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Home , Abhyasa, Kaivalya, Kleshas (Hinduism), Prasthanatrayi, Saguna Brahman, Shiva Samhita

6/9/16

Indian Philosophy (Darshanas)

What is ?

What are the main traditions?

What are the main ‘styles’?

Why practice yoga?

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Where do we find the roots of ?

Is Yoga Hindu? : the world’s first According to the yogic lore, over fifteen thousand years ago, Shiva attained enlightenment and abandoned himself in an intense ecstatic dance upon the Himalayas. When his ecstasy allowed him some movement, he danced wildly. When it became beyond movement, he became utterly still. His students to be observed him and later became ‘Saptarishis’ – the Patriarc hs of the Vedic Religion.

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Hinduism

• One of the world’s oldest major religions • More than 720 million • Ancestors were the Aryas • No known founder • Consequently evolved greatly • Spiritual texts are the basis • are classified into Sruti (revealed) and (remembered)

FOUR GOALS OF LIFE • – satisfying the desire for sense pleasure (urge common to human & animal) • – acquisition of worldly possessions or money (humans) • – prescribes the "eternal" duties all Hindus have to follow, regardless of class, caste, or sect, such as honesty, purity, and self- restraint • – liberation achieved through realisation (divinity equally present in all but not equally manifest)

Hindu Beliefs: GOD • Originally Polytheistic: worshipped earth, water, fire, wind, sky, sun, dawn, night, thunderstorm. • Pure Consciousness / Spirit: from which the whole world evolved, .

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Nirguna “God without attributes”

• Beyond time and space • Limitless (therefore no personality) • Words & language are limited so God can not be explained in words

Saguna Brahman “The with Qualities”

Many Names & Faces of God • Brahma (impersonal) • Worship of personal – / • When we think of the infinite with our finite we project our limitations onto Nirguna Brahma and then God appears finite or personified. • Nirguna Brahma gains a personality not unlike human personality • Ishvara / Gods are simple Nirguna Brahma perceived through the lense of a particular time

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“"One ought to know the Supreme Spirit who is the ruler of all, subtler than subtlest, of resplendent glory, and capable of being realized only by the of pure minded ones. Some call him (fire); others call him Manu (thinker); and others Prajaapati (Lord of creations). Some again call him (the glorious); others Praana (the vital life forces, Pancha praanas); and still others Brahma (the Great)" says Manu.

Prakriti &

• All gods are an instance of purusha • Purusha = Self, Consciousness, and Universal principle, purusha is eternal, indestructible, without form and all pervasive. Interchangeable with Brahman (in the ) • Prakriti: means ‘nature’. Goddesses are often a manifestation of prakriti. Prakriti composed of the three gunas.

Gunas & Doshas

• Three gunas are the ( ) are the fundamental 'tendencies' of prakriti. • As they pertain to the body in they are called doshas. • The balance or imbalance of these doshas defines the prakriti or nature of one's body

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Karmavada • Doctrine of cause and effect • ‘’ means action (eg; ) • Good intent and good deed contribute to good karma and future happiness, while bad intent and bad deed contribute to bad karma and future suffering.

Now as a man is like this or like that, according as he acts and according as he behaves, so will he be; a man of good acts will become good, a man of bad acts, bad; he becomes pure by pure deeds, bad by bad deeds;

And here they say that a person consists of desires, and as is his desire, so is his will; and as is his will, so is his deed; and whatever deed he does, that he will reap.

Rebirth / Reincarnation

• Related to Karma • Samsara: Repeating cycle of birth life and death • Stuck in the cycle due to ignorance () of one’s true self • Because of the desire (kama) arises • Keeps us stuck in the cycle of samsara • Many ways out of this cycle….

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• The images in the hub of the wheel represent the three poisons of ignorance, attachment and aversion. • The second layer represents karma • The third layer represents the six realms of samsara • The fourth layer represents the twelve links of dependent origination • The fierce figure holding the wheel represents impermanence • The moon above the wheel represents liberation from samsara or cyclic existence. • The Buddha pointing to the moon indicates that liberation is possible.

Moksha (vimoksha, vimukti and mukti) Emancipation, liberation, release from Samsara

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Break (end of Workshop 1)

Darshanas Refers to several schools of philosophical thought originating (but not confined to) India.

Similarities Include: Te a c h i n g s o n Dh a r ma & Ways to attain emancipation (moksha) & Many Indian philosophers would begin of preface their work, or their commentaries in regards to how the philosophy benefits humanity

A Brief History

• (‘knowledge’)(pre 1500 BCE) • Upanishads (pre 500 BCE) • Buddha & Mahvira - (about 500 BCE) • Epics (pre 500 CE) • Yoga Sut ras (100-500 CE Gavin Flood, 2nd century - ) • Ta n t r a s (began to be compiled in 800 CE) • Pradipika (15th century)

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Ways in which we can understand the development of

• Formative Period (2500-800BCE)

• The Speculative Period (800-400 BCE)

• The Epic & Classical Period (400BCE-600 CE

• The Medieval Period (600-1800 CE)

• The Modern Period (1800-present)

Formative Period (2500-800BCE)

-Indus Valley Civilisation - Invasion? -Vedas (vionairies - , drank ) -Agni - transmits the offerings to the gods in the ritual fires during pujas

Vedas (Means ‘knowledge’)

The Vedas are thought to have three main stages or groups of texts:

-the four Saṃhitās which praise varying deities;

-the Brahmāṇas, which are concerned with ritual and ceremonies; and

-the Arayakas and Upaniṣads which are largely philosophical and my stical treatises.

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Samhitas

• Rig Veda • Yajur Veda • Veda • Athara Veda

Rig Veda • Oldest of the four Vedas • Consists of 10,600 verses (collected into 10 books) of hymns and used by the priests. • Hymns focus on pleasing the principal gods Indra (war, wind and rain), Agni (the sacrificial fire), Surga (the sun) and (the cosmic order) through ritual sacrifices. • Gods govern rain, wind, fire and war, and forgive wrongdoing (5.85.7) and mete out justice in the afterlife (1.97.1).

Yajur Veda and Sama Veda • Yajur Veda - "Wisdom of the Sacrifical Formulas” • Sama Veda "Wisdom of the ” • Both are liturgical & consist primarily of selections from the Rig Veda. • Yajur Veda was used by priests & contains brief prose to accompany ritual acts. • Sama Veda chanted in fixed melodies by the priests. • Each contains about 2,000 verses.

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Atharva Veda • Consists of 20 books of hymns and prose, reflecting the religious concerns of everyday life.

• Set the Arharva Veda apart from the other Vedas, which focus on adoring the gods and performing the liturgy of sacrifice.

• Prayers for long life, prosperity, curses, kingship, love (books 1-8).

• Books 8-12 - cosmological hymns, marking a transition to the loftier philosophy of the Upanishads. The remainder of the books consist of magical and ritual formulas, including marriage and funeral practices.

Brahmanas (Commentaries on the Vedas)

• Explains the mythology and significance behind the Vedic rituals of the . • Some detail regarding performance of rituals, but primarily concerned with the meanings of the rituals. • Presents worldview in which sacrifice is central to human life, religious goals, and even the continuation of the cosmos. • The hold the view that, if executed with shraddhaa (belief), the rituals will not fail. • Brahmanas - infallible power of correctly pronouncing the mantras • Some Brahmanas contain sections that are Upanishads in their own right.

The

• Meaning – “Forrest/Wilderness Books” or "belonging to the wilderness"

• Discuss rites deemed not suitable for the village (thus the name “wilderness").

• They also prominently feature the word , here meaning the creative power behind of the rituals, and by extension, the cosmic order.

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Upanishads An extension / rejection / critique of Vedas. (will discuss further in a moment)

Role of the Vedas

• Rituals are central to Hindu life • Vedas outline rituals for birth, death, marriage, thread ceremony etc. • Through enacting these rituals are concerned with “the stability and welfare of the world” Sruti (revealed) not Smriti (remembered)

Vedic Chanting

Gayatri is a popular example of a Vedic .

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Speculative Period (800-400BCE)

Philosophical & Metaphysical teachings of the Upanishads Everything is Brahman which is eternally present in the (god within us - or we are are (all) God) More than 200 Upanishads No fixed list as continually being composed (up until approx 1947)

Upanishads “The Upaniṣads mark a significant turning point in because they question the rituals of the Ve d as and mark a move towards a more individual pursuit for liberation. The central philosophical tenet of the Upaniṣads is monism - that the underlying reality of all existence is thought to be brahman, the One, which is said to manifest in all people in the form of the (our self/soul).” *Picture of Shankara - co mmentato r o n th e Upanishadsand founder of Advaita

• Brahman is "the infinite Spirit Source and fabric and core and destiny of all existence, both manifested and unmanifested and the formless infinite substratum and from whom the universe has grown". Brahman is the ultimate, both transcendent and immanent, the absolute infinite existence, the sum total of all that ever is, was, or shall be. Brahman is impersonal.

• The word Atman means the immortal perfect Spirit of any living creature, being, including trees etc. The idea put forth by the Upanishadic seers that Atman and Brahman are One and the same is one of the greatest contributions made to the thought of the world

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Upanishads Mainly a dialogue between teacher and student. Derives from upa- (nearby), ni- (at the proper place, down) and ṣad (to sit) thus: "sitting down near"), implying sitting near a teacher to receive instructio Criticize the Vedic Rituals (eg; difference between Catholics and Protestants in Christianity Realise the fundamental identity of Brahman and atman as not different. Means liberation (moksha) from the endless cycle of rebirth (samsara, which is perpetuated by one’s actions (karma).

“Rather than advocating elaborate rituals, such as those outlined in the Vedas, the Upaniṣads seek to identify the Ultimate/brahman with the self/ātman. According to Upaniṣadic thought, to realise one’s self as brahman and therefore beyond birth, decay, and death is to gain mokṣa (liberation) from saṃsāra (rebirth) which is propelled by our karma (the fruits of our actions).”

Adi Shankara

• Indian philosopher.

• Consolidated the doctrine of (reality is nondual).

• Unity of atman (inner self / soul) and Nirguna Brahma

• 's opponents accused him of teaching in the garb of Hinduism. If atman is brahman in a pot (the body), then one need merely break the pot to fully realize the primordial unity of the individual soul with the plentitude of Being that was the Absolute.

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• Saw little use in ritual • Argued for the acquisition of redemptive knowledge (soteriological teaching). • Focused on liberation – moksha

Guru Brahma, , Guru Maheshwara. Guru Sakshath Parambrahma, Ta s ma i Shri Gurave Namaha.

“Guru is the creator Brahman, Guru is the preserver Vishnu, Guru is the destroyer Shiva. Guru is directly the supreme spirit — I offer my salutations to this Guru.”

Hindu Worldview = Duality

• Rituals are based on the assumption that an outside power may be invoked to bring an improvement to our spiritual condition. • Moksha requires inward knowledge – inward orientation & quest. • Redemptive knowledge does not reside outside us, but within us.

Advaita = Nonduality

• Brahman unchanging eternal, conscious, blissful and unqualified by time, space or any delimiting attribute. • Essentially, individuals are not ultimately real. • To realise that our inner ‘soul’ is Brahman is to lose all consciousness of our individuality.

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• We then die to the whole game of ego centered life and desire motivated actions that binds us to rebirth. • It is to dwell in unmitigated bliss, in which ‘we’ are free of false identities

What is lived non duality?

How does this relate to how we know ourselves, other people, our ethical standpoint?

As discussed in the chapter ‘Breath of Awakening’

Maya

• Prevents us from seeing things as they really are… • Enmeshes us in our indviduality. • Prevents us from being able to perceive ourselves from the perspective of eternity and enables us to remain content with the limitations of finite existence.

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Brihadaranyaka Upanishad

asato mā sadgamaya tamaso mā jyotirgamaya mṛtyor mā amṛtaṁ gamaya śānti śānti śānti --bṛhadāraṇyaka upaniṣada 1.3.28

Translation: Lead Us From the Unreal To the Real, Lead Us From Darkness To Light, Lead Us From Death To Immortality, OM (the universal sound of God) Let There Be Peace Peace Peace

Dharma & Moksha • Social order divinely sustained.

• Humans are responsible for observing the rules of dharma, which results in Brahmins performing their rituals which nourish the Gods, whose task it is to maintain the world by protecting it from demons.

• Every person has a part to play, and each part is held to be necessary in some way to the ultimate end, the preservation & perfection of a habitable world for humanity

• Contrasted with moksha, one’s eternal destiny, a release from all limitations & restrictions

• Q: How do we limit and restrict ourselves in the duality we live in?

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Solution…Reconciliations

• Four stages of life: (student, householder, forest dweller, renunciate) • The suggests different paths (Karma Yoga, Yoga, Yoga) • No attachment to the fruits of actions.

