While performing his New Thought editorial job,
Atkinson became interested in Hinduism. He met a
pupil of the late Yogi Ramacharaka, Baba BHARATI,
who had become acquainted with Atkinson’s writ-
ings. Atkinson and Bharati shared similar ideas.
They collaborated, and with Bharati providing the
material and Atkinson the writing talent, they wrote
a series of books, which they attributed to Yogi
Ramacharaka as a measure of their respect. Begin-
ning in 1903, Atkinson eventually wrote 13 books
under this pseudonym. All the titles were published
by the Yogi Publication Society in Chicago; they
reached a wider audience than Atkinson’s New
Thought works ever had. All of his books on yoga
are still in print; their continued popularity is a
credit to both Baba Bharati and Atkinson.
Under the name Yogi Ramacharaka, Atkinson
became the first popularizer of Hindu thought and
practice in the United States. He also continued
his career as an attorney, being admitted to the
Illinois Bar in 1903, and he continued to write
well-received books on New Thought. In 1916
he began writing articles for Elizabeth Towne’s
magazine The Nautilus, and from 1916 to 1919 he
edited the journal Advanced Thought. For a time
he was honorary president of the International
New Thought Alliance.
William Walker Atkinson died on November
22, 1932, in California.
Further reading: William Walker Atkinson [Yogi Ram-
acharaka], Dynamic Thought (Los Angeles: Segnogram,
1906); ———, Hatha Yoga (Chicago: Yogi Publication
Society, 1931); ———, The Mastery of Being (Holyoke,
Mass.: Elizabeth Towne, 1911); ———, Raja Yoga (Chi-
cago: Yogi Publication Society, 1905).
Ramakrishna, Sri (1836–1886) influential
mystic and priest of goddess Kali
Recognized as one of the greatest spiritual geniuses
of modern Hinduism, Sri Ramakrishna was influ-
ential through his own example and through the
work of his disciple Swami VIVEKANANDA.
Sri Ramakrishna was born on February 18,
1836, as Gadadhar Chattopadhyay to a poor
Bengali BRAHMIN family. He had his first spiritual
experience at the age of six or seven and entered
into trancelike states throughout his childhood.
He neglected his studies, preferring to spend his
time in solitary MEDITATION, singing, and perform-
ing of Hindu stories. For much of his life he
served as priest at the KALI Temple at Dakshinesh-
war near Calcutta, living a life of renunciation,
but he stopped performing priestly functions
when the “divine madness” took over his con-
scious awareness.
Sri Ramakrishna married SARADA DEVI, whom
he viewed as the GODDESS incarnate; she lookedSri Ramakrishna (1836–1886), Bengali mystic and
famous exponent of universal religion (Courtesy Vedanta
Society, San Francisco)Ramakrishna, Sri 349 J