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For other persons named Benjamin Walker, see Benjamin Walker (disambiguation). Benjamin Walker is the name of Benjamin Walker (born 1913 English author on religion and philosophy and an authority on esoterica Benjamin
Benjamin Walker

G. B. Walker, taken in 1976 by Derek Abbott
BornNovember 25, 1913 (1913-11-25) (age 94)
Calcutta, India
Pen nameBenjamin Walker, Jivan Bhakar
OccupationDiplomatic attaché and author in the area of esoterica, philosophy, and religion
NationalityBritish
Writing period1930 to present
GenresNon-fiction under the name Benjamin Walker; poetry, short stories and satire under the name Jivan Bhakar
Notable work(s)Hindu World
Influences
Influenced

Benjamin Walker (November 25, 1913) is the truncated pen name of George Benjamin Walker, who also writes under the pseudonym Jivan Bhakar. Derek Abbott ( 3 May 1960, in South Kensington, London, UK) is a Physicist and Electronic engineer. Events 1034 - Máel Coluim mac Cináeda, King of Scots dies Donnchad, the Year 1913 ( MCMXIII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common India, officially the Republic of India (भारत गणराज्य inc-Latn Bhārat Gaṇarājya; see also other Indian languages) is a country A pen name, nom de plume, or literary double, is a Pseudonym adopted by an Author or their publishers to conceal their identity Employment is a Contract between two parties, one being the employer and the other being the employee. Nationality is a relationship between a Person and their State of Origin, Culture, association Affiliation and/or Loyalty The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located A literary genre is a category of literary composition Genres may be determined by Literary technique, tone, Content, or even (as in the case of fiction Non-fiction is an account or representation of a subject which is presented as Fact. The short story is a literary genre of Fictional Prose Narrative that tends to be more concise and to the point than longer works of fiction such Satire is often strictly defined as a literary genre or form; although in practice it is also found in the graphic and Performing arts In satire human George Bernard Shaw ( (26 July 1856 &ndash 2 November 1950 was an Irish Playwright. For the Danish Colonel Max Müller see Second War of Schleswig. Colin Henry Wilson (born June 26, 1931 in Leicester) is a prolific British writer Events 1034 - Máel Coluim mac Cináeda, King of Scots dies Donnchad, the Year 1913 ( MCMXIII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common He is a British citizen, and an Indian-born author on religion and philosophy, and an authority on esoterica in all its curious forms. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located India, officially the Republic of India (भारत गणराज्य inc-Latn Bhārat Gaṇarājya; see also other Indian languages) is a country A religion is a set of Tenets and practices often centered upon specific Supernatural and moral claims about Reality, the Cosmos Philosophy is the study of general problems concerning matters such as existence knowledge truth beauty justice validity mind and language

He was born George Benjamin Walker, in Calcutta (Kolkata), the son of Dr Simeon Benjamin Walker, M. D. , and Mary Emily Fordyce, both of Pune, (Poona), India. Pune (ˈpuːneɪ Marathi: पुणे Hindi: पूना formerly Poona, is the second largest city in the state of Maharashtra His father was descended from a long line of Polish Jews who fled to India as refugees during the Russian pogrom in Moldavia in the 1790s. A pogrom is a form of Riot directed against a particular group whether ethnic religious or other and characterized by destruction of their Homes Businesses Moldavia (Moldova is a geographic and historical region and former Principality in Eastern Europe, corresponding to the territory between Eastern Carpathians In India they became part of the Bene Israeli community as rabbis and community leaders. The Bene Israel ( Hebrew: "Sons of Israel" are a group of Jews who migrated in the nineteenth century from west Maharashtra to the nearby

