Charles Johnston (17 February 1867 – 16 October 1931) was an Irish writer, journalist, theosophist, naturalist, and Sanskrit scholar. Johnston joined the

Indian Civil Service The Indian Civil Service (ICS), officially known as the Imperial Civil Service, was the higher civil service of the British Empire in India during British rule in the period between 1858 and 1947. Its members ruled over more than 300 million p ...

in 1888 but left India after two years due to malaria and settled in the United States of America in 1896. He wrote numerous books on Indian philosophy, translating works from Sanskrit as well as on Theosophy. He was married to the niece of

Madame Blavatsky Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, uk, Олена Петрівна Блаватська, Olena Petrivna Blavatska (; – 8 May 1891), often known as Madame Blavatsky, was a Russian mystic and author who co-founded the Theosophical Society in 1875 ...

and was involved in the development of the

Theosophical Society The Theosophical Society, founded in 1875, is a worldwide body with the aim to advance the ideas of Theosophy in continuation of previous Theosophists, especially the Greek and Alexandrian Neo-Platonic philosophers dating back to 3rd century CE ...

in the United States.

Biography

He was born on 17 February 1867 in the small village of Ballykilbeg (in

Downpatrick Downpatrick () is a town in County Down, Northern Ireland. It is on the Lecale peninsula, about south of Belfast. In the Middle Ages, it was the capital of the Dál Fiatach, the main ruling dynasty of Ulaid. Its cathedral is said to be the b ...

), County Down, Northern Ireland. His father, William Johnston (1829–1902), was an Irish politician, a member of parliament from South Belfast, and a member of the

Orange Order The Loyal Orange Institution, commonly known as the Orange Order, is an international Protestant fraternal order based in Northern Ireland and primarily associated with Ulster Protestants, particularly those of Ulster Scots people, Ulster Sco ...

. His maternal grandfather was Sir John Hay, 5th baronet of Haystoun. Charles Johnston studied at Derby, England and Dublin University becoming interested in Oriental Studies, and learned Sanskrit, Russian and German. Among his classmates were

William Butler Yeats William Butler Yeats (13 June 186528 January 1939) was an Irish poet, dramatist, writer and one of the foremost figures of 20th-century literature. He was a driving force behind the Irish Literary Revival and became a pillar of the Irish liter ...

and

George William Russell George William Russell (10 April 1867 – 17 July 1935), who wrote with the pseudonym Æ (often written AE or A.E.), was an Irish writer, editor, critic, poet, painter and Irish nationalist. He was also a writer on mysticism, and a centr ...

, with whom he shared an interest in the occult. Johnston_Blavatsky

Later, Johnston worked as a journalist. In 1884, he read

Alfred Percy Sinnett Alfred Percy Sinnett (18 January 1840 – 26 June 1921) was an English author and theosophist. Biography Sinnett was born in London. His father died while he was young, as in 1851 Sinnett was listed as a "Scholar – London University", liv ...

's work '' The Occult World'' and founded, together with Yeats and Russell on 16 June 1885, the Hermetic Society in Dublin. After 1885 he also joined the Theosophical Society, and co-founded in April/June 1886 the Theosophical Lodge in Dublin. He was responsible for introducing Yeats to

in spring 1887. On 14 October 1888 he married Vera Vladimirovna de Zhelihovsky (1864–1923), the niece of Helena Blavatsky. He also entered the Indian Civil Service the same year, and served for two years in the British Bengal Service before contracting malaria. He resigned and was treated in Austria. Johnston translated several works from Sanskrit and Russian. As an author, he devoted himself primarily to philosophical and theosophical topics. When the Theosophical Society split in 1895, he followed the direction of

William Quan Judge William Quan Judge (April 13, 1851 – March 21, 1896) was an Irish-American mystic, esotericist, and occultist, and one of the founders of the original Theosophical Society. He was born in Dublin, Ireland. When he was 13 years old, his famil ...

and was a member of the Theosophical Society in America (TGinA). After Judge's death the following year,

