The Yoga of Power (Julius Evola)
“The Serpent Power†Redux
[My 3-star Amazon review (NDA) of “The Yoga of Power: Tantra, Shakti, and the Secret Way†by Julius Evola]
This is the third Julius Evola text I have reviewed (see my two-star review of “The Hermetic Traditionâ€and my four-star review of “The Doctrine of Awakeningâ€), and probably the last. For although Evola had contempt for two-dimensional academic treatises, his own texts are quasi-academic, and do not reflect the gnosis of a mystic who “cracked the cosmic code.†Those who haven’t grokked the esoteric Perennial Philosophy might appreciate the writings of Evola and others of his ilk (such as Alain Danielou, Mircea Eliade, Rene Guenon, Frithjof Schuon, et al), but those who have will find them lacking in many ways (which is not to say they aren’t worth reading, and that one can’t learn from them). But the sad truth is that not as single big-name intellectual in the spiritual field satisfactorily explicates the deeper dimensions of the Awakening project. Evola deserves credit for attempting to consider various spiritual traditions on an esoteric level, but as soon as he moves from a basic academic-type comparison of the metaphysical principles of different spiritual systems (especially Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras, Shankara’s Advaita Vedanta, and Tantra Dharma) into a more demanding analysis of the yogic practices and experiences themselves, he reveals his limitations as a spiritual exegete.
A big problem with this text is that much of its material derives from (or reflects the views of) Arthur Avalon’s texts “Shakti and Shakta†(see my three-star review) and “The Serpent Power†(see my two-star review), and not surprisingly, Evola corresponded with Avalon. The bottom line is that Avalon and Evola only consider the lower, or ascending “spinal-column,†Kundalini, and are ignorant of the higher, or descending “frontal-line,†Kundalini, which is experienced via Shaktipat, the descent of Divine Power (which ultimately culminates in the union of Shakti and Siva in the spiritual Heart-center, and not the Crown, or Sahasrara, as Avalon and Evola have it.
Evola does a satisfactory job explaining the philosophical differences among Tantra Dharma, Shankara’s Advaita Vedanta, and Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras, but, again, when he attempts to explain the yogic, or “inner,†aspects of these systems, the results are unsatisfactory. For example, his descriptions of the samadhis in the Yoga Sutras are unwieldy, and even contradictory. For instance, he writes that “’Bhava’ corresponds to the ‘formless’ or ‘causal’ plane (arupa, karana), but then he tells us, “The lower form of samadhi (or bhava’s samadhi) is one in which the concept and its name still subsist.†This is a direct contradiction. Moreover, the correct name for this lower samadhi with form is savikalpa (oe samprajnata) samadhi, not bhava samadhi, which can pertain to both lower (with form) and higher (formless) states of engrossment that are characterized by the experience of ecstatic bliss.
Evola ventures into Tibetan yoga in this text, and again he displays his ignorance, this time regarding the practice of thodgal (togal), Clear Light contemplation. He describes various visualization practices of Tibetan letters, flowers, and symbols, but these practices do not pertain to thodgal. Rather, they are preliminary tantric exercises. Thodgal (togal) means “leap-over,†which means the yogi, rather than having to practice trekcho (cutting through spiritual materialism to get to Spirit, the Clear-Light continuum), directly and immediately connects to and channels Clear-Light Energy, the Shakti, or Sambhogakaya.
This is a heavy academic-type text that those unfamiliar with yoga philosophy and Sankrit yoga terms will find rough sledding. And while newbies will be challenged by the material, spiritual experts will cringe at parts of the book. Hence, it’s a work best suited for those who fall somwhere in between these two extremes. Apart from its philosophic flaws, the book is very well written, translated, and edited, so I prefer it to Avalon’s “The Serpent Power.†And because it is replete with exoteric esoteric information that will educate non-expert readers on Tantra Dharma, despite its flaws, I still consider it a worthwhile read for many students of the Yoga tradition.
