 Navigation

Candidate’s Introduction Part II: Ancient

Indian Alchemy
by Admin on April 18, 2017 in Candidate’s Introduction, History of Alchemy

Print Friendly, PDF & Email

 

The Vedas: Ancient Indian Philosophy, Yoga,

Alchemy & Magic
 
Ancient Indian alchemy began with the Vedas, developed with yoga and blossomed
into Tantra. India has been a land of diverse ideologies, but the first and principal
manuscripts on Indian religion, the Vedas, have had an effect on every one. The
Indian Vedic hymns were written in the 16th century BCE but are speculated to be
based on ideas prominent 2,500 BCE. The Vedic period lasted from then until about
600 BCE, marking the settlement of the polytheist Aryans from the Caucasus
Mountains of central Asia and their integration with the natives of India.

The Vedas were the literature of the poets, priests and philosophers. According to
tradition, the compiler of the Vedas was the dark-complected sage Vyasa, a figure
introduced in the Mahabharata and still revered to this day. With some Caucasian
influence, the Vedas had much in common with Mediterranean, Celtic and Nordic
cultures. The interest of Indian philosophy in this early period evolved historically in
a natural progression from the complexity of polytheism, to the simplistic duality of
monotheism, and then in the Upanishads on to the cosmic, unknowable oneness of
monism.

Ancient Vedic hymns to the gods declare that in the beginning existence arose from
nonexistence. They describe an unborn, primeval One that existed before heaven
and earth and produced all things. All gods, in fact, are but titles given the One by
the sages. This One is Lord of all things, the unknown god that established eternal
law. Truth, law and justice were represented in many forms, including the god Soma,
a sacred hallucinogenic elixir of immortality drank by the gods and in Vedic ritual.

The Hymn to Purusha, the Cosmic Man, describes the immortal god of life, whose
body was part in heaven and was part the living creatures of the earth. In language
resembling alchemical symbolism, it is written that:

The moon was born from his spirit,

 from his eye was born the sun,

from his mouth Indra (thunderstorm) and Agni (fire),

from his breath Vayu (wind) was born.[1]

 
The ancient Vedic magicians healed through spells and incantations against evil
spirits and evil magicians, as evidenced in the earliest Vedas. Brahmin priests were the
physicians until the Muslim conquest of India, about the turn of the first
millennium. The Brahmins were adept surgeons and pharmacists, but while their
spiritual anatomy was quite extensive, physical anatomy was lacking.

[1] Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan and Charles A. Moore, A Sourcebook in Indian Philosophy, Princeton University Press,
1989, p. 20.

Early Indian Alchemy

 

There are four Vedas, each of which contains hymns, ritual and sacrificial duties, and
philosophical writings. The Vedas introduced the practice of magic. Also, they set
the foundation of the social order that was to persist to the twenty-first century,
which encourages the aged householder to retire to the forest, and the forest-dweller
to practice meditation.
The oldest Veda is the Rig Veda, ancient hymns about the gods, around which the
later Vedas are based, written as early as 1,500 BCE. The Yajurveda focused on ritual,
the Samaveda expressed scripture as chants, and the Atharvaveda is a collection of
hymns teaching magic, religion and medicine for daily life.

The Atharvaveda, written around the eighth century BCE, contains the first
mention of gold with the magical power of longevity, in the form of a talisman. In the
next century the Satapatha Brahmana describes gold as “fire, light and
immortality.”[1] The fourth century BCE Arthasastra mentions the metal Mercury,
which would later become the focus of Indian alchemy, known as Rasasastra (Rasha
sastra), the “Science of Mercury.”

These first overtly alchemical texts in India began with the legendary second-third
century CE Buddhist alchemist monk Nagarjuna, a patriarch of Chan (Zen)
Buddhism and the founder of Vajrayana. He is alleged to have used an elixir based on
liquid mercury “rasa,” mixed with vegetable and mineral fluids, to transmute base
metals into gold. The Rasa sastra described processes of preparing compounds of
herbs with metals, especially mercury, minerals and other materials. These were used
as medical remedies and tinctures for longevity, becoming part of the Ayurvedic
regimen.

Other Rasa Shastra Texts

The First Meditators: Indian Yoga

[1] Allen G. Debus, Editor, Alchemy and Early Modern Chemistry: Papers from Ambix, Sheppard, H. J., ‘Alchemy,
Origin or Origins?’ Jeremy Mills Publishing for The Society for the History of Alchemy and Chemistry, 2004, pp. 32-
33.

 
 

Rasa & Kanada: The Science of Mercury and

Atomic Theory
 

At the dawn of the first millennium the Shaivite Raseśvara tradition developed a list
of processes upon mercury intended to ultimately make the physical body immortal.
Revering mercury as sacred, the only path to moksha, or spiritual liberation,
adherents would consume it or apply it as oil to the flesh. Unfortunately, it was not
until the twentieth century that the sometimes fatally toxic properties of mercury
were fully understood.

In contrast to this superstition was the first awakening of scientific thinking. The
Indian philosopher Kanada lived between the sixth century and second century BCE.
His philosophy resembled that of the fifth century BCE Greek Natural Philosopher
Democritus. Democritus theorized the cosmos as empty space filled with pure atoms
such as air, water, soil and metals; which could become atomic mixtures like mud and
wood. He is known as the “Father of Modern Science” in the sense that he was the
first to advance a rational, materialist, mechanistic atomic theory of the universe.
However, like Kanada, he based his theory on philosophical musings rather than
empirical evidence.