Yoga, Nonduality & Duality

• Yoga is dualistic • Separate prakriti from purusha • Essentially, both seek liberation & moksha

Techniques

• For Shankara, no technique guarantees Moksha. Moksha is experienced due to

GRACE

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-- BREAK ( end of Workshop 2 ) --

Epic & Classical Period

Indo ceased being nomadic and settled especially in the planes of North India. & were written reflecting somewhat politics at the time (eg; royal rivalries) Both somewhat explore the tension between religion which upholds the world order but also aimed at isolating a person from society in order to achieve liberation. Law Books (Eg; Laws of Manu)

Epics

Mahabharata Ramayana

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Ramayana

• is the hero of the story. His wife is abducted and he seeks to rescue her. The The epic is concerned with human existence and the concept of dharma • Depicts the duties of relationships, portraying ideal characters like the ideal father, ideal servant, the ideal brother, the ideal wife and the ideal king.

• Birth of Rama, his childhood and marriage to Sita. • The preparations for Rama's coronation and his exile into the forest.[ • The forest life of Rama and the kidnapping of Sita by the demon king • The meeting of with Rama, the destruction of the vanara king Vali and the coronation of his younger brother Sugriva to the throne of the kingdom • The the heroism of Hanuman, his flight to Lanka and meeting with Sita. • The battle between Rama's and Ravana's armies. • The birth of Lava and Kusha to Sita, their coronation to the throne of Ayodhya, and Rama's final departure from the world.[

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Bhagavad Gita

The Song of the Lord, spoken to Arjuna on the battlefield.

Arjuna is about to battle his cousins, elders and teacher sin order to claim the throne for his brother (who rightfully has claim to it).

Might well be based on actual events at the time.

The first chapter of the Gita sets the scene for the reader. In some ways it just serves as a platform for ’s teachings to be conveyed.

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Krishna is the spark of divinity within us, not an external entity

Some think that the Gita is actually a mystical Upanishad inserted at a later date.

The war is an allegory for the war within

Vyasa’s entire Mahbharata could be seen as an metaphor for the forces of light and darkness in each human heart.

The Gita is then the manual for how to live life in love and completing our duty or dharma.

Chapter 1: The War Within

Arjuna requests Krishna to move his chariot between the two armies. When Arjuna sees his relatives on the opposing army side of the Kurus, he loses courage and decides not to fight.

Chapter 2: Self Realization

After asking Krishna for help, Arjuna is instructed that only the body may be killed, while the eternal self is immortal. Krishna appeals to Arjuna that as a warrior he has a duty to uphold the path of dharma through warfare.

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Chapter 3: Selfless Service

Arjuna asks why he should engage in fighting if knowledge is more important than action. Krishna stresses to Arjuna that performing his duties for the greater good, but without attachment to results is the appropriate course of action.

Chapter 4: Wisdom in Action

Krishna reveals that He has lived through many births, always teaching Yoga for the protection of the pious and the destruction of the impious and stresses the importance of accepting a guru.

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Chapter 5: Renounce & Rejoice

Arjuna asks Krishna if it is better to forgo action or to act. Krishna answers that both ways may be beneficent, but that acting in Karma Yoga is s uperior

Chapter 6: The practice of meditation Krishna describes the correct posture for meditation and the process of how to achieve .

Chapter 7: Wisdom from Realization Krishna teaches the path of knowledge ().

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Chapter 8: The Eternal Godhead

Krishna defines the terms brahman & karma, and explains how one can remember him at the time of death and attain His supreme abode.

Chapter 9: The Royal Path

Krishna explains panentheism, "all beings are in Me" as a way of remembering Him in all circumstances. panentheism: a belief system which posits that God exists and interpenetrates every part of nature, and timelessly extends beyond as well

Chapter 10: Divine Splendour

Krishna describes how He is the ultimate source of all material and spiritual worlds. Arjuna accepts Krishna as the Supreme Being, quoting great sages who have also done so.

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Chapter 11: The Cosmic Vision

On Arjuna's request, Krishna displays His "universal form" (Viśvarūpa), an epiphany of a being facing every way and emitting the radiance of a thousand suns, containing all other beings and material in existence.

Chapter 12: The Way of Love

Krishna describes the process of devotional service ().

Chapter 13: The Field and the Knower Krishna describes nature (prakrti), the enjoyer (purusha) and consciousness.

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Chapter 14: The Forces of Evolution The Gunas -Ta ma s -Rajas -Sattva

Chapter 15: The Supreme Self

Krishna describes a symbolic tree (representing material existence), its roots in the heavens and its foliage on earth. Krishna explains that this tree should be felled with the "axe of detachment", after which one can go beyond to his supreme abode.

Chapter 16: Two Paths

Krishna tells of the human traits of the divine and the demonic natures. He counsels that to attain the supreme destination one give up lust, anger and greed, discern between right and wrong action by evidence from scripture and thus act rightly.

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Chapter 17: The Power of Faith Krishna tells of three divisions of faith and the thoughts, deeds and even eating habits corresponding to the three gunas.

Q. What is the role of faith in yoga practice? What is the role of faith in the teacher student relationship?

Chapter 18: Freedom & Renunciation

Renunciation of the fruits of our actions

Devotion to one’s dharma

Devotion to Krishna the lord within and out, through Krishna’s grace he will find peace and freedom.

A final note on teaching these truths: They should not be taught to one lacking devotion or self control, or who is not open to hearing spiritual instruction.

Bhagavad Gita

“ Effort without attachment to the fruits of our actions”

• What does Krishna mean by this? • How might we practice this • at work? • in our relationships? • with our children if we have them • in our yoga practice?

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Bhagavad Gita Better is one's own duty, though devoid of merit, than the duty of another well done. Better is death in one's own duty; the duty of another is fraught with fear. (Gita 3:35)

The Medieval Period Rise of Devotional Movements and correspsonding temple constructions

Systemization of Indian Philosophy into 6 schools dominated by (Advaita) Vedant a • - school of logic • Vais hes hik a - atomist school • - school of enumeration • Yoga of • Purva Mimamsa - tradition of Vedic exegesis Rise of Ta n t r i s m

Nyaya

Accepted four valid means (pramaṇa) of obtaining valid knowledge (prama) 1) perception (pratyakṣa), 2) inference (anumāna), 3)comparison (upamāna) 4) verbal testimony (śabda). Invalid knowledge includes memory (smṛti), doubt (saṁśaya), error () and hypothetical reasoning (tarka).

Invalid Knowledge: 1) memory (smṛti), 2) doubt (saṁśaya), 3) error (viparyaya) 4) 4)hypothetical reasoning (tarka).

5) How valid knowledge was gained was important as it was the only way to be released from suffering.

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Vaisheshika

• Atomist school

• Closely associated with the Hindu school of logic, Nyaya (perception & inference)

• espouses a form of and postulates that all objects in the physical universe are reducible to a finite number of atoms. Originally proposed by the sage (or Kana-bhuk, lit erally, atom-eater) around the 2nd century BC

• The early vaiśeṣika epistemology considered only - perception - and anumāna – inference - as the pramaṇas (means of valid knowledge). • Merged with Nyaya due to shared metaphysical and epistemolgical framework

Samkhya

• Samkhya, also Sankhya, Sāṃkhya, or Sāṅkhya

• One of the six schools of classical Indian Philosophy • Dualistic: prakriti / purushadoesn’t describe what happens after moksha. • Sage is traditionally considered as the founder of the Samkhya school, although no historical verification is possible. It is regarded as one of the oldest philosophical systems in India. • The major text of this Vedic school is the extant Samkhya Karika circa 200 CE. This text (in karika 70) identifies Samkhya as a Ta n t r a • Its philosophy was one of the main influences both on the rise of the Ta n t ras as a body of • There are no purely Samkhya schools existing today in Hinduism, but its influence is felt in the Yoga and Vedanta schools.

Mimamsa • Means investigation • Primary enquiry is into the nature of dharma based on the Vedas . The nature of dharma isn't accessible to reason or observation, and must be inferred from the authority of the revelation contained in the Vedas, which are considered eternal, authorless and infallible. • Te x t u a l e x e g e s i s . • Critiqued by Shankara

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(Advaita) Vedanta • Advaita Vedanta is considered as the most influential sub-school of the Vedanta (literally, end or the goal of the Vedas) school of Hindu Philosophy • Advaita (literally, nonduality) is a monistic system of thought. • "Advaita" refers to the identity of the Self and the Whole • The key source texts for all schools of Vedānt a are the These are the canonical texts consisting of the Upanisahds, the Bhagavad Gita and the Brahma . First consolidator of the principles was Adi Shankra • Importance of a Guru • Three levels of truth • 1) The transcendental or the Pāramārthika level in which Brahman is the only reality and nothing else; • 2) The pragmatic or the Vyāvahārikalevel in which both (living creatures or individual souls) and Iswara are true; here, the material world is also true, and, • 3) The apparent or the Prāthibhāsika level in which material world reality is actually false, like illusion of a snake over a rope or a dream.

