History of Chemistry in Ancient and Medieval India, Incorporating the History of Hindu Chemistry by Acharya Prafulla Chandra Ray c31: Book Vi. Initiation into Discipleship
History of Chemistry in Ancient and Medieval India, Incorporating the History of Hindu Chemistry by Acharya Prafulla Chandra Ray c31
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Book Vi. Initiation into Discipleship
c31.1
(This chapter is full of directions for the mystic Tantric rites, after the performance of which the pupil is to be initiated into the secrets of mercurial lore.)
c31.2
The instructor must be wise, experienced, well-versed in chemical processes, devoted to Siva and his consort Parvatī, sober and patient. The pupil should be full of reverence for his teacher, well-behaved, truthful, hard-working, obedient, free from pride and conceit, and strong in faith. 3-7
c31.3
Chemical operations are to be performed under the auspices of a ruler, who is god-fearing, who worships Siva and Parvatī, and whose territory is free from anarchy; and the laboratory, to be erected in the depth of a forest garden, should be spacious, furnished with four doors and adorned with the portraits of the gods 13-15
c31.4
Take a gold-leaf three *niskas* in weight and quicksilver nine *niskas* and rub them with acids for three hours Make the amalgam into a phallus (emblem of Siva, the creative principle) ....the phallus to be worshipped in due form. By the mere sight of the phallus of mercury, the sins accumulated by the killing of 1,000 brahmins and 10,000 cows are redeemed. 19-22
c31.5
The science of mercury was communicated by Siva himself and is to be imparted by the instructor to the disciple according to the prescribed rules with closed eyes. 30
c31.6
The apparatus and implements, as also the ingredients, required for chemical operations, are also to be addressed in prayer... and the names of the twenty-seven alchemists to be invoked 53-61
c31.7
The science of mercury is to be strictly kept a secret ....if it is divulged, its efficacy is gone 70
c31.8
BOOK VII