a white [turban] on the head, made his appearance on a sudden, walking towards us through the garden adjacent to the bungalow from a point—a precipice—where there is no path for any one to tread. Madame then rose up and told us to go inside the bungalow. So we went in, but we heard Madame and he talking for a minute with each other in an Eastern language unknown to us. Immediately after, we again went out into the verandah, as we were called, but the Brother had disappeared.
 
On the next occasion, when we were chatting in the above verandah as usual, another Brother, clothed in a white dress, was suddenly seen as if standing on a branch of a tree. We saw him then descending as though through the air, and standing on a corner edge of a thin wall. Madame then rose up from her seat and stood looking at him for about two minutes, and—as if it seemed—talking inaudibly with him. Immediately after, in our presence, the figure of the man disappeared, but was afterwards seen again walking in the air through space, then right through the tree, and again disappearing.<ref>[http://www.blavatskyarchives.com/mastersencounterswith.htm# A Casebook of Encounters with the Theosophical Mahatmas] Case 14, compiled and edited by Daniel H. Caldwell</ref></blockquote>

After [[Alfred Percy Sinnett|Mr. Sinnett]] published his book [[The Occult World (book)|''The Occult World'']] where he talked about the [[Masters of Wisdom|Masters]], some [[Spiritualism|Spiritualists]] claimed the Masters were but [[Mediumship#Spirit guides|disembodied spirits]]. Martandrao B. Nagnath sent a letter to the London ''Spiritualist'' along with [[Bhavani Shankar]] saying:

<blockquote>In common with some other Theosophists of Bombay, we have had, on several occasions, the honour to see these ‘Brothers’ of our Society’s First Section. We have thus been led to know that they represent a class of living, not ‘disembodied’ men or ghosts - as the Spiritualists would insist upon; that they are in possession of the highest virtues and psychic capabilities, and have, as we are assured from the opportunities we have been permitted to enjoy, ever exerted such powers for beneficent purposes, regarding the whole humanity as a Universal Brotherhood, but keeping aloof from the world for reasons best known to themselves.<ref>See "First Report
of the Committee of the Society for Psychical Research, Appendix XII" at http://blavatskyarchives.com/app12.htm Published by Blavatsky Study Center</ref></blockquote>

== Notes ==
<references/>

[[Category:People who encountered Mahatmas|Nagnath, Martandrao Babaji]]
[[Category:People who witnessed phenomena|Nagnath, Martandrao Babaji]]