Book Review: Aleister Crowley in India
Anyone interested in the passage of South Asian esoteric traditions into Western occultism can’t really ignore the influence of Aleister Crowley. I recently had to re-acquaint myself with Crowley’s work as part of my research for my lecture at Treadwells last year on Yoga and Magic, and just after the lecture, picked up a copy of Tobias Churton’s new book Aleister Crowley in India: The Secret Influence of Eastern Mysticism on Magic and the Occult (Inner Traditions, 2019, Hdbk with dustjacket).
Anyone familiar with Tobias Churton’s other books (i.e. Aleister Crowley in America or Aleister Crowley The Beast in Berlin) will know that he combines thorough research with a bright, breezy, accessible writing style and that unlike some previous chroniclers of Crowley’s career, has more than a little sympathy for the Great Beast. Aleister Crowley in India covers Crowley’s various adventures in South Asia, as well as doing a masterful job of showing how various strands of South Asian esoteric traditions – particularly Yoga and Buddhism – influenced Crowley’s works, both magical and poetic. After a brief introduction sketching out the influence of the Theosophical Society and Crowley’s career in the Golden Dawn, Churton opens with Crowley’s first trip to Colombo in 1901. It is at this point that Crowley’s early practice of Yoga begins, thanks to his friendship with Alan Bennet. Drawing on both published and unpublished diaries, Churton methodically explores Crowley’s yoga experiences and his struggles with unfamiliar practices, his growing enthusiasm for Buddhism, and his seeming desire to shoot at least one example of every animal species on the subcontinent. He also provides thorough accounts of Crowley’s mountaineering expeditions to K2 and the ill-fated Kangchenjunga, as well as the shooting incident in Calcutta, 1905.
Something I found particularly interesting in Aleister Crowley in India is that in this period, the Beast has yet to become “beastly” at least in public, so it is fascinating to read of how famous and (at least outwardly) respectable Crowley is in this period. Churton, for example, reproduces a respectful interview with the twenty-seven-year-old Crowley which appeared on the front page of the Parisian newspaper La Presse. entitled “Retour de L’Himalaya”. 1 Churton also examines Crowley’s stay with the maharaja of Moharbhanj – another hunting expedition – and his seemingly cordial relations with various members of British officialdom.
Also of particular interest to me is Churton’s examination of the work of Śrī Sabhāpati Swāmī (see this post for some related discussion) and its influence on Crowley’s ideas and practices. It is largely thanks to Keith E. Cantú that contemporary interest in Sabhāpati’s 1879 book on Chakras – “Om, a Treatise on Vedantic Raj Yoga Philosophy has arisen. 2
Churton analyses the key components of Sabhāpati’s twelve-chakra schema and notes its similarity to the Kabbalistic Tree of Life. He points out that Sabhāpati refers to kuṇḍalinī as the “Mother” which leads him to draw an analogy between kuṇḍalinī and the Gnostic Sophia – a common enough interpretation, but one which did not immediately strike me when I first read “Om”. There’s more work to be done on Sabhāpati’s writings, so it is good to see Churton bringing them to wider attention.
Chapter 22: “The Coiled Splendour” deals with the knotty issue of whether or not Crowley’s ideas about sexual magick et al came from Tantra. The short answer, of course, is no. Instead, he points the finger at Persian sources accessed by Crowley’s hero, Richard Burton, the writings of Pascal Beverley Randolph, and perhaps a sprinkling of Hargrave Jennings. Along the way, Churton goes into an exploration of the relationship between Crowley, Kenneth Grant and David Curwen, and the “Holy Order of Krishna”. I am pleased to note that I am cited a couple of times in respect of this subject, albeit as a “blogger” (see East meets West: New Thought, Thelema, and The Holy Order of Krishna for related discussion).
All in all, Aleister Crowley in India is a thoroughly engrossing and enjoyable read, featuring a great deal of previously unpublished material – diary extracts, photographs, and even a letter from Crowley’s mum! If you’re at all interested in the Great Beast or the intersection between occidental and oriental occultisms, then this is definitely a must!
2 comments
Dan
Posted May 10th 2020 at 7:43 pm | Permalink
Good review Phil. It made me think I’d like to read that which is rare for a new book on Crowley. I’ve always been fascinated by his yoga and meditation experiences. He attributes so much to them but they seem downplayed, I imagine this is because the practices as he describes them, are so difficult and off putting.
William
Posted May 12th 2020 at 6:20 pm | Permalink
Thanks Phil. Your positive review has moved Churton’s text higher on my list, as I respect your expertise and experience in the field.