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Yogi Publication Society

Founded	1903
Country of origin	United States of America
Headquarters location	Chicago
Key people	William Walker Atkinson, Herbert A. Parkyn, Ollie Bedwell Gould, Arthur Gould
Nonfiction topics	Eastern philosophy, Yoga, Suggestion, Hermeticism, Rosicrucianism, New Thought

The Yogi Publication Society was an American publishing house founded in Chicago in 1903. Over the next several decades it issued dozens of books and lesson courses on Hinduism, Hermeticism, mental science, and related subjects, with the purpose of revealing the principles of the Law of Suggestion within the ancient teachings of Eastern philosophy and Western esotericism. Their titles explored subjects such as, the power of the mind, health, yogic breathing, water consumption, and diet, quickly becoming one of the leading publishers of such literature in the English-speaking world during the early twentieth century.

The Society is best known for publishing the works of pseudonymous authors like Yogi Ramacharaka, The Three Initiates, and Theron Q Dumont, as well as many titles by William Walker Atkinson and other New Thought authors. Its catalog included original works such as The Hindu-Yogi Science of Breath, Hatha Yoga, Raja Yoga, The Science of Psychic Healing, and The Kybalion, as well as new editions of older texts including The Bhagavad Gita and The Divine Pymander of Hermes Trismegistus.

Many of the Society's publications remained in print long after its most active years and continue to be reprinted and widely available in modern editions. The Society also maintained related imprints, including the Yogi Publishing Company and the Yoga Publication Society.

Founding

The Yogi Publication Society was founded in the spring of 1903 at Parkyn's offices at 4000 Cottage Grove Avenue in Chicago. From December 1903 to March 1904, it briefly operated from Palmyra, New Jersey, while Atkinson worked on the East Coast. It then returned to 4000 Cottage Grove Ave, where it remained until Parkyn sold his business in 1906.

The Yogi Publication Society was established in Chicago in 1903. Although its early ownership structure is unclear, William Walker Atkinson was closely involved from the outset and became the principal public figure associated with the organization. The Society began from within the offices of Herbert A. Parkyn located at 4000 Cottage Grove Avenue, just one block from his Chicago School of Psychology.

By that time, Parkyn had assembled a network of businesses and educational ventures centered at 4000 Cottage Grove. These included his affiliated schools of Osteopathy and Electro-Therapeutics and their correspondence courses, his Mail Course Exchange Company, his mail-order distribution business, his Premium Subscription Agency for Suggestion magazine that Atkinson was associate editor of, and his University of Psychic Science where Atkinson served as the principal lecturer.

One of the Societies earliest publication was A Course in Yogi Philosophy and Oriental Occultism which closely paralleled the structure and subject matter of the earlier A Series of Lessons in Personal Magnetism, Psychic Influence, Thought-Force, Concentration, Will-Power and Practical Mental Science, published by Parkyn through his University of Psychic Science and released under the authorship of Atkinson. The main difference was that the material was now recast using terminology and themes drawn from Yogic philosophy and Hindu mysticism.

The same pattern would continue throughout the Society's publishing program. Ideas that had previously appeared under the headings of mental science, suggestion, health culture, and personal development were repackaged using the terminology of Yoga and Vedanta philosophy. Atkinson played the central role in adapting and organizing this material, while the Society drew upon the correspondence methods and the publishing infrastructure that had already been developed through Parkyn's network.

Intellectual foundations

"The Occult World" department in Suggestion authored by Parkyn under the pseudonym "Astra.". Parkyn gives an invocation for the secrets of the ancient Orient to open its mysteries to the Western eyes.

The intellectual foundations of the Yogi Publication Society can be traced to the network surrounding the Chicago School of Psychology and its research in Eastern psychic abilities. This research developed through overlapping influences during the 1890s.

Dr. Mark Henry Lackersteen

Among the earliest was Dr. Mark Henry Lackersteen, a prominent physician who had grown up in Calcutta and served as a Surgeon-Major in the British Army in India during the Sepoy Mutiny. During this time he witnessed and investigated several examples of the possibility that the Sepoy rebels were helped by Yogi masters using the power of telepathy to mentally transfer military plans across the country. From this experience he became a lifelong student of hypnotism and Eastern philosophy working closely within the London Society for Psychical Research. Later in life he moved to Chicago, where he became one of the city's most prominent physicians and a supporter of the Chicago School of Psychology, helping to secure its location and living next door to it.

