...a sign of the Cycle....points to India as the conserver of the ancient wisdom-religion, and to America as its new and vigorous champion who will adopt those old truths without fear of caste or prejudice, and exemplify them through the new race to be brought forth in the old Fifth continent.—W. Q. Judge
In The Key to Theosophy, H.P.B. has given the following formulation of the second object of the Theosophical Movement:
To promote the study of Aryan and other Scriptures, of the World's religion and sciences, and to vindicate the importance of old Asiatic literature, namely, of the Brahmanical, Buddhist, and Zoroastrian philosophies.
One of the ways to implement it, she said, was
to put into written form correct information upon the various ancient philosophies, traditions, and legends, and disseminate the same in such practicable ways as the translation and publication of original works of value, and extracts from and commentaries upon the same, or the oral instructions of persons learned in their respective departments.
The great contribution made by the Theosophical Movement towards the revival of genuine interest in the literature of the ancient religions and philosophies of the Orient is known to many. Gems of ancient learning, entombed and forgotten, were brought to light for the benefit of modern civilization by H.P.B., asisted by Col. H. S. Olcott. Not only this, but H.P.B.'s own writings provide the key to the correct and profound understanding of ancient Scriptures, philosophies, traditions, legends.
Less widely known is the important part played by W. Q. Judge in presenting Eastern lore to the vast American public. Not only did he render into English Patanjali's Yoga Sutras (1889) and the Gita (1890), of which editions after editions have been published and which are still in great demand; but more—he organized a scheme, and worked it successfully, of procuring articles or translations relating to Eastern religions, philosophies, literature, folklore, social customs and observances, from competent Hindu and other Asiatic friends and co-workers, and publishing them in his Oriental Department Papers, in order to carry out more effectually the second object of the Theosophical Society. In The Path for February 1891, Mrl Judge published the intimation of the establishment of his Oriental Department, of which he was the General Secretary. Its object was described by him thus:
Through this Department the General Secretary hopes to be able furnish a fund of valuable and interesting information such as cannot be otherwise obtained except at great expense for books and other means of study. It is certain that what little has been said to our people by interested missionaries and travellers has been very wide of truth in respect to the people of Asia, their manners, customs, literature, and social life. Indeed, but little can be got from Asiatics by such agents, and it is believed that only through our Society the real truth may be reached. Such a general and correct knowledge of distant people, all brothers of the human family, will do much to enlarge the boundaries of our thoughts, to abate race prejudice, and in all ways tend to strengthen the feeling of brotherhood which it is the aim of the Theosophical Society to arouse. Nor is there any reason why the T.S. should not be a great Asiatic investigating Society.
Mr. Judge's work, through this Department and other channels, to dispel the ignorance of his countrymen about the religions of India, especially Hinduism, may not strike the modern man as something grand; 1891 was a day of small beginnings, but the interest that many in the U.S.A. have evinced since then in India's spiritual inheritance is to a considerable extent the result of the work of the Theosophical Movement there, under Mr. Judge's clear-sighted and wise leadership.
The Lodge he founded in New York was called by him the "Aryan Lodge"; and in volume after volume of the magazine The Path, edited by him, can be found articles which served the spread of Indian religions and culture. In the opening editorial of the very first volume of that magazine, started in April 1886, he wrote:
What is wanted is true knowledge of the spiritual condition of man, his aim and destiny. This is offered to a reasonable certainty in the Aryan literature, and those who must begin the reform, are those who are so fortunate as to be placed in the world where they can see and think out the problems all are endeavouring to solve, even if they know that the great day may not come until after their death. Such a study leads us to accept the utterance of Prajapati to his sons: "Be restrained; be liberal, be merciful"; it is the death of selfishness.
Mr. Judge's work in the U.S.A. contributed substantially to the holding of the famous Parliament of Religions in Chicago 1893.
His aim was not only to increase respect among Westerners for Indian metaphysics, science and life and to counteract the false notions then prevalent, thus serving the cause of Universal Brotherhood, but also to effect a spiritual renaissance in India itself by making its people turn to and use their own spiritual heritage. The degradation of India, as a Master asserted, was largely due to the suffocation of her ancient spirituality. Many of the Brtahmans of those days were theologically and metaphysically fixed and dogmatic; they also kept up idol-worship and a great number of degrading caste observances, and were unwilling to divulge teachings which had for long centuries been their secret possession. The poor, uneducated common people were steeped in ignorance and superstitions, and many of those who took up Western education had lost faith and become materialists.
Following the example of his teacher and colleague, H.P.B., Mr. Judge advocated that special effort should be made to reform and raise the country. This has to be done not along sectarian lines but by bringing to light the soul-satisfying philosophy of her ancient sages. This noble and elevating philosophy alone could drive out degrading superstition and still more degrading brutal materialism from the country and elevate and save the entire world. India as the conserver of the ancient Wisdom-Religion thus occupies an important place.
This aspect of Mr. Judge's manifold Theosophical work, which was not restricted to any one country but was for all humanity, should not be overlooked by students of Theosophy. Since his passing on March 21st, 1896, there has been a gradual percolation of Eastern ideas into Western thought. By a filtering process of thought, terms and doctrines purely Oriental in their origin have emerged in the literature of the 20th century. Widespread interest in such ideas was already in evidence towards the close of the 19th century; and, as Mr. Judge wrote, though some understood them in a distorted way, yet "the flowing of the tide of old Brahmanical pondering" was clearly in evidence.
All of this pictures to me a new conquest of the West by India, the great land for conquerors. It is the rising from the grave of the mighty men of some thousands of years ago that constitutes this invasion and will bring about our conquest....It is not a single small nation we should look to. The fountain-head is better than a secondary receptacle, a mere cistern that takes the overflow from the source. The fountain is old India, and to that the members of the Theosophical Society who are not only desirous of saving time but also of aiding the sages of the past in the evolution of doctrines which, applied to our great new civilization, can alone save it from failure, will bend themselves to the task of carrying out our second object—the investigation of Aryan literature, religion, and science....
Let us then get ready to use the material in the ancient storehouse of India, treasures that no man can be called a thief for taking, since the truths acquired by the mind respecting man's life, conduct, constitution, and destiny are the common property of the human race, a treasure that is lost by monopoly and expanded by dissemination. ("India a Storehouse for Us": The Heart Doctrine, pp. 195-97)
Mr. Judge has pointed in more than one place to the unique relationship between India and America as affecting world progress in the not-too-distant future. If the power and energy of the West were wedded to the metaphysics and spiritual inheritance of the East, both would be saved from greater darkness and we might hope for the earlier dawn of a better day, as Mr. Judge with his clear vision saw. The redemption of our humanity depends on its realization that Wisdom is neither Eastern nor Western but Universal, that Sages and Seers and Occultists transcend all limitations of space and time.
The occultists hold that spirit has not as yet incarnated fully in the existing race, but will do so in future ages; then men can say that they have spirit. At present the men who are incarnated spirits are Adepts or Mahatmas. Toward the moment of this grand incarnation we are hastening, and the experience now being undergone is to settle the question whether we will become fit for such a tremendous event or whether we will fail. Assuredly all are called to this grand work, but just as certainly some will not be chosen.—W. Q. Judge