Shamanism and Tantra in the Himalayas
by Claudia Muller-Ebeling, Christian Ratsch, Surendra Bahadur Shahi

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Book Reviews of Shamanism and Tantra in the Himalayas

Book Review: A treasure
Summary: 5 Stars

If you are looking for an academic treatise on the subject of shamanism, Archaic Techniques of Ecstasy by Mircea Eliade is a good choice-his range of sources is extraordinary, and he explores shamanism wherever it is found, Amazon as well as Himalayas, Indonesia and Australasia as well as Siberia.His book is considered to be THE book on shamanism. But-and this is a big but-he never actually encountered a real-live, breathing, practising shaman.The authors of this book,on the other hand, have spent many years in the field and have, as I've mentioned already, witnessed many shamanic ceremonies AND the day-to-day life of several Nepalese shamans(women as well as men, by the way.)They have seen how shamans often work side-by-side with conventional Western-trained doctors in Kathmandu's hospitals.And they are wary, rightly so, of the current trend in some New Age circles that promotes shamanism-and tantra,come to that-as some pleasant, feel-good activity -it is hard work, and some of it is not very pleasant-being dismembered, for example, or smeared with blood, or sitting on a Himalayan summit all night getting rather cold !

I can't praise this book enough.It is well-researched, well-written, beautiful and wise. My thanks and respect to everyone involved.

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