A depiction of the god Indra giving his divine Astra weapon, Indrashakti, to the warrior Karna.

Following Lackersteen's death in 1897, Parkyn began authoring a special department in his Suggestion magazine titled "Occult World," which he published under the pseudonym "Astra," a Sanskrit term associated with Hindu and Hermetic traditions. The column provided a forum for discussing Eastern philosophy and examining the accounts he learned from Lackersteen of yogic powers and telepathic communication. Parkyn extensively researched whether they might reflect natural laws of the mind not yet fully understood by Western science.

Swami Vivekananda and the Parliament of World's Religions

1893 Parliament of the World's Religions in Chicago.

Dr. Lackersteen was also responsible with organizing the Parliament of World's Religions at the 1893 Chicago World's Fair with Jenkin Lloyd Jones, another supporter of the school. The event introduced many Americans to Hindu philosophy, especially through the lectures of Swami Vivekananda, and interest expanded considerably in the country after his appearance.

This continued into the early twentieth century with Vivekananda's many lectures, writings, and the creation of his Vedanta Society. However, his sudden death in 1902 left a gap in the popular presentation of these ideas. Shortly after his death the Yogi Publication Society began issuing its books and correspondence lessons to continue to present Yogic philosophy to Western readers.

J. C. F. Grumbine

The Theosophical Society

The study of Eastern psychic teachings also came through Parkyn's association with J. C. F. Grumbine, founder of the College of Psychical Science and Unfoldment, where Parkyn had served as chair of Suggestive Therapeutics. Grumbine maintained close ties to Vivekananda and others within the Vedanta movement in Madras, India and published Immortality, a magazine that featured regular contributions from Swami Vivekananda and from Annie Besant of the Theosophical Society. It was here that Parkyn came to regard Vedanta as one of the clearest expressions of the principles underlying suggestion and mental influence.

Elmer Ellsworth Carey

Another important figure in the Society's early development was Elmer Ellsworth Carey. In 1903, Carey joined the staff of Suggestion magazine as associate editor, succeeding Atkinson in that position. He had recently arrived in Chicago after spending years traveling and studying in the Far East, where he developed a lasting interest in Eastern philosophy and health practices. After returning to his home town of San Francisco, he became active in both the Theosophical Society and the Vedanta Society established by Swami Vivekananda in 1900. He was particularly interested in meditation, diet, fasting, hygiene, and yogic methods of health. These subjects became recurring themes in the Societies publications.

Principal publications

Light on the Path (1903) Yogi Publication Society, 4000 Cottage Grove Ave.

The Yogi Publication Society began in the spring of 1903 by publishing a new edition of Light on the Path, a small book first published by the Theosophical Society in 1885. Written by Mabel Collins, the book had become a widely read introduction to Eastern philosophy within the Theosophical movement. A new preface was included that introduced Yogi Ramacharaka, a previously unknown teacher who would soon become the principal author associated with the Society. This was soon followed by a new edition of The Illumined Way, which was the sequel to Light on the Path written by Collins in 1887.

The Yogi Ramacharaka Series

Hatha Yoga (1904). Published by the Yogi Publication Society, 4000 Cottage Grove Ave.

Later that year, they issued A Course in Yogi Philosophy and Oriental Occultism, a fourteen-lesson correspondence course published under the pseudonym Yogi Ramacharaka. The lessons introduced readers to subjects such as concentration, mental discipline, personal influence, and breathing exercises. The success of the correspondence course led to a rapid expansion of the Society's catalog.

Over the next five years its lessons were expanded and issued as stand alone books all released under the pseudonym of Yogi Ramacharaka. These included, Fourteen Lessons in Yogi Philosophy and Oriental Occultism (1903),The Hindu-Yogi Science of Breath (1904), Hatha Yoga (1904), Raja Yoga (1905), The Science of Psychic Healing (1906), Gnani Yoga (1906), The Bagda Gita (1907), The Spirit of the Upanishads (1907), Mystic Christianity (1907),The Philosophies And Religions Of India (1908), and The Hindu-Yogi System of Practical Water Cure (1909).

Expansion into Hermeticism and New Thought

The years 1907 and 1908 marked a transition in the Society's publishing program. Rather than focusing exclusively on Eastern philosophy, its catalog increasingly incorporated Hermeticism, Rosicrucianism, Christianity, psychology, and modern New Thought.

