Here are 100 books that The Alchemical Body fans have personally recommended if you like
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I was drawn to the subject of Yoga already as a teenager. Much later, I did my Ph.D. Thesis on the subject of the Nāths. I find fascinating the wealth of esoteric ideas and assumptions at the root of their project: the search for the elixir of immortality through internalization of the principles of alchemy. I admire their ethos, their stories, and the whole fabric of legends that surrounds them. I have done some work on translating the poetry attributed to their founder, guru Gorakhnāth, and that made me appreciative of their wisdom and their views, even when I disagreed with some of those.
I am humbled by Mallinson’s scholarship and the breadth of erudition displayed in this study. We have grown accustomed to associate Haṭha Yoga with what is, properly speaking, “modern postular Yoga,” and Mallinson’s book is one of those recent studies where the difference between the two is starkly demonstrated with his focus on an early text belonging to the former category and its subject matter.
I admire his attention to textual and historical details, attentiveness to the context, and deep understanding of the religious, cultural, and philosophical ideas and associated practices related to the subject matter. There is a whole world of erudition couched between the pages of this extraordinary book.
Describing one of the most important practices of hathayoga (khecarimudra), the Khecarividya of Adinatha is presented here to an English-speaking readership for the first time. The author, James Mallinson, draws on thirty Sanskrit works, as well as original fieldwork amongst yogins in India who use the practice, to demonstrate how earlier tantric yogic techniques developed and mutated into the practices of hathayoga. Accompanied by an introduction and an extensively annotated translation, the work sheds light on the development of hathayoga and its practices.
I was drawn to the subject of Yoga already as a teenager. Much later, I did my Ph.D. Thesis on the subject of the Nāths. I find fascinating the wealth of esoteric ideas and assumptions at the root of their project: the search for the elixir of immortality through internalization of the principles of alchemy. I admire their ethos, their stories, and the whole fabric of legends that surrounds them. I have done some work on translating the poetry attributed to their founder, guru Gorakhnāth, and that made me appreciative of their wisdom and their views, even when I disagreed with some of those.
I find extremely interesting the mix of historical scholarship and anthropological fieldwork so vividly presented in this study, as in the other work, by Véronique Bouillier.
She has a particular penchant to focus on and engage with the tension in the ideology and lived experience of her chosen subjects, be it between ancient stories about the Yogis and the lifestyle of the contemporary ascetics or between the ethos of the warriors and the ethos of the renouncers (as the former, in particular kings, become the latter, in popular legends), which gives particular attraction to her elegant and learned exposition.
How have the premodern Shaiva ascetic sect of the Nath Yogis (known also as the Yogis with splitted ears) succeeded in maintaining its presence and importance until today? This book intends to give a general survey of this sampradaya which is said to have been founded by the Siddha Gorakhnath, known for his strong link to Hatha Yoga. However, rather than to Yoga, the history and expansion of the Nath sect are linked to its rich legendary corpus. Dealing first with the marks of belonging (such as the huge earring worn by the fully initiated Yogis) which give the sect…
I was drawn to the subject of Yoga already as a teenager. Much later, I did my Ph.D. Thesis on the subject of the Nāths. I find fascinating the wealth of esoteric ideas and assumptions at the root of their project: the search for the elixir of immortality through internalization of the principles of alchemy. I admire their ethos, their stories, and the whole fabric of legends that surrounds them. I have done some work on translating the poetry attributed to their founder, guru Gorakhnāth, and that made me appreciative of their wisdom and their views, even when I disagreed with some of those.
What I like about this collection of essays on the Nāth Yogis is its breadth and diversity: scholars from five countries engage historical, religious, philosophical, folkloristic, textual and anthropological fields of pertinent inquiry. The reader is left with a feeling of truly coming closer to understanding the Nāths, once a very influential religious denomination that often considers itself separate from the dominant Hindu and, to a lesser degree, Muslim environments.
I admire the sense of self-esteem and self-identity displayed, for example, in the ideas about the inner worlds, the whole cosmos contained within the Yogi’s body, as described in David White’s contribution to the anthology. To my mind, the Nāths’ conceptions about the hidden properties of the human body represent the South Asian esotericism par excellence. This collection offers an insight into their world that truly abounds in erudite riches.
This book provides a remarkable range of information on the history, religion, and folklore of the Nath Yogis. A Hindu lineage prominent in North India since the eleventh century, Naths are well-known as adepts of Hatha yoga and alchemical practices said to increase longevity. Long a heterogeneous group, some Naths are ascetics and some are householders; some are dedicated to personified forms of Shiva, others to a formless god, still others to Vishnu.
The essays in the first part of the book deal with the history and historiography of the Naths, their literature, and their relationships with other religious movements…
I was drawn to the subject of Yoga already as a teenager. Much later, I did my Ph.D. Thesis on the subject of the Nāths. I find fascinating the wealth of esoteric ideas and assumptions at the root of their project: the search for the elixir of immortality through internalization of the principles of alchemy. I admire their ethos, their stories, and the whole fabric of legends that surrounds them. I have done some work on translating the poetry attributed to their founder, guru Gorakhnāth, and that made me appreciative of their wisdom and their views, even when I disagreed with some of those.
