Cressida J. Heyes
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780195310535
- eISBN:
- 9780199871445
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195310535.001.0001
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Feminist Philosophy
This book argues that we live in an age of somatic subjects, whose authentic identity must be represented through the body. When a perceived mismatch between inner self and outer form occurs, ...
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This book argues that we live in an age of somatic subjects, whose authentic identity must be represented through the body. When a perceived mismatch between inner self and outer form occurs, technologies can step in to change the flesh. Drawing on Wittgenstein's objections to the idea of a private language, and on Foucault's critical account of normalization, this book shows how we have been led to think of ourselves in this way, and suggests that breaking the hold of this picture of the self will be central to our freedom. How should we work on ourselves when so often the kind of self we are urged to be is itself a product of normalization? This question is answered through three case studies that analyze feminist interpretations of transgender politics, the allure of weight-loss dieting, and representations of cosmetic surgery patients. Mixing philosophical argument with personal narrative and analysis of popular culture, the book moves from engagement with Leslie Feinberg on trans liberation, to an auto-ethnography of Weight Watchers meetings, to a reading of Extreme Makeover, to the author's own practice of yoga. The book draws on philosophy, sociology, medicine, cultural studies, and psychology to suggest that these examples, in different ways, are connected to the picture of the somatic subject. Working on the self can both generate new skills and make us more docile; enhance our pleasures and narrow our possibilities; encourage us to take care of ourselves while increasing our dependence on experts. Self transformation through the body can limit us and liberate us at the same time. To move beyond this paradox, the book concludes by arguing that Foucault's last work on ethics provides untapped resources for understanding how we might use our embodied agency to change ourselves for the better.Less
This book argues that we live in an age of somatic subjects, whose authentic identity must be represented through the body. When a perceived mismatch between inner self and outer form occurs, technologies can step in to change the flesh. Drawing on Wittgenstein's objections to the idea of a private language, and on Foucault's critical account of normalization, this book shows how we have been led to think of ourselves in this way, and suggests that breaking the hold of this picture of the self will be central to our freedom. How should we work on ourselves when so often the kind of self we are urged to be is itself a product of normalization? This question is answered through three case studies that analyze feminist interpretations of transgender politics, the allure of weight-loss dieting, and representations of cosmetic surgery patients. Mixing philosophical argument with personal narrative and analysis of popular culture, the book moves from engagement with Leslie Feinberg on trans liberation, to an auto-ethnography of Weight Watchers meetings, to a reading of Extreme Makeover, to the author's own practice of yoga. The book draws on philosophy, sociology, medicine, cultural studies, and psychology to suggest that these examples, in different ways, are connected to the picture of the somatic subject. Working on the self can both generate new skills and make us more docile; enhance our pleasures and narrow our possibilities; encourage us to take care of ourselves while increasing our dependence on experts. Self transformation through the body can limit us and liberate us at the same time. To move beyond this paradox, the book concludes by arguing that Foucault's last work on ethics provides untapped resources for understanding how we might use our embodied agency to change ourselves for the better.
Mark Singleton
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- May 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780195395358
- eISBN:
- 9780199777303
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195395358.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion and Society, Hinduism
Yoga Body charts the rise of postural yoga (āsana) in popular imagination and practice from the middle of the nineteenth century to the beginning of the Second World War. This period saw ...
