Indian alchemy

Background The classical alchemical tradition consistently attributed to the perfected Philosopher's Stone a property known as the Multiplicatio-the capacity to improve itself through each successive cycle of application, becoming progressively more potent with every iteration of the Great Work. This property was documented across the alchemical literature from the earliest Arabic practitioners through Paracelsus and the Renaissance natural philosophers without ever receiving a mechanistic explanation. The tradition observed the phenomenon and encoded it; the mechanism remained unresolved.

This paper investigates a rather unexpected connection between the alchemy of vermilion, mercury sulphide (HgS), and the primary red highlighted in a colour theory that emerged in the late fifteenth century: trichromacy of colour mixtures. Some early supporters of trichromacy indeed identified the hue of vermilion as the ideal simple red they discussed in their books. The colours observed during the manufacturing of this pigment led to the alchemical colour sequence described in texts and images about the sulphur-mercury theory, and they are in some recipes the same primary colours of trichromatists. This paper also shows that the era of vermilion lasted until the late eighteenth century, when vermilion was finally rejected by other trichromatists.

If you are a fool, you can go after them. But people who are intelligent, by the twenty-eighth year enter another door. They become more interested in security and comfort, less in adventure and ambition. They start settling. The twenty-eighth year is the end of hippiedom. At twenty-eight, hippies become squares, revolutionaries are no longer revolutionaries; they start settling, they seek a comfortable life, a little bank balance. They don't want to be Rockefellers; finished, that urge is no longer there. They want a small house, but established, a cozy place to live in, security -so at least this much they can always have; a small bank balance. They go to the insurance company nearabout the age of twenty-eight. They start settling. Now the vagabond is no longer the vagabond. He purchases a house, starts living…he becomes civilized. The word civilization comes from the word civis, citizen. Now he becomes part of a town, a city, an establishment. He is no longer a vagabond, a wanderer. Now he is not going to Kathmandu and Goa. He is not going anywhere -finished, traveled enough, known enough; now he wants to settle and rest a little. By the thirty-fifth year, life energy reaches its omega point. The circle is half complete and energies start declining. Now the man is not only interested in security and comfort, he becomes a Tory, orthodox. He becomes not only disinterested in revolution, he becomes an antirevolutionary. Now he is against all change. He is a conformist. He is against all revolution; he wants the status quo because now he has settled and if anything changes, the whole thing will unsettle. Now he is talking against hippies, against rebels; now he has become really a part of the establishment. And this is natural. Unless something goes wrong, a man is not going to remain a hippie forever. That was a phase, good to pass through, but bad to be stuck in. That means you remain stuck at a certain stage. It was good to be homosexual between seven and fourteen, but if one remains homosexual for his whole life, that means he has not grown up, he is not adult. A woman has to be contacted, that is part of life. The other sex has to become important because only then will you be able to know the harmony of the opposites, the conflict, the misery, and the ecstasy: agony and ecstasy both. That is a training, a necessary training. By the thirty-fifth year, one has become part of the conventional world. One starts believing in tradition, in the past, in the Vedas, the Koran, The Bible. One is absolutely against change because every change means your own life will be disturbed; now you have much to lose. You cannot be for revolution -you want to protect… One is for the law and the courts and the government. One is no longer an anarchist; one is all for the government, rules, regulations,

The sulfate pathway is not a technique. It is an atmosphere. Sulfate is not reactive. It is a mediator between the fixed and the volatile. The operation does not seek a result. It seeks revelation. Laboratory preparation Physical conditions • Enclosed space, free from electromagnetic interference • East-west orientation, with natural light • Unvarnished wooden work table • Earthenware, blown glass, and unglazed ceramic containers • Live plant life (a consecrated plant) atmospheric conditions • Activation of the space with a lit white candle 30 minutes beforehand • Functional silence throughout the operation • Optional vibrational music: monochord, singing bowl, wordless voice • Manual recording in a consecrated notebook, without digital devices Internal conditions of the operator • Gentle fasting from the previous night (water, herbal tea)

This research presents a groundbreaking approach combining Ayurvedic Rasashastra with modern nanotechnology for Mercury-Gold Nanoparticle (Hg-Au NP) synthesis and cancer therapy. The study deciphers classical Sanskrit alchemical methods, aligns them with modern spectroscopic validation, and proposes a structured process to detoxify mercury while enhancing the biomedical potential of gold nanoparticles. Our findings suggest that Samskara purification techniques align with modern toxicology, and Hg-Au NPs can enhance photothermal cancer therapy. The proposed method, if validated, offers a scalable, cost-effective alternative to conventional gold-based nanomedicine.

