Om-gnosis Episode 12: Searching for Sabhapati Swami and Siddha Songs in South Asia
In this episode of Om-gnosis: The Occult South Asia Podcast, host Keith Edward Cantú summarizes his summer tour through India and Bangladesh, exploring spiritual traditions, rare books on Sri Sabhapati Swami, and major cultural landmarks, including the National Museum of India and the Qutub Minar. The journey was a multi-faceted exploration into the world of modern yoga, rare publications, and the interconnected spiritual lineages of the subcontinent. The trip began with a focus in New Delhi, where Keith sought out rare books related to the “Madras Yogi” Sri Sabhapati Swami, connecting with booksellers and visiting significant cultural sites like the National Museum of India and the Qutub Minar.
The core of his mission took place in southern India, specifically in Ooty (Udhagamandalam) and Coimbatore. In Ooty, he regained access to the remarkable library and ashram of Om Prakash Swamigal, a direct student of Sabhapati Swami. This library proved to be a treasure trove, housing a unique collection that bridges traditional Tamil Śaiva and yoga texts with modern occult literature, including works on theosophy and new thought. During his time there, Keith photographed tens of thousands of pages from extremely rare books and was also able to secure a few copies of Sabhapati’s invaluable 1889 illustrated work to deliver to libraries across India and the world for preservation.
The journey also included a return to Dhaka, Bangladesh, to participate in a symposium on the Caryāpada, medieval songs of the Siddhas, where he presented a paper on the possible connections between these songs and the Middle Bengali text “Acquaintance with the Primal” (Ādya Paricaẏa). Cantú then traveled extensively through Tamil Nadu. In Chennai, he revisited the Sri Sabapathy Lingeswarar Koil, the former site of the Swami's original meditation hall, as well as the renowned Adyar Library and Research Centre. His travels continued to the major temple sites of Chidambaram and Thanjavur, where he explored the architectural and artistic links to Sabhapati Swami's teachings. In Thanjavur’s Sarasvati Mahal Library, he discovered a previously unseen, faded diagram within one of the Swami’s books. The trip concluded with a brief but impactful visit to Varanasi, further connecting the threads of his research between northern and southern India. This episode offers a fascinating look at the fieldwork behind the scholarship, revealing the process of re-examining sources that are sometimes hiding in plain sight.