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Yoga Body charts the rise of postural yoga (āsana) in popular imagination and practice from the middle of the nineteenth century to the beginning of the Second World War. This period saw the forging of a postural canon that gave shape to what is today popularly accepted as the practical substance of “yoga.” Prior to these modern innovations, yoga was rarely (if ever) conceived primarily in these terms. How did this situation come about? How did yoga become the health‐ and fitness‐oriented phenomenon we see today? This book offers explanations of the genesis, status and function of yoga in the modern world. This history has remained largely hidden in popular and scholastic accounts, but the phenomenally successful yoga forms we see in the world today simply cannot be understood without it. Drawing on rare documents from archives in India, the UK and the United States, as well as interviews with the few remaining, now very elderly actors in the 1920s and thirties postural yoga renaissance, the book investigates the predecessors of today's āsana systems. It also presents fresh evidence for the origins of the twenty‐first century's most popular forms, including material from two hitherto untranslated texts on āsana by the “godfather” of modern postural yoga, T. Krishnamacharya.Less
Yoga Body charts the rise of postural yoga (āsana) in popular imagination and practice from the middle of the nineteenth century to the beginning of the Second World War. This period saw the forging of a postural canon that gave shape to what is today popularly accepted as the practical substance of “yoga.” Prior to these modern innovations, yoga was rarely (if ever) conceived primarily in these terms. How did this situation come about? How did yoga become the health‐ and fitness‐oriented phenomenon we see today? This book offers explanations of the genesis, status and function of yoga in the modern world. This history has remained largely hidden in popular and scholastic accounts, but the phenomenally successful yoga forms we see in the world today simply cannot be understood without it. Drawing on rare documents from archives in India, the UK and the United States, as well as interviews with the few remaining, now very elderly actors in the 1920s and thirties postural yoga renaissance, the book investigates the predecessors of today's āsana systems. It also presents fresh evidence for the origins of the twenty‐first century's most popular forms, including material from two hitherto untranslated texts on āsana by the “godfather” of modern postural yoga, T. Krishnamacharya.
Mark Singleton
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- May 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780195395358
- eISBN:
- 9780199777303
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195395358.003.0002
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion and Society, Hinduism
Chapter 1 presents a very brief overview of yoga in the Indian tradition, with particular reference to haṭha yoga, as we know it through medieval texts and modern historical scholarship. What is ...
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Chapter 1 presents a very brief overview of yoga in the Indian tradition, with particular reference to haṭha yoga, as we know it through medieval texts and modern historical scholarship. What is clear from such a summary is that modern postural orthopraxis does not really resemble the yoga forms from which it claims to derive.Less
Chapter 1 presents a very brief overview of yoga in the Indian tradition, with particular reference to haṭha yoga, as we know it through medieval texts and modern historical scholarship. What is clear from such a summary is that modern postural orthopraxis does not really resemble the yoga forms from which it claims to derive.
Mark Singleton
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- May 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780195395358
- eISBN:
- 9780199777303
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195395358.003.0003
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion and Society, Hinduism
Chapter 2 considers some of the earliest European encounters with yogins during the seventeenth century and goes on to analyze their increasingly inferior status during colonial rule. ...
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Chapter 2 considers some of the earliest European encounters with yogins during the seventeenth century and goes on to analyze their increasingly inferior status during colonial rule. Nineteenth‐century Orientalist scholarship, it is suggested, consolidated the position of the yogin, and the first English translations of haṭha texts evidence a deep‐seated hostility to the very practices they present. Also considered here are the nineteenth‐century roots of modern medical yoga, one of the conduits by which “haṭha” practices could eventually be reclaimed by twentieth‐century pioneers like Kuvalayananda.Less
Chapter 2 considers some of the earliest European encounters with yogins during the seventeenth century and goes on to analyze their increasingly inferior status during colonial rule. Nineteenth‐century Orientalist scholarship, it is suggested, consolidated the position of the yogin, and the first English translations of haṭha texts evidence a deep‐seated hostility to the very practices they present. Also considered here are the nineteenth‐century roots of modern medical yoga, one of the conduits by which “haṭha” practices could eventually be reclaimed by twentieth‐century pioneers like Kuvalayananda.
Mark Singleton
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- May 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780195395358
- eISBN:
- 9780199777303
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195395358.003.0004
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion and Society, Hinduism
In chapter 3 covers the topos of the performing yogin. As a result of economic and political repression in the late eighteenth century, many haṭha yogins resorted to street performance as a means of ...
