Books The Economics of Ecstasy: Tantra, Secrecy and Power in Colonial Bengal by Hugh B. Urban (Author), Wendy Doniger (Foreword)

"The Economics of Ecstasy: Tantra, Secrecy and Power in Colonial Bengal" by Hugh B. Urban is an academic study that explores the complex relationship between tantric religious practices, secrecy, and socio-economic power within the Kartabhaja sect of colonial Bengal. Urban’s work is grounded in three years of field research and historical analysis, providing a rare and detailed account of this esoteric Hindu sect.

The book is divided into three main parts: The first examines the historical origins and socio-economic context of the Kartabhajas, portraying how their tantric practices and secrecy acted as forms of symbolic and economic capital during colonial economic transformations. The second part analyzes how secrecy empowered the sect’s spiritual authority, using coded language and metaphor to create social capital and spiritual enlightenment among initiates. The third part critiques the downsides of secrecy, revealing how the Kartabhaja hierarchy evolved into an elitist structure that economically exploited followers, contradicting its original egalitarian ideals.