William Walker Atkinson
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William Walker Atkinson (December 5, 1862 - November 22, 1932) was a very important and influential American figure in the early days of the New Thought Movement. He was an attorney, merchant, author, as well as being an occultist and an American pioneer of New Thought, which is in fact the title of a magazine he edited at one time.
He was responsible for publishing the magazines Suggestion (1900-1901), New Thought (1901-1905) and Advanced Thought (1906), in Chicago. He was devoted to the diffusion of yoga and of Oriental Occultism in the West. He contributed to the development of occult psychology and New Thought, especially with regard to the mental world and its relationship to man's spiritual reality. His 1906 book Thought Vibration or the Law of Attraction in the Thought World, is associated with the thinking behind the recent phenomena surrounding the 2006 movie, The Secret.
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[edit] Writing
Atkinson published under several pen names, including Magus Incognito, Theodore Sheldon, Theron Q. Dumont, Swami Pachandasi, and perhaps most prominently as the Yogi Ramacharaka. Atkinson is also popularly held to be one of the Three Initiates who anonymously authored The Kybalion, which certainly resembles Atkinson's other writings in style and subject matter, but Atkinson's two co-authors, if they even existed, are unknown (speculation often includes names like Mabel Collins, Michael Whitty, Paul Foster Case, and Harriett Case.).
Atkinson was a prolific writer, and his many books on New Thought achieved wide circulation among New Thought devotees and practitioners. Beginning in 1916, he started writing articles for Elizabeth Towne's magazine The Nautilus, and from 1916 to 1919 he edited the journal Advanced Thought, and was for a time honorary president of the International New Thought Alliance.
He wrote nearly a hundred books with many other pseudonyms: Theodore Sheldon, Theron Q. Dumont, Swami Panchadasi, The Three Initiates, Magus Incognitus and probably others not identified at present. He wrote books together with Eduard E. Beals and Laurion, William De Laurence.
A series named The Arcane Teachings is also attributed to Atkinson. Perhaps significantly, the doctrine behind The Arcane Teachings is remarkably similar to the philosophy in The Kybalion (another title attributed to Atkinson), and significant portions of material from The Arcane Teachings were later re-worked, appearing nearly verbatum in 'The Secret Doctrines of the Rosicrucians' by Magus Incognito (yet another Atkinson alias).
Nothing is known of The Arcane Teaching's first edition, which apparently consisted of a single volume of the same name, but the second edition was expanded to include three 'supplementary teachings' in pamphlet form. The four titles in this edition were: The Arcane Teachings (hardback), The Arcane Formulas, or Mental Alchemy (pamphlet), The Mystery of Sex, or Sex Polarity (pamphlet), and Vril, or Vital Magnetism (pamphlet). This edition was published by A. C. McClurg-- the same publisher who brought us the 'Tarzan the Ape-Man' series-- under the 'Arcane Book Concern' imprint. The series bears a 1909 copyright mark, listing the copyright holder as 'Arcane Book Concern.' The name 'A. C. McClurg' doesn't actually appear anywhere upon the books in this edition.
The third edition split the main title, 'The Arcane Teachings,' into three smaller volumes, bringing the total number of books in the series to six. This edition consisted of the following titles: The One and the Many* (hardback), Cosmic Law* (hardback), The Arcane Formulas, or Mental Alchemy (binding unknown), The Mystery of Sex, or Sex Polarity (binding unknown), The Psychic Planes* (hardback), and Vril, or Vital Magnetism (binding unknown). The three titles marked with an asterix (*) are the volumes that appeared together as 'The Arcane Teachings' in the previous edition. The third edition of The Arcane Teachings was published by A. C. McClurg under its own name in 1911. The books in this series bear the priginal 1909 copyright, plus a 1911 copyright listing 'Library Shelf' as the new copyright holder.
There also appears to have been a pamphlet entitled 'Free Sample Lesson' which was published under the 'Arcane Book Concern' imprint, indicating that it may have appeared concurrently with the second, 1909 edition.
A search of the Library of Congress' web site has revealed that none of the 'Arcane Teachings' reside in its current collection.
According to the Circulo de Estudos Ramacháraca, Atkinson has been identified as the author or co-author (with individuals such as Edward E. Beals, Laurion William De Laurence, of 105 separate titles. These can be broken down roughly into the following three groups:
[edit] Titles written under pseudonyms
These form the most expressive of Atkinson's writings and include the teachings of Yoga Philosophy and Oriental Occultism. They were written in such a way as to form a course of practical instruction.
[edit] Ramacharaka titles
The works of Yogi Ramacharaka were published over the course of nearly ten years beginning in 1903. Some were originally issued as a series of lectures delivered at the frequency of one lesson per month. Additional material was issued at each interval in the form of supplementary textbooks.
According to Atkinson's publisher, Yogi Publication Society, some of these titles were inspired by a student of the "real" Yogi Ramacharaka, Baba Bharata, although there is no historical record that either of these individuals ever existed.
[edit] The Three Initiates and The Kybalion
Ostensibly written by 'Three Initiates,' The Kybalion is published by the Yogi Publication Society.
But who were these three initiates? According to Rey Delupos,
- "there is a tradition within Builders of the Adytum (BOTA) that William Walker Atkinson (Yogi Ramacharaka, a former Golden Dawn chief) was the author of The Kybalion, and that Paul Foster Case (the founder of BOTA) assisted him in the editing of the text.
- "In 1907, Summer (approx) - While in Chicago, Case read The Secret Of Mental Magic by Atkinson and wrote to the author. The two met and became well-acquainted. This eventually led to their collaboration on The Kybalion.