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In chapter 3 covers the topos of the performing yogin. As a result of economic and political repression in the late eighteenth century, many haṭha yogins resorted to street performance as a means of livelihood. This, combined with new technologies of photojournalism, made the postural contortions of the yogin a familiar component of the “exotic East.” The late nineteenth‐century yoga syntheses of Vivekananda, Blavatsky, and others betray a profound distaste for the posture‐practicing yogin, and their writings tend to denigrate the value of such practices. It is for this reason that āsana was initially absent from transnational anglophone yogas.Less
In chapter 3 covers the topos of the performing yogin. As a result of economic and political repression in the late eighteenth century, many haṭha yogins resorted to street performance as a means of livelihood. This, combined with new technologies of photojournalism, made the postural contortions of the yogin a familiar component of the “exotic East.” The late nineteenth‐century yoga syntheses of Vivekananda, Blavatsky, and others betray a profound distaste for the posture‐practicing yogin, and their writings tend to denigrate the value of such practices. It is for this reason that āsana was initially absent from transnational anglophone yogas.
Mark Singleton
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- May 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780195395358
- eISBN:
- 9780199777303
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195395358.003.0010
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion and Society, Hinduism
Chapter 9 considers the vastly influential postural forms developed by T. Krishnamacharya during his tenure as yoga teacher in Mysore during the 1930s and 1940s. The preceding chapters force us to ...
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Chapter 9 considers the vastly influential postural forms developed by T. Krishnamacharya during his tenure as yoga teacher in Mysore during the 1930s and 1940s. The preceding chapters force us to see these radically innovative forms, which are at the root of several of today's preeminent postural systems, as stemming from a modern preoccupation with physical culture. Demonstrated is that Krishnamacharya's distinctive style of yoga practice is not as unique as one might assume but is a powerful synthesis of Western and Indian modes of physical culture, contextualized within “traditional” haṭha yoga.Less
Chapter 9 considers the vastly influential postural forms developed by T. Krishnamacharya during his tenure as yoga teacher in Mysore during the 1930s and 1940s. The preceding chapters force us to see these radically innovative forms, which are at the root of several of today's preeminent postural systems, as stemming from a modern preoccupation with physical culture. Demonstrated is that Krishnamacharya's distinctive style of yoga practice is not as unique as one might assume but is a powerful synthesis of Western and Indian modes of physical culture, contextualized within “traditional” haṭha yoga.
Vesna A. Wallace
- Published in print:
- 2001
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780195122114
- eISBN:
- 9780199834808
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195122119.003.0003
- Subject:
- Religion, Buddhism
A brief history is given of the history of the ṣaḍ‐aṅga‐yoga (six‐phased yoga) of the Kālacakratantra, and its relation to other religious traditions in India (Hindu, and various Buddhist traditions) ...
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A brief history is given of the history of the ṣaḍ‐aṅga‐yoga (six‐phased yoga) of the Kālacakratantra, and its relation to other religious traditions in India (Hindu, and various Buddhist traditions) is discussed. Details are given of the variant types and components of the various ṣaḍ‐aṅga‐yogas. These are couched within different theoretical and practical frameworks, but all share some commonalities.Less
A brief history is given of the history of the ṣaḍ‐aṅga‐yoga (six‐phased yoga) of the Kālacakratantra, and its relation to other religious traditions in India (Hindu, and various Buddhist traditions) is discussed. Details are given of the variant types and components of the various ṣaḍ‐aṅga‐yogas. These are couched within different theoretical and practical frameworks, but all share some commonalities.
Mark Singleton
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- May 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780195395358
- eISBN:
- 9780199777303
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195395358.003.0005
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion and Society, Hinduism
Chapter 4 offers a brief account of modern nationalist physical culture. This provides the context for an examination of several of the most important forms of (Western) physical culture present in ...
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Chapter 4 offers a brief account of modern nationalist physical culture. This provides the context for an examination of several of the most important forms of (Western) physical culture present in India during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. These forms were Scandinavian gymnastics on the model of Ling, the bodybuilding techniques and ethos of Sandow, and the various methods promoted by the Indian YMCA, headed by H. C. Buck. Each of these has had a profound effect on the shape of transnational yoga, both in terms of formal praxis and belief.Less
Chapter 4 offers a brief account of modern nationalist physical culture. This provides the context for an examination of several of the most important forms of (Western) physical culture present in India during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. These forms were Scandinavian gymnastics on the model of Ling, the bodybuilding techniques and ethos of Sandow, and the various methods promoted by the Indian YMCA, headed by H. C. Buck. Each of these has had a profound effect on the shape of transnational yoga, both in terms of formal praxis and belief.
