I’ve just been made aware of what looks to be a real treasure of a book, The Yogis of India:
Originally published in 1938, this book is a fascinating look at the yogis of India at that time, both fakir and fake. “The witty and instructive author of New Guinea Gold has now visited India and has made a careful study of the supposed supernatural powers of the Hindu mystic. M. Demaitre warns the reader that the more picturesque performers are very likely to be in the employment of a travel agency, and that their usual repertoire would disgrace any competent European conjurer. At the same time he admits to having been very thoroughly mystified on several occasions. For the benefit of more serious students there is a sound exposition of the theory and practice of contemplation and the book is illustrated with some enlightening and unusual photographs”…. Contents Include: Letter to a Yogi—River of Torment—The City of Forgotten Dreams—Miracles Under the Microscope—The Awakening of the Serpent Kundalini—In the Shadow of Kali.
Wow!
It must be a real classic of its type.
Was it released at the same time as The autobiography of a yogi?
I am only just beginning to learn about kundalini.
Any rope tricks and thing like that?
Dear Geoff.
Thanks alot for your most excellent books and writings on Mysticism, and how you have analysed and questioned its truth value and its ethics. From a former Buddhist and a deeply spiritual person I appreciate your immense research and effort into this area which I think doesent quite get the same amount of skepticism and debunking as the usual three Abrahamic religions. I wish you well in your continuing efforts and in the general unadorned search for the basic truth of whats going on here. Oh yeah and thanks for going head to head with Ken Wilber, he’s no slouch and he seems to give this area alot of intellectual clout, so he is an important figure in all of this.
I hope this book you have found sheds some important light on this area aswell and I hope it helps with your new book, which I eagerly anticipate.
Thanks,
Tom Wells.
Thanks alot for the encouragement, Tom!
I finally read the Yogis of India book itself this past week, and was rather unimpressed with it. I’ll get around to blogging the reasons for that here, sometime.