- "But the most likely source for the collection of aphorisms that is the essential KYBALION is Ramacharaka through his pupil Baba Bharata, based on official information of the Yogi Publication Society, and presumably all the literature written by Atkinson under the pseudonym Yogi Ramacharaka was based on materials provided to him through the tutelage of Bharata.
- "As to who these individuals really were, all is speculation. Baba means 'ascetic' and Bharata = India. Bharati is the name of one of the ten Swami orders of religious mendicants traced back to pupils of Shankaracharya, the members of which add this word to their names. Ramacharaka = Rama + charaka or wandering ascetic. So Ramacharaka = the wandering ascetic Rama."
According to this official information provided by the Yogi Publication Society:
- "Ramacharaka was born in India in about the year 1799. He set forth at an early age to educate himself and to seek a better philosophy for living.
- "Traveling throughout the East almost always on foot, he visited the depositories of books available. The primary places where libraries were open to him were lamaseries and monasteries, although with the passing of time some private libraries of royalty and of wealthy families were also thrown open to him.
- "In about the year 1865, after many years of searching and many visits to the lonely high places where he could fast and meditate, Ramacharaka found a basis for his philosophy. At about this same time, he took as a pupil, Baba Bharata, who was the eight year old son of a Brahmin family. Together teacher and pupil retraced the steps of the teacher's earlier travels, while Ramacharaka indoctrinated the boy with his philosophy.
- "In 1893, feeling that his life was drawing to a close, Ramacharaka sent his pupil forth to carry their beliefs to the new world. Arriving in Chicago where the World Columbian Exposition was in progress, Baba Bharata was an instant success. He lectured before enthusiastic audiences from all parts of the world who were visiting the Fair, attracting a considerable following in the process. Many wished him to start a new religion - but he felt only the drive to write on the subject which he lectured on so effectively.
- "In the closing years of the 1800's, Baba Bharata became acquainted with William Walker Atkinson, an English author who had written along similar lines and whose books had been published by ourselves and by our London connection, L.N. Fowler & Company Ltd.
- "The men collaborated and with Bharata providing the material and Atkinson the writing talent, they wrote the books which they attributed to Yogi Ramacharaka as a measure of their respect. The very fact that after all these years their books are well known around the world and sell better with every passing year is a credit, too, to the two men who wrote the books."
[edit] Titles Atkinson co-authored
A group of 12 titles on the man's internal powers and the form of using them.
[edit] Titles under the name William Walker Atkinson
These works treat themes related with the mental world, the psychic reality and man's inferior and superior nature. They constitute a basis for what he called "New Psychology" or "New Thought". One of his books is Thought Vibration or the Law of Attraction in the Thought World, originally published in 1906.
[edit] Life
He was born in Baltimore, Maryland, to William and Emma Atkinson, both of whom were born in Maryland also. He began his working life as a grocer at 15 years old, probably helping his father. He married Margret Foster Black of Beverley, New Jersey, on October 1889 and they had two children. The first probably died young. The second got married and had two daughters.
Atkinson pursued a business career from 1882 onwards and in 1894 he was admitted as an attorney to the Bars of Pennsylvania. While he gained much material success in his profession as a lawyer, the stress and over-strain eventually took its toll, and during this time he experienced a complete physical and mental breakdown, and financial disaster. He looked for healing and in the late 1880's he found it with New Thought. From mental and physical wreck and financial ruin, he wrought perfect health, mental vigor and material prosperity, which he attributed to the application of the principles of New Thought.
Some time after his healing, Atkinson began to write some articles on the Truths he had discovered which were then known as Mental Science, and in 1889, an article by him entitled "A Mental Science Catechism," appeared in Charles Filmore's new periodical, Modern Thought.
By the early 1890's Chicago had become a major centre for New Thought, mainly through the work of Emma Curtis Hopkins, and Atkinson decided to move there and he became an active promoter of the movement as an editor and author. In 1900 he worked as an associate editor of Suggestion, a New Thought Journal, and wrote his probable first book, Thought-Force in Business and Everyday Life, being a series of lessons in personal magnetism, psychic influence, thought-force, concentration, will-power & practical mental science.
He then met Sydney Flower, a well-known New Thought publisher and businessman and teamed up with him. In December, 1901 he assumed editorship of Flower's popular New Thought magazine, a post which he held up until 1905. During these years he built for himself an enduring place in the hearts of its readers. Article after article of wonderful strength and vital force flowed from his pen. Meanwhile he also founded his own Psychic Club and the so-called "Atkinson School of Mental Science". Both were located in the same building as Flower's Psychic Research and New Thought Publishing Company.
While performing his New Thought editor job, Atkinson became interested in Hinduism, and (according to the story) met up with one Baba Bharata, a pupil of the late Yogi Ramacharaka, who had become acquainted with Atkinson's writings. They both shared similar ideas, and the men collaborated, and with Bharata providing the material and Atkinson the writing talent, they wrote a series of books which they attributed to Yogi Ramacharaka as a measure of their respect. Atkinson started writing these books under the name Yogi Ramacharaka in 1903. He wrote about 13 books under this pseudonym. They were published by the Yogi Publication Society in Chicago and reached more people than his New thought works did. In fact, all his books on Yoga are still reprinted today. The very fact that after all these years their books are well known around the word and sell better with every passing year is a credit, too, to the two men who wrote them.
In 1903, he was admitted to the Bar of Illinois, which means he did not leave that part of his life aside.
He died November 22, 1932 in California - one of the greats of The New Thought Movement. Many mysteries surround his life. A certificate of copyright 3 years after his death is signed by the author himself. Today the major collection of his works can be found at a Brazilian Organization titled Círculo de Estudos Ramacharaca.
