YOGI RAMACHARAKA,SWAMI BHAKTA VISHITA, & SWAMI PANCHADASI

These three 'swamis' are actually the names used by the same person known in metaphysical circles as WILLIAM WALTER ATKINSON, an interesting author of many books also under various names.....I became acquainted with yoga almost since babyhood, because of a large volume devoted to medical lore which was called HOME MEDICAL LIBRARY which I amused myself over the years since it was placed in my hands by my grandparents in the late 30's-40's. I still have the volume. In that book was a Chapter called: THE SCIENCE OF BREATH and had some photographic illustrations of various exercises which I used as the basis for a talk on yoga that I gave in class during my sophomore year while attending Stevens High School. Although I cannot find exactly where this material came from, I suspect it was added from some material or works of the late William Walter Atkinson, and it may also be found in some other old medical volumes that I have in my library,etc. I collect these now and then, partly because they also contain certain physical culture and jiu-jitsu topics and photos, some rare, indeed. Later I acquired a book under the title of Yoga by the author writing as Yogi Ramacharacka...Recently, while browsing in an Upper Valley Bookstore, I came across a book re-issued/reprinted entitled: SWAMI PANCHADASI'S CLAIRVOYANCE & OCCULT POWERS, edited by Clint Marsh and published by Red Wheel/Weiser,LLC. This book is a handy guide to WW Atkinson's works and it contains some very clear and interesting ideas that are found often concealed and nestled among the more recent and trendy-popular works of moderns who feel inclined to write and discuss 'occult' and 'new-age' topics and turn them into best sellers of some kind....for a voracious public of sorts....which shows that there is hardly anything 'newe under the sun' but only repackaged materials with new covers in new bottles....!!! While many things in nostalgic works of or on the occult and the esoteric are a tedious read and the 'science/technology/medicine'etc' of those times have somewhat drastically changed in ways that often seem overwhelming, the basics are there and that is where everyone should take heed and caution and start from there and not try to skip into advanced and sometimes risky areas....