Echoes of the Orient: the Writings of William Quan Judge
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ECHOES ORIENTof the VOLUME I The Writings of William Quan Judge Echoes are heard in every age of and their fellow creatures — man and a timeless path that leads to divine beast — out of the thoughtless jog trot wisdom and to knowledge of our pur- of selfish everyday life.” To this end pose in the universal design. Today’s and until he died, Judge wrote about resurgent awareness of our physical the Way spoken of by the sages of old, and spiritual inter dependence on this its signposts and pitfalls, and its rel- grand evolutionary journey affirms evance to the practical affairs of daily those pioneering keynotes set forth in life. HPB called his journal “pure Bud- the writings of H. P. Blavatsky. Her dhi” (awakened insight). task was to re-present the broad This first volume of Echoes of the panorama of the “anciently universal Orient comprises about 170 articles Wisdom-Religion,” to show its under- from The Path magazine, chronologi- lying expression in the world’s myths, cally arranged and supplemented by legends, and spiritual traditions, and his popular “Occult Tales.” A glance to show its scientific basis — with at the contents pages will show the the overarching goal of furthering the wide range of subjects covered. Also cause of universal brotherhood. included are a well-documented 50- Some people, however, have page biography, numerous illustra- found her books diffi cult and ask for tions, photographs, and facsimiles, as something simpler. In the writings of well as a bibliography and index. William Q. Judge, one of the Theosophical Society’s co-founders with HPB and a close personal colleague, many have found a certain William Quan Judge (1851-1896) was human element which, though not born in Dublin, Ireland, and emigrated lacking in HPB’s works, is here more with his family to America in 1864. directly felt. His Ocean of Theos- A lawyer by profession, he was a co- ophy and Letters That Have Helped founder of the Theosophical Society Me remain classics in the literature, in New York City in 1875, becoming describing in clear language the General Secretary of its American fundamental ideas of the wisdom- Section in 1886 and President of the tradition and its path of spiritual Theosophical Society in America in quest. Yet the greater part of Judge’s 1895. As an indefatigable writer, literary output was for decades lecturer, organizer, and correspondent, accessible only to those fortunate his contribution to theosophy was ac- enough to have copies of the magazine knowledged by H. P. Blavatsky shortly he started and edited. In character before she died, referring to him as her with the themes it dealt with, he “oldest friend and fellow-worker, . named it The Path. publicly tendering him my most sin- Not an official organ of the Soci- cere thanks and deeply-felt gratitude, ety, The Path was instead an appeal in the name of Theosophy, for the “to all who wish to raise themselves noble work he is doing and has done.” Cover design: Patrice Hughes A Tribute to William Q. Judge No one ever tried less than he to gain from men that adherence which comes from impres- sive manner. I hardly thought what he was while he spoke; but on departing I found my heart, wiser than my brain, had given itself away to him; an inner exaltation lasting for months witnessed his power. It was in that memorable convention in London two years ago that I first glimpsed his real greatness. As he sat there quietly, one among many, not speaking a word, I was overcome by a sense of spiritual dilation, of unconquerable will about him, and that one figure with the grey head became all the room to me. Shall I not say the truth I think? Here was a hero out of the remote, antique, giant ages come among us, wearing but on the surface the vesture of our little day. — Æ (George W. Russell) Irish poet and essayist William Quan Judge April 13, 1851 – March 21, 1896 Bust modeled by August Lindström and unveiled at the Convention of the Theosophical Society in America, New York, April 26-7, 1896. ECHOES ORIENTof the The Writings of William Quan Judge VOLUME I Compiled by Dara Eklund THEOSOPHICAL UNIVERSITY PRESS PASADENA , CALIFORNIA H Theosophical University Press Post Office Box C Pasadena, California 91109-7107 www.theosociety.org (626) 798-3378 tupress @ theosociety.org 2011 Second and Revised Edition Copyright © 1975, 2009 by Dara Eklund. All rights reserved. PDF eBook ISBN 978-1-55700-199-3 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Judge, William Quan, 1851-1896. Echoes of the Orient : the writings of William Quan Judge / compiled by Dara Eklund. — 2nd and rev. ed. