Colonel Olcott at Home
There are few more picturesque things in the world, and also few more horribly inconvenient, than landing in the harbor… Read More »Colonel Olcott at Home
Charles Johnston
Theosophist, Author, Linguist. Translator of the Upanishads, Gita, Yoga Sutras, etc. Bio: Charles Johnston
States of Consciousness
One of the Buddhist Suttas is known as the Potthapada Sutta, so called in honour of the Brahman to whom… Read More »States of Consciousness
Faith and Works In the Upanishads and the New Testament
I. There is a passage of singular charm and vivacity, which one may call, I think, the keystone of the… Read More »Faith and Works In the Upanishads and the New Testament
Self-Glorification or Self-Conquest
I. In the first two Gospels, there is a story of gentle irony at the expense of the non-discerning disciples.… Read More »Self-Glorification or Self-Conquest
Rajput and Brahman in Buddha’s Day
The understanding of Buddhism by Western scholars is in general marked by certain limitations. To begin with, they are inclined… Read More »Rajput and Brahman in Buddha’s Day
The Hymn of the Spirit
Thousand-headed is Spirit, thousand-eyed, thousand-footed; he wrapping the world altogether, overpassed it by a space of ten fingers. Spirit verily… Read More »The Hymn of the Spirit
Schopenhauer and Shankara
It is a somewhat humiliating thing to think of, that in spite of all the good intentions and praiseworthy endeavours… Read More »Schopenhauer and Shankara
The Opening Eyelids of the Morn
“There is a small white lotus bud in this house of the Soul; in it there is a firmament, and… Read More »The Opening Eyelids of the Morn
The Childhood and Youth of St. Paul
“When I was a child . . .” The religions of the Orient give us a wide view of life… Read More »The Childhood and Youth of St. Paul
The Dangers of Psychism
A number of short treatises, in verse and prose, are attributed to the great Indian Teacher, Shankaracharya, though it is… Read More »The Dangers of Psychism
The Buddha’s Former Births
[Introduction] Among the great religions of the world, none has been so greatly misunderstood in our day as the teaching… Read More »The Buddha’s Former Births
The Warrior
Seership is of the Self; actor-ship, of the powers. For, as the great King, even without being engaged himself, becomes… Read More »The Warrior
The Songs of the Master
I. In the Bhagavad Gita, first translated and best known of all the Sacred Books of the East, there is… Read More »The Songs of the Master
Vakya Sudha (The Essence of the Teaching)
[Translation] Seer and Seen The form is seen, the eye is seer; the mind is both seen and seer. The… Read More »Vakya Sudha (The Essence of the Teaching)
Lovers of the East: Anquetil Duperron (1731-1805)
Who opened the doors of the east to the west? Who brought to the west the light of the east?… Read More »Lovers of the East: Anquetil Duperron (1731-1805)
Materialistic Science (A Summary)
In the August number of this Magazine, in an essay entitled “Two Thousand Years Ago,” I endeavoured to show that… Read More »Materialistic Science (A Summary)
The Books of Hidden Wisdom
. . . Beheld the Gods all, sweatless, steady-eyed, their flower-wreaths fresh and dust-free, as they stood, touching not the… Read More »The Books of Hidden Wisdom
The Sermon on the Mount
I. In studying the Teachings of Jesus, we shall do well ever to bear in mind his words to his… Read More »The Sermon on the Mount
The Logos Doctrine
Let us begin by trying to translate as literally as possible the opening passage of Saint John’s Gospel, retaining the… Read More »The Logos Doctrine
“The Second Wave”
Have you ever stood on the shore, and watched the incoming tide? First a tiny ripple advances a few inches… Read More »“The Second Wave”
A Poet Theosophist: Walt Whitman
“I myself but write one or two indicative words for the future, I but advance a moment, only to wheel… Read More »A Poet Theosophist: Walt Whitman
The Ideal Brahman
It has been suggested that the principal purpose of the Buddha, in all that he did and taught, was the… Read More »The Ideal Brahman
Kena Upanishad (By Whom?)
[Translation] By whom commanded does the mind go forth? By whom compelled does the first life go forth? By whom… Read More »Kena Upanishad (By Whom?)
