The Alchemical Body: Siddha Traditions in Medieval India

by David Gordon White

The Alchemical Body excavates and centers within its Indian context the lost tradition of the medieval Siddhas.

Working from a body of 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 only be understood 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.

About the Author:

David Gordon White is associate professor of religious studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara. He is the author of Myths of the Dog-Man, also published by the University of Chicago Press.

Reviews:

"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