The Serpent's Tale

This profoundly important and persuasive book at once provides a powerful understanding of Kuṇḍalinī’s multiple forms in the history of South Asian literature and philosophy while complicating and questioning the serpent power’s very nature. -- Joseph S. Alter, author of <i>Yoga in Modern India: The Body between Science and Philosophy</i> Rooted in comparison across many cultures and times and actual human experience, here is Kuṇḍalinī as She winds her way through the world. A stunning tale, really tales, that only Sravana Borkataky-Varma and Anya Foxen could tell. -- Jeffrey J. Kripal, author of <i>Esalen: America and the Religion of No Religion</i> An excellent introduction to Kuṇḍalinī from its origins in South Asia to the twenty-first century. -- Sophie Roell, cofounder and editor of <i>Five Books</i> Borkataky-Varma and Foxen trace Kuṇḍalinī’s transformation across cultures, from sacred tradition to modern commodity. Their writing, at times subtle and at times direct, reveals Kuṇḍalinī not as a concept to grasp but as a force to sense, and perhaps awaken... with caution. -- Elizabeth Rovere, host of the Wonderstruck Podcast A fascinating and nuanced account of Kuṇḍalinī from its tantric and alchemical roots in South Asia to its entanglements with mystics, scientists, colonial forces, and New Age seekers. Blending historical analysis with lived experience, Borkataky-Varma and Foxen examine the ongoing tension between authenticity and simulation, tradition and reinvention. -- Jason Ānanda Josephson Storm, author of <i>Metamodernism: The Future of Theory</i>