I admire the author’s attempt to approach the conceptual universe of the Nāth Yogis with a focus on their philosophy. Not an easy task, given the fact that their semi-legendary founder, guru Gorakhnāth, was not a systematic philosopher. Leaving aside the issue of actual authorship, what has been exposed here contains a great deal of metaphysical depth and complexity.
It is a pity that the Sanskrit text mentioned in the subtitle is not translated. “Some seek nonduality,” the text commences, “while the others seek duality. They don’t know the full truth, which is devoid of both nonduality and duality.” While the lack of translation is lamentable, the ideas expressed in this relatively short Sanskrit text are copiously discussed in this book, which makes it a great read.
The cult of the Kanphata Yogis is a definite unite within Hinduism, and its study is essential for understanding this phase of the religious life of India. the book is divided into three sections. The first two sections comprising chapters 1 - 13 deal with the cult and history of this sec. the third section containing chapters 14 - 16 opens with the Sanskrit Text Goraksastaka and its English rendering and annotations. The book is fully documented. It has a preface, Glossary, Bibliography, Plates and General Index. This book is an attempt to present a systematic and consistent account of…
A writer, yoga teacher, and somatic psychologist, I’ve been passionate about yoga and the sacred arts ever since I encountered, on my parent’s bookshelf, the awe-inspiring art catalogue, The Manifestations of Shiva, an exhibit curated by the late, great art historian Stella Kramrisch. An adjunct faculty member in the Somatics MA program at the California Institute of Integral Arts, I have lived and traveled extensively throughout India, studying yoga there, and teaching in the U.S. In Berkeley, I write fiction and maintain a private psychology practice, incorporating yoga as a tool for nervous system regulation and embodied wellbeing. I also lead local and international yoga retreats.
Art can serve as a support for meditation. Ritual brings the spiritual dimension of yoga into action. Mookerjee and Kanna’s breadth of living scholarship portray the ritual arts of the Indian Tantric traditions to be a form of yoga itself, one that reflects the non-dual or Advaita philosophy of Tantric yoga. This book is a practical guide, as well as a deep dive into Tantric symbolism, both satisfying and transformative. If you crave visual support for your practice, pick up this book.
In recent years, the West has shown a wide and enthusiastic interest in tantra and its application to everyday life. Though its roots are in Hinduism, tantra's goals are the universal ones of self-knowledge and liberated joy. Its methods and effects transcend geography and era.
Basing its approach on a historical and explanatory survey, this book deals in a detailed way with astronomy, astrology, alchemy and cosmology in tantrism. In addition, there is discussion of the different viewpoints of 'left-hand' and 'right-hand' tantrikas and their respective attitudes towards human sexuality and its place in ritual. The drawings and illustrations serve…
I'm a clinical psychologist who also writes about and teaches Buddhist philosophy, psychology, and meditation. I've had the great good fortune to be closely mentored by a number of elder Tibetan teachers who were educated in old Tibet. Over the decades, when seeking wisdom and compassion in the midst of life's challenges, I've repeatedly found inspiration, education, solace, and guidance along my own path in the enlightened and enlightening life stories of a number of the great scholar/yogis of the Himalayan Buddhist traditions.
Naropa was an important figure in Indian Tantric Buddhism whose lineages gained great popularity in Tibet. His life story beautifully embodies many archetypal elements of the spiritual journey in a way that has proved compelling, inspiring, and educational for Buddhist practitioners for well over a millenium. He goes from being a great scholar to a seeker who bears many hardships to an enlightened master. If you yourself are someone deeply committed to a spiritual journey, then it's likely that you'll find moments of your own experience reflected back for you in his remarkable story.
In the history of Tibetan Buddhism, the eleventh-century Indian mystic Nâropa occupies an unusual position, for his life and teachings mark both the end of a long tradition and the beginning of a new and rich era in Buddhist thought. Nâropa's biography, translated by the world-renowned Buddhist scholar Herbert V. Guenther from hitherto unknown sources, describes with great psychological insight the spiritual development of this scholar-saint. It is unique in that it also contains a detailed analysis of his teaching that has been authoritative for the whole of Tantric Buddhism.
This modern translation is accompanied by a commentary that relates…
I discovered Indian Yoga and Western occultism as a teenager, and it turned into a lifelong obsession. I tend to relate to various forms of esotericism more naturally than to established religions; I find the lack of rigidity in the former’s metaphysical and ethical constructs more appealing. I obtained a Ph.D. in Asian Studies with a Thesis on the Nāth Yogis and pursued my interest in Aleister Crowley, his religious movement of Thelema, and Western occultism. What I find attractive in these systems is the vision of the human potential that promises to be able to transcend limitations associated with the consensus reality.
