The Alchemical Body: Siddha Traditions in Medieval India 1st Edition by David Gordon White (PDF)

Description

The Alchemical Body excavates and centers within its Indian context the lost tradition of the medieval Siddhas. Working from previously unexplored alchemical sources, David Gordon White demonstrates for the first time that the medieval disciplines of Hindu alchemy and hatha yoga were practiced by one and the same people, and that they can be understood only when viewed together. White opens the way to a new and more comprehensive understanding of medieval Indian mysticism, within the broader context of south Asian Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Islam.”White proves a skillful guide in disentangling historical and theoretical complexities that have thus far bedeviled the study of these influential aspects of medieval Indian culture.”—Yoga World”Anyone seriously interested in finding out more about authentic tantra, original hatha yoga, embodied liberation . . . sacred sexuality, paranormal abilities, healing, and of course alchemy will find White’s extraordinary book as fascinating as any Tom Clancy thriller.”—Georg Feuerstein, Yoga Journal

User’s Reviews

Reviews from Amazon users which were colected at the time this book was published on the website:

⭐This remarkable book illuminates the “body of light” of yogis, tantrikas, and alchemists. The author traveled throughout India and Nepal, spoke with living yogis and alchemists, and combed the yogic, tantric, and ayurvedic scriptures of Hindu, Nath, Taoist and Buddhist Siddha traditions to reveal their alchemical secrets.White warns readers upfront, in the fifth paragraph of his book, to expect “dizzying multitudinous levels of self-interpretation” from the yogi, tantrika, and alchemist traditions. The notions of the subtle “alchemical” body are complex; they are a morass of myths, beliefs, and rituals developed during three thousand years. Reader beware: “dizziness” is a side-effect of the interpretations of the yogis and siddhis themselves.Did those disgruntled Amazon reviewers expect a self-help book packed with feel-good interpretations?The Alchemical Body is an outsiders view of the subtle body system of yogis, tantrikas, and alchemists: an academic attempt to unpack the mysteries of the traditions of the alchemical body.David Gordon White sees the Yogic-Siddhic alchemist as essentially concerned with the creation and intensification of a “body of light” while remaining yet in the phenomenal world. The beliefs and rituals of the yogin, tantrika, and siddha are meant to transform the gross material body into an immortal, divine portal: a sacrificial “oblation” that directs humans heavenward (samadhi) through control of breath, diet, and sex. The Alchemical Body is a study of the language of mystic experience and expression-the multitudinous symbols, rituals, and doctrines of the medieval siddha, yoga, and alchemical traditions.

⭐Although author accepts that he did not meet any authentic siddhars, details in this book is a bit impressive. I would recommend this book strongly to anyone who is interested in knowing basics of Indian alchemy and about siddhars.

⭐There is a lot of information in this text. And much of it is truly inspired.I just wish it wasn’t so damn belabored. What could have been an exciting read full of fascinating subject matter, more often put me to sleep.I went on to read Kiss of the Yogini, and Sinister Yogis. I believe The Alchemical Body to be the best of the three. All three books have great information. And all three have the same academic writing style that present information in its driest, most boring form.

⭐Seemingly comprehensive look at the fascinating story of medieval Indian alchemy, and its sources and influences.

⭐While this book is crammed with erudition, the author seems to assume that his failure to find any real depth in the subject is due to the lack of any real depth in the subject matter itself. It is terribly uninspired, and whatever real insights are to be found in this presentation have to be made by the reader. One really wonders why someone who seems to have such an uninspiring view of this whole body of material would spend so much of their life studying it, because clearly no little effort has been spent in the author’s study of this material. I don’t really get it. And although I was interested in the book because of my fascination with both Western alchemy and Tantra, I actually only got through about a third of the book before I gave up in boredom. It is sort of like a history of art written by an expert in the chemistry of pigments.

⭐Good read.

⭐Best book on this particular subject if not the only book on this subject

⭐I spent my Labor Day weekend wrapped up in this book… excellent. Despite the frustrating complexity of Tantric ideas, texts, lineages and practices David White does a great job in weaving them together. The very ending, in which he meets a Nath in Thamel, Kathmandu is priceless–very typical of India and I think of esotericism in general, in which years of frustrated study will be summed up and answered by a nonchalant chance encounter… which, of course, only leads to more questions. I’m looking forward to White’s upcoming book “Sinister Yogis” quite a lot now…!

⭐The author has managed to make an interesting and mystical subject really dry, methodical and boring to read …

⭐Pelo que li até agora o livro é extremamente detalhado

⭐

⭐Excellent book. Deep content, very well written. It allows us to learn something very important and have a new paradigma In the study of alchemy.

⭐Amazing book on tantra, nath yogis and Siddhas.

⭐this guy is a genius I repeat ,indispensable for any tantric practitioner good as well for further reading references and historical structures

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