Customer Reviews

The Alchemical Body: Siddha Traditions in Medieval India

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Like a master weaver, D.G. White threads his way through an enormous amount of literature on alchemy, hatha yoga and tantra in medieval India. Written with wit, erudition, and non-sectarian distance from (if evident sympathy for) his subject, this work is indispensible for anyone interested in hatha yoga, alchemy, ayurveda or Tantra. Be aware that this is a scholarly work, not a "how-to" users guide-but if only other scholars wrote with such wit and passion! Anyone who still believes that Tantra is about "sacred sexuality" with a loving partner will be cured by reading about the ritual consumption of semen and menstrual blood in historical Tantric cults, including Abhinavagupta's Trika (pp. 137-139). As the siddhi from this bitter rasayana, one will come to recognize the idealized beautiful bodies adorning the covers of contemporary yoga journals, as descendants of the Siddha alchemical quest for bodily immortality: Hatha yoga is tantric alchemy. The writing can be dense at points-especially the occasionaly tedious chapter on "Tantic and Siddha Alchemical Literature". Otherwise, it's a fascinating read, covering everything from the 9 historical Naths to cosmological homologies between geography, bandhas asanas and other aspects of the subtle body in hatha yoga, and various alchemical and Ayurvedic substances and practices. And don't be put off by the size of the book: its 596 pages include fully 178 pages of scholarly notes and another 76 pages of references and index, leaving a mere 352 pages of incredibly fascinating reading. One can only hope that the author, perhaps when older and less bound by scholarly demands-a sannyasin?-might expand upon his fascinating personal experiences seeking alchemists in contemporary Nepal. May his researchs long continue...! [Jjely@Bigfoot.com]

One supspects that the two "one star" reviews are written by the same self-serving indivual, trying to convince us that they are "real" practitioners of tantra. This is narcissism, not literary criticism. No, this is not a meditation manual, nor the reflections of a yogi who has spent his/her life in meditative seclusion. This is a scholarly tome, and as such, it does its work brilliantly. Not only is every page rich with information and insight, but is written in an engaging, very readable style, even when the material itself could by "dry." Again, referring to the disdain the other reviewer has for intelligence, the siddhas of old, and even new, were not all "wandering hippies' of India. The tradition of scholarship, intellectual genius, philosophy and literary skill have always been a core part of the tantric tradition. Read the first few sample pages and get a sense of the author's depth and breadth of understanding. If you are a practitioner of Buddhist or Hindu tantra, this is an essential text.

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...!

I just bought this book, and must say that I am very, very disappointed.

Topics such as Siddhas, tantra and alchemy cannot be understood by someone who is an outsider; whose sole claim to knowledge is based on reading, and which is centred around knowing terminology and cross-cultural comparisons.

This book is all about knowing the various terms associated with Siddhas, with guesstimating who this or that historical personage was, without a shred of PERSONAL experience. Now, as a reader, if this is what you are looking for, then this book will make you happy. But be wary of basing too much on such knowledge, it would be like someone who has never flown a plane writing a tome on flying aircraft. All the external details are likely to be correct, but they are worthless by themselves.

The most astonishing part of the book is that, the author, in the last chapter, speaks about the time he meets a modern day Siddha, someone who could give him some personal insight. But, incredibly, nothing comes of the meeting... apparently, the Siddha did not have enough "facts" or "data" to interest the author, all he seemed to have was personal knowledge, which was not good enough!

One last point - the book has nearly 500 pages. But about 150 of those are the notes and the bibliography. Again, a lot of research has probably gone into the book, but if you are looking to read about Siddhas, alchemy and tantra from someone who KNOWS, rather than from someone who has HEARD, you are certain to be disappointed.

This is the first book to address the very esoteric subject of East Indian alchemy. Although the authors writing style is somewhat tedious due his long and dry scholarly approach, there are some gems of wisdom to be found here. Both inner and outer alchemy are covered in the book.

If you are a fellow researcher in alchemy, please contact me. Email: alchematron@mail.com

Although the book has some interesting material, it in not a satisfactory book on Tantra. White has not approached the subject with sufficient humility, and he has gotten carried away by his ideological positions.