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The flow of religious and spiritual ideas has proved to be constant and eclectic, as well as a dynamic means that links different regions of the globe. It has been especially intense from the second half of the nineteenth century onward. This paper will explore the noteworthy touring of the notorious theosophist C. Jinarajadasa in Latin America, with special attention to his visit to Mexico in the late 1920s. On the one hand, this paper seeks to seeks to survey the importance of The Theosophical Society’s role in the early constructions of modern yoga as well as the global exchange of religio-philosophical interests throughout the modern world at large and, on the other, attempts to unravel the dynamics of theosophical activities in Latin America, in particular. Jinarajadasa’s view on yoga was distinct from later conceptions of postural practice, yet was strongly embedded in important notions at the time about progress and education, aiming at a form of karmayoga, or method of appropriate action. This study is part of a broader project that has been tracing the history and reception of yogic ideas in Latin America. Thus, Jinarajadasa’s mission will be examined in the light of a wider network of dialogues, interactions, and competition among different actors in the first half of the twentieth century, a time that saw the inevitable rise of global yoga as we know it today.
