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view of the options and disingenuous in its use of the facts, it will satisfy very few
on the Left or the Right who want a balanced discussion of the religious or ethi-
cal issues involved.
doi:10.1093/jaarel/lfj074 Kevin Schilbrack
Advance Access publication April 12, 2006 Wesleyan College

Kiss of the Yogini: “Tantric Sex” in its South Asian Contexts. By David
Gordon White. University of Chicago Press, 2003. 391 pages. $43.00.

David Gordon White has established himself as one of the foremost authori-
ties on the practices of yoga and tantra in South Asia, and his most recent work,
Kiss of the Yogini: “Tantric Sex” in its South Asian Contexts, only further solidifies
his stature in the field. It might be argued more broadly that White’s scholarship
on yoga and tantra in this work and in his previous work The Alchemical Body:
Siddha Traditions in Medieval India demonstrates the continuing viability and
utility of the History of Religions approach to the study of religion in South Asia.
Kiss of the Yogini is a treasure trove of historical, textual, and interpretive argu-
ments that is dizzying in its depth and scope. The compelling central argument
of the text—that tantric sexuality in its origins is a complex ritual system of
exchange of “power substances” (sexual fluids) and is quite distinct from more
recent Hindu modernist, Orientalist, and New Age appropriations—is only one
among a number of groundbreaking insights into the nature of tantrism offered
in the work. It serves well what White perceives as an overarching goal of his aca-
demic work, demonstrating how tantra is a dominant, but often misrepresented,
cultural force in the formation of Hindu religious practice and identity. He sup-
ports this assertion through incisive historical study and a brilliantly systematic
examination of key textual traditions within the scope of tantra in a manner that
might be favorably compared to the use of thick description in anthropology,
while simultaneously negotiating the often murky waters of postcolonial thought.
The foundation of White’s argument is the assertion that prior to nineteenth-
and twentieth-century modernist movements in Hinduism, the predominant
foundation for popular Hinduism was ritualism (tantra), as opposed to devo-
tionalism (bhakti), which has become the hallmark of Hindu modernism
(Brahma3ical traditions focused on the worship of male divinities). White
argues that “postreformation” mainstream Hindu exponents are “possessed of . . .
selective amnesia concerning both their own past and the multiplicity of prac-
tices that currently surround them” (7), echoing in some respects Agehananda
Bharati’s earlier assertions that Hindu modernism is “puritanical” in nature, dis-
avowing its own not-so puritanical past. Important as well in White’s argument
is the notion that tantric ritualism itself has been interpreted in a number of
divergent ways, both within and outside of Indian tradition. Of particular
import throughout the work is the argument that the metaphorical interpreta-
tion of tantric actions of a transgressive nature obscures the original intentions
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544 Journal of the American Academy of Religion

