Julian Johnson

Julian P. Johnson (1867–1939) was an American surgeon and author of several books on Eastern spirituality. He spent much of 1932 to 1939 in India, was associated with the Radha Soami Satsang Beas spritual society and Surat Shabd Yoga, and wrote five books (one unpublished) as a result of his experiences.

Johnson grew up in a staunch Christian family in the southern United States, became a Baptist minister at age 17, graduated Bachelor of Divinity in Bolivar, Missouri, and received an appointment as a missionary to India at age 22. Johnson claimed that experiences during his three-year stay in India, however, rendered him surprised by the deep understanding possessed by Indians he had sought to convert, and urged him towards further study.

Back in the United States, he earned an M.A. in theology at the University of Chicago, resigned his 17-year Baptist ministership, and earned an M.D. from the State University of Iowa. He served as an assistant surgeon in the United States Navy during World War I, and later went into private practice. He also owned and flew his own airplanes.

Over the years, he took to studies of various religious and philosophical teachings, including Christian Science, Freemasonry, New Thought, Rosicrucianism, Spiritualism, Blavatskyan Theosophy, and world religions. His spiritual explorations culminated when he visited an old friend (Julia McQuilkin in Oregon) who was a disciple of Sawan Singh of Beas, India. Convinced that he had found his path, Johnson requested initiation, which was arranged for by Dr. Harold Brock.[note 1] After a year, Johnson left once more for India on 24 March 1932. (At the two-week stopover in Hawaii, he had discussions on religion with the English Jodo Shinshu priest Ernest "Shinkaku" Hunt [1876–1967] of the Hongwanji.)

Dr. Johnson was the first American to live permanently at Radha Soami Satsang Beas, in Beas, where he became busy with study, writing, some medical work, meditation, and traveling with Sāwan Singh. Johnson edited Sardār Seva Singh's English translation of "Soamiji Maharaj" Shiv Dayal Singh's Sar Bachan.[note 2] Johnson also coined the term "Audible Life Stream". He wrote five books at the Dera, four of which were published: With a Great Master in India (1934, autobiographical), Call of the East (autobiography), The Unquenchable Flame (biography of his wife Elizabeth, written in first person), and his magnum opus The Path of the Masters.

In Kashmir, Johnson met Paul Petzoldt (the mountaineer, Outward Bound instructor, and founder of the National Outdoor Leadership School), and invited him to the Dera where Petzoldt received initiation from Johnson's guru, served as Johnson's assistant in the ashram clinic, even helping in surgical operations. Friction occurred after Petzoldt's wife moved from America to join him and then became ill and disillusioned with life in Beās. A tussle with Petzoldt led to the accidental death of Johnson. Petzoldt's version of this occurrence is told in an article by Molly Absolon, "Paul Tells His Story" in The Leader, Fall 1995, NOLS.

For a comprehensive look at how Johnson died see the book, "The Mystery of Dr. Johnson's Death: A Scandal in the Punjab".

Johnson's wife Elizabeth Rose (died 1941) was an American socialite, traveler, adventurer, herbalist, and spiritual seeker. She was a faithful worker of the Radhasoami Satsang, Dayal Bagh, Agra, India, and a disciple of Sir Anand Sarup, Kt,[note 3] but eventually left Anand Sarup. Johnson married her and they lived out life in Beās. Johnson wrote her "autobiography" The Unquenchable Flame (Beās: Five Rivers Manufacturing Company, 1935).[note 4]

Johnson remains the most well known among many Western adherents of and authors on Sant Mat / Surat Shabd Yoga. Possibly, no other single author in Sant Mat has more influenced North American "Shabdism" (—David C. Lane's term) than Johnson.

Johnson's magnum opus, now published as The Path of the Masters: The Science of Surat Shabd Yoga: The Yoga of the Audible Life Stream (but originally titled The Path of the Masters: The Science of Surat Shabda Yoga: Santon ki Shiksha) is a comprehensive, explicit, systematically organised, meticulous, and polished work on the Path of the Soundstream and Lightstream. Published in France (1939), the USA (1957) and India (slightly revised by the Radha Soami Satsang Beas Publications Committee in 1972 and 1985 to delete provocative language, and extensively revised in 1993,[note 5]) it remains popular among Western adherents of Sant Mat. However, its author's blunt style and now outmoded opinions – influenced by Northern European racist notions then in vogue but now considered politically incorrect — have turned off some modern readers. The text's sheer eloquence, however, has made the work the object of plagiarism by other writers, especially in the United States, where it used to be almost totally unknown to the general reading public. The work appears to have heavily influenced the American Eckankar (ECK) religion, and its various offshoots and spin-offs, through ECK founder Paul Twitchell's alleged plagiarism – discussed at length and in depth in Prof. David C. Lane's exposé The Making of a Spiritual Movement.[note 6]

Among Western adherents at least, The Path of the Masters has enjoyed long-time popularity among foreign-language works on Sant Mat.[10] A sampling of Johnson's polished prose (1985 pagination) shows the logic that has proven compelling to Western readers, even outside of Sant Mat circles:[note 7]

Published photographs of Julian and Elizabeth Rose Johnson include: