Continuing his in depth examinations of Aleister Crowley’s travels, Tobias Churton turns his attention to Crowley’s travels in India. Like his earlier works The Beast In Berlin and Aleister Crowley In America, Churton draws on extensive research and includes previously unpublished excerpts from Crowley’s journals made during his travels.
Crowley first traveled to India in 1901. Between then and 1906, he made three sojourns to the Indian subcontinent. In great detail, Churton tells the stories of these travels. It was on these travels that Crowley encountered Vedantist and Advaitist philosophies, Hindu practices, yoga, as well as Mahayana and Therevadan Buddhism.
Churton explores Crowley’s breakthroughs in consciousness research with Dhyana trance in Sri Lanka. He became a devotee of Chiva and Bhavani. He visited the temples of Madurai, Anuradhapura, and Benares. Churton provides detailed analysis of the various gurus of yoga and astrology that Crowley met during his travels.
Also covered are Crowley’s mountaineering. Churton includes details of the record setting attempt to climb K2 in 1902 and the disastrous attempt at Kanhchenjunga in 1905.
In addition to the fascinating details of Crowley’s travels, Churton provides analysis of how these travels and how the people and philosophies he encountered influenced his later religious views.
Kleister Crowley in India
The Secret Influence of Eastern Mysticism on Magic and the Occult
Tobias Churton
Inner Traditions, 2019