of their formulators. In this respect, White argues, analogies can be drawn

between the high-caste “repackaging” of tantric ritualism in Abhinavagupta and
the manner in which proponents of New Age tantra in Europe and America have
appropriated its nomenclature and advertised it to a wealthy clientele (xii). The
basic logic of Kaula tantric sexuality, in contrast, is the “feeding” of hungry clan
(kula) deities, notably a class of fearsome female goddesses termed “Yoginis,”
sexual fluids in exchange for worldly powers (siddhi), bodily immortality (jivan-
mukti), and enjoyment of those conditions (bhukti) (10). A key point that is
made by White in this respect is the fact that the attainment of power and bodily
perfection is not necessarily conjoined with ideas of liberation from worldly
existence (samsara). Instead, White rightly places the emphasis on what I would
refer to as the “numinous” power acquired through the ritual process, a “deifica-
tion” that is exemplified by obtaining the power of yogic flight (khecara) (199–
201). The processes and practices underlying this exchange are made thoroughly
evident by White in chapters dealing with the origins of the Yogini cult, the
Indian roots of “power substances,” the logic of the use of the yantra and ma3dala
(symbolic abodes of deities), and the influence and authority of tantric agents
within Indian and Nepalese society. White’s examination of the morphology of
Yogini mythology is an excellent counterpart and extension to Vidya Dehejia’s
earlier study, Yogini Cult and Temples, connecting the Yogini traditions with
those of the Apsaras (nymphs), Graha3is (seizers), Yak5i3is (female dryads),
Dakinis (flyers), Matrs (mothers), and other conceptions of the female divine
(29). Likewise, his analysis of the importance of sexual fluids in the tantra and
yoga traditions and the often-misunderstood terminology used to refer to their
manipulation (rajayoga, for example, as the consumption of such fluids) shed
significant light on the physiology, if not alchemy, behind Kaula tantric practice
(sadhana) and its accomplishments (siddhi). The meticulously supported over-
arching argument is that Kaula tantra exemplifies the ideology of Hindu tantra,
that of gaining worldly success and fortune through feeding frightful and hungry
beings with dangerous but powerful offerings, especially those offerings per-
ceived as the roots of human physiological existence. Though a more extensive
discussion of the human analogs of the Yoginis—especially female yoga and
tantra practitioners—would have been welcomed, White does assert that, in his
opinion, “the prime tantric actors in South Asia have always been male, and the
historical record of Tantric practice, in literature, architecture, and the arts, has
always been through the eyes of a male protagonist, who sought or claimed for
himself the status of Virile Hero or Perfected Being” (160).
In the latter part of the text, White argues that Kaula and other sectarian
tantric practices involving ritual sexuality are at the roots of the development
within tantrism of the concept of the subtle body (suk5ma sarira) and one of the
most frequently adopted concepts of tantra, the feminine power within the body
referred to as ku3dalini. Ku3dalini and the tutelary goddesses within the subtle
body represent a sublimation of the tantric processes of Kaula yoga, in which
one offers one’s essential fluids to a series of goddesses in an ascensional scheme
through the vertical medium of the subtle body (228). In concert with this
discussion, White proceeds to deconstruct the monolithic presentation of the
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Book Reviews 545

system of the seven vertical cakras or “wheels” within the subtle body, demon-
strating that this “standard” system is one variation among many (including
four, six, and eleven) that emerged in the latter half of the first millennium CE
(224). One notable elision in his presentation is a discussion of conceptions of
the subtle body in the Yogasutra, a text which White views as largely insignificant
with respect to the discussion of cakras or nadis (channels) within the practices
of yoga and tantrism (220). However, it can be pointed out that in Yogasutra
III.27–34, Patañjali does in fact refer to meditative mastery (samyama) on the
navel cakra (nabhicakra), the throat cavity (ka3thakupa), the tortoise channel
(kurmanadi), light of the head (murdhajyotih, identified with the brahma-
randhra or fontanel), and the heart (hrdaya), suggesting some foundational con-
ception of a subtle body. These terms appear in a number of the sources quoted
by White (250) and arguably document an important connection between the
yoga darsana and later conceptions of the subtle body. White does, however,
emphasize the often disregarded fact that the Yogasutra demonstrates a high
degree of interest in the attainment of yogic powers (siddhi or vibhuti) within
pre-tantric thought, as approximately one-fourth of the text is devoted to the
description of and means of obtaining such powers (220). Furthermore, White
brings into his discussion of the subtle body the important connection between
the subtle body and cosmology, using the human–cosmos homology of Jainism
as a basis for his analysis (176). In my opinion, this human–cosmos homology
exemplified in Jainism is also an underlying motif in the Yogasutra passage men-
tioned above, where cosmological and physiological knowledge is equated
within the field of yogic mastery (samyama). White’s range of observations in
these areas can be said to contribute significantly to the understanding of the
genesis and history of Indian conceptions of the cakras, the subtle body (suk5ma
sarira), the latent feminine force in the body (ku3dalini), and the understanding
of the pan-Indian traditions or “tradition texts” of yoga found in Hinduism,
Buddhism, and Jainism.
Kiss of the Yogini is a work of great depth and complexity. One has the
impression that it would take numerous cautious readings of the text to fully
distill the range of insights offered in the text. The author’s continuous refer-
ences to the scriptural sources that are woven into the narrative of his book pro-
vide a vivid transparency to his arguments, giving the impression that one could
retrace his steps through the texts meticulously if one so desired (and possessed
the requisite philological skill to do so). This transparency may have also been
furthered by the use of footnotes instead of endnotes, which would further indi-
cate the breadth of White’s scholarship on both the primary and secondary lev-
els. This may have, however, slowed the pace of the narrative as a result. One of
the true virtues of White’s scholarship is that he is willing to cross disciplinary
boundaries when appropriate, and this is most strongly demonstrated by his
considerable work across the Hindu–Buddhist boundary in Kiss of the Yogini.
Scholars of Buddhist Studies, especially of Vajrayana Buddhism, will find this
work a great resource as a result, as will scholars of tantric studies in general, in
terms of both methodology and content. Due to the complexity of the material
presented, this work is probably best suited to graduate level courses and as a
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546 Journal of the American Academy of Religion

