The Aryan Path was an Anglo-Indian theosophical journal published in Bombay, India, between 1930 and 1960. Its purpose was to form "a nucleus of universal brotherhood of humanity, without distinction of race, creed, sex, caste or color; to study ancient and modern religions, philosophies, and sciences, and to demonstrate the importance of such study". The magazine's first editor was B. P. Wadia. It was published on a bimonthly basis by a group called the Theosophy Company, which distributed copies of the magazine to London.
History and profile
The Aryan Path was founded in January 1930. In its first edition, a writer named "Shravaka" emphasised that
so much "original" writing is done today, so much "self-expression" is indulged in that, in the glamour that is raised, the chants of the Gods remain unheard. One of our tasks is to bring home the truth that it is not derogatory to respect the old age facts of the science of the soul.
The Aryan Path was published in English on a monthly basis. The journal contained a variety of articles on Hindu and Buddhist spiritual traditions, as well as essays on English literature, Ruskinian socialism, aesthetics and science. The journal's contributors included C. E. M. Joad, John Middleton Murry, A. E. Waite, Ramananda Chatterjee, Edmond Holmes, Max Plowman, J. D. Beresford, Hugh I'Anson Fausset, Hugh de Selincourt, Humbert Wolfe and Gertrude Emerson Sen. The March 1930 issue carried an essay on reincarnation by Algernon Blackwood.
The April 1932 issue carried the article "Goethe and the East" by Otto Schrader, described by The Spectator magazine as "timely and interesting".
Black American scholars such as Alain Locke and William Harrison also contributed to this journal. The magazine ran several articles criticising racism.
After 1933 the magazine received considerable correspondence concerning the rise of Nazism, which the journal strongly opposed. In 1938 The Aryan Path ran an article condemning fascism and Nazism by G. D. H. Cole.
In 1952 The Aryan Path ran a series of articles on the Bon religion of Tibet by René de Nebesky-Wojkowitz.
The articles of this journal have been quoted in discussions about race relations, Indian civilization and English literature.
The Aryan Path ceased publication in 1960.