The notion of rejuvenation occurs throughout the Sanskrit corpus in works of āyurveda, yoga, tantra, rasaśāstra (alchemy), each time with a slightly different but related meaning. Within āyurvedic practice, rasāyana refers to rejuvenative practices using various organic materials. How that rejuvenation manifests relies on the nuance of tradition. In the āyurvedic tradition, rasāyana refers to one of the eight subjects of medical specialization. Here rasāyana is vitalization therapy, focused on prolonging one’s life, rejuvenation, anti-aging, and the advancement and preservation of health. These aims are achieved through medical formulations and substances and these therapies are also called rasāyanas (tonics). In the seventh century CE mercury first appeared as a rasāyana ingredient in the Aṣṭāngahṛdayasaṃhitā. By the eleventh century, mercury was commonly found within medical rasāyana therapies. However, rasaśāstra (alchemical) literary works contain chapters on rasāyana therapies within the larger context of iatrochemical procedures and mercury was rarely the central ingredient in these tonics and elixirs. Therefore, rasāyana should not be considered a catch-all term for alchemy. Patañjali’s late-4th- or early-5th-century CE Yogaśāstra and later works on yoga also mention rasāyana formulations, referencing āyurvedic literature though the taking of herbs and medical preparations played only a small role in early yoga practices. Instead, Patañjali and others note rasāyanas are available in the cosmos and the world, where they offer one the ability to overcome old age, death, and attain supernatural powers. The herbs of yogic rasāyana are most often soma and Indian gooseberry (āmalaka).

Scientific writers accept that Chemistry as a subject, in the modern connotanation, developed only in the 17th century after Robert Boyle (1627-1691 CE) . The dubbing of medieval chemistry as alchemy or magic and the ancient chemistry as occultism, divination or sorcery without analyzing the prevailed subject matter supported by literary and archaeological evidence has led to the utter disregard of the valuable contribution of the ancients. Indian chemistry is plagued by the western spin, in spite of the attempts made by Prafullah Chandra Ray. While the significance of the ancient Indian chemistry designated as ritualism, magic and myth, the medieval chemistry is dishonoured as alchemy, the pseudoscience. Note the very medieval is used only to disparage the well-developed eastern natural philosophy compared to non-developed society. The western conceptual implication of the expression "from alchemy to chemistry" is the progress occurred in the field, whereas, the expression "from Rasayana to Rasavada" implies exactly the opposite - retrogression, recession and decline. In spite of external aggression and internal restrictions imposed during the alien rules, the traditional chemistry in all fields thrived, occupied and continued for development in all fields. This is proved in the food habits, mode of dress, hygienic methods, agricultural system, nature based health procedure, religious rituals and so on even today. That is why progressive and advanced nations want to patent turmeric, neem and so on with all their advanced chemical formulae, products and technology. Therefore, Indian chemical methods should be properly studied, analyzed and applied immediately.

This paper offers some observations on the history and development of Siddha medicine in Tamilnadu from the point of view of a scholar of Indian medicine, whose special focus has been the Sanskrit medical tradition. Contrary to popular belief, this paper offers that opinion that the basic principles and many of the practices now employed in Siddha medicine result from a combination of indigenous medical practices along with theoretical and practical elements derived primarily from A yurveda and also perhaps from the Arabic based Unani – medicine. Although much more serious research is required, this study is based on a sound assessment of the available secondary sources on Siddha medicine and its history.

Once upon a time the devil was looking for the most effective weapon against God. The first demon proposed to tell people that there is no God. Another said it's better to tell them there is no soul. The third proposal was the one the devil accepted: people should be told there is no rush. Our biggest opponent in the metamodernistic age of overabundant information is procrastination. Schopenhauer said that our existence moves like a pendulum between suffering and boredom, and we are, at the same time, tortured souls and devils to one another. A visual metaphor of this is evident in the shackled humanoid figures at the bottom of the Devil tarot card. They are discouraged and in no hurry. Above them is their master the Devil, the embodiment of vanity, ambition, and power. The card represents the diabolical extremes of our ego. All or nothing.