Mark Singleton
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- May 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780195395358
- eISBN:
- 9780199777303
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195395358.003.0006
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion and Society, Hinduism
Chapter 5 considers more closely the Indian physical culture scene of the period. Colonial educators tended to present Hindu Indians as a weakling race who deserved to be dominated. The ...
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Chapter 5 considers more closely the Indian physical culture scene of the period. Colonial educators tended to present Hindu Indians as a weakling race who deserved to be dominated. The British physical culture regimes, however, were adopted by Indians and used as components of nationalist programs of regeneration and resistance to colonial rule. It is in this context that āsana began to be combined with modern physical culture and reworked as an “indigenous” technique of man‐building. Considered here are what are probably the earliest experiments in the synthesis of yoga and physical culture.Less
Chapter 5 considers more closely the Indian physical culture scene of the period. Colonial educators tended to present Hindu Indians as a weakling race who deserved to be dominated. The British physical culture regimes, however, were adopted by Indians and used as components of nationalist programs of regeneration and resistance to colonial rule. It is in this context that āsana began to be combined with modern physical culture and reworked as an “indigenous” technique of man‐building. Considered here are what are probably the earliest experiments in the synthesis of yoga and physical culture.
Mark Singleton
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- May 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780195395358
- eISBN:
- 9780199777303
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195395358.003.0007
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion and Society, Hinduism
Chapter 6 considers early twentieth‐century developments of experiments in the synthesis of yoga and physical culture. Āsana remains largely absent from the practical, anglophone yoga primer in the ...
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Chapter 6 considers early twentieth‐century developments of experiments in the synthesis of yoga and physical culture. Āsana remains largely absent from the practical, anglophone yoga primer in the first decades of the twentieth century. Here, I analyze the ways in which it progressively became the most prominent practice component of mainstream modern yoga. The new yogic body is one that is thoroughly shaped by the practices and discourses of modern physical culture, “healthism,” and Western esotericism. Chapter 6 examines formulations of yoga as a species of gymnastics and bodybuilding, often linked to the kind of nationalist man‐building projects examined in chapter 5.Less
Chapter 6 considers early twentieth‐century developments of experiments in the synthesis of yoga and physical culture. Āsana remains largely absent from the practical, anglophone yoga primer in the first decades of the twentieth century. Here, I analyze the ways in which it progressively became the most prominent practice component of mainstream modern yoga. The new yogic body is one that is thoroughly shaped by the practices and discourses of modern physical culture, “healthism,” and Western esotericism. Chapter 6 examines formulations of yoga as a species of gymnastics and bodybuilding, often linked to the kind of nationalist man‐building projects examined in chapter 5.
Mark Singleton
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- May 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780195395358
- eISBN:
- 9780199777303
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195395358.003.0008
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion and Society, Hinduism
Chapter 7 takes another facet of modern postural yoga's relationship with physical culture: the “harmonial gymnastic” tradition. Largely practiced by women, such “spiritualized” methods of movement ...
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Chapter 7 takes another facet of modern postural yoga's relationship with physical culture: the “harmonial gymnastic” tradition. Largely practiced by women, such “spiritualized” methods of movement and dance became firmly associated at the end of the nineteenth century with Hindu yoga. In this chapter is the claim that “hatha yoga” classes, as practiced in many twenty‐first‐century urban settings, recapitulate the philosophical, practical, and demographic circumstances of women's physical culture classes of the early twentieth century.Less
Chapter 7 takes another facet of modern postural yoga's relationship with physical culture: the “harmonial gymnastic” tradition. Largely practiced by women, such “spiritualized” methods of movement and dance became firmly associated at the end of the nineteenth century with Hindu yoga. In this chapter is the claim that “hatha yoga” classes, as practiced in many twenty‐first‐century urban settings, recapitulate the philosophical, practical, and demographic circumstances of women's physical culture classes of the early twentieth century.
