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Sir John Woodroffe (1865–1936), also
known by his pseudonym Arthur Avalon, was a British Orientalist
whose work helped to unleash in the West a deep and wide
interest in Hindu philosophy and Yogic practices.
Early life
Born on December 15, 1865 as the eldest son of James Tisdall
Woodroffe, Advocate-General of Bengal and his wife Florence, he
was educated at Woburn Park School and University College,
Oxford, where he graduated in jurisprudence and the Bachelor of
Civil Law examinations.
In 1890, He moved to India and enrolled as an advocate in
Calcutta High Court. He was soon made a Fellow of the Calcutta
University and appointed Law Professor there. He was appointed
Standing Counsel to the Government of India in 1902 and two
years later was raised to the High Court Bench. After serving
for eighteen years in the bench, he became Chief Justice of the
Calcutta High Court in 1915. After retiring to England he became
Reader in Indian Law at the University of Oxford, and finally
moved to France in his retirement, where he died in 1936.
Alongside his judicial duties he studied Sanskrit and Hindu
philosophy and was especially interested in the esoteric Hindu
Tantric Shakti system. He translated some twenty original
Sanskrit texts, and under his pseudonym Arthur Avalon. He
published and lectured prolifically on Indian philosophy and a
wide range of Yoga and Tantra topics.
His most popular and influential book, a major
contribution to the appreciation of Indian philosophy and
spirituality, is The Serpent Power – The Secrets of Tantric and
Shaktic Yoga (Dover Books), which is the source of many modern
Western adaptions of Kundalini practice.
Bibliography
Other writings (published under his own name, as well as Arthur
Avalon include:
* Shakti and Shakta, ISBN 818598803X.
* Principles of Tantra (2 vols) ISBN 8185988145.
* Kamakalavilasa
* Introduction to the Tantra Ś?stra, ISBN 8185988110.
* Mahanirvana Tantra (Tantra of the Great Liberation), ISBN
0897440234.
* Hymns to the Goddess and Hymn to Kali
* The World as Power, ISBN 1406777064.
* The Garland of Letters. ISBN 8185988129.
* Bharati Shakti: Essays and Addresses on Indian Culture
* India: Culture and Society
* Is India Civilized? Essays on Indian Culture
* The Serpent Power. ISBN 8185988056.
Further reading
* Shakti and Shakta, by John Woodroffe, Published by Forgotten
Books, 1910. ISBN 160620145X.
* Hymn to Kali:Karpuradi Stotra, by Sir John Woodroffe.
Published by Forgotten Books. 1922. ISBN 1606201476.
* Hymns to the Goddess, Translated by John George Woodroffe,
Ellen Elizabeth (Grimson) Woodroffe, Published by Forgotten
Books, 1952 (org 1913). ISBN 1606201468.
* Mahanirvana Tantra, By Arthur Avalon, 1913, Published by
Forgotten Books. ISBN 1606201441.
* Sir John Woodroffe, Tantra And Bengal- An Indian Soul In A
European Body?, by Kathleen Taylor. Routledge, 2001, ISBN
070071345X.
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