Contents

Early influences

Dr Simeon Walker (1873-1928) carried out a great deal of humanitarian work, in India, establishing a centre of studies called The Hall of Literature, Science and Hygiene that was formally opened by the Gaekwar of Beroda (Vadodara) in 1900. The Gaekwad or Gaikwad (once rendered as Guicowar, also given (incorrectly as Gaekwar) ( Gujarati: ગાયકવાડ; Marathi The building was accidentally burned to the ground in 1902, along with thousands of books, manuscripts and official documents in Sanskrit, Marathi, Gujarati, Hebrew, and English, many of which had been contributed by scholars and old families who desired to contribute to this enterprise. Sanskrit (sa संस्कृता वाक् saṃskṛtā vāk, for short sa संस्कृतम् saṃskṛtam) is a historical Marathi (mr मराठी Marāṭhī) is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Marathi people of what is considered western India. Gujarati (ગુજરાતી Gujǎrātī ? English is a West Germanic language originating in England and is the First language for most people in the United Kingdom, the United States Simeon Walker was also active in educational work, in the course of which he came to know several of the political leaders of the day that were forerunners of Mahatma Gandhi. Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi ( Gujarati: મોહનદાસ કરમચંદ ગાંધી moɦən̪d̪äs kəɾəmʧən̪d̪ gän̪d̪ʱi (2 October 1869 – 30 January They included G.K. Gokhale and B.G. Tilak. Gopal Krishna Gokhale, CIE ( गोपाल कृष्‍ण गोखले) ( May 9, 1866 - February 19, 1915) was one of Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak (बाळ गंगाधर टिळक ( July 23 1856 - August 1 1920) was an Indian nationalist Simeon Walker was a staunch pacifist and would have nothing to do with those who advocated strong-arm tactics to achieve their ends.

Emily Walker, née Fordyce, (1888-1975) was very keen to obtain a medical degree in England so that she might provide medical treatment for Indian women, since at the time they were very reluctant to be seen by male physicians. England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland Accordingly Simeon Walker accompanied his wife to England where she obtained an MB (Bachelor in Medicine) and several diplomas in female ailments and midwifery. During her stay in London she joined the Suffragette movement and met Emmeline Pankhurst. Emmeline Pankhurst (née Goulden; 15 July 1858 14 June 1928 was a political activist and leader of the British Suffragette movement They married in 1906, and when Dr Simeon and Emily Walker returned to India in 1910 they decided to settle in Calcutta, at that time the capital of India. They opened a dispensary where for one day a week the poor were treated and given medication free. In total they had four children: Reema Rose (1906-1912), Alexander (1909-1991), William (1911), and George Benjamin (1913).

Education

George Benjamin Walker, the third son of the Walkers, was born in Calcutta on November 25, 1913. Events 1034 - Máel Coluim mac Cináeda, King of Scots dies Donnchad, the Year 1913 ( MCMXIII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common He matriculated from the Calcutta Boys' School with distinctions in English and Urdu in 1929. Calcutta Boys' School was founded by the Rev James Mills Thoburn ( Methodist Missionary to India, and later Missionary Bishop of the English studies is an academic discipline that includes the study of Literatures written in the English language (including literatures from the U Urdu ( ur '''{{Nastaliq اردو}}''' trans Urdū, historically spelled Ordu) is a Central Indo-Aryan language Urdu is a standardised At school, as a keen young Scout, he was Patrol Leader in the 9th First Calcutta Troop. Some troops are co-educational for those troops this article is relevant to them The Bharat Scouts and Guides (BSG Hindi भारत स्काउट्स एवं गाइड्स) is the national Scouting and Guiding This later stood him in good stead when in 1971 he completed theoretical and practical work in an Advanced Youth Leadership course in Richmond. Richmond is a town and the principal settlement of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames in England.

From school he went to the famous Jesuit institution, St. Xavier's College, Calcutta, where he received his BA degree with distinctions in English and Philosophy in 1933. The Society of Jesus ( Latin: Societas Iesu, SJ and SI or SJ, SI) is a Catholic religious order St Xavier's College is located in Kolkata, India, and is named after St He was admitted to the Calcutta University Postgraduate College where he received his MA degree with Honours in English. Formally established on the 24 January 1857, the University of Calcutta (also known as Calcutta University) (কলকাতা বিশ্ববিদ্যালয় Years later, in 1989 he received an honorary degree of Doctor of Letters (D. Lett. ) from the Vishwa Unnyayan Samsad of New Delhi. New Delhi (नई दिल्ली ਨਵੀਂ ਦਿੱਲੀ نئی دلی is the Capital city of India.

When Walker was eight years old, he was asked what he wanted to be when he grew up. His reply was unequivocal, "I want to be a writer. " His resolve in this direction never wavered as he grew up. Quite early on in his writing career Walker, like other young writers before him, cast his net wide, trying his hand at different forms of authorship.