Mark Singleton
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- May 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780195395358
- eISBN:
- 9780199777303
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195395358.003.0009
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion and Society, Hinduism
The argument in Chapter 8 is that modern postural practice cannot be understood without an examination of the technologies of visual reproduction. Advances in photography and print distribution ...
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The argument in Chapter 8 is that modern postural practice cannot be understood without an examination of the technologies of visual reproduction. Advances in photography and print distribution created the conditions for a popular yoga of the body and dictated to a large extent the features of that body. The result of modern yoga's overwhelming reliance on photographic realism has elided the body of “traditional” haṭha yoga.Less
The argument in Chapter 8 is that modern postural practice cannot be understood without an examination of the technologies of visual reproduction. Advances in photography and print distribution created the conditions for a popular yoga of the body and dictated to a large extent the features of that body. The result of modern yoga's overwhelming reliance on photographic realism has elided the body of “traditional” haṭha yoga.
Vesna A. Wallace
- Published in print:
- 2001
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780195122114
- eISBN:
- 9780199834808
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195122119.003.0009
- Subject:
- Religion, Buddhism
The first part of this last chapter discusses the path of actualizing gnosis in relation to the individual. The Kālacakratantra's theory of the nature of gnosis, prāṇas (life force or life winds), ...
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The first part of this last chapter discusses the path of actualizing gnosis in relation to the individual. The Kālacakratantra's theory of the nature of gnosis, prāṇas (life force or life winds), spiritual ignorance, and mental afflictions, as well as the relationships among them, provides the rationale for the Kālacakratantra practices for eliminating mental afflictions and actualizing the four bodies of the Buddha. Among the Kālacakratantra's multifaceted approaches to the eradication of mental afflictions, several are especially significant: first, the path of eliminating mental afflictions is the path of sublimating the afflictive nature of mental afflictions into the peaceful and pure nature of the enlightened beings, who are the pure aspects of the elements from which mental afflictions arise; second, the path of sublimating mental afflictions in the Kālacakra tradition is the path of recognizing the ultimate nature of one's own mental afflictions, which is gnosis. The following three sections of the chapter look at the transformative body of the path of initiation, the transformative body of the path of the stage of generation, and the transformative body of the path of the stage of completion. The last section examines the phases of the ṣaḍ‐aṅga‐yoga (six‐phased yoga) of the Kālacakratantra; this is a meditative process that manifests the successively more encompassing aspects of the mind.Less
The first part of this last chapter discusses the path of actualizing gnosis in relation to the individual. The Kālacakratantra's theory of the nature of gnosis, prāṇas (life force or life winds), spiritual ignorance, and mental afflictions, as well as the relationships among them, provides the rationale for the Kālacakratantra practices for eliminating mental afflictions and actualizing the four bodies of the Buddha. Among the Kālacakratantra's multifaceted approaches to the eradication of mental afflictions, several are especially significant: first, the path of eliminating mental afflictions is the path of sublimating the afflictive nature of mental afflictions into the peaceful and pure nature of the enlightened beings, who are the pure aspects of the elements from which mental afflictions arise; second, the path of sublimating mental afflictions in the Kālacakra tradition is the path of recognizing the ultimate nature of one's own mental afflictions, which is gnosis. The following three sections of the chapter look at the transformative body of the path of initiation, the transformative body of the path of the stage of generation, and the transformative body of the path of the stage of completion. The last section examines the phases of the ṣaḍ‐aṅga‐yoga (six‐phased yoga) of the Kālacakratantra; this is a meditative process that manifests the successively more encompassing aspects of the mind.
R.S. Sharma
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- October 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780195687859
- eISBN:
- 9780199080366
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195687859.003.0029
- Subject:
- History, Ancient History / Archaeology
Samkhya, Yoga, Nyaya, Vaisheshika, Mimamsa, and Vedanta are the six schools of philosophy. Samkhya philosophy states that the world owes its creation and evolution more to Nature or prakriti than to ...