Yoga Sutras of Patanjali (See handout) Raja (royal Yoga) 4 Chapters • Samadhi Pada • Pada • Vibhuti Pada • Kaivalya Pada

Samadhi Pada

Samadhi refers to a blissful state where the yogi is absorbed into the One. Samadhi is the main technique the yoginlearns by which to dive into the depths of the mind to achieve Kaivalya. The author describes yoga and then the nature and the means to attaining samadhi . This chapter contains the famous definitional verse: "Yogaś citta-vritti-nirodhaḥ" ("Yoga is the restraint of mental modifications")

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SadhanaPada

Sadhana is the word for "practice" or "discipline". • Here the author outlines two forms of Yoga: Kriya Yo g a ( A c t i o n Yo g a ) . , sometimes called Karma Yoga, is also expounded in Chapter 3 of the Gita where Arjuna is encouraged by Krishna to act without attachment to the results or fruit of action and activity. It is the yoga of selfless action and service. • Ashtanga Yo g a describes the eight limbs that together constitute Rāja Yo g a . Ashtanga Yoga = Eightfold or Eightlimbed Yo g a .

Vibhuti Pada

• Vibhuti = "power" or "manifestation". • 'Supra-normal powers' () • Combined simultaneous practice of Dharama, Dhyana, Samadhi is ‘’ – a tool for acquiring . • Temptation… • Sidhis are

KaivalyaPada

• Means “isolation” • Isolation from what? • Interchangeable with Moksha

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Yoga Sutras of Patanjali: Ethical Foundations

Ahimsa (अहंसा): non-violence

Satya (सय): benevolent truth, absence of falsehood

Asteya (अतेय): non-stealing

Brahmacharya (मचय): spiritual advancement by education and training. Some traditions associate Brahmacharya with celibacy.

Aparigraha (अपरह): non-appropriation, absence of avarice.

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Discussion

Using worksheet with quotes…

Exercise

Discuss a recent or past event which was problematic with you with your partner.

6 Poisons

• Desire • Anger • Delusion • Greed • Envy • Sloth All a result of the Kleshas (poisons)

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5 Kleshas (poisons)

Avidya – Ignorance Asmita – Ego Raga – Attachment Dvesha – Aversion Abhinivesha – clinging to life

Samsara Halahala: we have swallowed the Poisonous herb of samsara keeping us in this existence. Yoga is the path to overcoming these poisons

Avidya – Ignorance

• Mistaking the impermanent for the permanent • Mistaking the impure for the pure • Mistaking pain for pleasure • Mistaking the non self as the ‘Self’

Asmita – Ego

• The ‘I’ maker • Stories of self • I, me & mine • Filtering of our experience in a self centred way (ahankara – I maker)

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Raga -Attachment

• Wherever there is an ‘I’ we find raga • Attachment & Aversion can be understood as ‘clinging’ • We are not happy as we want something, yet when we get it we are not happy either as we may lose it…this type of happiness is based on aversion and attachment • Yoga teaches us to go beyond our lies and dislikes…

Dvesha - Aversion

• Avoiding the unpleasant. • Aversion and attachment always happening to an ‘I’ outside of experience.

Abhinivesha – clinging to life

• Also described as fear of death • Fear of giving up our self centred stories

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Samskaras

• Mental and psycho spiritual ‘grooves’ • Because we take action based on habituated patterns of attachment and aversion we get stuck in psychological and physical grooves that then influence the way we perceive each moment

Abhyasa &

The path to gaining freedom Abhyasa: cultivation of new patterns in mind and body Vair agya: letting go of habitual patterns

The kleshas prevent us being full present. Jois understands them as preventing the heart from opening.

The 5 kleshas create separation, overcoming them allows us to live freely heart open to the flux and flow of life and the present moment.

Feeling without looking for escape from the feeling.