Religion

George Walker's mother, a staunch Christian, had agreed to marry his father only on condition that the children were brought up as Christians. Simeon Walker, himself a humanist, rationalist, and agnostic, agreed, provided the children were allowed free access to his vast library of books, many of which were highly critical of religion in general and Christianity in particular. See also philosophical Humanism For the Renaissance liberal arts movement see Renaissance humanism Humanism is In Epistemology and in its broadest sense rationalism is "any view appealing to Reason as a source of knowledge or justification" (Lacey 286 Agnosticism ( Greek: α- a-, without + γνώσις gnōsis, knowledge after Gnosticism) is the philosophical view that the

This turned out to be an invaluable arrangement for George Walker, for in addition to a fair understanding of the Bible and the Christian faith, he acquired an excellent knowledge of religiously 'seditious' literature of all kinds not easily available elsewhere. Etymology According to the Online Etymology Dictionary, the word bible is from Latin biblia, traced from the same word through Medieval Latin and Late Latin A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, a monotheistic Religion centered on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth Because of this mixture of orthodoxy and scepticism he was well placed to write works on religious topics, which have become classics of their kind. His personal faith is Christian, although cannot be described as an adherent of organized religion.

Career

In 1937, George Walker joined the British Consulate-General in Bushire (Bushehr), South Persia (Iran), first as Confidential Assistant and then as Personal Assistant to the Honourable Political Resident in the Persian Gulf. Bushehr or Bushire ( Persian:بوشهر pop 165377 (in 2005) is a city on the southwestern coast of Iran, on the Persian Gulf The Persian Empire was a series of Iranian empires that ruled over the Iranian plateau, the original Persian homeland and beyond in Western Asia For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Iran topics. A Consul or Consul-General has largely consular functions such as looking after British business persons abroad The Persian Gulf, in the Southwest Asian region is an extension of the During this period he travelled widely throughout the region and was able to collect information for his book on Persia (Iran), which was well received by the critics.

In 1943, he was sent to the Shia holy city of Meshed in the province of Khorasan, which borders on both Turkmenistan and Afghanistan. Mashhad ( literally the place of martyrdom) is the second largest city in Iran and one of the holiest cities in the Shia Turkmenistan ( Türkmenistan; also known as Turkmenia) is a Turkic country in Central Asia. Afghanistan /æfˈgænɪstæn/ officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan ( Pashto: د افغانستان اسلامي جمهوریت, In Meshed, he was involved in supervising the transport of war commodities to the Russian front. Russia (Россия Rossiya) or the Russian Federation ( Rossiyskaya Federatsiya) is a transcontinental Country extending While in Meshed he met and married (1945) a British-born Anglo-Russian girl, Xenia Dagmar Andrea Stevens-Williams (b. 1920), whose knowledge of English, French, German, and Russian were of immense value in his work. She also carried out translations of official documents from foreign languages into English for the British Consulate-General. They had no children.

With the end of the war in 1945, Walker's services were transferred to the new Republic of India. He served, first in the Central Cypher Bureau in New Delhi, then as a supervisory officer in the Division covering Bhutan, Sikkim, and Tibet, then in the East Asia division concerned with the region extending from Korea and Japan southwards to Indochina (Vietnam). The Kingdom of Bhutan (buːˈtɑːn is a Landlocked nation in South Asia. Sikkim ( Nepali:, also Sikhim) is a Landlocked Indian state nestled in the Himalayas It is the least populous state in India Definitions of Tibet See also Definitions of Tibet Name In English The English word Tibet, like the word for Tibet in most European Korea is a geographic area composed of two sovereign countries a civilization and a former state situated on the Korean Peninsula in East Asia. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Japan topics. Indochina, or the Indochinese Peninsula, is a region in Southeast Asia. Vietnam (ˌviːɛtˈnɑːm Việt Nam) officially Later he served in diplomatic posts as a Political Attaché in various countries.

From 1955 he was on the staff of the Indian Military Mission, in Berlin, in the British zone of the occupying Allied Forces. Berlin is the capital city and one of sixteen states of Germany. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located In general allies are people groups or nations that have joined together in an association for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose While in Berlin he was requested by Kathleen Bauer, of the British Council office there, to give classes in England to German adults keen to learn the language. The British Council is a Public Body of the United Kingdom Government which specialises in educational and development opportunities This he did with great success.

