- 1.4 CULTURAL CORNERSTONES OF YOGA Bhagavad Gita Karma yoga Jana
yoga Bhakti yogaTantra Yoga
2. Tantra The Universe is a manifestation of divine energy.
Goal: to ritually appropriate that energy, by using prana which
flows through the universe to attain purposeful goals. mystical
experience is considered essential Guru: necessary as a guide in
tantric study & practice Yoga: (including breathwork) is
employed to subject the body to control of the will. Yoga is
suppression with awareness, tantra is indulgence with awareness
(Osho) 3. Robert Svoboda the ancient Rishis (seers) of India who
developedthe science of life organized their wisdom into three
bodies of knowledge: Ayurveda is most concerned with the physical
basis of life, concentrating on its harmony of mind & spirit.
Yoga controls the body and mind to enable them to harmonize with
the spirit, and Tantra seeks to use the mind to balance the demands
of the body & spirit 4. Philosophical Underpinning KARMA
(Action/Reaction(fala)) SAMSARA (Reincarnation Cycle) MOSHKA
(Liberation)Karma (actions) produce Fala (fruit), these accumulate
to create Vasanas (habits/desires), and these habits become
Samskaras (deep impressions) that shape our character. This ego
rooted character is played out in the next life in some form.
Moshka, is liberation from this cycledeath (and union with the
divine) and at the same time an escape from the normal death which
results in continued distance from divine energy. 5. MYSTICISM The
pursuit of communion with, identity with, or conscious awareness of
an ultimate reality, divinity, spiritual truth, or God through
direct experience, intuition, instinct or insight. The practices in
mysticism nurture this growing awareness Present in many different
religious traditions: Judaism: kabbalah Islam: Sufism Hiduism &
Buddhism: Love of god, Liberation Christianity: seeing the light 6.
Sufi Mystic in Ecstacy 7. TIMELINE (deMichaelis) 1750 rise of
orientalism and interest in the EAST 1830s rise of resistance to
"Anglicization" of India among Indian intelligencia 1850s oriental
religions as alternatives rather than simply objects of study
1893-1896 (1893) Chicago Parliament of Religions. Swami Vivekananda
rises to popularity as icon of spirituality in India, America and
Europe. (1896) "Raja Yoga". Seminal text of modern yoga.
1890s-1920s New Age Religion emerges, along with distinctive TYPES
of yoga 1915-1949 newly independent India begins to promote
indigenous arts and culture- yoga is part of this REVIVAL. World
wars slow down progress elsewhere. 1950s & 1960s practice of
modern yoga achieves widespread popularity even though it is
believed eccentric. 1990-present modern yoga gains increasing
popularity and development in the east and the west along with
modern applications of yoga practice. 8. ORIENTALISM Since the 19th
century, "orientalist" has been the traditional term for a scholar
of Oriental studies During the 20th century the term began to be
used in a different way. Palestinian-American scholar Edward Said
used the term to describe a pervasive Western tradition, both
academic and artistic, of prejudiced outsider interpretations of
the East, shaped by the attitudes of European imperialism in the
18th and 19th centuries. Said was critical of both this scholarly
tradition and of some modern scholars. In contrast, some modern
scholars have used "Orientalism" to refer to writers of the
Imperialist era who had pro-Eastern attitudes. More recently, the
term is also used in the meaning of "stereotyping of Eastern
Culture", both by advocates and academics.EAST=SPIRITUAL
WEST=MATERIAL 9. ESOTERICISM Historically related religious
movements (Astrology,Alchemy, Christian mysticism, , Theosophy,
Illuminism, Mesmerism, magic, Spiritualism). Common Traits:
Inwardness Mystery of the universe Correspondences (spiritual &
material) Occultism (secrecy) Called esoteric traditions 10.
ALCHEMY Practice focused on the attempt to change base metalsinto
gold (or any one substance to another). Based on the theory of
transmutation Involves the change of the mind & spirit of the
practitioner as well as the substances manipulated Inner meaning of
alchemical work is the spiritual path (Carl Jung). Jung saw Alchemy
as the Yoga of the West. 11. GNOSTICISM Gnostics believe in three
planes of experience: demiurge-the pure unknown (Prakriti?) The
material world of Coitus & Comfort (gunas?) Pure spiritual
realm of ascention (purusha?) Form of mysticism All are originated
from the godhead although thisfact is hidden. If revealed, then one
becomes a knower. Quest: to know only available to some: Pneumatics
(psychics)--yes Hylics (somatics)no, incapable of perceiving a
higher reality, and thereby, liberation 12. SAMKHYA PHILOSOPHY 13.
METAPHYSICS A branch of philosophy concerned with explaining
thefundamental nature of being and the world 14. Kabbalah Map of
Universe 15. Timeline & Texts Indus Valley evidence at
Mohenjo-Daro? 4000 bp Vedic Brahmins practice of Tapas
(austerities)? Katha ,Svetasvatara & maitri Upanishads -(3rd c
BCE) Pranayama, pratyahara, dhyana, dharana, tarka, samadhi
Mystical teachings (upa=near, ni=down, shad=sit) Bhagavad Gita
(karma, jnana, bhakti) 325 CE? Yoga sutras of Patanjali 250 CE?
