Alchemy

Esoteric tradition that seeks to transform, transmute, and perfect the
body through the use of various
chemicals, with the ultimate goal of
rendering the body immortal. Both
Hindus and Buddhists have alchemical
schools. The reported difference
between the Buddhist rasayana school
and the Hindu dhatuvada school is
that the latter is solely materially
based, whereas the former stresses
meditation to gain final enlightenment. These two schools agree on
many basic points of alchemy.
Hindu alchemists view the world as
a series of bipolar opposites in tension
with one another, and they are convinced that unifying these opposing
forces brings spiritual progress and
the end of reincarnation (samsara).
Hindu alchemy shares this model of
uniting or transcending opposing
forces with Hindu tantra, an esoteric,
ritually based system of religious practice, and with hatha yoga, which is
based on a series of physical exercises
that are also believed to affect the subtle body. Although all three traditions
share a common assumption, they
prescribe different forms of practice to
effect the final goal: in tantra, ritual; in
hatha yoga, physical exercises; and in
alchemy, physical consumption of various substances.
In the alchemical tradition, the
governing metaphor for this combination of opposites is the union of sun
and moon. In Hindu tradition the sun
and moon are connected to other
opposing principles through an elaborate series of associations. The sun is
identified with heat, drying power,
fire, Shakti, and menstrual blood; the
moon with coolness, healing power,
water, Shiva, and semen. In alchemical practice the two essential chemical
elements are mercury and sulfur—the
former identified with Shiva’s semen
and the latter with Shakti’s uterine
blood. By properly mixing and consuming these elements, the aspirant’s
body is purified and refined, eventually
rendering it immortal. Modern descriptions of this practice invariably warn
that it should only be carried out
under the direction of one’s guru (spiritual teacher), since otherwise these
combinations will be harmful. This
warning is not surprising since mercury is a deadly poison. For further
information see Shashibhushan B.
Dasgupta, Obscure Religious Cults,
1962; and David Gordon White, The
Alchemical Body, 1996.