Book Review – Aghora Trilogy

You've heard of the idiom 'packs a punch'. This one does exactly that — it packs a real punch. It's a trilogy written by Robert Svabodha, a disciple of the Aghori Vimalananda. This trilogy will shake you up no matter who you are as the science and technology of Aghora is not for the namby-pamby. It's extreme, it's intense, it's sincere — and of course a lot of room for distortion and misrepresentation, which is happening in most of the places in the name of tantra and others.

Swami Vimalananda, so goes the name of an accomplished Aghori who happens to be a normal businessman from the outside but a practicing Aghori from the inside. The author has chosen not to name the real name of Vimalanada for various reasons. This trilogy – At the left hand of God, Kundalini and the law of Karma – is a collection of various aphorisms, stories, and real-life events happened with Aghori Vimalananda. As with any sincere spiritual discipline, Aghora is a subjective science and to be learnt from a guru and cannot be learnt from a book or something. Caution has to be exercised by the readers as the subject matters discussed have a lot of gravity.

At the left hand of god

The first book introduces you to the fundamental aspects of Aghora – Shiva, Shakti, tantra, yantra, mantra and explain the concepts lucidly, faithful to the original Sanskrit words and ideas. I was impressed when I read it for the first time that a westerner had the almost seemingly thorough understanding of some of the ancient terminologies, which is otherwise very alien to a western mind.

Usually, meat, sex, and alcohol are proscribed in most of the spiritual paths considering them as the reasons for the downfall of men. But Aghora uses the same thing as stepping stones for reaching the spiritual pinnacle. This is where the catch is – very few, say one or two out of a hundred will be successful, the rest will end up as addicts or maniacs. It’s like walking on a sword, not for all. The book gives enough warnings on the fake tantriks, gurus and wrong methods and the hazards all these pose.

For me the chapter on Rnanubandhana captivated the most. The effect of Rna, or in simple words debt is explained in a detailed way. Once you enter the realm of Rna, you also enter the realm of Karmas of different kinds, fate, destiny etc. It’s a fascinating set of topics.

Kundalini

As I mentioned in one of my previous blogposts, anyone who has even primary knowhow on Indian spirituality would have a preliminary understanding of Kundalini. Kundalini is dormant energy present in everyone. It is dormant because unless it is evoked by continuous and conscious practice, it would be inaccessible. For a large part of the population, it would be useless because a very few people make a conscious effort of making use of it. It is often compared to sleeping serpent, as meddling with it without required knowledge could be lethal. The nadis and the main chakras and the raising of the Kundalini are explained with details. This book has enough warnings for the uninitiated who may try to test with Kundalini Shakthi.

It starts with the brief introduction to other esoteric schools similar to Aghora — Goddess Sekhmet in Egypt, the goddess Hera in Greece, the Goddess Kapo in Hawaii are similar to that of Goddess Kali in India. This part dwells deeper into various kinds of yantras, design & construction of Homa Kundas (fire pits) and their functionalities.

In terms of information, this book has more than the first installment. It is an excellent, exhaustive and captivating read.

The law of Karma

If you are a fan of horse racing, you would instantaneously fall in love with this installment wherein you can find a great deal of description on anything and everything related to it — from the different breeds of horses to jockeys, the training, betting etc. Vimalananda had a great passion for horse racing as it was briefly introduced in the previous parts.

This part beautifully explores the law of Karma and its effects on us, our inescapability from it, Rnanubandanas et al. Vimalananda explores all these by allegories, theories and live examples. I particularly liked the way in which the law of Karma is covered in all the details. It makes a fascinating read.

Conclusion

This book bursts many myths successfully. It touches the subjects which are considered ‘taboo’ and I won’t be surprised if some people are repulsed by it. It is easily one of the sensational books I have ever read. This has the necessary depth and dimension to be taken as a serious work. I admire the way subject matter – whatever it may be – is treated: raw, unabashed, without any inhibitions.

I know of the rhetoric of the greatness of Indian culture, its spiritual traditions et al. These kinds of works convince me that ‘rhetoric’ is actually true and echoes what Sadhguru once said about India: no other culture has looked into life in such depth as Indian culture has had.

No matter if you are a serious seeker or ‘just curious’, you will find this series interesting. This book is no ‘one-time read’. It’s good to be referenced for a long time. 