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-1-55700-195-5 (cloth., v.1 : alk. paper) — ISBN 978- 1-55700-196-2 (cloth., v.2 : alk. paper) — ISBN 978-1-55700-197-9 (cloth., v.3 : alk. paper) — ISBN 978-1-55700-194-8 (pbk., v.4, cumulative index : alk. paper) 1. Theosophy. I. Eklund, Dara. II. Title. BP525. J77 2008 299′. 934 — dc22 2008042215 This PDF eBook produced at Theosophical University Press Pasadena, California Contents List of Illustrations . xiii Foreword . xv William Quan Judge : His Life and Work (Compiled by Sven Eek and Boris de Zirkoff ) . xvii Writings from THE PA T H Editorial . 3 Aum! . 5 A Prophecy about Theosophy . 10 Theosophical Symbolism . 11 Another Theosophical Prophecy . 16 Musings on the True Theosophist’s Path . 17 Karma . 24 Environment . 31 A Year on the Path . 34 Through the Gates of Gold . 36 Considerations on Magic . 44 The Second Year . 47 Astral Intoxication . 49 Mediumship . 51 The Path of Action . 54 Two Years on the Path . 56 Give Us One Fact . 59 vi Echoes of the Orient Editorial . 62 [Conversations on Occultism] . 62 A Servant of the Masters . 63 Culture of Concentration . 70 The Three Planes of Human Life . 80 Respecting Reincarnation . 83 A Buddhist Doctrine . 85 A German Mystic’s Teachings . 89 Two Systems — of Lust and Sorrow . 91 Is Heredity a Puzzle? . 93 The Dweller of the Threshold . 96 Theosophic Diet . 99 The Press and Occultism . 102 Spiritual Gifts and their Attainment . 103 Of Occult Powers and their Acquirement . 106 Stray Memoranda . 107 End of Our Third Year . 109 Why the Theosophical Society Is Poor . 110 Occultism for Barter . 112 Universal Applications of Doctrine . 114 Professor Max Müller on Buddhism . 120 Cycles . 121 Of Studying Theosophy . 131 Our Sun and the True Sun . 135 Contents vii Is Karma Only Punishment? . 137 H. P. Blavatsky . 139 The Allegorical Umbrella . 140 The Path’s Fifth Year . 141 The Headquarters at Adyar . 142 The Sevenfold Division . 143 Hypnotism — Mesmerism . 144 Occultism: What Is It? . 146 One of the Signs of the Cycle . 148 Much Reading, Little Thought . 151 Remembering the Experiences of the Ego . 152 True Progress . 153 Practical Theosophy . 155 Evolution . 157 Two Lost Keys: Bhagavad-Gītā — Zodiac . 161 Hit the Mark . 163 Devachan . 167 Prince Talleyrand — Cagliostro . 169 Which is Vague, Theosophy or Science? . 172 Fifteen Years Ago . 174 Shall We Teach Clairvoyance? . 176 Theosophy and the Theosophical Society . 179 India a Storehouse for Us . 183 Why Yoga Practice is Dangerous . 186 viii Echoes of the Orient How the Society is Run . 188 Five Years Finished . 191 H.P.B.∴ — A Lion-Hearted Colleague Passes . 191 The Theosophical Society . 194 Is Poverty Bad Karma? . 195 About “Spirit” Materializations . 197 Are We Deserted? . 201 Argument for Reincarnation . 203 Methods of Theosophical Work . 204 Why Races Die Out . 205 The Synthesis of Occult Science . 207 Hypocrisy or Ignorance . 218 The Impudence of Modern Philosophers . 220 Dogmatism in Theosophy . 221 An Hour in the Sanctum . 223 Of “Metaphysical Healing” . 227 Ireland . 230 Another View of Metaphysical Healing . 232 Six Years Gone . 237 Affirmations and Denials . 238 The Future and the Theosophical Society . 243 About Killing Animals . 247 Seven Steps Forward . 248 Theosophical Symbols . 249 Contents ix Mesmerism and the Higher Self . 254 Habitations of H.P.B . 256 Misunderstood Editorial . 269 How She Must Laugh . 269 Plain Theosophical Traces . 270 Thoughts on Karma . 275 What Our Society Needs Most . 279 The Cure of Diseases . ..