The Aryan Path

The Aryan Path was an Anglo-Indian theosophical journal published in Bombay, India, between 1930 and 1960.[1] Its purpose was to form "a nucleus of universal brotherhood of humanity, without distinction of race, creed, sex, caste or color; to study ancient and modern religions, philosophies, and sciences, and to demonstrate the importance of such study".[2] The magazine's first editor was B. P. Wadia.[3][4] It was published on a bimonthly basis[4] by a group called the Theosophy Company, which distributed copies of the magazine to London.[5]

History and profile

The Aryan Path was founded in January 1930.[6] In its first edition, a writer named "Shravaka" emphasised that

so much "original" writing is done today, so much "self-expression" is indulged in that, in the glamour that is raised, the chants of the Gods remain unheard. One of our tasks is to bring home the truth that it is not derogatory to respect the old age facts of the science of the soul.[7]

The Aryan Path was published in English on a monthly basis.[8] The journal contained a variety of articles on Hindu and Buddhist spiritual traditions, as well as essays on English literature, Ruskinian socialism, aesthetics and science.[9] The journal's contributors included C. E. M. Joad, John Middleton Murry, A. E. Waite,[10] Ramananda Chatterjee, Edmond Holmes, Max Plowman,[11] J. D. Beresford, Hugh I'Anson Fausset, Hugh de Sélincourt, Humbert Wolfe[12] and Gertrude Emerson Sen.[13] The March 1930 issue carried an essay on reincarnation by Algernon Blackwood.[14]

The March 1932 issue carried the article "Goethe and the East" by Otto Schrader, described by The Spectator magazine as "timely and interesting".[5]

Black American scholars such as Alain Locke and William Harrison also contributed to this journal.[15] The magazine ran several articles criticising racism.[16]

After 1933 the magazine received considerable correspondence concerning the rise of Nazism, which the journal strongly opposed. In 1938 The Aryan Path ran an article condemning fascism and Nazism by G. D. H. Cole.[17]

In 1952 The Aryan Path ran a series of articles on the Bon religion of Tibet by René de Nebesky-Wojkowitz.[18]

The articles of this journal have been quoted in discussions about race relations,[19] Indian civilization[20] and English literature.[21]

The Aryan Path ceased publication in 1960.[1]

References
  1. W. Dallas TenBroeck. "Memorandum". Katinka Hesselink.Net. Retrieved 28 October 2016.
  2. The Indo-Asian culture. Indian Council for Cultural Relations. 1 January 1971. p. 86. Retrieved 30 March 2012.
  3. Olav Hammer, Mikael Rothstein. Handbook of the Theosophical Current. Brill Publishing, 2013 ISBN 9004235965 (p. 83).
  4. Sisir Kumar Das (1991). History of Indian Literature: 1911-1956, struggle for freedom: triumph and tragedy. Sahitya Akademi. p. 641. ISBN 978-81-7201-798-9. Retrieved 28 July 2015.
  5. "The April Reviews", The Spectator magazine. 9 April 1932 - (p. 530)
  6. "The Aryan Path Paved the way for 'The International PEN' in India: A history". PEN West Bengal. Retrieved 28 October 2016.
  7. Bomanji Pestonji Wadia (1881 - 1958) Biography of B.P. Wadia. Retrieved 8 August 2013.
  8. "The Aryan Path". South Asia Archive. Retrieved 28 October 2016.
  9. Frederick George Aflalo (1904). The sportsman's book for India. H. Marshall & Son. p. 161. Retrieved 30 March 2012.
  10. Advertisement for The Aryan Path, The Saturday Review of Literature, 17 March 1934, (p. 565)
  11. Advertisement for The Aryan Path, The Saturday Review of Literature, 16 September 1933, (p. 118).
  12. Advertisement for The Aryan Path, The Bookman (U.K.), December 1933, (p. 201)
  13. Harry Oldmeadow, Journeys East: 20th Century Western Encounters with Eastern Religious Traditions. World Wisdom,2004, ISBN 0941532577 (p. 71).
  14. Algernon Blackwood, "On Reincarnation". The Aryan Path, I, (p. 155), (Mar. 1930).
  15. Plummer, Brenda Gayle (24 June 1996). Rising wind: Black Americans and U.S. foreign affairs, 1935-1960. Univ of North Carolina Press. p. 91. ISBN 978-0-8078-4575-2. Retrieved 30 March 2012.
  16. "Several articles have appeared in the Aryan Path recently, deploring the effects of race prejudice in America, Africa and India. "Theosophists find followers among N.Y. Intelligentsia". The Afro American, 6 October 1934, (p. 12).
  17. Kuruvila Pandikattu, Gandhi: The Meaning of Mahatma for the Millennium. CRVP, 2001 ISBN 1565181565 (p. 249).
  18. Dan Martin, Unearthing Bon Treasures: Life and Contested Legacy of a Tibetan Scripture Revealer, With a General Bibliography of Bon. Brill, 2001 ISBN 9004121234, (pp. 390-391).
  19. Jonathan Rosenberg (2006). How Far the Promised Land?: World Affairs And the American Civil Rights Movement from the First World War to Vietnam. Princeton University Press. p. 266. ISBN 978-0-691-00706-9. Retrieved 30 March 2012.
  20. Project Muse (1960). Journal of the history of ideas. Journal of the History of Ideas, Inc. p. 42. Retrieved 30 March 2012.
  21. All-India Centre of the P.E.N.; P.E.N. All-India Centre, Bombay (1963). The Indian P.E.N. P.E.N. All-India Centre. p. 197. Retrieved 30 March 2012.
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