Уайт Д. Г. Алхимическое тело: традиция сиддхов в средневековой Индии / Пер. с англ. В. В. Каткова. — СПб.: Издательство «АИК», 2024 —744 с. — (Серия «Eastern Esotericism»). ISBN 978-5-94396-283-7

ТОЛЬКО ОЗНАКОМИТЕЛЬНЫЙ ФРАГМЕНТ, электронная версия не распространяется.
Начиная с V века нашей эры, различные индийские мистики начали изобретать целый ряд техник, с помощью которых можно было сделать себя бессмертными. Эти люди называли себя сиддхами — термин, ранее использовавшийся для класса полубогов небожителей, почитаемых как индуистами, так и буддистами. В течение следующих веков возникли три типа индуистских сиддхов, каждый из которых имел свою собственную специализированную практику: эротическую, минеральную, йогическую. Для средневековых сиддхов Индии эти три типа практики непосредственно вели к телесному бессмертию, сверхъестественным способностям и самообожествлению; к статусу полубожественных сиддхов старых культов. В «Алхимическом теле» Дэвид Гордон Уайт рассматривает в более широком индийском контексте эту утраченную традицию средневековых сиддхов. Работая основана на ранее неисследованных алхимических источниках. Автор впервые демонстрирует, что средневековые дисциплины индуистской алхимии и хатха-йоги практиковались одними и теми же людьми и что их можно понять только при совместном рассмотрении. Сексуальные жидкости человека и структуры тонкого тела являются микрокосмическими эквивалентами веществ и приспособлений, которыми манипулирует алхимик в своей лаборатории. Благодаря этому Уайт открывает путь к новому и более полному пониманию всего спектра средневекового индийского мистицизма в более широком контексте южноазиатского индуизма, буддизма, джайнизма и ислама. Эта книга является важным справочником для всех, кто интересуется индийской йогой, алхимией и зарождением средневековой науки.

Five medieval Sanskrit-language descriptions of a fabulous technique for extracting mercury from the “wells” in which it naturally resides are shown to be remarkably similar to accounts preserved in Chinese and Syriac. Whereas the Sanskrit and Chinese versions date from no earlier than the thirteenth century C.E., the Syriac version dates from no later than the tenth century. The present article first compares and contrasts these three alchemical narratives, and then suggests that all three are perhaps related to a broader and far more ancient Indo-European mythic tradition of a deity associated with the phenomenon of “Fire in Water,” as attested in Vedic, Avestan, Roman, Irish, and Greek sources. All eight of these witnesses appear to attest to ancient religious and scientific traditions relative to geothermal phenomena.

The Ma‘dan al-šifā’-i Sikandar-šāhī is an extensive Persian handbook of Ayurvedic medicine made for Miyān Bhuwa ibn Ḫawāṣṣ Ḫān, a vizir of Sultan Sikandar Lōdī (r. 1489-1517) to whom the book was dedicated. This treatise was thought to provide Indian Muslim physicians, unfamiliar with Sanskrit, with a comprehensive manual of Ayurvedic medicine and therapy. Miyān Bhuwa allocated considerable resources to achieving this translation project and hired scholars to translate the many parts of Ayurvedic books used to compile the Persian text. This article explores the reasons behind the production of the Ma‘dan al-šifā’ and proposes a new reading of this book. It argues that Miyān Bhuwa’s project was part of a broader process of incorporation of Ayurvedic materials within Persian texts which had already started about two centuries earlier and which allowed Muslim physicians to master new forms of interpretation, classification and treatment of diseases when compared with earlier Arabic and Persian medical books. It looks at the epistemic and the practical issues raised in the preface of the Ma‘dan al-šifā’, which directly questions the adequacy of how Greco-Arabic thought understood body temperament in the Indian environment. It inquires into the authorship of this Persian Ayurvedic handbook and suggests that probably Miyān Bhuwa only assembled the translations made from Sanskrit texts. The last part of the article looks at the conceptual structure of the Ma‘dan al-šifā’ and how the Sanskrit sources and their models shaped the organization of the sections of the Persian book. Moreover, it suggests that the overall framework of the book relied on the overlap of models of presentation of medical knowledge, a device meant to negotiate between the models of the Sanskrit sources and those of the Muslim readers.