Urban was among the first scholars who took seriously connections between Indian Tantra and some strands of Western occultism, even while remaining critical of the latter’s take on the former.
This book is a study of Western fascinations with (often amounting to a series of misunderstandings about) Tantra and its conflation with sex, in the process of which it is misconstrued as “the cult of ecstasy.” Urban applies to the Victorian discovery and captivation with Tantra, the well-known Foucault’s contention about sexuality–that, far from being repressed by a scandalized silence, it is, in fact, incessantly and obsessively talked about.
A complex body of religious practices that spread throughout the Hindu, Buddhist, and Jain traditions; a form of spirituality that seemingly combines sexuality, sensual pleasure, and the full range of physical experience with the religious life - Tantra has held a central yet conflicted role within the Western imagination ever since the first 'discovery' of Indian religions by European scholars. Always radical, always extremely Other, Tantra has proven a key factor in the imagining of India. This book offers a critical account of how the phenomenon has come to be. Tracing the complex genealogy of Tantra as a category within…
I’ve been intrigued by the Hindu goddess traditions since I first read Is the Goddess a Feminist as an undergraduate student. After reading this book, I changed my course of study and life, writing my Ph.D. dissertation and my first few books on Indian goddess traditions. Now, I continue to share my passion for Indian goddesses as a professor of Religious Studies at the University of Arizona.
This book takes an interesting approach to regional goddesses in India by looking at the seeds of their cults and how they grow and flower into powerful traditions in lived and literary traditions. I particularly love this approach because it not only spans the different regions of India, but it also spans the scope of time connecting ancient and medieval traditions with pan-Indian and local understandings of the goddess.
Imagining the divine as female is rare-even controversial-in most religions. Hinduism, by contrast, preserves a rich and continuous tradition of goddess worship. A Garland of Forgotten Goddesses conveys the diversity of this tradition by bringing together a fresh array of captivating and largely overlooked Hindu goddess tales from different regions. As the first such anthology of goddess narratives in translation, this collection highlights a range of sources from ancient myths to modern lore. The goddesses featured here battle demons, perform miracles, and grant rare Tantric visions to their devotees. Each translation is paired with a short essay that explains the…
I was born in New York, live in London, have an Indian name, and a Polish grandmother. I’ve lived and worked worldwide, running yoga centers in New York, London, New Delhi, and the Himalayas; I’ve also worked as a spice merchant, magazine editor, and pilgrimage leader. My incentive in writing is to inspire people to practise yoga and meditation – and my books tend to be practical as well as theoretical. In addition to teaching and writing, I’ve spent extensive time doing personal practice in the Himalayas, and I hold an MA degree in Traditions of Yoga and Meditation from SOAS (School of Oriental and African Studies), University of London.
I have a special interest in yantras, and this book is the best and clearest explanation I’ve found. It inspired me to include yantras in a Teach Meditation course that I give to yoga teachers – and also to write my Master’s dissertation on the Sri Yantra.
In case readers are unfamiliar with the term ‘yantra’, it refers to precise geometric constructions that have been used by yoga practitioners for centuries as visual tools for the attainment of inner peace. Johari explains their forms, associated practices, and spiritual applications. Until he wrote this book, this information was mostly unavailable to modern practitioners.
Tantric yantras are precise geometric forms that have been used for centuries as tools for self-realization and the attainment of mystical powers. In Tools for Tantra, Tantric practitioner and scholar Harish Johari has re-created the exact colors and proportions of the primordial yantras along with step-by-step instructions for their accurate construction, coloring, and use.
Gabriel Dee is a mystic, author, spiritual teacher, and the founder of Immortology. At the age of 26, he became a seeker and became enlightened on the 11th of March, 2011. He experienced most of the spiritual methods of the world and traveled to India to learn more about healing, hypnosis, and meditation. His main teaching is making people face their own mortality, and then going beyond it to realize their immortality.
The next one on my list of the top 5 spiritual books is The Book of Secrets by Osho. He is my favorite spiritual teacher, and although he never wrote any books, the texts from his speeches were published in several compilations. Everything you read from him can be useful, but this book stands above the rest in its length, depth and practicality.
This book is based on a 5000 year old tantric scripture consisting of 112 meditations to achieve liberation. What Osho basically does is that he adds commentaries and his own experiences to each of the techniques, thereby making them understandable and practical for the modern seeker. If I had to recommend any book on meditation, it would definitely be this one.
In this comprehensive and practical guide, the secrets of the ancient science of Tantra become available to a contemporary audience. Confined to small, hidden mystery schools for centuries, and often misunderstood and misinterpreted today. Tantra is not just a collection of techniques to enhance sexual experience. As Osho shows in these pages, it is a complete science of self-realization, based on the cumulative wisdom of centuries of exploration into the meaning of life and consciousness. Tantra-the very word means "technique"-is a set of powerful, transformative tools that can be used to bring new meaning and joy to every aspect of…