Beginning in 1907 it issued Mystic Christianity (1907), which interpreted Christian teachings through the lens of western esoteric philosophy. In 1908 it published The Kybalion, a work on Hermetic philosophy attributed to the anonymous authorship of "The Three Initiates." The book's emphasis on mental causation, universal law, and the creative power of thought reflected themes that had long been associated with New Thought and the teachings of the Chicago School of Psychology. This was followed by Reincarnation and the Law of Karma (1908) and The New Psychology (1909), the Society's first titles published under William Walker Atkinson's name.

In 1909, ownership of the Society passed to Ollie I. Bedwell, a longtime secretary associated with Parkyn's publishing network and who's father, Hiram Jackson Bedwell, was a Chicago newspaper publisher. Under Bedwell's direction, the Society maintained the Ramacharaka catalog while expanding its offerings to include additional works by Atkinson and other New Thought authors. The imprint eventually also became the principal publisher of the titles originally issued through the Advanced Thought Publishing Company.

Advanced Thought Publishing Company

Catalog of books for sale by the Advanced Thought Publishing Company, including most of the back catalog of titles published by the Yogi Publication Society (1916).

The Yogi Publication Society became increasingly associated with the Advanced Thought Publishing Company during the 1910s. Starting in Chicago in 1905, Advanced Thought specialized in New Thought and metaphysical literature. In 1906 the two companies moved into shared offices in the Masonic Temple Building and were closely associated with Atkinson and Arthur Gould. Gould would marry future Yogi Publication Society owner Olive Bedwell in 1906 and serve as Advanced Thought's business manager before becoming its owner in 1911. Atkinson later served as Gould's editor for Advanced Thought magazine from 1916 to 1920.

Although the Yogi Publication Society and Advanced Thought Publishing Company remained separate businesses, they became increasingly linked after 1916. According to later court papers, in 1916 Ollie Bedwell Gould relinquished active control of the Yogi Society to her husband, Arthur Gould, who thereafter assumed its management while paying her a royalty. This resulted in most of the back catalog of the Yogi Publication Society being marketed as Advanced Thought publications in catalogs and advertisements from 1916 to 1921.

Advanced Thought magazine was also launched in 1916. Under Atkinson's editorship, Yogi Ramacharaka became a regular contributor to the magazine as well as other pseudonymous authors such as Theron Q. Dumont, Swami Bhakta Vishita, Swami Panchadasi, and Magnus Incognito. In 1921, following the bankruptcy of the Advanced Thought Publishing Company, the works under the anonymous authors as well as many Atkinson books and other New Thought titles put out by Advanced Thought over the years, would all come under the Yogi Publication Society where they are best known today.

Annie Besant with Mahatma Gandhi in Madras,1921

The choice of the name Advanced Thought Publishing Company reflected the influence of the Theosophical Society, where in 1891 under the leadership of Annie Besant, they had founded an "Advanced Thought Publishing Company" in Madras, India. The phrase "Advanced Thought" had been widely used for decades by Theosophists and was also heavily employed in promoting Parkyn's Suggestion magazine. Besant like Mabel Collins who authored Light on the Path, the first published work by the Yogi Publication Society, had been co-editor of Helena Blavatsky's Lucifer magazine before becoming editor after Blavatsky's death and changing the name to The Theosophical Review. Besant who was a regular contributor to Grumbine's Immortality magazine in America, was later published by both the Advanced Thought Publishing Company and the Yogi Publication Society.

Pseudonyms as "masked suggestions"

The use of pseudonyms was a defining feature of the Yogi Publication Society's publishing program, where for its first five years all of its original titles were issued under the name Yogi Ramacharaka. This would continue for years as many more pseudonymous authors would appeared within its catalog.

Clairvoyance and Occult Powers (1916) by Swami Panchadasi

The technic of using symbolic figures and anonymous initiates as literary identities was a common practice within classical esoteric traditions and Parkyn had long referred to it as the use of "masked suggestions," the practice of presenting an idea through a mystical or trusted authority that reduces conscious resistance and allows the suggestion to reach the involuntary mind more effectively. Parkyn stated that ideas are often accepted or rejected not on their intrinsic merit but according to the authority through which they are presented. Rather than introducing a lesson as the opinion of an ordinary author, a pseudonym could embody the qualities most closely associated with the subject being taught.