“Even a broken heart is an open heart…” (Stone, 2008: 89)

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Exercise

• Return to your scenario and discuss the role of the kleshas and the poisons…

Tantras

• Approximately from 800BCE onwards, and this is when specific epigraphic references to these texts, the Ta n t r a s , can be found • However most liekly was being practiced and the word tantra appears in the Rgveda and Atharaveda (approx 1500- 1000BCE). • If we are to think of Tantrism as directly related to emergence of the Ta n t r a s , then 800 BCE is the date of the beginning of ‘Ta n t r a ’

“Ta n t r ic teachings and practices have been shrouded in mystery and shunned by orthodox Hinduism due to some socially unacceptable practices, most prominently the introduction of sexuality and sexual acts as a form of spiritual practice.”

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Left Hand Tantra in the West

“Learn ways toincorporate conscious love making inyour li fe . Receive initiation of the Cobra Breath, a technique used to build your sexual energy, to achieve higher consciousness, and prevent premature ejaculation. Let go of past inhibitions and become a better lover. What tantric lovemaking is, and how it is different. What to expect in tantric relationships and tips for successful relationships” (Oz Tantra, www.oztantra.com/weekend.htm).

Divinity in the Flesh

Tantrikas understand that the body has more ‘layers’ than what we experience in everyday consciousness. The notion of the five sheaths (panca-ko sha ) is initially expounded in the Ta i t t i rīya Upaniṣadand they include: the sheath composed of physicality; the sheath composed of prāna; the sheath composed of mind; the sheath composed of understanding and the sheath composed of bliss and knowledge of the Ultimate (Feuerstein, 1998: 178).

‘Right Hand Tantra’

More socially acceptable practices, such as: • mantra (chanting), • yantra (geometric mediation devices drawn on wood/paper), • mudrā (symbolic gestures) and goddess worship

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Tantra is Non Dual in Nature

“The nondual union central to the philosophy of tantra means a freedom from individual existence. In the metaphysics of Classical Yoga, saṃsāra is understood as other to liberation/kaivalya, and the path to liberation from saṃsāra involves freeing oneself from the bondage of karmic, worldy entanglements (or identifying one’s nature with puruṣa rather than prakṛti). This opposition between saṃsāra and kaivalya is true of Patañjali’s dualist exposition of Classical Yoga. However, in tantric terms, and saṃsāra are one, of the same essence.”

Hatha Yoga Pradipika

• Written by Swami Swatmarama, a disciple of Swami in the 15th century CE.

• Together with the Gheranda and the thought to be one of the classic texts of Hatha Yoga.

• It is dedicated to Lord Adinath, a name for Lord Shiva (the Hindu god of destruction and renewal), who is thought to have imparted the secret of Hatha Yoga to his divine consort .

Yogic Practices

• Unlike the Yoga Sutras it contains instructions on a number of yoga practices and yogic physiology. Including a mention of:

– , – – – – bandhas – kriyas – – nadis –

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Break (end of Workshop 3)

Yoga Moves West • In 2004 there were more than 2.5 million practitioners of yoga in Britain alone, a truly exponential increase from previous years.1 In the United States, indications of growth are even more startling. • A 1994 Roper poll commissioned for the world’s most popular yoga magazine, , estimated that more than 6 million Americans (approximately three and one-third percent of the population) were practicing yoga—1.86 million of them regularly. Almost 17 million more—or about one in ten Americans—were “interested in yoga” but had not yet tried it (Cushman 1994: 47–8). • Ten years later, another national poll estimated that 15 million Americans were practicing yoga regularly (Carter 2004), while the proportion “interested in yoga” had also risen substantially. Yoga Journal estimated in 2003 that approximately 25.5 million Americans (twelve percent) of the population were “very interested” in yoga. • A further 35.3 million people (sixteen percent) intended to try yoga within the next year, and 109.7 million (more than half the population) had at least a “casual interest” in yoga (Arnold 2003: 10). • (From Singleton & Byrne(Eds), 2008, Yoga in the Modern World) • YOGA IS BOOMING WORLDWIDE!

Reading

‘Introduction’ from Yoga in the Modern World

(Image: Christy Tu rlin g t o n )

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How old is yoga? • “Yoga is as old or older than recorded history, its origins in the most part lost in the antiquity of Central, Western, and South Asia” (Gerald Larson, 2000).

As a systemized discipline over 2500 years old.

Is there a pure Yoga?

• No! • The many variations of ‘yoga’ in even the ancient world are due to interaction with other worldviews and practices, with adaptations due to geography, different times, and different individuals.

Modern Yoga

• Is what we largely do – postural yoga.

