Principles of Tantra (Part- 1 and 2 in Book)

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Sir John Woodroffe, also recognized by the pseudonym Arthur Avalon, was a British Orientalist whose extensive and intricate body of published works on the Tantras and various Hindu traditions played a pivotal role in sparking widespread interest in Hindu philosophy and yoga.

In addition to serving as the Advocate-General of Bengal and holding the position of Legal Member in the Government of India, Woodroffe dedicated himself to the study of Sanskrit and Hindu philosophy. His particular fascination with Hindu Tantra led him to translate around twenty original Sanskrit texts. Writing under the pen name Arthur Avalon, he not only published but also delivered prolific lectures on Indian philosophy, encompassing a broad spectrum of Yoga and Tantra subjects.

Woodroffe's works have gained global popularity, resonating not only with academics and scholars but also with a general audience around the world.

His other works also available from us include "The Serpent Power', 'The Garland of Letters', 'The World as Power', 'The Great Liberation: Mahanirvana Tantra', 'Hymns to the Goddess and Hymn to Kali', 'Principles of Tantra', 'Introduction to Tantra Sastra', 'Sakti and Sakta', 'Is India Civilized: Essays on Indian Culture', and 'Isha Upanishad, Bharata Shakti & The Seed of Race'.

Mediæval "Hinduism" (to use a convenient, if somewhat vague, M term) was, as its successor, modern Indian orthodoxy, is, largely Tantrik. The Tantra was then, as it is now, the great Mantra and Sadhana Sastra (Scripture), and the main, where not the sole, source of some of the most fundamental concepts still prevalent as regards worship, images, initiation, yoga, the supremacy of Guru, and so forth. This, however, does not mean that all the injunctions which are to be found in the Sastra are of universal acceptance, as is pointed out in the Introduction which follows. This Introduction, however, is but a mere sketch of that which I hope to develop in a future volume after the ritual (in its widest sense) has been dealt with in detail. What is, in fact, wanted in this matter is an accurate statement of the facts; whereas up to now such cursory accounts of the Tantra as have appeared are as a rule mere general statements by way of condemnation of it.

This work, by an Indian Pandit, is a presentment, the first of its kind, of the principles of that development of the Vaidika Karmakanda which, under the name of the Tantra Sastra, is the scripture (Sastra) of the Kali age. This Sastra, together with its accompanying oral tradition, is the voluminious source of the greater part of the Hindu ritual, Hathayoga, and the various forms of spiritual training which pass under the generic term "Sadhana." In fact, both popular and esoteric Hinduism is, in its practical aspects, largely Tantrik.