Yama, niyama, asana, prnayama, pratyahara, dhrana, dhyana, samadhi
Hatha Yoga (13th-18thc)- Forceful Yoga 16. Hatha Yoga Associated
with Naths-defied varna & caste Union of sun & moon Texts:
Goroka Samita, Shiva Samita, Hatha YogaPradipika, Gheranda Samita,
Joga Pradipika Concerned with transmutation of the body (escape
mortal decay) Shat karman (6)-purifications Asana: HYP (15), GhS
(32), SS (84, but describes 4) Pranayama is MAINSTAY= cleanising
Nadis (72,000?), Bhandas (locks), mudras (seals) Raise kundalini
energy, joining shiva & shakti 17. Yogis & Colonial British
Rule Indians & Europeans defined yogis by perverse sexuality,
blackmagic & alimentary impurity & outlandish austerities
Admired the RATIONAL, PHILOSOPHICAL & CONTEMPLATIVE Compared
them to occultists in Europe: naked & covered in ashes with
long matted hair, twisted nails,sitting under tress engaging in
painful austerities vegitative rather than rational beingswho are
seduced by a lief of lazy vagrancy by their own vanity (318)
vagabonds & pests of the nation they live in (John Fryer)
15th-19th c: organized bands of militarized yogis control trade
routes, challenging East India Company control. Threatened economy
18. Naked Yogi-Degenerate 19. Shaiva vs Vaisnava Yoga Practice
Vaisnava mercantile & commercial elites were favored Saiva were
wandering devotional yogis (bhakti) Illegal to be naked & carry
a weapon Bhaktis transformed to buskers-yoga showmen Despised by
orthodox Hindus, casteless, ritually impure, savage & backward=
pariah of colonial India VASU (BASU) & hatha yogin 1895 Sacred
Book of the Hindus those hideous specimens of humanity who parade
throughour streets bedaubed with dirt & ashes, frightening the
children and extorting money from timid & good natured folk
(Vasu) Modern yogi should be (rather) SCIENTIFIC (medical?) 20.
Vasu the Scientist & Philosopher 21. Popular Portrayals of
Yogin The Performing Yogi Bava Lachman Das (1897) 48 postures as
part of a sideshow at London Aquarium posture master in royal
courts in Europe Yoga Magician: wondrous powers gotten through yoga
Fortune telling, healing, miracle workers Victor Dane (white
Yogi-1933) bullets, poison, mesmeric powers, also an ardent
physical culturalistMODERN FITNESS (1934) 22. Yogi Showmen &
Performers 23. Vivekananda: Cleaning Up Yoga Raja Yoga (1896): try
to uncouple yoga from itsnegative associations and make it
rational, scientific & philosophical Rejects physical practice:
too difficult and do not lead to spiritual growth Real work of mind
is Raja Yoga (YSP) not Hatha Yoga Defined yoga as a RELIGION some
things do not in the Western mind (magic) 24. Max Muller &
Blavatsky Muller: (scholar) Hatha yoga is a tarnish of Wests view
of Indian religion Indian thought is philosophically sophisticated
Yoga has degenerated in modern times to its most PRACTICAL and
least PHILOSOPHICAL (wrong) Blavatsky: (Theosophy Founder) Against
image of common ignorant sorcerer Looked to India (East) for
spiritual guidance Against exercising the body (exercise the mind)
25. Yogi Philosophers 26. International Physical Culture Movement
1890s-1950s Encyclopedia of Indian Physical Culture (1950)
Independence & national pride entail that we develop our
youthful Indians physically as well as mentally, morally &
religiously. Reaction against COLONIAL EMASCULATION Modern Olympic
& Raja Yoga (1896) (1893) first ever BODYBUILDING display One
cannot afford a weak constitution in the industrial world (survival
of the fittest) (1857) Muscular Christianity (YMCA & Salvation
Army & public schools) Eugenics Movement: improve collective
national body Inherited health Anti-intellectual 27. Physical
Culture 28. The German Turnverein promoted a system of whatbecame
known as "heavy gymnastics", meaning strenuous exercises performed
with the use of elaborate equipment such as pommel horses, parallel
bars and climbing structures. The Turnverein philosophy combined
physical training with intellectual pursuits and with a strong
emphasis upon German culture. 29. Nationalism & Physical
Culture 30. Physical Culture Goes to India The "Swedish System"
founded by Per Henrik Ling promoted"light gymnastics", employing
little, if any apparatus and focusing on calisthenics, breathing
and stretching exercises as well as massage. (1766-1839) -McClaren
Method (British Schools) to Colonial India -Harmonial Gymnastics
(Stebbins) in USA -Movement Cure (Tissot)-medical gymnastics-
Europe At the turn of the 20th century, bodybuilder and showman
Eugen Sandow's system, based upon weight lifting, enjoyed
considerable international popularity, while Edmond Desbonnet and
George Hebert popularized their own systems within France and
French-speaking countries. Bernarr Macfadden's system became
especially popular within the USA, via the promotion carried out
through his publishing empire. 31. Indian Physical Culture 32.
Sandows Guide to Physical Culture 33. American Physical
Culturalists 34. Modern Examples: Body Tribe
