Among the Celestials

Charles Johnston (1867-1931) was an Irish writer, journalist, theosophist, linguist, naturalist, and Sanskrit scholar. Johnston 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 and was involved in the development of the Theosophical Society in the United States.

Johnston translated several works from Sanskrit and Russian. As an author, he devoted himself primarily to philosophical and theosophical topics, and wrote a great number and variety of articles and books, ranging from scholarly writings on scriptures to popular volumes of humor, travel, and history.

The Johnston’s article Among the Celestials, which we propose to our readers today, was published in October 1926 on The Theosophical Quarterly Magazine by The Quarterly Book Department, publishing arm of the Theosophical Society.

As Johnston explains to us in this writing, «We have been told that Prince Siddhartha, son of King Suddhodana and Queen Maya, born in the ancient city of Kapila, was initiated into the archaic Wisdom by the great Teachers of the Snowy Mountains; that he ran so well as to outstrip his predecessors, attaining to a height of spiritual illumination and power rarely reached even by the greatest Masters; and that he determined, so far as was possible within the limits of pledged silence, to reveal the path of immortality to all who were willing to enter it, without regard to boundaries of race or restrictions of birth. So there were, among his immediate disciples, men and women of all castes, or of none; and his Arhats, in later generations, obeying the same principle of spiritual generosity, carried his teaching of the Path to nations outside India, to the East and West and North and South, thus establishing a universal brotherhood of seekers of the Light».