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

This short book takes us through excerpts from the Bhagavad Gita and relates aspects of some of the central revelations of the Gita to psychedelic experiences. The Bhagavad Gita is a Sanskrit scripture that tells us of the crisis of Prince Arjuna as he engages in a bloody war. He is guided through his crisis by Krishna, a guru who is both manifest as Man and God to Arjuna. The author interprets Arjuna as experiencing Krishna as an aspect of the Godhead by his manifesting like a psychedelic experience one experiences under a hallucinogenic drug. In this case the hallucinogen is 'soma,' possibly a kind of mushroom used by ancient Hindu culture. The central message of the Gita, under this books interpretation, is that to have a direct psychedelic mystical experience of Krishna as the Godhead is to know the Absolute, the Infinite, to catch of direct glimpse of God, albeit through one's imperfect human perception. The experience entails being confronted with something greater then one's ego and also the death of one's ego. One must return from this confronting experience with greater awareness of what lies beyond our everyday experience, and yet one must also return and become solidly grounded in the everyday world as well. The message of 'selflessness' as bringing inner wisdom, balanced, ethical thinking and the ability to cope with the unpredictability and sometimes cruelty of the everyday world is easily lost to most of us. The message is one that is not easy at times to comprehend: pain, fear and suffering are not caused by the possible dissipation of the Ego, they are caused by our attempted preservation of the Ego. Ironically, I recommend this book not for those like Arjuna who are fighting in a war, but for those who are trapped in a state where they feel the world lacks meaning and purpose because they are too frightened to challenge themselves by allowing their souls to branch out and experience the unknown.

Like many terms, Soma can and has been interpreted to represent a broad range of substances, from an external agent such as Syrian Rue or LSD to an internally created substance such as DMT from the pineal gland. Regardless of whether one ingests a substance or they are able to generate it through meditation, chanting, mantras, the nature of WHAT IS remains the same and is there to be consciously experienced. For some, it may even be necessary to initially experience these states through entheogens so that they become easier to recognize and explore when using more traditional concentrative techniques (such as Vipassana meditation), and ultimately throughout our normal waking consciousness.Whether one uses entheogens or not, Krishna in the Sky With Diamonds by Scott Teitsworth is a valuable contribution to psychopomps who are seeking clarity of the world they find themselves exploring. Teitsworth refers to a full spectrum of paths, systems, philosophies, experts, and masters, providing an interfaith relevance that is still rare today. A scholar of the Vedas dedicated to his guru, Nitya Chaitanya Yati, Teitsworths’ strongest suit is probably relating this Hindu masterpiece to the Western mind.The book essentially focuses on Chapter 11 of the Bhagavad Gita, the climax of the book where Krishna reveals his true essential nature to Arjuna. An interesting side note: Arjuna’s experience with Krishna, as enlightening as it may have been, was not transcendent of duality and was therefore a high but not ultimate spiritual experience. Arjuna did not get past the “Arjuna witnessing Krishna’s greatness,” never surrendered his ‘self’ into the Absolute, and essentially begged to be returned to normal consciousness along with Krishna. Valuable spiritual insight comes from such an experience, but it is far from true transcendence, illumination, and Liberation. Prior to reading this, it was my understanding that Arjuna had transcended, a reflection of my limited knowledge of the text.“Krishna in the Sky with Diamonds” is like heavily expanding one of the most important chapters in the “The Psychedelic Experience.” With 192 pages focused on a single chapter, the scope of “Krishna…” provides a much more narrow focus than Leary and team’s book, which is really a practical field guide to exploring altered states of consciousness, with or without entheogens. “Krishna in the Sky…” is a book to be read and studied before going into the field to thoroughly explore the experience of “seeing the Void.” While the book is a “must have” for users of psychedelic substances, the term “psychedelic” in the sub-title may mislead more uptight seekers that would otherwise benefit from the book.If you are exploring the world of psychedelics and find great value in books such as “The Psychedelic Experience,” then you will definitely want to pick up a copy of “Krishna in the Sky With Diamonds.” The big surprise may be, however, that there is incredible value here for those who have nothing to do with entheogens but are seeking material which accurately describes and explains aspects about altered states of consciousness and spiritual revelation and insight. Therefore, I would highly recommend this book to anyone who is serious about transcending these lower levels of consciousness to discover WHAT the heck everyone IS ineffably talking about.(Stan Grof is a prolific author and researcher who worked with Tim Leary, Ram Dass, and gang and has spent the last several decades showing how to attain clear altered states of consciousness without the use of entheogens. Check out “The Adventure of Self Discovery” and “The Holotropic Mind” to learn how to use breath work (pranayama) to do so.)

I really enjoyed Teitsworth's perspective on one of my favorite pieces of work (B.G.) and one of my favorite sacred past-times, studying plant medicines!

gute Qualität und super Kundenservice!

Was wohl schon viele vermutet haben: Auch die hinduistische Kultur ist durch psychoaktive Pflanzen geprägt und hat Eingang gefunden in die Mainstreamkultur Indiens. Der Autor arbeitet die durch Bewusstseinserweiterung inspirierten Passagen der Bhagavatgita sehr gut verständlich auf. Für jeden Indien-Liebhaber ein MUSS!

Good observation on the texts of the XI chapter of Bhagavad Gita and an unique representation through entheogens. A book for someone interested in psychedelics and spirituality!