[My 3-star Amazon review (NDA) of “The Yoga of Power: Tantra, Shakti, and the Secret Way†by Julius Evola]
This is the third Julius Evola text I have reviewed (see my two-star review of “The Hermetic Traditionâ€and my four-star review of “The Doctrine of Awakeningâ€), and probably the last. For although Evola had contempt for two-dimensional academic treatises, his own texts are quasi-academic, and do not reflect the gnosis of a mystic who “cracked the cosmic code.†Those who haven’t grokked the esoteric Perennial Philosophy might appreciate the writings of Evola and others of his ilk (such as Alain Danielou, Mircea Eliade, Rene Guenon, Frithjof Schuon, et al), but those who have will find them lacking in many ways (which is not to say they aren’t worth reading, and that one can’t learn from them). But the sad truth is that not as single big-name intellectual in the spiritual field satisfactorily explicates the deeper dimensions of the Awakening project. Evola deserves credit for attempting to consider various spiritual traditions on an esoteric level, but as soon as he moves from a basic academic-type comparison of the metaphysical principles of different spiritual systems (especially Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras, Shankara’s Advaita Vedanta, and Tantra Dharma) into a more demanding analysis of the yogic practices and experiences themselves, he reveals his limitations as a spiritual exegete.
A big problem with this text is that much of its material derives from (or reflects the views of) Arthur Avalon’s texts “Shakti and Shakta†(see my three-star review) and “The Serpent Power†(see my two-star review), and not surprisingly, Evola corresponded with Avalon. The bottom line is that Avalon and Evola only consider the lower, or ascending “spinal-column,†Kundalini, and are ignorant of the higher, or descending “frontal-line,†Kundalini, which is experienced via Shaktipat, the descent of Divine Power (which ultimately culminates in the union of Shakti and Siva in the spiritual Heart-center, and not the Crown, or Sahasrara, as Avalon and Evola have it.
Evola does a satisfactory job explaining the philosophical differences among Tantra Dharma, Shankara’s Advaita Vedanta, and Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras, but, again, when he attempts to explain the yogic, or “inner,†aspects of these systems, the results are unsatisfactory. For example, his descriptions of the samadhis in the Yoga Sutras are unwieldy, and even contradictory. For instance, he writes that “’Bhava’ corresponds to the ‘formless’ or ‘causal’ plane (arupa, karana), but then he tells us, “The lower form of samadhi (or bhava’s samadhi) is one in which the concept and its name still subsist.†This is a direct contradiction. Moreover, the correct name for this lower samadhi with form is savikalpa (oe samprajnata) samadhi, not bhava samadhi, which can pertain to both lower (with form) and higher (formless) states of engrossment that are characterized by the experience of ecstatic bliss.
Evola ventures into Tibetan yoga in this text, and again he displays his ignorance, this time regarding the practice of thodgal (togal), Clear Light contemplation. He describes various visualization practices of Tibetan letters, flowers, and symbols, but these practices do not pertain to thodgal. Rather, they are preliminary tantric exercises. Thodgal (togal) means “leap-over,†which means the yogi, rather than having to practice trekcho (cutting through spiritual materialism to get to Spirit, the Clear-Light continuum), directly and immediately connects to and channels Clear-Light Energy, the Shakti, or Sambhogakaya.
This is a heavy academic-type text that those unfamiliar with yoga philosophy and Sankrit yoga terms will find rough sledding. And while newbies will be challenged by the material, spiritual experts will cringe at parts of the book. Hence, it’s a work best suited for those who fall somwhere in between these two extremes. Apart from its philosophic flaws, the book is very well written, translated, and edited, so I prefer it to Avalon’s “The Serpent Power.†And because it is replete with exoteric esoteric information that will educate non-expert readers on Tantra Dharma, despite its flaws, I still consider it a worthwhile read for many students of the Yoga tradition.