Yogi Ramacharaka was presented as an Indian spiritual adept transmitting the wisdom of Yogic philosophy. Theron Q. Dumont was a mysterious French psychological authority on mental powers. The Three Initiates and Magnus Incognito as anonymous initiates of ancient secret societies presenting long-concealed Hermetic and Rosicrucian knowledge to the public. These identities provided a "masked suggestion" through which the material could be presented with the authority necessary to strengthen the reader's reception of the ideas being conveyed.

Authorship

The actual authors behind these pseudonyms has long been a subject of discussion. William Walker Atkinson has been widely regarded as the principal writer associated with the pseudonyms specifically because he claimed authorship of all of the titles in his self-profile in Who's Who in America, starting in 1908.

The Mystic edited by Atkinson

This assertion has been debated as it would consist of over sixty books written by Atkinson just between the years 1906 to 1912. During this period he was also contributing regularly to several magazines and served as editor of The Mystic where he wrote many of the articles in each issue.

For this reason, it has been suggested that Atkinson's public claims were intended to establish a record of authorship for the pseudonymous titles that had been published anonymously. Because of the growing popularity of several of the authors, such claims would have prevented attempts by outside publishers to release books under the same pseudonyms.

1919 postal investigation into the pseudonyms

Testimony stating that Atkinson and his "friends" wrote many books under the pseudonym Yogi Ramacharaka.

In 1919, the Yogi Publication Society and Advanced Thought Publishing were investigated by postal authorities for claims of fraud. One of the central questions of the investigation was to learn the identity of Yogi Ramacharaka.

During the hearing Arthur Gould gave testimony stating that there was no such person as Yogi Ramacharaka and that several of the books under the pseudonym were written by friends of Atkinson.

Yogi Ramacharaka

The Yogi Publication Society presented an elaborate backstory for Yogi Ramacharaka, one designed as an allegory to offer clues about the true meaning of the work. Even the name was constructed with layers of symbolism. He was not intended to be taken historically, but as a symbolic persona embodying the transmission of yogic philosophy reframed through the lens of the Law of Suggestion.

The symbolism behind the name Yogi Ramacharaka

Although presented as a historical figure, the name of Yogi Ramacharaka was constructed to reflect the goal of presenting Hindu yogic teachings to Western readers in the New Thought language of mental science and suggestion.

The ancient yogic physician Charaka.

The name combines several Sanskrit elements associated with spiritual discipline and holistic health. Yogi comes from the Sanskrit root yuj, meaning "to unite" and refers to one who seeks union with the divine through disciplined living and self-mastery. Rama is the hero of the Ramayana and an incarnation of Vishnu, who represents virtue, harmony, devotion, and the uplifting of the heart and mind. Charaka is the ancient yogic physician and author of the Charaka Samhita, one of the foundational texts of Ayurveda, which emphasizes health through proper diet, hygiene, prevention, mental discipline, and balanced living.

Put together the name Yogi Ramacharaka represents:

"A disciplined practitioner who's self is in union with the divine harmony, devotion, and virtue that is brought about by right thinking and living."

The backstory of Yogi Ramacharaka

• According to the backstory of Yogi Ramacharaka, he was born in India in 1799 and spent years traveling across the East, fasting, meditating, and studying in monasteries and lamaseries in search of spiritual truth.
• Around 1865, after forty years of searching, Yogi Ramacharaka discovered the "unnamed" basis for his philosophy.
• Shortly after he accepts a young student, an eight-year-old son of a Brahmin family, known as Baba Bharata.
• Together they retrace Ramacharaka’s earlier path, now guided by deeper insight.
• By 1893, at the age of 94, Ramacharaka sensing the end of his life, entrusts Baba Bharata with the task of bringing his teachings to the West. That same year, Baba Bharata attends the World’s Parliament of Religions in Chicago, where he achieves instant acclaim.
• Though many encourage him to found a new religion, he chooses instead to preserve and transmit the inner teachings of his master.
• Lacking writing experience, Baba Bharata partners with an “English author.” Baba Bharata providing the ancient Sanskrit wisdom, while the english author translats it into an accessible english form. Together they agree to publish under the shared name Yogi Ramacharaka.

The allegorical meaning of the backstory

The biographical narrative given of Yogi Ramacharaka was intended for a symbolic interpretation.

