Arthur Avalon and Tantrik Occultism

This chapter surveys how the aspects discussed in the previous chapters resurfaced in the writings of Avalon and Woodroffe. The latter’s relationship to Shivachandra and the broader personal network behind Avalon is inspected in detail, also regarding the role of Theosophy and the colonial elite in Calcutta. On that basis, the chapter analyzes the Avalon and Woodroffe writings by first foregrounding the relationship between religion and science and how the notions of occultism and esotericism were employed to transgress what was perceived as the destructive division between them. Second, Woodroffe’s adamant advocacy of national education and an awakening of India’s shakti directly mirrored the ideas of his Bengali associates. Third, these notions were closely linked to universalist approaches to religion, as they presumed the existence of the same esoteric doctrine at the core of every great tradition—a perception that was also linked to Catholicism.