Book Review – Indian trilogy of V.S. Naipaul

To understand the Indian trilogy that V.S Naipaul wrote, we need to first understand some background of the author. This may not be true for all the novels or travelogues but it certainly is true for this particular one. His ancestors travelled from India to Trinidad for good – Some three generations ago. This makes him ethnically an Indian but disconnected geographically but somewhat connected through the vestiges of culture and customs that went into Trinidad along with this forbearers. But he is interested in India – not because he loves it or anything of that sort –but he wants to understand his ancestral land from which his grandfather and others migrated centuries ago. This quest of wanting to know led him to travel to India and he stayed in India for years and this trilogy is the fruit of the quest.

An area of Darkness 

The first among the three installments is a deeply depressing account of the author’s first encounter with India where he faces a sense of estrangement – culturally and otherwise. This is quite normal for any westerner who visits India for the first time even today, not to mention how it would have been in the 60s where things were even worse. They will experience a cultural shock, a kind of estrangement which most people cannot handle. India is much beyond that, India is much deeper than that. He concurs in the very introduction that India was never his country and never will be. But he can’t stop caring for it for whatever reason. There is an element of concern, in his observation and analysis.

He describes the squalor, poverty, corruption among other things that the country is mired in an objective way. As mentioned before, this is a depressing account. In the sense, India looks like a static and decayed society (true in a sense, whatever may be the reason) in Naipaul’s portrayal which is beyond any kind of redemption. If anyone doesn’t understand the intent of the author, it’s easy to lump this work among the others which deliberately show India in a bad light. But that’s not the case here.

India: A Wounded Civilization

This is written around the time of emergency, 1975. By his own admission, this is the shortest book he has ever wrote – 161 pages. Here he explores the country which was invaded multiple times and the lasting impact the invaders had and continue to have in the land, the average Indian psyche, the attitude with which Indians face any problem. 

He brings in many contemporary authors and their works to make his case, although he doesn’t take them at their face value, he uses them to penetrate into the Indian mind. Some of the contemporary writers, especially like that of R.K. Narayan have a very good insight into the Indian way of life and have depicted it so very well in their novels. The observation that impressed me was – how some Hindus interpret the philosophy of Karma in a fatalistic sense and use it as a way to escape from performing any action or taking any responsibility. Forget solving the problem, many times they don’t even acknowledge there is one. In comparison, this work is not as pessimistic as the previous one.

India: A Million Mutinies Now

The last in the Indian trilogy is also the longest one (of over 600 pages) and written in the year 1990. He visits the places he had visited 2 decades ago and meets the people he had met then. He sees the changes the country is subjected to in these two decades. He traverses across the country – from West Bengal to Tamil Nadu, meeting all kinds of people – the Naxals, the Dravidianists, the Dalits, the Brahmins, the Shias, the feminists etc. and tries to understand the nation through their own personal experiences, struggles – the result is a riveting story which slowly reveals the nation with its admixture of immense complexities and possibilities.

The past narratives meet the present challenges and dilemmas and how some of them correlate to the progress of India as a nation. Although there is negativity around, there is also a glimmer of hope in this book much unlike the previous works.

Conclusion

Let’s face it – India is an immensely complex country to understand – even for Indians, not to talk about an average Occidental. Naipaul is uniquely placed in this task. He is a Westerner for all practical purposes with long detached cultural root in this ancient land. Naipaul has tried to do this daunting task with his travels across the country, perspicacious observations, numerable interviews and he is successful in building a new narrative from the facts, stories and observations arising out of these. 

There is unabashed precision in his observation but there is also empathy and concern for the people and for the country. Naipaul is recognized in the world as one of the best writers of travelogues and novelists of our times. Reading this work will make you realize why it is so. 

Mind — Incessant Chatterbox

[This was in a draft from a long time. Just thought of redeeming it quickly]

One of my ways of escaping from the incessant chatter of thoughts is to bury myself in some good literature or shove my ears to the headphones and go with the crescendo. 

It seems how hard you may try, some thoughts refuse to go away. The pattern repeats and it goes all circular. There is no point in indulging in it, you know. But alas! you can't stop it. All those descriptions likening the mind to monkey make more sense to you now. I take refuge in music. For a brief time, I seem to be free. If I were an alcoholic, I would have taken refuge in alcohol. It would have calmed me down. Music does no less a job. 

These are but temporary solutions. The more I think about it the more these Buddhas's word makes sense to me - " It is better to conquer yourself than to win a thousand battles. Then the victory is yours. It cannot be taken from you, not by angels or by demons, heaven or hell ". The toughest challenge you face is not someone, it's just yourself. It's perhaps true that if you have managed to successfully handle yourself, you can handle anything in the world.