The birth of Yogi Ramacharaka in 1799

"A comparison of the institutions of Moses with those of the Hindoos and other ancient nations" by Joseph Priestley, 1799

The birth year of Yogi Ramacharaka in 1799 aligns with the key moment of the publication in 1799 of Joseph Priestley's "A Comparison of the Institutions of Moses with Those of the Hindoos and Other Ancient Nations." Read by early American thinkers such as Thomas Jefferson and John Adams, the work represented one of the earliest serious attempts to introduce Hindu philosophy to Western intellectual audiences. In symbolic terms, Ramacharaka's birth marks the initial spark of Eastern mysticism entering Western awareness.

The discovery of the "unnamed" principle in 1865

Ramacharaka spent decades searching for spiritual truth before discovering the "unnamed" basis of his philosophy around 1865. This date corresponds directly with the work of Ambroise-Auguste Liébeault in Nancy, France, who began treating patients through what he termed as Suggestive Therapeutics in 1865. He then published Du Sommeil et des Etats Analogues, outlining his findings and establishing the foundation for what would be known as the Nancy School of Suggestive Therapeutics.

Parkyn's Chicago School of Psychology was the first institution in the United States to teach Suggestive Therapeutics. Through many years of experimentation and research of this new practice at his school and clinic, Parkyn had come to the recognition that the Law of Suggestion, taught by Liébeault in 1865, was the "unnamed" principle underlying ancient religious and healing traditions.

The Appearance of Baba Bharata

Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar (1820-1891)

Shortly after this discovery, Ramacharaka accepts Baba Bharata, an eight-year-old son of a Brahmin family as a student. This student parallels the historical Swami Vivekananda, who was born in 1863 and, at the age of eight in 1871, began formal study under Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar, a noted reformer of Hindu thought and a friend of Ramakrishna who would become Vivekananda's guru. Vidyasagar was born into the Brahmin cast and became a revolutionary educator who shattered elite caste monopolies by opening Sanskrit education to lower-caste students.

The name Baba Bharata also had symbolic meaning. In Indian usage, Baba is a respectful term for a father or wise elder. While Bharata, is the ancient name for India and the soul of the nation itself. Thus, Baba Bharata means "Wise Father India." Naming the student "wise father India" symbolized India as both the inheritor and the student of its own spiritual legacy. It had grown ancient and obscured, but was now being reawakened by the rediscovery of its true philosophical foundation within the Law of Suggestion.

Retraces his steps with his student

After accepting the student, Yogi Ramacharaka resumes his travels, this time retracing his earlier steps with Baba Bharata at his side. This retracing represents the reinterpretation of Hinduism through the lens of Suggestion. What had once been understood as mystical and ritualistic is now seen as practical, psychological, and universally applicable. The old journey is walked again, but with a new understanding.

The 1893 World’s Parliament of Religions in Chicago

Swami Vivekananda at the Parliament of the World's Religions. (1893)

The story resumes in 1893, almost thirty years after Yogi Ramacharaka first took Baba Bharata as his student. Now 94 years old, Yogi Ramacharaka feels that his time on Earth may be coming to an end. It has been ninety-four years since 1799, when the West first made contact with Hindu philosophy, yet no significant impact has been made. To ensure the teachings do not fade away, Yogi Ramacharaka asks Baba Bharata to share the message with the West. The chosen platform is the 1893 World’s Parliament of Religions in Chicago. There, like Swami Vivekananda did in real history, Baba Bharata quickly becomes popular, lecturing to audiences from around the world and gaining dedicated followers.

Baba Bharata is urged to form a new religion

Following the Parliament, many urge Baba Bharata to found a new religion. This mirrored real-world events. As the New Thought movement gained strength in the early twentieth century, many factions considered formalizing their ideas into new religious movements. Dr. Parkyn had openly rejected this impulse and instead encouraged the understanding of the underlying psychological principle of Suggestion that already operated within the ancient religions, stating that it was not a new system that was needed, but a new understanding of the systems that already existed.

The English Author

The final element of the story introduces an unnamed English author who collaborates with Baba Bharata to bring the teachings to Western readers. On one level, this reflects the practical challenge of translating Sanskrit concepts and philosophical traditions into language accessible to English-speaking audiences. On another, it mirrors the collaboration that produced the Yogi Publication Society's books.

