Customer Reviews

The Serpent Power: The Secrets of Tantric and Shaktic Yoga (Dover Occult)

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The only reason why I have this book, which is mostly hardcore Hinduism, is because of reading - The Tibetan Book of the Dead by W.Y.Evans-Wentz which is essentially Buddhism. In that book, and especially his follow-up books (Tibetan Yoga and Secret Doctrines), Evans-Wentz makes reference to The Serpent Power in many of his footnotes. There are also introductions by Sir John Woodroffe (Arthur Avalon) in the books of Evans-Wentz. There are aspects of Buddhism and Hinduism that are intertwined. Hinduism is more like Christianity, in that it uses deities and faith to help one understand much of that which it espouses on. Buddhism is more psychological and metaphysical. That is why Evans-Wentz books have all introductions by Jung.

One of the main points of interest that has been adopted by Buddhism are the chakra, which are better known as - The Psychic Centers. There are seven of these centers in the human body. They are connected and are mostly psychological. Evans-Wentz does a good job of explaining these Psychic Centers in his own books but if you really want to see where Buddhist chakra developed from then no look further than the master book on the topic - The Serpent Power.

Now a word of warning. Hinduism is nothing like Buddhism or Christianity and this book is a world away from most Buddhist literature. It is heavy on Sanskrit and is certainly tough reading. However this whole book is a secret doctrine about the chakra, the psychic centers and Kundalini yoga. That doctrine is also called - The Description of the Six Chakras and the Five-fold footstool. There is 300 pages of an introduction and then the entire translation of that doctrine.

Those who wish to find out more about Kundalini Yoga or the Chakra may be advised to check out the works of W.Y.Evans-Wentz first before moving on to this more complex topic. It is presented in the manner of Hinduism and is certainly tough going - however the goal is attainable right here within these pages.

This work will bring the reader into the power of Devatma Shakti Kundalini just by reading and pondering the text. Old feelings will find a home in the transformation from experience to understanding as the book flows forward. Gentle delight is the mark of a true Tantric text and this book, although strange and difficult at times, is pure de-light. If you want to know about Chakras and such, this is a classic text by one who really knows. Old and grand, this is a favorite treasure of mine and one I give away regularly to friends who must have more. Lam-to-Aum... Riley Jackson

This book is one of the more sophisticated of the books that deals with this topic. Givin in a traditional fashion that could be annoted only to such a scholar, and pioneer, as John Woodroffe. The detail is uncompairable and unless you have a solid understanding for the language and representations, it is a hard read.

This is the kind of book you might like if your really a student of things like Kundalini yoga, Kriya yoga, or Patanjali's yoga sutras. It explains some things and terms used in other texts a little clearer. Now it doesn't really teach techniques to really gain enlightenment, but there is not really much out there that does go into the kind of detail anyway. The Kriya yoga people are very secretive about what they will actually teach you. I've tried to get info out of the Yoga Nikiten folks and they basically said "become a disciple and in maybe a year or two we might tell you something". Anyway this is a serious explanation of a complex subject, but I have done Kundalini Yoga for 38 years and learned some explanations that i hadn't been taught. Good for the serious.
Rich

I love this book. Tantric yoga is religion that is more concerned with the body.It flowed naturally from my interest in hatha yoga. I don't understand all the names and terms,and I understood even less when I first read it. In fact I stumbled upon this website while trying to find the names of the "deities in the region beyond of the Ajna". Sometimes it seems to be unhelpful on purpose. I got the most out of it when I took it not as a book or study guide but as a meditation. I read two pages from the main text every day, and took the section of "description of the chakras" as a 72 day cycle contionuous body scan. Purity of faith is possible because the concepts are worthwhile and translate easily. Little by little it all opened up(and is still evolving ) to a fascinationg and insightful study of the mechanics of a soul working towards perfect unity of spirit and a body. This might be a lot of energy to invest just on somebody's say-so, but if you're intersted but unsure, I encourage you to give it a try.

The book is not a lightweighter. It furnishes many details that are not easy to find elsewhere, about the lore of the cerebrospinal chakras (lotuses, vortexes of energy), but the terminology is probably a lot to chew on and digest. The content is not easy to digest, but hard. And calm, individual analyses of the chakras and kundalini is not easy to get at anyhow. Even so, the book covers more ground than many other books in this street, so to speak.

I have had this book for years and still consider it the best even after reading dozens of others on the subject. It is a must have!

A good book about Tantra traditions.
There are few authors who write on this subject with seriousness and honesty. A book recomended.

This book stands head and shoulders above every book on the subject that has come out since, especially the recent glut of "new age" fluff books. (Hint: never subscribe to a philosophy with a name that rhymes with "sewage.")

I, Dick Morris, the "Sunshine Man," sincerely hope that you, and everyone that you care about, will have Long, Healthy, Happy, Life experiences! I also hope that by the year 2077 there will be Peace with Justice for All people and all non-human animals, all over planet Earth!!

Although I was really glad to read the author's review of what and where our bodies different energy centers are, references to the truth of the "Oneness of all creation!", stating our need for enhancing all life!, the benefits of being involved in Yoga and briefly mentioning what Kundalini is; I stopped reading "The Serpent Power" at page 50 of this 500 page book because I found the constant use of non-english words (I believe they were words from the sanskrit language) extremely annoying and very confusing because I do not know sanskrit.

I really hope that someone, who understands sanskrit, will write a book on the subjects covered in "The Serpent Power" without the sanskrit words!!!