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The Alchemical Body: Siddha Traditions in Medieval India 1st Edition

4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 41 ratings

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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
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From the Back Cover

Beginning in the fifth century A.D., various Indian mystics began to innovate a body of techniques with which to render themselves immortal. These people called themselves Siddhas, a term formerly reserved for a class of demigods, revered by Hindus and Buddhists alike, who were known to inhabit mountaintops or the atmospheric regions. Over the following five to eight hundred years, three types of Hindu Siddha orders emerged, each with its own specialized body of practice. These were the Siddha Kaula, whose adherents sought bodily immortality through erotico-mystical practices; the Rasa Siddhas, medieval India's alchemists, who sought to transmute their flesh-and-blood bodies into immortal bodies through the ingestion of the mineral equivalents of the sexual fluids of the god Siva and his consort, the Goddess; and the Nath Siddhas, whose practice of hatha yoga projected the sexual and laboratory practices of the Siddha Kaula and Rasa Siddhas upon the internal grid of the subtle body. For India's medieval Siddhas, these three conjoined types of practice led directly to bodily immortality, supernatural powers, and self-divinization; in a word, to the exalted status of the semidivine Siddhas of the older popular cults. In The Alchemical Body, David Gordon White excavates and centers within its broader Indian context this lost tradition of the medieval Siddhas. Working from a body of previously unexplored alchemical sources, he 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 only be understood when viewed together. Human sexual fluids and the structures of the subtle body aremicrocosmic equivalents of the substances and apparatus manipulated by the alchemist in his laboratory. With these insights, White opens the way to a new and more comprehensive understanding of the entire sweep of medieval Indian mysticism, within the broader context of south Asian Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Islam. This book is an essential reference for anyone interested in Indian yoga, alchemy, and the medieval beginnings of science.

About the Author

David Gordon White is Distinguished Emeritus Professor of Religion at the University of California, Santa Barbara. He is the author of several books, including The Alchemical Body, Kiss of the Yogini, and Sinister Yogis, all published by the University of Chicago Press.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ University of Chicago Press; 1st edition (December 1, 1998)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 614 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0226894991
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0226894997
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.31 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 9.01 x 5.99 x 1.33 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 41 ratings

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4.3 out of 5 stars
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Top reviews from the United States

  • Reviewed in the United States on October 1, 2014
    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.
    3 people found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on April 5, 2017
    Seemingly comprehensive look at the fascinating story of medieval Indian alchemy, and its sources and influences.
    One person found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on October 24, 2017
    Good read.
  • Reviewed in the United States on March 1, 2015
    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.
    21 people found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on October 3, 2014
    Best book on this particular subject if not the only book on this subject
  • Reviewed in the United States on May 4, 2024
    The actual book is interesting as I thought. The problem is the binding. The adhesive connecting the pages to the spine is so weak that pages randomly fall out when reading. When printing a book of this length you would think they would spend more on the binding.
  • Reviewed in the United States on September 13, 2013
    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.
    9 people found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on September 3, 2007
    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...!
    15 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

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  • Pedro A M P Silva
    5.0 out of 5 stars Livro realmente muito completo
    Reviewed in Brazil on September 27, 2021
    Pelo que li até agora o livro é extremamente detalhado
  • M
    5.0 out of 5 stars Immortality in Words.
    Reviewed in India on March 29, 2020
    Amazing book on tantra, nath yogis and Siddhas.
  • trompamort
    5.0 out of 5 stars the alchemical body
    Reviewed in France on July 7, 2013
    this guy is a genius I repeat ,indispensable for any tantric practitioner good as well for further reading references and historical structures
  • C S
    2.0 out of 5 stars methodical and boring to read
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 18, 2018
    The author has managed to make an interesting and mystical subject really dry, methodical and boring to read ...
  • Tadeu Jordan
    5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic
    Reviewed in Brazil on November 29, 2014
    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.