Siddhas were mystics of ancient India. They believed that human race was created to excel in knowledge and help human societies form an advanced civilization on the Earth. They knew that they needed to live longer and even become immortals to achieve this goal. In Indian context Siddhas were considered as doctors but in Western context, such people were called Philosophers. Nevertheless, a deeper understanding of Siddhas' poetic scripts reveals their different faces such as scientific thinkers, social reformers, priest kings, pioneers of advanced cultures, etc. Siddhas speak about spirit, soul and body in their scripts. They also compare cosmos, nature and earth in their science. The unique attainment of Siddhas could be their mastery over physical and cosmic sciences. Siddhas believed that physical science is comparable with cosmic science. Thus, through their physical and cosmic observations, they succeeded in inventing ambrosia of Gods and many became Gods themselves.

In this book, Weiss seeks to illuminate the present success of traditional doctors by examining the ways that siddha practitioners in Tamil South India have won the trust and patronage of patients. They do this, he shows, by offering affiliation to a timeless and pure community, the fantasy of a Tamil utopia, and even the prospect of immortality.

"This book reconstructs the tantalizing tale of Sri Sabhapati Swami (ca. 1828-1923/4), today a little-known swami who was originally from Tamil Nadu in southern India, and historically contextualizes a fascinating type of yoga that Sabhapati claimed would lead to an experience of being "like a tree universally spread." The practical method of having this experience, in technical terms called the samadhi or "composure" of sivarajayoga or the "Royal yoga for siva," was published in English and multiple Indic languages and lavishly illustrated in diagrams on subtle and physical bodies. This book is the first book-length treatment on Sabhapati Swami, scholarly or otherwise, and uses critically-edited sources printed in Tamil, Devanagari, and Bengali scripts to reveal the expansion of his literature across South Asia and globally, the vast majority of which has never before been considered in any scholarly work to date. The book shows how intertwined Sabhapati's yoga is with historical Tamil saiva and Siddha movements, including the mythos of the rishi Agastya, and also with Hathayoga and mantra-based ritual. It also takes into account his and his followers' wrestling with the Victorian scientific worldview and their rationalization of Hindu philosophical discourses in the colonial period. Finally, the book demonstrates the extent to which Sabhapati's teachings were integrated into esoteric religious movements such as the Theosophical Society, the Thelema of Aleister Crowley, and New Thought, and suggests that a reappraisal of scholarship on the roots of yoga in these movements is long overdue"--

The Tamils have an unbroken history of more than two thousand years. Tamil, the language they speak, is one of the oldest living languages in the world. The only people comparable to the Tamils in terms of their hoary past and vibrant present would be the Jews with one marked difference. The Tamils have always had their homeland 'Tamilaham' (alternately pronounced and spelt 'Tamizhaham') known today as Tamil Nadu which to them represents their mother and is revered by them as 'Tamizh Tai' literally ‘Tamil Mother’. This is in striking contrast to the Jews who have been through a long and arduous struggle to gain their homeland, a deeply contested site to this day with Hebrewisation of Israel being a key marker of Jewish identity in the region. Tamils, by contrast have a clear numerical majority in the region that now comprises Tamil Nadu and the language unites rather than divides adherents of different faiths. The second edition of Historical Dictionary of the Tamils contains a chronology, an introduction, and an extensive bibliography. The dictionary section has over 600 cross-referenced entries on important personalities, politics, economy, foreign relations, religion, and culture. This book is an excellent resource for students, researchers, and anyone wanting to know more about the Tamils.

Seminar paper from the year 2001 in the subject Ethnology / Cultural Anthropology, grade: 2 (B), University of Heidelberg (South Asian Ethnology Institute), course: Medicine Ethnology II: Health in South Asian Culture, language: English, abstract: "Medicine means the prevention of physical illness; medicine means the prevention of mental illness; prevention means to avert illness; medicine therefore is the prevention of death." This quotation is an interesting definition of medicine by Tirumular - one of the greatest and earliest Tamil Siddha. The Tamil Siddhas - so a lot of authors assume - have invented or developed the Tamil medical system named Siddha medicine. Till today this medical system exists totally unknown in India with a few geographical exceptions in the South - next to the popular Ayurveda medical system. The Siddha medicine is to find in the present time only in Tamilnadu and in a few parts of Kerala. There is a bulk of works on Siddha medicine exclusive in the Tamil language. A lot of these works are not yet studied, because of their secretive and symbolic language, their partially bad conditions and their difficult accessibility. Many questions about this system cannot be answered, yet. Till today it is not clear when and where the Siddha medicine exactly originated, why it was invented or developped, at all, and why it has not become as popular as Ayurveda. In this work I will explain in a very generalized form what the notion ́siddha ́means and what person a Siddha is like. I will try to find out when the Siddha medicine was developped, and I will give a short introduction of the fundamental principles of the Siddha medicine. Then I will show some problems of the Siddha medicine, and therefore why it could not be as popular as the Ayurveda system. Further I will give possible answers why the Tamil system was invented or developed, at all, and I will compare the Siddha medicine with the Ayurveda to show which of these two systems is probably

This book highlights the medical importance of and increasing global interest in herbal medicines, herbal health products, herbal pharmaceuticals, nutraceuticals, food supplements, herbal cosmetics, etc. It also addresses various issues that are hampering the advancement of Indian herbal medicine around the globe; these include quality concerns and quality control, pharmacovigilance, scientific investigation and validation, IPR and biopiracy, and the challenge that various indigenous systems of medicine are at risk of being lost. The book also explores the role of traditional medicine in providing new functional leads and modern approaches that can offer elegant strategies for facilitating the drug discovery process. The book also provides in-depth information on various traditional medicinal systems in India and discusses their medical importance. India has a very long history of safely using many herbal drugs. Folk medicine is also a key source of medical knowledge and plays a vital role in maintaining health in rural and remote areas. Despite its importance, this form of medicine largely remains under-investigated. Out of all the traditional medicinal systems used worldwide, Indian traditional medicine holds a unique position, as it has continued to deliver healthcare throughout the Asian subcontinent since ancient times. In addition, traditional medicine has been used to derive advanced techniques and investigate many modern drugs. Given the scope of its coverage, the book offers a valuable resource for scientists and researchers exploring traditional and herbal medicine, as well as graduate students in courses on traditional medicine, herbal medicine and pharmacy.