In April 1968, Walker took early retirement in Middlesex, England, to devote himself to writing under the name of Benjamin Walker. Middlesex is one of the 39 historic counties of England and the second smallest by area. To disguise his identity Walker also often wrote under the name of Jivan Bhakar, an Indian-sounding variant of 'G. Ben Walker. '

Miscellany

Drama

Walker had written a three-act play called The Love Drug, which was produced at the St John's Club, Calcutta, November 1930, in which he himself also took part. The modest proceeds went to charity, receiving good reviews from local newspapers, but he felt he was not really cut out to be either a dramatist or an actor.

Short stories

One of Walkers' stories entitled "Shanti", written under the pen name Jivan Bhakar, appeared in the Illustrated Weekly of Bombay in December 1950 and earned him a prize. Another story called "Kismet" was published in The Short Story Magazine, Calcutta. His career in this line did not long survive, as he felt spinning a yarn achieved very little.

Poetry

Walker wrote his first poem at the age of 10, describing the Great Fire of London of 1666, which appeared in his school magazine. This article is about the Great Fire of 1666 For other great fires in London see Early fires of London or Second Great Fire of London. He continued to write poetry into adulthood expressing his sentiment about the world and people. One such, called "We are", appeared in Life and Letters Today, London, August 1939. Another called "It still remains" appeared in Phylon, Atlanta University, March 1952.

Over the years his poems have been published in journals in India, England, and America. A collection of his verse was published in Calcutta, 1956, under the title of Mixed Blood (Lena Press Calcutta, 1956). For a brief period he enjoyed a modest reputation as a minor Indian poet. By this time too, he realised the world was awash with poetasters, and he did not consider himself to be a first rate poet.

Articles

Features by Walker on Eastern affairs and various miscellanea have appeared in journals, newspapers, and books. Under the pen name of Jivan Bhakar he was a regular contributor, for three years between 1948 and 1950, to Shankar's Weekly, known as the 'Indian Punch', after the London-based satirical magazine celebrated for its wit and wisdom. Punch was a British weekly Magazine of Humour and Satire published from 1841 to 1992 and from 1996 to 2002 London ( ˈlʌndən is the capital and largest urban area in the United Kingdom. The founder of the magazine, K. Shankara Pillai, informed Walker that his articles were enjoyed by Prime Minister Pandit Nehru. Kesava Shankara Pillai ( 1902 - December 26, 1989) better known as Shankar, was a famous Indian Cartoonist. Jawaharlal Nehru (जवाहरलाल नेहरू ʤəʋäɦəɾläl nɛɦɾu (14 November 1889 27 May 1964 was a major political leader of the Congress Party A brief sample of titles, below, give an indication of the diversity and scope of his work, which exceeded 250 articles:

Lectureship

As Walker had carried out a course in psychology, whilst at college, he was invited soon after to give a talk on the subject to the Blue Triangle YWCA Club in Calcutta. Rashly, he agreed and on 1 October 1934 found himself facing a large group of ladies who, it appeared to him, were looking at the callow youth with curiosity and hauteur. Events 331 BC - Alexander the Great defeats Darius III of Persia in the Battle of Gaugamela. Year 1934 ( MCMXXXIV) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display full 1934 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. With much trepidation he began speaking and soon found that he had the rapt attention of the audience. The success led to a repeat performance, of a subject of his own choice. He spoke on Wordsworth, with whose work and that of other Romantics, such as Coleridge, Byron, Shelley, and Keats he was well acquainted. Romanticism is a complex artistic literary and intellectual movement that originated in the second half of the 18th century in Western Europe, and gained strength during the Samuel Taylor Coleridge ( 21 October 1772 &ndash 25 July 1834) was an English Poet, Critic and philosopher Percy Bysshe Shelley (August 4 1792 – July 8 1822 ˈpɝːsɪ ˈbɪʃ ˈʃɛlɪ was one of the major English Romantic poets and is widely considered to be among

From then on he continued to deliver talks, and during his official service he continued 'unofficially' giving lectures wherever he was posted, on topics that ranged over religion, philosophy, psychology, mysticism, history, and English literature, always avoiding politics of which he had never been particularly enamoured.

