David Gordon White Reihenfolge der Bücher

The rise, fall, and modern resurgence of an enigmatic book revered by yoga enthusiasts around the world Consisting of fewer than two hundred verses written in an obscure if not impenetrable language and style, Patanjali's Yoga Sutra is today extolled by the yoga establishment as a perennial classic and guide to yoga practice. As David Gordon White demonstrates in this groundbreaking study, both of these assumptions are incorrect. Virtually forgotten in India for hundreds of years and maligned when it was first discovered in the West, the Yoga Sutra has been elevated to its present iconic status--and translated into more than forty languages--only in the course of the past forty years. White retraces the strange and circuitous journey of this confounding work from its ancient origins down through its heyday in the seventh through eleventh centuries, its gradual fall into obscurity, and its modern resurgence since the nineteenth century. First introduced to the West by the British Orientalist Henry Thomas Colebrooke, the Yoga Sutra was revived largely in Europe and America, and predominantly in English. White brings to life the improbable cast of characters whose interpretations--and misappropriations--of the Yoga Sutra led to its revered place in popular culture today. Tracing the remarkable trajectory of this enigmatic work, White's exhaustively researched book also demonstrates why the yoga of India's past bears little resemblance to the yoga practiced today.

For those curious about the true nature of Tantric practices compared to the "Tantric sex" popularized in the West, David Gordon White provides a clear distinction: there is no relation. He dispels centuries of misconceptions by revisiting original texts, images, and rituals to trace the history of South Asian Tantra from the medieval era to today. The focus is on the unique aspect of South Asian Tantra—sexualized ritual practices, particularly within the medieval Kaula rites. These rituals involved the exchange of transformative sexual fluids between male practitioners and wild female spirits known as Yoginis. By "drinking" these fluids, men could join the supreme godhead, gaining supernatural powers and transforming into deities. White emphasizes that these sexual rituals were central to the religious, social, and political fabric of precolonial life, suggesting that Tantra was mainstream and continues to influence contemporary Hinduism, despite reformist views that marginalize it. The work includes White's translations of over a dozen Tantras previously unavailable in any European language, making it an essential resource for those seeking to understand the significant role of Tantra in South Asian history, society, culture, and religion.

In the introduction, David White outlines Tantra as an Asian body of beliefs and practices aimed at channeling divine energy in creative, liberating ways. The book showcases a wide geographical and temporal range by examining thirty-six texts from China, India, Japan, Nepal, and Tibet, spanning from the seventh century to the present. These texts represent diverse Tantric experiences, including Buddhist, Hindu, Jain, and Islamic traditions. Each text is chosen and translated, often for the first time, by an international expert who provides detailed background material, making it rich and informative for students of Asian religions and general readers alike. The collection features an array of formats, including plays, interviews, poetry, parodies, inscriptions, instructional texts, scriptures, philosophical reflections, dreams, and astronomical speculations. For example, a nineteenth-century Indian Buddhist song warns against the illusion of appearance, while fourteenth-century Chinese manuscripts describe rituals for prosperity through the Seven Stars. A modern Hindu priest shares insights on serving the black Goddess Kali, and a seventeenth-century Nepalese praise-poem seeks the goddess's forgiveness. Each text is accompanied by an introduction that contextualizes its period, genre, history, and significance. This groundbreaking compilation expands our understanding of Tantric practices and continues the Princeton Readings