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Samkhya, Yoga, Nyaya, Vaisheshika, Mimamsa, and Vedanta are the six schools of philosophy. Samkhya philosophy states that the world owes its creation and evolution more to Nature or prakriti than to God. Practice of control over pleasure, the senses, and bodily organs is central to Yoga school. Nyaya believe that salvation can be obtained through the acquisition of knowledge. The Vaisheshika school put its faith in both heaven and salvation. The Mimamsa school strongly recommended the performance of Vedic sacrifices. The theory of karma came to be linked to Vedanta philosophy. Charvaka emphasized the value of intimate contact with the world, and established a lack of belief in the other world. By the fifth century ad, materialistic philosophy was dominated by the exponents of idealistic philosophy who constantly criticized it and recommended the performance of rituals and cultivation of spiritualism as a path to salvation.Less
Samkhya, Yoga, Nyaya, Vaisheshika, Mimamsa, and Vedanta are the six schools of philosophy. Samkhya philosophy states that the world owes its creation and evolution more to Nature or prakriti than to God. Practice of control over pleasure, the senses, and bodily organs is central to Yoga school. Nyaya believe that salvation can be obtained through the acquisition of knowledge. The Vaisheshika school put its faith in both heaven and salvation. The Mimamsa school strongly recommended the performance of Vedic sacrifices. The theory of karma came to be linked to Vedanta philosophy. Charvaka emphasized the value of intimate contact with the world, and established a lack of belief in the other world. By the fifth century ad, materialistic philosophy was dominated by the exponents of idealistic philosophy who constantly criticized it and recommended the performance of rituals and cultivation of spiritualism as a path to salvation.
Peter van der Veer
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780691128146
- eISBN:
- 9781400848553
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691128146.003.0007
- Subject:
- Anthropology, Social and Cultural Anthropology
This chapter considers how, in the current phase of globalization, there is a fast spread of forms of evangelical and charismatic Christianity as well as pietistic Islam. While much attention is ...
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This chapter considers how, in the current phase of globalization, there is a fast spread of forms of evangelical and charismatic Christianity as well as pietistic Islam. While much attention is given to the rise of these so-called fundamentalist forms of world religion, the globalization of Asian forms of spirituality has escaped analytical scrutiny. One reason for this is the false assumption that the spiritual is not political. Eastern spirituality is often perceived to transcend secular reality as well as the problems of institutionalized religion. The chapter points to a few Indian and Chinese instances of spirituality that are clearly political. In most places in the world one can follow courses in yoga and qi gong. These forms of Indian and Chinese spirituality have gone global, but they are still connected to national identities.Less
This chapter considers how, in the current phase of globalization, there is a fast spread of forms of evangelical and charismatic Christianity as well as pietistic Islam. While much attention is given to the rise of these so-called fundamentalist forms of world religion, the globalization of Asian forms of spirituality has escaped analytical scrutiny. One reason for this is the false assumption that the spiritual is not political. Eastern spirituality is often perceived to transcend secular reality as well as the problems of institutionalized religion. The chapter points to a few Indian and Chinese instances of spirituality that are clearly political. In most places in the world one can follow courses in yoga and qi gong. These forms of Indian and Chinese spirituality have gone global, but they are still connected to national identities.
William A. Richards and G. William Barnard
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- May 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780231174060
- eISBN:
- 9780231540919
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Columbia University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7312/columbia/9780231174060.003.0019
- Subject:
- Psychology, Psychopharmacology
The Taboo of Knowing who you Are and the future of psychedelic studies.
The Taboo of Knowing who you Are and the future of psychedelic studies.
Vesna A. Wallace
- Published in print:
- 2001
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780195122114
- eISBN:
- 9780199834808
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195122119.003.0002
- Subject:
- Religion, Buddhism
The first part of this chapter gives a general introduction traditions and theory to the Kālacakratantra, which is described as belonging to the class of the unexcelled yoga‐tantras ...
