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Working with Bengali mentors, especially his close friend A. B. Ghose, Sir John Woodroffe became the pseudonymous orientalist Arthur Avalon, famous for his tantric studies at the beginning of the twentieth century. Best known for The Serpent Power, the book which introduced 'Kundalini Yoga' to the western world, Avalon turned the image of Tantra around, from that of a despised magical and orgiastic cult into a refined philosophy which greatly enhanced the prestige of Hindu thought to later generations of westerners. This biographical study is in two parts. The first focuses on Woodroffe's social identity in Calcutta against the background of colonialism and nationalism - the context in which he 'was' Arthur Avalon. To a very unusual degree for someone with a high position under the empire, Woodroffe the British High Court Judge absorbed the world of the Bengali intellectuals of his time, among whom his popularity was widely attested. His admirers were attracted by his Indian nationalism, to which his tantric studies and supposed learning formed an important adjunct. Woodroffe's friend Ghose, however, was the chief source of the textual knowledge in which the 'orientalist' scholar appeared to be deeply versed. The second part of this study assesses Woodroffe's own relationship to Sanskrit and to the texts, and highlights his very extensive but gifted use of secondary sources and the knowledge of Ghose and other Indian people. It examines the apologetic themes by which he and his collaborators made Tantra first acceptable, then fashionable. Partly because of his mysterious pseudonym, Woodroffe acquired a near legendary status for a time, and remains a fascinating figure. This book is written in a style that should appeal to the general reader as well as to students of Indian religions and early twentieth century Indian history, while being relevant to the ongoing debate about 'orientalism'.
The Buddha's definitive teachings on how we should understand the ground of enlightenment and the nature and qualities of buddhahood. All sentient beings, without exception, have buddha nature—the inherent purity and perfection of the mind, untouched by changing mental states. Thus there is neither any reason for conceit nor self-contempt. This is obscured by veils that are removable and do not touch the inherent purity and perfection of the nature of the mind. The Mahayana Uttaratantra Shastra, one of the “Five Treatises” said to have been dictated to Asanga by the Bodhisattva Maitreya, presents the Buddha’s definitive teachings on how we should understand this ground of enlightenment and clarifies the nature and qualities of buddhahood. This seminal text details with great clarity the view that forms the basis for Vajrayana, and especially Mahamudra, practice.
About the Book The Goddess or Devī is God in Its Mother aspect. Devī, who is existence, consciousness and bliss, is thought of as a female, a male or pure Brahman. This volume Hymns to the Goddess is an endeavour of Sir John Woodroffe (Arthur Avalon) to translate the Sanskrit hymns in praise of the Goddess or Devī, scattered in Tantra and Purāṇa texts, Mahābhārata, and in the hymns of Śaṅkarācārya, who was an incarnation of devotion and a great philosopher, Vālmīki and Indra. After a general introduction, the book starts with a hymn to Kālabhairava, the spouse of Devī, followed by Devī stotras. In these hymns, Devī is praised as Bhairavaī, Bhuvaneśvarī, Ādyakālī, Lakṣmī, Tārā, Mahiṣamardinī, Aṇṇapūrṇā, Sarasvatī, Durgā, Tripurā in Tantra texts; Sarvaviśvajananī, Ambikā, Caṇḍikā, Mahādevī and Jagadambikā in Purāṇas; Durgā, Āryā, Durgā in Mahābhārata; Tripurasundarī, Gaṅgā, Ānanadalaharī, Yamunā, Narmadā and Mahālakṣmī. Hymn to Kālī (Karpūrādi Stotra), another book within the book, is a celebrated Kaula stotra, having commentary on the hymns. It, in addition to mantroddhāradhārā, contains stotras of dhyāna, yantra, sādhanā, madya, māṁsa, maithuna and phala-śruti matters. About the Author Sir John George Woodroffe (1865–1936), also known by pseudonym Arthur Avalon, was a British Orientalist whose work helped to develop in the West a deep and wide interest in Hindu philosophy and yogic practices. A lawyer by profession, he developed parallel interest in Sanskrit, Indian philosophy and religion. Sir Woodroffe wrote or translated more than a dozen books: Introduction to the Tantra Sastra; Tantra of the Great Liberation (Mahanirvana Tantra); Hymns to the Goddess; The Serpent Power; Hymn to Kali: Karpuradi-Stotra; The World as Power; The Garland of Letters; Principles of Tantra (2 vols) and Is India Civilized? Essays on Indian Culture are some of them.
Written by a leading authority on Shaktic and Tantric thought, this book is considered the prime document for study and application of Kundalini yoga. It probes the philosophical and mythological nature of Kundalini; the esoteric anatomy associated with it; the study of mantras; the chakras, or psychic centers in the human body; the associated yoga and much, much more. Two important Tantric documents are included: The Description of the Six Chakras and Five-fold Footstool.
An introduction to Tantric Buddhism.
The present work is a defense of the Tantra, of which Sastra the author is an adherent and a polemic, undertaken in the interests of Hindu orthodoxy in its Sakta and Tantrika form against secularism on the one hand, and on the other the religious eclecticism and various reforming movements, of which, when the book was first written, the Brahmasamaj was a leading type. In fact, in parts the book reads like an orthodox Catholic protest against modernism and is thus interesting as showing how many fundamental principles are common to all orthdox forms of belief, whether of West or of East. The author of the Tantratattva (on which this translation is based)is a well-known Tantrik Pandit, preacher, and secretary of the Sarvamgalasabha of Benares, who knew no English. His work, which is written in Bengali, may therefore be taken to be an accurate popular statement of modern orthodox views on the subject treated by him. The word Tattva is a very comprehensive one, which is by no means always easy to translate. The author has rendered the title of the book as Principles of Tantra, though, may be, it should be Subjects of Tantra. The work deals with chosen topics of Tantra. This, however, also involves a statement of certain fundamental principles which govern Sastrik teaching on the subjects dealt with, and this as well as the contents of possible future volumes must be the justification for giving the book ambitious title.