Paul Brunton

UNDER CONSTRUCTION
UNDER CONSTRUCTION
Paul Brunton (October 21, 1898 – July 27, 1981) was a British philosopher, mystic and traveler. He left a journalistic career to live among yogis, mystics, and holy men, and studied Eastern and Western esoteric teachings. He is known for his many excellent books.

Theosophical Society involvement

Mr. Brunton wrote of his introduction to Theosophy:

The roots of the story behind my book go back to boyhood, when I found myself taking a keen interest in the subject of Spiritualism. From the very first I quickly developed mediumistic powers, particularly clairvoyance and clairaudience, and thus obtained the best kind of proof of the existence of a psychic world, i.e. by first-hand personal experience, without resort to paid mediums. After I had completely established the truth of survival for myself, I turned to the study of Theosophy and joined the Theosophical Society.

I am grateful for what I learned during this second phase; but after two years’ membership I resigned from the Society. I felt that the adepts who had sponsored its foundation had now withdrawn and left the Society to its own devices. But theosophical study provided my first introduction to Oriental thought, and set me off upon a line of investigation which has become more fascinating still with the passage of time.

The records of the Theosophical Society based in Adyar, Chennai, India show that Mr. Brunton was admitted under the name of Raphael Hurst to the Theosophical Society in the Astrological Lodge in London on April 30, 1920.

Writings

Paul Brunton had an early career as a journalist, and also wrote extensively of his experiences in the East.

Periodicals

Brunton's writings have always been of interest to Theosophists. Dozens of reviews of and excerpts from his books have appeared in periodicals, including Success Magazine, Occult Review, and The Aryan Path.

A Hermit in the Himalayas

Books

Paul Brunton's books have been very popular, with many printings and translations into Dutch and German. Many are still in print, as well as audio and digital editions.

• Are You Upward Bound with William G. Fern. 1931.
• A Search in Secret India. London: Rider & Co., 1934. Available at Internet Archive and Courtofrecord.org. Translated into at least 20 languages.
• The Secret Path. London: Rider & Co., 1934. Available at Internet Archive and Cincinnati Temple.
• A Search in Secret Egypt. 1936.
• A Message from Arunachala. (1936.
• A Hermit in the Himalayas. New York: E. P. Dutton, 1936. A travel journal describing India's great mountains.
• The Quest of the Overself. 1937.
• Indian Philosophy and Modern Culture. 1939.
• The Inner Reality. London: Rider & Co., 1949. Available at Internet Archive. Also published in the United States in 1949 as Discover Yourself.

Notebooks of Paul Brunton

• Hidden Teaching Beyond Yoga. 1941.
• The Wisdom of the Overself. .1943. Available at Selfdefinition.org.
• Spiritual Crisis of Man. 1952.
• Essays on the Quest. 1984. Published posthumously.
• Essential Readings. Published posthumously.
• Conscious Immortality. Published posthumously.
• Notebooks of Paul Brunton. 1984–88. Sixteen volumes, published posthumously.
• Meditations for People in Charge. 1995. Published posthumously.
• Meditations for People in Crisis. 1996. Published posthumously.
• What Is Karma. 1998. Published posthumously.
• The Gift of Grace. 2011. Published posthumously.
• The Short Path to Enlightenment. 2014. Published posthumously.
• Realizing Soul: From Intuition to an Inspired Life. 2015. Published posthumously.
• Instructions for Spiritual Living. 2019. Published posthumously.

Articles, chapters, and introductions

• Brunton, Paul. 1975. "A Living Sage of South India" in The Sage of Kanchi (New Delhi: Arnold-Heinemann, New Delhi:, 1975), chapter 2. Edited by T.M.P. Mahadevan.
• Brunton, Paul. Introduction to Fundamentals of Yoga, by Rammurti S. Mishra, M.D. New York; Harmony Books, 1959, 1987.
• Brunton, Paul. "Western Thought and Eastern Culture", The Cornhill Magazine, 1937.
• Brunton, Paul. Introduction to Practical Yoga by Ernest Wood. London: Rider, 1951.

Additional resources

Articles

• Brunton, Paul in Theosophy World.
• Paul Brunton in Wikipedia.
• Paul Brunton and Blavatsky by Jake Jaqua.

Books

• Fung, Annie Cahn. Paul Brunton - A Bridge Between India and the West. Thesis for the Sorbonne, 2004.
• Hurst, Kenneth. Paul Brunton: A Personal View Larson Publications, 1989. 320 pages.