By the time the Society was formed, Elmer Ellsworth Carey had spent years studying Eastern philosophy and health traditions, including the dietary, hygienic, and preventative teachings associated with the Charaka Samhita. Although an experienced lecturer, editor, and journalist, he had never authored a book. William Walker Atkinson, by contrast, was an established New Thought writer with extensive publishing experience. Together they represented the union of Eastern-inspired subject matter and Western literary expression that the Yogi Ramacharaka narrative sought to symbolize.

Viewed in this light, the story of Yogi Ramacharaka and Baba Bharata functioned as an allegorical account of the transmission of Eastern wisdom into the modern New Thought movement, reframed through the language of suggestion, mental science, and practical psychology.

Elmer Ellsworth Carey and the Yogi Ramacharaka Narrative

Several elements of the Yogi Ramacharaka narrative parallel the life and experiences of Elmer Ellsworth Carey. Like Swami Vivekananda, Carey was born in 1863 and was forty years old when the Yogi Publication Society began publishing its books in 1903. Long before arriving in Chicago, he had developed a deep interest in Eastern philosophy and mysticism, spending years traveling throughout Southeast Asia, studying Hindu traditions, and exploring ancient religious and philosophical texts.

After returning to the United States, Carey became active in San Francisco's growing community of Eastern spiritual movements, including the Theosophical Society and the Vedanta Society established by Swami Vivekananda in 1900. His interest extended beyond intellectual study. Carey practiced meditation, advocated health reform, maintained a vegetarian diet, and became known for his experiments in fasting, including a forty-five-day fast that attracted considerable attention.

By the time he joined Parkyn's circle in Chicago, Carey had spent decades searching for a unifying philosophical principle capable of reconciling Eastern spirituality with modern thought. Through his association with Parkyn and the Chicago School of Psychology, he came to embrace Suggestion as the underlying principle connecting religion, healing, psychology, and personal development. In this respect, Carey's personal journey closely mirrors the narrative of Yogi Ramacharaka, who spends forty years traveling, studying, fasting, and meditating before finally discovering the unnamed foundation of his philosophy.

Whether intentional or not, the parallels are striking. Both figures undertake long quests through Eastern traditions, emphasize meditation and physical discipline, and ultimately arrive at a single unifying principle that serves as the basis for their teachings. In this sense, elements of the Yogi Ramacharaka story can be read as reflecting aspects of Carey's own intellectual and spiritual development.

The Yogi Philosophy Series

Writing under the pseudonym Yogi Ramacharaka, the Yogi Publication Society issued a series of correspondence courses and accessible English-language books on yogic philosophy. Among the most influential were The Hindu-Yogi Science of Breath, Hatha Yoga, Raja Yoga, Gnani Yoga, The Spirit of the Upanishads, and The Bhagavad Gita. Together, these works formed the core of the Society's publishing program and introduced generations of Western readers to concepts drawn from Hindu philosophy and yoga.

Although presented as studies of ancient Eastern wisdom, the books consistently emphasized a central theme: that the transformative effects attributed to yogic practices could be understood through the operation of Suggestion and directed mental influence. Parkyn regarded many of the classical teachings of Hinduism, particularly those associated with Yoga and Vedanta, as powerful expressions of universal psychological principles. In his view, these traditions preserved practical methods for developing concentration, self-mastery, health, and personal transformation while illustrating the creative relationship between thought and experience.

This interpretation reflected Parkyn's long-standing belief that Suggestion was a universal principle underlying religious experience, healing systems, and human development. Unlike movements such as Christian Science, which he believed placed excessive emphasis on abstract metaphysical concepts, Parkyn emphasized the conscious and practical use of mental influence as a tool for individual growth. Through the Yogi Philosophy Series, ancient teachings were reframed as methods for cultivating personal power, disciplined thinking, and self-directed change.

The books and correspondence courses proved highly influential in introducing Eastern philosophical concepts to Western audiences. They helped popularize ideas such as prāṇa, meditation, concentration, mental discipline, and the subtle nature of consciousness, while presenting them in a style accessible to readers with little prior exposure to Hindu thought. Rather than focusing on theology or religious doctrine, the series emphasized practical instruction in breath control, concentration, health, self-development, and the cultivation of inner strength.

As a result, the Yogi Philosophy Series became one of the most widely read bodies of yoga literature in the English-speaking world and played an important role in shaping early Western interest in yoga and meditation. Although William Walker Atkinson served as the principal representative of the Yogi Publication Society and later lectured publicly under the name Yogi Ramacharaka, the series reflected the broader collaboration of Parkyn, Atkinson, Carey, and their associates, several of whom contributed material under the same symbolic pseudonym.

