Thomas Richard Duncan Greenlees (1899–1966) was a British writer,

theosophist Theosophy is a religious movement established in the United States in the late 19th century. Founded primarily by the Russian Helena Blavatsky and based largely on her writings, it draws heavily from both older European philosophies such as Neo ...

and teacher.

Early life

Duncan Greenlees was born in

Grahamstown Makhanda, formerly known as Grahamstown, is a town of about 75,000 people in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. It is situated about northeast of Gqeberha and southwest of East London. It is the largest town in the Makana Local Mun ...

Cape Colony The Cape Colony (), also known as the Cape of Good Hope, was a British Empire, British colony in present-day South Africa named after the Cape of Good Hope. It existed from 1795 to 1802, and again from 1806 to 1910, when it united with three ...

, the son of Scottish physician Thomas Duncan Greenlees (of

Kilmarnock Kilmarnock ( ; ; , ), meaning "the church of Mernóc", is a town and former burgh in East Ayrshire situated in southwest Scotland. The town has served as the administrative centre of East Ayrshire Council since 1996 and is the region's main ...

, Ayrshire) and Edith White Greenlees of

Norwich Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of the county of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. It lies by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. The population of the Norwich ...

. He had his early education in England. Greenlees received his MA degree in 1922 from Oxford, where he studied Egyptian, Coptic and Arabic. For a brief period during 1925 he was a staff member of Harvard University/Boston Museum of Fine Arts Expedition to Giza in Egypt. On 2 April 1925, Greenlees was appointed Assistant Curator of Egyptian Art at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts. On completion of his studies, he moved to

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

, working as a schoolteacher (he taught English at Madanpalle High School) and was a headmaster in South India from 1926 onwards. While working in India, he was drawn towards the

Theosophical Movement Theosophy is a religious movement established in the United States in the late 19th century. Founded primarily by the Russian Helena Blavatsky and based largely on her writings, it draws heavily from both older European philosophies such as Neop ...

and served in one of the schools which

Annie Besant Annie Besant (; Wood; 1 October 1847 – 20 September 1933) was an English socialist, Theosophy (Blavatskian), theosophist, freemason, women's rights and Home Rule activist, educationist and campaigner for Indian nationalism. She was an arden ...

founded.

Indian independence movement

Being a close associate of Annie Besant, Greenlees like her, was drawn to the

Indian independence movement The Indian independence movement was a series of historic events in South Asia with the ultimate aim of ending British Raj, British colonial rule. It lasted until 1947, when the Indian Independence Act 1947 was passed. The first nationalistic ...

. Later, he became a fervent

Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (2October 186930January 1948) was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist, and political ethicist who employed nonviolent resistance to lead the successful campaign for India's independence from British ...

an and participated in his non-violent struggle against British rule. When India got independence in 1947, Greenlees was appointed to draft the new nation's education policy. reface to ''The Gospel of Zarathushtra'' by Duncan Greenlees/ref> Gandhi and Greenlees exchanged letters on various topics.

Later life

Greenlees retired from active politics after India's independence and spent his time researching religion and theosophy. He wrote 14 small "World Gospel" books about various religions and faiths. He died in 1966 at the age of 67.

Works

Greenlees wrote the 'World Gospel Series' from 1949 to 1966 following his retirement from active politics. He was primarily a social worker, rather than a politician. His talks with

Ramana Maharshi Ramana Maharshi (; ; 30 December 1879 – 14 April 1950) was an Indian Hindu Sage (philosophy), sage and ''jivanmukta'' (liberated being). He was born Venkataraman Iyer, but is mostly known by the name Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi. He was b ...

and correspondence with Gandhi were purely spiritual and of devotional nature. * ''The Gospel of Islam'' No.1 * ''The Gospel of China'' No.2 (1949) * ''The Gospel of Hermes'' No.3 (1949) * ''The Gospel of the Jesus'' No.4 * ''The Gospel of Zarathushtra'' No.5 * ''The Gospel of the Mystic Christ'' No.6 * ''The Gospel of Narada'' No.7 * ''The Gospel of Peace:Guru Granth Sahib'' No.8 (1952) * ''The Gospel of the Pyramids No.9'' * ''The Gospel of Advaita'' No.10 (1953) * ''The Gospel of Israel'' No.11 (1955) * ''The Gospel of the Prophet Mani'' No.12 * ''The Gospel of the Gnostics'' No.13 * ''The Gospel of Sri Krishna'' No.14 He also published ''The Song of Divine Love (Gita-Govinda) of Sri Jayadeva''.

References

External links

'Gospel of the Gnostics' by Duncan Greenlees from Googlebooks.com

The Gospel of Hermes by Duncan Greenlees, From Googlebooks.com

The Gospel of the Prophet Mani by Duncan Greenlees, From Googlebooks.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Greenlees, Duncan 1899 births 1966 deaths English Theosophists Indian Theosophists Date of birth missing Place of death missing Date of death missing