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The Beginnings • Vivekananda presented at the Chicago Parliament of Religions 1893 • In 1896 published His interpretation of the Yoga Sutras is creative and westernised and modernised yoga.

Elevation of the Yoga Sutras

• In Modern Yoga the Sutras become the authority on yoga. • Composed of elements from different schools of thought • Not really representative of a particular practice tradition.

“Patanjali and the “Classical Yoga” he symbolizes are today peversely used to underwrite the authenticity of techniques engaged in by modern transnational practitioners.” Singleton

Practitioners demand ‘authentic’ (Sanskrit) authority for their practice.

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“In many cases such modern practitioner rationalisations are inherently tautological, in so far as the modern category of “Classical” has functioned to lend a new kind of canonicity to certain texts, which then lend their authenticity to the very exponents of yoga who helped establish said texts within modern expressions of yoga. In this sense, some forms of transnational yoga exist within a closed, circular and self-authorising system” (Singleton, 2008).

Why do people need spiritual or religious frameworks?

As humans we usually need to see the world as meaningful and ordered…

To Overcome ‘Bafflement’

“Any chronic failure of of one’s explanatory apparatus to explain things which cry out for explanation tends to lead to a deep disquiet” (Clifford Geertz)

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To Endure Suffering

• For many world religions, belief helps us to endure suffering. • Religion places suffering in a meaningful context. • When the context is understood the suffering becomes endurable.

Explaining Evil

“The enigmatic unaccountability of gross inequity raises the uncomfortable suspicion that perhaps the world and our life in the world have no order at all” (Geertz)

What is Authentic Yoga?

• Lineage? • Efficacy? • Origin?

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Importance of Ethics

• Ethics guide our actions • Defining our own ethical framework can help with the integration of all that we learn on our mat. • With the appropriate (non dogmatic) framework we can come to understand ourselves and other people better. • We can also change our actions and how we live in the world.

What Ethics is NOT…

• Ethics is not the same as feelings. Feelings provide important information for our ethical choices. • Ethics is not religion. Many people are not religious, but ethics applies to everyone. • Ethics is not following the law. A good system of law does incorporate many ethical standards, but law can deviate from what is ethical. • Ethics is not following culturally accepted norms. • Ethics is not science. Social and natural science can provide important data to help us make better ethical choices.

How will you apply ethics to your teaching of yoga?

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Perennial Philosophy

There is an infinite changeless reality beneath the world of change

This same reality lies at the core of each person

The purpose of life is to discover this reality experientially

• Behold each other silently and relax. Take a couple of deep breaths, centering yourself and releasing any tension...If you feel discomfort or an urge to laugh or look away, just note that gently with patience, and return your attention, when you can, to the living presence of this being. He or she is unique, different from anyone who has ever lived, or will live…

As you behold this person, open your awareness to the powers that are there...to their gifts and strengths and the potentialities . In this being are unmeasurable reserves of courage and intelligence...of patience, endurance, wit and wisdom...There are gifts there, of which this person her/ himself may be as yet unaware...Consider what these powers could do for the healing of our planet, if they were to be believed and acted on. As you consider that, feel your desire that this person be free from fear...Experience how much you want her/him to be free from greed, released from hatred and from sorrow and from the causes of suffering… Know that what you are now experiencing is the great loving-kindness…

Now, as you behold this person, open your awareness to the pain they have known… Here, as in all human lives, there are sorrows, disappointments, failures and losses, loneliness, abuse... There are hurts this person may never have told to another living being… As you open to their suffering, you know that you cannot remove it. You are not that powerful. But you can be with it. As you experience your readiness to be with the pain of another, know that what you are experiencing is the great ... It is excellent for the healing of our world…

Lastly, let your awareness drop deep within you like a stone, sinking below the level of what words can express, to the v as t c urrents of relations hip that underlie all ex perienc e. It is the web of life that s upports and interweaves our lives through all space and time...See the being before you as if seeing the face of one who, at another time, another place, was your lover or your enemy, your parent or your child… And now you meet again on this brink of time...And you know your lives are as inextricably interwoven as nerve cells in the mind of a great being… Out of that vast net you cannot fall. No stupidity or failure or cowardice can ever sever you from that living web, because, you see, that is what you are… Rest in that knowing. That is the Great Peace. Out of it you can act, you can risk anything...and let every encounter be a homecoming to your true nature...Indeed it is so. •

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