Suggestion Magazine and the Promotion of the Yogi Publication Society

Dr. Parkyn's Suggestion magazine served as one of the principal promotional outlets for the Yogi Publication Society and its publications. In the spring of 1904, as part of the campaign surrounding the release of The Hindu-Yogi Science of Breath, the first major work issued under the pseudonym Yogi Ramacharaka, Suggestion featured a series of articles devoted to breathing, thought power, and Eastern philosophy.

Parkyn himself contributed an article titled "Breathing Exercises and Auto-Suggestion," while another, "Rhythmical Breathing," explored both the scientific and esoteric foundations of breathing practices associated with Eastern traditions. The article drew upon Vedantic concepts and argued that rhythmic breathing could influence mental and physical development. It stated that when "mind changes into will the currents change into a motion similar to electricity" and that when the body's motions become perfectly rhythmical it functions "as a gigantic battery of will." The article further described prana as the universal life force or vital energy and identified the solar plexus, referred to as the "abdominal brain," as one of its principal centers within the body.

The same issues also contained articles examining the history of thought power in India. One essay described the idea of "thought as matter" as among the oldest concepts in human history and characterized Vedanta as one of the most sophisticated philosophical systems ever developed. According to the article, Hindu philosophers taught that thought preceded material form and that mental influence could act upon matter across distance. These ideas were presented as part of a long intellectual tradition preserved by the "psychics of ancient India," which the article described as a primary source of esoteric wisdom.

The close correspondence between the subjects discussed in Suggestion and those promoted in Yogi Publication Society advertisements illustrates the interconnected relationship between Parkyn's publishing activities and the Society's educational program. Articles on breathing, thought power, suggestion, and Eastern philosophy frequently appeared alongside advertisements for Yogi Ramacharaka's books, creating a coordinated framework through which readers were introduced to both the theoretical and practical aspects of the teachings.

The Science of Psychic Healing and Parkyn's Teachings

In 1906, the Yogi Publication Society published The Science of Psychic Healing under the pseudonym Yogi Ramacharaka. Written in a direct and instructional style, the book presented many of the central principles of Dr. Parkyn's system of Suggestion while framing them within the language of yogic philosophy and mental science. Its contents closely paralleled material found in Parkyn's Special Mail Course in Suggestive Therapeutics and Hypnosis, demonstrating how the authors believed the principles of Suggestion related to traditional Hindu teachings on mind, health, and self-development.

The book appeared shortly after the publication of Hatha Yoga and was presented as a companion volume. Together, the two works were promoted as providing readers with the "Key to Health," combining physical practices with methods of mental influence and self-directed healing.

The authors emphasized that their approach was grounded in natural law rather than religion. Rejecting attempts to transform psychic healing into a religious system, they wrote: "We do not see why Psychic Healing should be made into a religion, any more than should Drug Healing, Massage, Osteopathy, or any other form of healing. All true healing results from an application of perfectly natural laws, and the power employed is as much a natural law as is electricity."

Throughout the book, many of the concepts and expressions associated with Parkyn's teachings appear repeatedly. Among them is his well-known maxim, "Thought takes form in action," which serves as a recurring theme. The text also employs terminology and methods familiar from Parkyn's instructional courses, particularly the use of directed auto-suggestion for specific bodily functions and organs.

Unlike many New Thought works of the period, The Science of Psychic Healing contains detailed discussions of physiological processes and provides individualized suggestions for organs such as the stomach, liver, heart, and other parts of the body. This emphasis on anatomy, physical function, and therapeutic application closely reflects the approach found in Parkyn's correspondence courses and reveals a level of medical specificity more commonly associated with a trained physician than with the broader metaphysical literature of the era.

As a result, The Science of Psychic Healing occupies a distinctive place within the Yogi Ramacharaka series, serving as one of the clearest examples of the intersection between Parkyn's system of Suggestion, practical health culture, and the Society's broader effort to present yogic philosophy to Western audiences.

The Hindu-Yogi System of Practical Water Cure

In 1909, the Yogi Publication Society published The Hindu-Yogi System of Practical Water Cure under the pseudonym Yogi Ramacharaka. The work combined Dr. Parkyn's teachings on hydration, health, and physical culture with parallel concepts drawn from yogic philosophy, presenting water as one of the most important foundations of physical and mental well-being.

