Wise Man from the East (Annotated)

The Book that Introduced Cosmic Consciousness to the West

With the publication of this book, Edward Carpenter did not just present an idea from the East. He created a new spiritual possibility in the West. The central idea it explores, cosmic consciousness, ignited a firestorm of activity among spiritual luminaries and intellectuals of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, capturing the imaginations of such notable figures as Richard Maurice Bucke, William James, Evelyn Underhill, P.D. Ouspenski, Alexander James McIvor-Tyndall, and many others. The book caused a stir because it was powerful. And it was powerful because it was infused with Edward Carpenter’s experience of that miraculous state. The phrase captured people’s imagination because reading it transmitted the experience of it.

In 1892, the 19th century mystic, activist, and poet Edward Carpenter explored and reported on the phenomenon of cosmic consciousness after spending a few weeks studying and working with a spiritual guru in Ceylon. Carpenter was so inspired by his time with the guru that he decided to write a detailed account of everything he had learned. This book is that account and it offers a detailed and clear explanation of the path to enlightenment. If you read it with your heart and mind wide open, it has the power to shift your attention into the miraculous experience of cosmic consciousness.