 Kanada was an atheist and believed that the human being could use logic to
understand the universe through the mental process of subdividing the universe into
its smallest parts, what he called the anu (atom), which is indivisible and eternal. The
self, ‘Atman,’ could attain moksha, or liberation, via this contemplation. Kanada
wrote the Vaisheshika sutras and founded the Vaisheshika school of atomic
naturalism.
From the seventh century operative and speculative alchemy developed together with
hatha yoga and the magical ritual of tantric yoga. Procedures were meant to separate
spirit from matter and produce gold, or immortality, from base materials. The
operations performed on the physical elements were analogous to the processes
within the spiritual body of the alchemist. After the eighth century, the medical term
Rasayana, lengthening the lifespan, was often applied to alchemy.

The tenth century yogi saint Matsyendranātha is said to have been the founder of
hatha yoga, the Kaula tantric school and the Nath lineage of Shaivism. It is from this
tradition that the main body of Rasayana literature emerges. Kaula tantra began as
Shakti worship and progressed with hatha yoga to include meditations on Kundalini
rising up the chakras. The Nath lineage is centered around the Siddha, the ‘wise
man’ or ‘perfected one,’ and is divided into monks and householders.

“Universal Gateway”, Chapter 25 of the Lotus Sutra, text inscribed by Sugawara Mitsushige, Kamakura period, dated
1257, handscroll; Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Buddhist Internal Alchemy: Vajrayana

(From “My Zen” article)

FUTURE LINK: “Part III: MY ZEN, THE BUDDHA AND BUDDHISM”

 

Vajrayana means diamond or thunderbolt tradition, in reference to the vajra, a

weapon of myth used for ritual purposes. Vajrayana was the practice of medieval
wandering yogis in North India, who were influenced by Shaivism and Buddhism.
These ascetics rejected the styles of Buddhism practiced in the monasteries and
developed their own practices and occasional gatherings. Vajrayana is focused upon
symbolism, ritual and magic (like extra-sensory perception). It is also known as
Mantrayana for its use of mantra, or chant.

The origin of Vajrayana is related to the life of the legendary Indian alchemist
Nagarjuna (second – third century CE), the first teacher of void, legendary author of
the Diamond Sutra and the fourteenth patriarch of Chan Buddhism. The Diamond
Sutra, or Vajracchedikā Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra (The Diamond That Cuts Through
Illusions) in Sanskrit, printed in 868 CE, is the oldest known printed book in the
world.[1] It was the inspiration of Hui Neng, one of the early founders of Chan or Zen
Buddhism.

The doctrine of the void interprets “voidness” as a state of mind and being. The void
is wisdom or “prajna,” insofar as the meditator understands that all subjective
experience is empty of objective reality. The absolute, or eternal, is unknown and
unknowable.

[1] Jason Daley, “Five Things to Know About the Diamond Sutra, the World’s Oldest Dated Printed Book,”
Smithsonian.com, 11 May, 2016,  http://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/Five-things-to-know-about-diamond-
sutra-worlds-oldest-dated-printed-book-180959052/

 
 Prajnaparamita, Buddhist Goddess of
Transcendental Wisdom, Java, Indonesia

Vajrayana Alchemy
 

Vajrayana is a form of inner alchemy. Nagarjuna is said to have transformed base

objects into gold at his monastery, an allegory of the inner alchemist’s
transformation of base existence into enlightenment using the methods of
Vajrayana. Tantric techniques fall under the categories of yoga (psycho-physical
exercises), mantra (chant), yantra (magical diagrams), mandala (cosmological art),
mudra (physical gestures) and maithuna (sexual cultivation.) The goal of these
practices is the cultivation of transcendent wisdom, sometimes personified as the
goddess Prajnaparamita.

The Vajrayana is passed directly from guru to initiated disciple and often recorded in
secret manuals called tantras. Tantra means ‘thread’ as in the thread of wisdom
transferred in the teachings. Just as the sutras are the canonical literature of the
Mahayana tradition, the tantra comprise the canon of Vajrayana, otherwise known
as Tantric or Esoteric Buddhism. These traditions are said to have been taught by
Buddha, himself.
The primary tantras are the esoteric Guhyasamaja Tantra (The Tantra of the Secret
Community), the eighth – tenth century Hevajra Tantra (Hevajra is one of the eight
tantric enlightened beings invoked by the yogi), and the Kalachakra Tantra (The
Tantra of the Wheel of Time). Learn more about tantric yoga in this article at Science
Abbey:

There is no science to establish that the chakras or nadis have any basis in physical
 reality, except perhaps the obvious correspondence of the chakras and central nadi
with the spine, and the loose identification of the ajna (third eye) chakra with the
pineal gland. This spiritual anatomy must therefore be assumed to be largely a
mental construct until such time that clinical studies provide evidence otherwise.
While these visualizations and cognitive exercises are certainly of value, it should be
remembered that the ultimate goal remains to practice mindfulness meditation and
cultivate that state of mind called Samadhi, or enlightenment.

About Admin
D. B. Smith is a social entrepreneur and author of the website "Science Abbey." He is a

formerly active 32° Freemason and past officer of a Mystery School lodge in Washington, D. C.

He was previously head librarian and curator at the national Masonic temple known as “the face of American

Freemasonry.” He enjoys training and decades of experience with pedigreed yogic, Daoist and Zen Buddhist

meditation. Today he resides on the island of Java just south of Borneo.

View all posts by Admin →

 Candidate’s Introduction Part I: The Royal Art

Candidate’s Introduction Part III: Chinese Alchemy 

Follow Us
 Website

Privacy
Copyright
Terms & Conditions
Contact

Book of the Royal Art

Select Category

Search

Search...


© 2022 Royal Art Society. All Rights Reserved.

Powered by WordPress. Designed by