Beginning in the late 1890s, Parkyn was among the earliest American advocates of regular water consumption as a central element of preventive health. In his writings on suggestive therapeutics and physical culture, he identified water as one of the fundamental "life essentials" and argued that health depended in large measure upon its proper use. The concept became a recurring theme in his articles and instructional courses and was later adopted more broadly within the health reform movement. By 1909, recommendations regarding daily water consumption were increasingly appearing in medical journals, popular health magazines, and self-improvement literature.

Parkyn taught that the average individual should consume approximately two quarts of water per day. He also emphasized the importance of external applications of water, recommending daily bathing and hydrotherapeutic practices as part of a complete health regimen. To encourage the formation of healthy habits, he developed a series of auto-suggestions intended to establish what he called the "Two Quarts a Day Habit." These instructions were incorporated into The Hindu-Yogi System of Practical Water Cure alongside discussions of digestion, circulation, elimination, and the physiological effects of hydration on the body's organs and systems.

The book reflects a level of anatomical and physiological detail characteristic of Parkyn's medical training. Rather than treating water solely as a symbolic or spiritual element, it presented hydration as a practical health measure supported by explanations of bodily function and preventive care. In this respect, the work closely resembles Parkyn's earlier courses in suggestive therapeutics and health culture.

Elmer Ellsworth Carey contributed an additional dimension by connecting Parkyn's health teachings with concepts found in yogic and Eastern philosophical traditions. Carey had long maintained an interest in the role of water in health and had written extensively on the subject. His fascination with hydration and natural health practices continued throughout his life and eventually led to his involvement with the Sparkletts Bottled Water Company in Los Angeles, where he served as a partner and research director. Through the collaboration of Parkyn and Carey, The Hindu-Yogi System of Practical Water Cure sought to unite modern health reform, suggestive therapeutics, and yogic philosophy within a single practical system of preventive medicine and self-care.

The Yogi Publication Society Logo

The logo of the Yogi Publication Society was designed to symbolize principles of sacred geometry found in Hindu, Hermetic, Kabbalistic, and Pythagorean traditions. In these systems, creation is often described as emerging from a single point of origin, unfolding into multiplicity, and ultimately returning to unity. Geometry was viewed not merely as a mathematical discipline but as a symbolic representation of the structure and order underlying the universe.

The design reflects a progression through the numbers three, six, and nine, which were regarded in Pythagorean philosophy as expressions of fundamental creative principles.

Three. At the center of the logo is a point of origin from which rays extend outward in all directions. These radiating lines represent the first movement of creation, the emergence of manifestation from unity. The rays are enclosed within a circle, symbolizing completion, harmony, and the containment of creative force. Together, the point, the radiating energy, and the enclosing circle form the first trinity.

Six. The central emblem is then enclosed within an equilateral triangle, itself contained within a larger circle. This second level expands the original triad into a balanced geometric structure, expressing proportion, harmony, and order. The combination of triangle and circle was widely used in esoteric traditions to symbolize the interaction of spiritual and material principles and the establishment of cosmic law.

Nine. A final layer completes the design. The inner forms are surrounded by a larger triangle and an encompassing outer circle, creating a third expression of the same geometric pattern. This final stage represents completion, fulfillment, and the return of multiplicity to unity. In Pythagorean symbolism, nine was often regarded as a number of culmination and perfection, bringing the creative cycle to its full expression.

Taken as a whole, the logo presents a visual representation of creation unfolding through successive stages of manifestation and reconciliation. Through the repeated interplay of point, circle, and triangle, it expresses themes of unity, harmony, balance, and completion that were central to many of the philosophical and spiritual traditions represented in the Society's publications.

Titles

Yogi Ramacharaka (1907). A Series of Lessons in Mystic Christianity. Yogi publication society.

Yogi Ramacharaka (1908). The Inner Teachings of the Philosophies and Religions of India. Yogi Publication Society

Atkinson, William Walker (1908). Reincarnation and the Law of Karma. Yogi Publication Society.

Yogi Ramacharaka (1909). The Hindu-Yogi System of Practical Water Cure. Yogi Publication Society.

Atkinson, William Walker (1909). The New Psychology: Its Message, Principles and Practice. Yogi Publication Society.