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The first part of this chapter gives a general introduction traditions and theory to the Kālacakratantra, which is described as belonging to the class of the unexcelled yoga‐tantras (anuttara‐yoga‐tantra). Together with its most authoritative Indian commentary, the Vimalaprabhā it stands as the most comprehensive and informative tantra of its class. According to the Kālacakra tradition itself, the Kālacakratantra is the most explicit tantra, which imparts its teaching by revealing the actual meanings, whereas the other anuttara‐yoga‐tantras, which are regarded as secret or concealed tantras, convey their meanings in an implicit manner. The topics covered in the further sections of the chapter are the classification of the families in the Kālacakra tradition; a critique by the Mādhyamika system of Buddhist philosophy of other philosophical systems in the Kālacakratantra; the concept of the Ādibuddha in the Kālacakra tantric system; and the Kālacakratantra and the Mañjuśrīnāmasaṃgīti [a fairly early devotional tantric text of unknown origin (circa 7th century) for communal recitation centring on the praises of the bodhisattva Mañjuśrī, the Buddhist patron saint of wisdom and learning]. The last section of the chapter presents a brief analysis of the Inner Kālacakratantra.Less
The first part of this chapter gives a general introduction traditions and theory to the Kālacakratantra, which is described as belonging to the class of the unexcelled yoga‐tantras (anuttara‐yoga‐tantra). Together with its most authoritative Indian commentary, the Vimalaprabhā it stands as the most comprehensive and informative tantra of its class. According to the Kālacakra tradition itself, the Kālacakratantra is the most explicit tantra, which imparts its teaching by revealing the actual meanings, whereas the other anuttara‐yoga‐tantras, which are regarded as secret or concealed tantras, convey their meanings in an implicit manner. The topics covered in the further sections of the chapter are the classification of the families in the Kālacakra tradition; a critique by the Mādhyamika system of Buddhist philosophy of other philosophical systems in the Kālacakratantra; the concept of the Ādibuddha in the Kālacakra tantric system; and the Kālacakratantra and the Mañjuśrīnāmasaṃgīti [a fairly early devotional tantric text of unknown origin (circa 7th century) for communal recitation centring on the praises of the bodhisattva Mañjuśrī, the Buddhist patron saint of wisdom and learning]. The last section of the chapter presents a brief analysis of the Inner Kālacakratantra.
Lisa Lassell Hallstrom
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780195116489
- eISBN:
- 9780199851621
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195116489.003.0006
- Subject:
- Religion, Hinduism
The opening of a film on Ānandamayī Mā made by several of her devotees proposes that Mā possesses a role similar to that of Lord Krishna—a Lord of All Beings embodied here on earth to promote ...
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The opening of a film on Ānandamayī Mā made by several of her devotees proposes that Mā possesses a role similar to that of Lord Krishna—a Lord of All Beings embodied here on earth to promote righteousness. Mā's character, as expressed by her devotees, is not to be considered as a divine gift or an achievement but rather the perfect character of the divine itself. Although many would claim that what Mā is cannot be accurately defined, some would still use words such as avatara and Divine Mother to describe her. This chapter analyses why and how Mā is considered to possess divine origins, through explaining the history of incarnation, discussing the worship of the Divine Feminine, and identifying situations where Mā exhibits divinity. Also, the chapter concentrates on Mā's idea of the Absolute, while determining whether Mā advocated bhakti yoga or jnana yoga.Less
The opening of a film on Ānandamayī Mā made by several of her devotees proposes that Mā possesses a role similar to that of Lord Krishna—a Lord of All Beings embodied here on earth to promote righteousness. Mā's character, as expressed by her devotees, is not to be considered as a divine gift or an achievement but rather the perfect character of the divine itself. Although many would claim that what Mā is cannot be accurately defined, some would still use words such as avatara and Divine Mother to describe her. This chapter analyses why and how Mā is considered to possess divine origins, through explaining the history of incarnation, discussing the worship of the Divine Feminine, and identifying situations where Mā exhibits divinity. Also, the chapter concentrates on Mā's idea of the Absolute, while determining whether Mā advocated bhakti yoga or jnana yoga.
Arvind Sharma
- Published in print:
- 2001
- Published Online:
- October 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780195658712
- eISBN:
- 9780199082018
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195658712.003.0017
- Subject:
- Religion, Hinduism
Bhakti-yoga is directed towards the realization of saguna Brahman, and this kind of yoga functions within the framework of a somewhat different set of presuppositions. A special ...
