Bibliograph

Aleister Crowley in India, the secret influence of Eastern mysticism on magic and the occult, Tobias Churton

Type

Label

Aleister Crowley in India, the secret influence of Eastern mysticism on magic and the occult, Tobias Churton

Language

eng

Bibliography note

Includes bibliographical references and index

resource.biographical

individual biography

Illustrations

photographs

Index

index present

Literary Form

non fiction

Main title

Aleister Crowley in India

Nature of contents

bibliography

Oclc number

1089969003

Responsibility statement

Tobias Churton

Sub title

the secret influence of Eastern mysticism on magic and the occult

Summary

"Early in life, Aleister Crowleys dissociation from fundamentalist Christianity led him toward esoteric and magical spirituality. In 1901, he made the first of three voyages to the Indian subcontinent, searching for deeper knowledge and experience. His religious and magical system, Thelema, shows clear influence of his thorough experimental absorption in Indian mystical practices.Sharing excerpts from Crowleys unpublished diaries, Tobias Churton tells the true story of Crowleys adventures in India from 1901 to 1906, culminating in his first experience of the supreme trance of jnana (gnostic) yoga, Samadhi: divine union. Churton shows how Vedantist and Advaitist philosophies, Hindu religious practices, yoga, and Mahayana and Theravada Buddhism informed Crowleys spiritual system and reveals how he built on Madame Blavatsky and Henry Steel Olcotts prior work in India. Churton illuminates links between these beliefs and ancient Gnostic systems and shows how they informed the O.T.O. system through Franz Hartmann and Theodor Reuss.Churton explores Crowleys early breakthrough in consciousness research with a Dhyana trance in Sri Lanka, becoming a devotee of Shiva and Bhavani, fierce avatar of the goddess Parvati. Recounting Crowleys travels to the temples of Madurai, Anuradhapura, and Benares, Churton looks at the gurus of yoga and astrology Crowley met, while revealing his adventures with British architect, Edward Thornton. Churton also details Crowleys mountaineering feats in India, including the record-breaking attempt on Chogo Ri (K2) in 1902 and the Kangchenjunga disaster of 1905.Revealing how Crowley incorporated what he learned in India into his own school of Magick, including an extensive look at his theory of correspondences, the symbology of 777, and the Thelemic synthesis, Churton sheds light on one of the most profoundly mystical periods in Crowleys life as well as how it influenced the larger occult world." -- Amazon.com

Creator