Krishna in the Sky with Diamonds: The Bhagavad Gita as Psychedelic Guide

(Paperback)

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. Explains how the Bhagavad Gita provides complete guidelines for the spiritual use of entheogens - from prior mental preparations to the integration of profound visionary insights into everyday consciousness . Examines Chapter XI of the Gita in detail to illuminate Arjuna's hallucinogenic experience and expose Krishna as the ultimate psychedelic guide . Shows psychedelic experience to be an essential and ancient part of the path to spiritual transformation Known as a text of liberation and enlightenment and praised not only by Indians, but, also, by prominent modern thinkers such as Aldous Huxley and Albert Einstein, the Bhagavad Gita is one of the most commented-upon books of all time, yet one aspect has never before been examined: Arjuna's psychedelic soma experience with his guru Krishna. Scott Teitsworth explains how the Bhagavad Gita, through the story of the hero Arjuna and his guru Krishna, provides complete guidelines for the spiritual use of entheogens, from prior mental preparations to the integration of profound visionary insights into everyday consciousness. Examining Chapter XI of the Bhagavad Gita verse by verse, he illuminates Arjuna's complex revelatory experience and exposes Krishna's role as the ultimate spiritual guide - facets of the Gita evident to anyone with psychedelic experience yet long suppressed in favour of paths to enlightenment through service or meditation. He shows that psychedelics are indeed 'gateway drugs' in that they stimulate open exploration of the mind and the meaning of life. Uncovering new depths to this revered manual of spiritual instruction, Teitsworth reveals psychedelic experience to be an essential and ancient path to ignite realisation in the prepared student, turns theory into direct experience and brings the written teachings to life.

Reviews

The Bhagavad Gita is a classical spiritual text, but whoever would have imagined that it could serve as a guide to psychedelic experience Krishna in the Sky with Diamonds is a tribute to the insight and creativity of its author, Scott Teitsworth, a longtime scholar of Indian philosophy. Teitsworth takes his readers on a tour of Vedic teachings, one that avoids simplification. But the challenge is worth it; with or without the use of mind-altering substances, an immersion in this work cannot help but open the door to that intangible goal known as enlightenment. * Stanley Krippner, Ph.D., Alan Watts Professor of Psychology at Saybrook University and coauthor of P *
This book is a fresh appraisal of The Song of God. Teitsworth bravely ventures into the as yet terra incognita: science of consciousness. Unlike Carlos Castaneda, there is no question of the authenticity of Teitsworths scholarship. Speaking from my own experiences, the psychedelic experience should always be done with care and guidance. There is no better place to start for guidance in this exploration than Krishna in the Sky with Diamonds. * John Henley, author of The Buchmans and professor, Portland State University *
...the book becomes invaluable to entheogenicists whose tastes are tempered by Vedantic and Hindu schema. * Psychedelic Press UK, June 2012 *
The whimsically titled Krishna in the Sky With Diamonds takes an essential and much-welcomed place among books measuring the psychedelic experience against Eastern religion and spirituality, such as Allan Hunt Badiner and Alex Grey's fine compilation Zig Zag Zen and the Leary et al. classic, The Psychedelic Experience. And the ancient poetry of the Gita is still spectacular! * David Arnson, Erowid, June 2012 *

Author Bio

Scott Teitsworth is a lifelong student of Indian philosophy and modern science under the tutelage of Nitya Chaitanya Yati, himself a disciple of Nataraja Guru. An editor of books written by these gurus, he and his wife host the Portland branch of the Narayana Gurukula, where they have taught classes on the Bhagavad Gita and Indian philosophy since the 1970s. He lives in Portland, Oregon.