Katherine Tingley Katherine Augusta Westcott Tingley (July 6, 1847 - July 11, 1929) was a social worker and prominent Theosophist. She led the American Section of the Theosophical Society after W. Q. Judge. She founded and led the Theosophical community Lomala ...

came to head the organization. Then in 1898, Johnston, who had initially supported Tingley, seceded from Tingley's organization along with some 200 other members led by Ernest Temple Hargrove to form the

Theosophical Society in America (Hargrove) The Theosophical Society in America (Hargrove branch) was an organization that developed from the Theosophical Society in America. In 1895 a division occurred between the Theosophical Society Adyar and the Theosophical Society Pasadena, leading W ...

Branch. Johnston was president of the Irish Literary Society. Johnston was also a member of the Linnean Society of New York and was a keen observer of birds especially in the New York region.Abstract of the proceedings of the Linnaean Society of New York City, for the official year 1918
/ref> He influenced several young ornithologists including

Ludlow Griscom Ludlow Griscom (June 17, 1890 – May 28, 1959) was an American ornithologist known as a pioneer in field ornithology. His emphasis on the identification of free-flying birds by field marks became widely adopted by professionals and amateurs. ...

(whose father was involved in the Theosophical movement) and

Joseph Hickey Joseph James Hickey (16 April 1907 - 31 August 1993) was an American ornithologist who wrote the landmark ''Guide to Bird Watching'' and was instrumental in the activism that led to bans on organochlorine pesticides through his research work on t ...

Bibliography

Collected writings

* * * * * * * * *

Theosophical books

*'' Useful Sanskrit Nouns and Verb in English Letters''. London: Luzac, 1892. *''The Awakening to the Self''. Translation of Sankarâchârya. New York: Johnston, 1897. *'' From the Upanishads''. Portland, ME: Thomas Mosher, 1899. * ''The Memory of Past Births''. New York: Theosophical Society Publishing Co., 1899. *''Karma: Works and Wisdom''. New York : Metaphysical Pub. Co., 1900. Available at hathtrust. *'' The Song of Life''. Flushing, NY: Charles Johnston, 1901. A translation of the "dialogue of Janaka and the sage", preceded by "a modern paraphrase of the Teachings". *'' The Bhagavad-gîta: "The Songs of the Master"''. Flushing, N.Y.: C. Johnston, 1908. *''Parables of the Kingdom''. Flushing, NY: Charles Johnston, 1909. *'' The system of the Vedânta according to Bâdarâyaṇa's Brahma-sûtras and Cankara's commentary thereon set forth as a compendium of the dogmatics of brahmanism from the standpoint of Çankara''. Chicago, The Open Court Publishing Company, 1912.
''Yoga Sutras'' of Patanjali
New York: Quarterly Book Department, 1912. *''Eastern and Western Psychology: a Theosophical Need''. New York: Theosophical Society, 1917. *''The Great Upanishads, Isha, Kena, Katha, Prashna, Upanishads Volume 1''. New York: Quarterly Book Department, 1927. * ''The Crest-Jewel of Wisdom'' by Śankarâchârya. San Diego: Theosophical University Press, 1946. Translated by Charles Johnston. Available at Theosophical University Press Online.

Popular books

''Kela Bai: An Anglo-Indian Idyll''.
New York: Doubleday & McClure, 1900. Novel. *'' Ireland: Historic and Picturesque''. Philadelphia: Henry T. Coates & Co., 1902. Illustrated travelogue. *'' Ireland's Story''. Boston: Houghton, Mifflin, 1905, 1923. Written with Carita Spencer. Illustrated history of Ireland. *'' Why the World Laughs''. New York: Harper & Bros, 1912. A book of humorous stories from many countries.

References

External links

* * *
Charles Johnston
– Biographical Sketch by ''Universal Theosophy''
The Writings of Charles Johnston
compiled by ''Universal Theosophy'' 1867 births 1931 deaths American Sanskrit scholars 20th-century American writers American male journalists Irish writers Irish journalists Esotericists Theosophists {{DEFAULTSORT:Johnston, Charles