Item #68454 The Book of Ashes. DADAJI -, Shri Dadaji Gurudev Mahendranath, Aleister Crowley: related works. From the David Tibet collection.

The Book of Ashes.

(Mehemadabad, Gujarat): (Privately Published), ND (c. 1970s). First Edition. Softcover booklet. Octavo (8 1/4 x 5 3/4 inches). 6pp (+ iipp - blanks). Stapled in printed grey paper wrappers. Mystical reflections in verse form, followed by a brief one page biographical advertisement. From the library of British artist, writer and musician DAVID TIBET (founder of the music group Current 93) with his TINY OWNERSHIP SIGNATURE and acquisition date 14-VIII-81 ev in the upper margin of the first page. Dadaji: Shri Paramahamsha Mahendranath (born Lawrence Amos Miles: 1911-1991), was an Englishman who is said to have had a youthful acquaintance with Aleister Crowley and who in later life embraced Indic religion and Tantrism. He spent many years in India, becoming a guru of the northern Indian Uttarakaula Tantric Order having received initiation under Shri Pagala Baba of Ranchi, Bihar. He then became a teacher himself, with his instruction - often delivered aphoristic prose and poetry - fusing traditional eastern Tantric and religious philosophies and practices with Western magical techniques. In later life he returned to England, where his teachings formed the basis for the Arcane Magical Order of the Knights of Shambhala (AMOOKOS), an occult order founded in 1982 by Michael Magee (Lokanath Maharaj) which gave training to a number of now well-known figures before succumbing to the seemingly inevitable divisions that plague such groups. This rare booklet was published and distributed in India, probably not long before his return to Britain. "Fanzine" type production values. There is a very large, ragged chip missing from the spine edge of the rear cover (roughly triangular in shape - approx. 2 x 2 x 3 inches), spine chipped and pages tearing at staples. General light wear and creasing. Still a G copy of a very rare booklet. Item #68454

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