Taittiriya Upanishad 1 (The Lotus of the Teaching)
I. [Translation] Om Bless us Mitra; bless us Varuna; bless us Aryaman; bless us Indra, Vrhaspati; bless us wide-stepping Vishnu.… Read More »Taittiriya Upanishad 1 (The Lotus of the Teaching)
Chandogya Upanishad 1:8-2:21 (The Mysteries of Sound 2)
[Translation] Three, verily, were skilled in the up-singing Shilaka Shalavatya, Chaikitayana Dalbhya, Pravahana Jaivala. They said: In the up-singing, indeed,… Read More »Chandogya Upanishad 1:8-2:21 (The Mysteries of Sound 2)
The Memory of Past Births
Contents PREFACE CHAPTER I. How the Teaching Came. CHAPTER II. The Tradition of the East. CHAPTER III. Where Memory Dwells.… Read More »The Memory of Past Births
Prashna Upanishad (A Vedic Master)
Prashna Upanishad, “the Mystical Teaching of the Questions,” brief though it be, is a masterly summary of the Secret Wisdom.… Read More »Prashna Upanishad (A Vedic Master)
The Buddha’s Teaching of the Logos
For millenniums the Brahman community has dominated the religious and intellectual life of India. It may be added that, today,… Read More »The Buddha’s Teaching of the Logos
The Buddha’s Cosmology
The teaching of the Buddha, particularly where it is most profound and spiritual, is for all practical purposes identical with… Read More »The Buddha’s Cosmology
Classification of Principles
[Note: for some background, see: Classification of “Principles”] It seems a pity that the time and energies of our brothers… Read More »Classification of Principles
Sankara, the Teacher
The Upanishads, Buddha, and Sankara: these are the three great lights of Indian wisdom. The Upanishads far away in the… Read More »Sankara, the Teacher
[True Poverty and True Wealth]
There is one Lord, the inmost soul of all beings, who makes visible one power in many forms;—they who behold… Read More »[True Poverty and True Wealth]
The Turning Tide
“There are those who draw near to Thee through will, holding Thee ever in their hearts: there are those who… Read More »The Turning Tide
The Meaning of Om
According to the tradition of the Eastern Mysteries, the syllable Om is divided into three parts: a-u-m. These three parts… Read More »The Meaning of Om
A Trap for a Friend
Not exactly a trap, though even if a very valuable truth has allowed itself to be caught therein. It happened… Read More »A Trap for a Friend
The Doctrine of the Divine Man
Among the discourses of the Buddha there is one named the Lakkhana Suttanta. The first part of the Pali name… Read More »The Doctrine of the Divine Man
Self and Eternal
“As the web-wombed spider puts forth and draws to him, as trees come forth upon the earth, as from a… Read More »Self and Eternal
The Secret of Power
“He who, dwelling in the earth, is other than the earth. whom the earth knows not, for whom the earth… Read More »The Secret of Power
The Indian Renaissance
At the close of the nineteenth century, the scientific ideal was already visibly losing its power. Very strange; yet an… Read More »The Indian Renaissance
Lovers of the East: Henry Thomas Colebrooke (1765-1837)
A satirical critic of our orientalists once said that their capacity, like the Word divine in the heavens, had three… Read More »Lovers of the East: Henry Thomas Colebrooke (1765-1837)
The Antiquity of India
In previous articles on Primeval Man,1 we have tried to outline and develop a view of the unfolding of history,… Read More »The Antiquity of India
Gleams from the Dawn-Land
The Peaks of Atlantis Frequent allusion is made, in the pages of the Secret Doctrine, to the reminiscences still existing… Read More »Gleams from the Dawn-Land
The Sevenfold Counsels of Perfection
The manner in which the Buddhist scriptures came into being has set its mark on them in two ways. First,… Read More »The Sevenfold Counsels of Perfection
Vikramâditya’s “Jewel.”
Dramatis personae. 1. Ghost of Kâlidâsa (the Court-poet of King Vikramâditya). 2. Professor M.M. (Orientalist). 3. Smith (a plebeian). ———… Read More »Vikramâditya’s “Jewel.”
The Early Races in the Popol Vuh
[I.] We have heard much of the Sacred Books of the East. It is time to say something of the… Read More »The Early Races in the Popol Vuh
Songs of the Master
[I.] Introductory Before all things remember that the Bhagavad Gita is a textbook of the Mysteries. It has seven keys,… Read More »Songs of the Master
Eastern and Western Psychology
I. A Theosophical Need Mr. Judge writes, in one of the closing chapters of The Ocean of Theosophy, that “there… Read More »Eastern and Western Psychology
The Logos and Life
E la sua volontate è nostra pace: Ella è quel mare, al qual tutto si move Ciò ch’ ella crea… Read More »The Logos and Life