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Bhakti-yoga is directed towards the realization of saguna Brahman, and this kind of yoga functions within the framework of a somewhat different set of presuppositions. A special mark of monotheistic belief, whether Śaivism or Vaishavism, is the distinction between God, the individual soul, and the world of which he is the author. The soul is usually conceived as eternal, but as entirely dependent upon God; and it therefore becomes the first duty of man to make himself a conscious and willing instrument in the fulfillment of His purpose. The conception of the goal of life according to early Indian theism may be taken as reaching the presence of God, or becoming godlike. The predominant means of achieving this end is, besides good conduct (caryā), is loving devotion (bhakti) to God.Less
Bhakti-yoga is directed towards the realization of saguna Brahman, and this kind of yoga functions within the framework of a somewhat different set of presuppositions. A special mark of monotheistic belief, whether Śaivism or Vaishavism, is the distinction between God, the individual soul, and the world of which he is the author. The soul is usually conceived as eternal, but as entirely dependent upon God; and it therefore becomes the first duty of man to make himself a conscious and willing instrument in the fulfillment of His purpose. The conception of the goal of life according to early Indian theism may be taken as reaching the presence of God, or becoming godlike. The predominant means of achieving this end is, besides good conduct (caryā), is loving devotion (bhakti) to God.
Arvind Sharma
- Published in print:
- 2001
- Published Online:
- October 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780195658712
- eISBN:
- 9780199082018
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195658712.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Hinduism
This book sets out to explore the doctrinal dimension of classical Hinduism (eighth century BCE to circa 1000 CE.), and is organized in terms of its key concepts: brahman, karma, karma-yoga, etc. ...
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This book sets out to explore the doctrinal dimension of classical Hinduism (eighth century BCE to circa 1000 CE.), and is organized in terms of its key concepts: brahman, karma, karma-yoga, etc. which are discussed in their logical connection as well as in the context of a period of Hinduism which is chronologically connected with those that precede and succeed it. In textual terms, this covers the period from the Upanishads down to the late Purānas, and all that comes between them: the Smrtis (law books), the Itihāsas (epics), the Purānas (ancient lore), the Āgamas (liturgical manuals) and Darśanas (philosophical literature), etc. The purpose of the book is to synchronically and systematically present the governing concepts of classical Hinduism and their operation during the delimited period of classical Hinduism. Three features of the book to enable readers to use it to full advantage: (1) the first chapter constitutes the text of an oral presentation made at the Smithsonian Institution, designed to present classical Hindu thought in a concise and accessible manner. It forms a useful introduction to the conceptual framework of Hinduism, as the key ideas have deliberately been presented in a simple and direct manner. Their complexities and nuances are uncovered under the specific chapters that follow. (2) The rest of the book may be viewed as a magnification of the first chapter. (3) Among the essentials of classical Hindu thought, special and detailed consideration has been accorded to the concept of varna.Less
This book sets out to explore the doctrinal dimension of classical Hinduism (eighth century BCE to circa 1000 CE.), and is organized in terms of its key concepts: brahman, karma, karma-yoga, etc. which are discussed in their logical connection as well as in the context of a period of Hinduism which is chronologically connected with those that precede and succeed it. In textual terms, this covers the period from the Upanishads down to the late Purānas, and all that comes between them: the Smrtis (law books), the Itihāsas (epics), the Purānas (ancient lore), the Āgamas (liturgical manuals) and Darśanas (philosophical literature), etc. The purpose of the book is to synchronically and systematically present the governing concepts of classical Hinduism and their operation during the delimited period of classical Hinduism. Three features of the book to enable readers to use it to full advantage: (1) the first chapter constitutes the text of an oral presentation made at the Smithsonian Institution, designed to present classical Hindu thought in a concise and accessible manner. It forms a useful introduction to the conceptual framework of Hinduism, as the key ideas have deliberately been presented in a simple and direct manner. Their complexities and nuances are uncovered under the specific chapters that follow. (2) The rest of the book may be viewed as a magnification of the first chapter. (3) Among the essentials of classical Hindu thought, special and detailed consideration has been accorded to the concept of varna.