resource for specialists in the religions of South Asia, though undergraduates

with a significant background in the area may well find it of valuable use. The
excellent index and comprehensive bibliography make it eminently useful as a
tool for further research.
doi:10.1093/jaarel/lfj075 Stuart Ray Sarbacker
Advance Access publication April 21, 2006 Northwestern University

Lying: An Augustinian Theology of Duplicity. By Paul J. Griffiths. Brazos

Press, 2004. 254 pages. $18.99.

Even for theologians of his time, Augustine’s exceptionless ban on lying was
one of his most controversial positions. Paul J. Griffiths acknowledges that
Augustine’s view has never been accepted by many Christians or non-
Christians and is particularly at odds with contemporary culture. Against this
historical backdrop, Griffiths’ comparative philosophical study seeks to reclaim
the “peculiarly Christian” boldness of Augustine’s universal ban and to place it
at the heart of an Augustinian grammar of sin, confession, and grace. Both the
book’s structure and the rhetoric present Augustine’s work in stark clarity. This
is helpful in illuminating certain texts that do not garner much attention
among present-day theologians. The author’s overriding aim for systematic
lucidity, however, sometimes muscles Augustine’s thought into an artificial
coherence, leaving the reader with a one-dimensional figure, who is not ade-
quately questioned about possible inconsistencies or significant shifts in his
perspective over time. Readers should also be aware that Griffiths provides an
unremittingly charitable reading. Indeed, Griffiths is less critical of Augustine
than Augustine is of himself. Still, there is much to learn from his analysis. As
long as readers keep in mind the author’s lack of critical distance, they can
benefit from his interpretation of particular Augustinian and non-Augustinian
texts.
The first half of the book weaves into a larger ontological whole Augustine’s
proscription against lying, which he voices in two compact ethical treatises. The
second half offers nine “Augustinian readings” of thinkers who present moral dis-
tinctions that differentiate various acts of lying, according to circumstances, ends,
and intentions. Griffiths draws on opposing views to hone his commentary on
Augustine. Setting Augustine sharply apart from other leading theologians and
philosophers, he presses these differences to reassert his claims about the necessary
connection between Christian presuppositions and an absolute prohibition
against lying. At the center of Griffiths’ analysis is the pure gift of speech. After nar-
rowing his definition of lying to verbal acts of duplicity that intentionally contra-
dict the speaker’s mind, he examines it as an inevitably selfish appropriation of
what is not ours to command. “Speech is a gift given, and a condition of its use is
that it is received as such. But the lie is a use of speech that rejects precisely this
condition by attempting, incoherently, to own speech as if it had been created