Editorship

In 1950 while in Saigon (now Ho Chi Minh City) Walker made the acquaintance of René de Berval, the French author and journalist, and at the time editor of France Asie, a French quarterly on Asian studies. Walker persuaded him to start an English quarterly, which came to fruition and was called Asia. Through the mediation of Pierre Dannaud, Chief of the French Information Services of Indochina, and Louis Damais of the École française d'Extrême-Orient, financial support was provided and the quarterly was brought out. The École française d'Extrême-Orient (EFEO is a French institute dedicated to the study of Asian societies For political reasons René de Berval was Editor, and Walker was Joint-Editor under the pen-name of Jivan Bhakar.

From the start Asia became a significant success, ambitiously attempting to cover, as it successfully did, the whole of the continent, with contributions from renowned authorities on their respective specializations. Its readership soon overtook that of its French counterpart.

In 1951, Walker took a short break to visit Hanoi in the north to help the Indian consul there to set up an exhibition of Indian art. Hanoi ( Vietnamese: Hà Nội Hán Tự: 河[[wikt 内|内]], estimated population 3398889 (2007, is the Capital of Vietnam While he was in Hanoi, General Jean de Lattre de Tassigny, Commander in Chief in French Indochina, personally thanked Walker for promoting French interests through Asia, though that was not the purpose of the quarterly. Hanoi ( Vietnamese: Hà Nội Hán Tự: 河[[wikt 内|内]], estimated population 3398889 (2007, is the Capital of Vietnam Jean Joseph Marie Gabriel de Lattre de Tassigny ( 2 February 1889 &ndash 11 January 1952) was a French military hero of World Indochina, or the Indochinese Peninsula, is a region in Southeast Asia.

Asia did not long survive Walker's transfer to another post two years later. To induce him to stay on, de Berval offered him a salary, with emoluments and honoraria four times more than his then salary with the Government of India. But Walker turned down the offer as he felt he could not remain anchored in Saigon. Besides, it was clear to many observers at the time that the political situation in Vietnam was deteriorating beyond the control of the French colonial administration. The offer to carry on with Asia was renewed, and again declined, when de Berval subsequently moved, along with France Asie and Asia, to Tokyo. officially, is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan and located on the eastern side of the main island Honshū.

Hindu World

Hindu World is regarded as Walker's magnum opus. It was the first and, still remains, the only encyclopedia covering Hinduism in all its diverse variety. Hinduism is a religious tradition that originated in the Indian subcontinent. The book is cited in almost every reputable bibliographic listing on books on religion in general and Hinduism in particular. Its impact went well beyond academic circles. For example, the Hindu dramatist S. A Hindu ( Devanagari: हिन्दू is an adherent of the philosophies and scriptures of Hinduism, a set of religious, Philosophical S. Chauhan was inspired by the book to write a play on the iniquites of the caste system. His wife, Vijaya Chauhan wrote a novel on the same subject, spurred by Hindu World. The book also drew the attention of Pearl Binder (Lady Elwyn Jones), an authority on costume design, who thereafter sought Walker's help in her research on Indian tribal dress, colours, and textiles. Lady Elwyn-Jones née Pearl Binder (born 1904 died 1990 Author playwright stained-glass artist lithographer sculptor and a champion of the Pearly Kings and Queens, she

Bibliography: Published books by Benjamin Walker

Bibliography: Contributions to part works by Benjamin Walker

References

External links

See also

"July 1st" redirects here For the Ayumi Hamasaki song see H (song. Year 2005 ( MMV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Colin Henry Wilson (born June 26, 1931 in Leicester) is a prolific British writer Hinduism is a religious tradition that originated in the Indian subcontinent. The Kambojs (कम्बोज kamboj, کمبوہ kamboh, ਕਮ੍ਬੋਜ kamboj) are an Ethnic community of the Punjab region Valmiki ( Sanskrit: वाल्मीकि vālmīki) (ca 400 BCE northern India is celebrated as the poet harbinger in Sanskrit literature Calcutta Boys' School was founded by the Rev James Mills Thoburn ( Methodist Missionary to India, and later Missionary Bishop of the The Kambojas are a very ancient Kshatriya Tribe of the north-western parts of the Indian subcontinent, of what now forms north-eastern Afghanistan Kamboja or Kamvoja is one of the western kingdoms in the epic Mahabharata. St Xavier's College is located in Kolkata, India, and is named after St The word occult comes from the Latin word occultus (clandestine hidden secret referring to "knowledge of the hidden"
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