Learn by Doing: Tantra
The first title of this session was "Tantrism, but still...". I realized that it didn't pass the bar, so invincible is the association of the word "Tantrism" with dubious sexual practice.
Yet, and I quote:
"...But the word of ancient India most apt to provoke inaccurate associations is "Tantra". In India, the current most circulating association is Black Magic!"
Jonardon Ganeri (Professor of Philosophy, Arts and Humanities at NYU Abu Dhabi) & Peter Adamson (Munich School of Ancient Philosophy) in the podcast referenced at the bottom of the page, which I warmly recommend.
Let's start again: far from preconceived ideas about (sexual) Tantrism, we know that it's a long and varied branch of Hinduism, almost unfathomable to us.
The aim is not to "put your head around this phenomenon", but to take advantage of a question from one of you to begin an exploration.
Preliminary reading
2 paragraphs, just: https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tantras
Our beautiful timeline, taken from the fabulous course "A Comprehensive History of Yoga: Research and Scholarship" given by SOAS(https://yso.soas.ac.uk/).
Preparation
The axis: Searching for the (deeper) meaning of what we teach...
Confusing work...
Wanting to be "purely" rational has unfortunate consequences: a critical re-launch, always, but ultimately unproductive.
To reassure myself in this vein, it's good not to feel alone:
Hence this podcast
I've found yet another podcast in the same vein as what we listened to last year (Mme Koch, Mme de Masquelier): "Very bad yoga : posture ou impostures?", Vivons heureux avant la fin du monde Living happily before the end of the world - Issue 21
I encourage you to listen carefully to the moments when the actresses of this drama start to move forward again, the moment when they regain their courage and "propose" something...
Spice
I'd like to encourage an investigation by Nore-Dine, who has immersed herself in a book: " The Book of Secrets ", by Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh.
She'll share her point of view, her reservations or moments of interest... Voir will read us an interesting passage...
In our conversations with Nore-Dine, the salient point was that Tantrism takes a positive stance on existence and the body. This is in stark contrast to the harsher, more traditional detachment of Samkya Yoga and the like.
Session
By mirroring Nore-Dine's investigation report and the podcast, my aim is to bring out a few key points. My main, preliminary one being "don't throw the baby out with the bathwater", which has a way of shocking Lou, still 😉.
Joy, lightness and delicacy
Approffondissement (fabulous!)
A 20' podcast, by scholars from Oxforf Kings College & Munich, clarifies the whole affair:
Learn by Doing: TantraPhilosophy is put into practice in Kashmir Śaivite Tantra and Buddhist Tantra. here.
Highly recommended.
Yoga and the Traditional Physical Practices of South Asia: Influence, Entanglement and Confrontation. A small 27-page pdf from our friend Daniela Bevilacqua (just read the intoduction...): here
Selected extract:
"Yoga as a form of sādhanā (spiritual practice) textually appears in Upaniṣadic ascetic contexts as a method of attaining soteriological knowledge capable of leading the ātman towards union or identification with the Absolute, the Brahman, or a more personal God. In other cases, as in the Pātañjalayogaśāstra, the aim of yoga is to isolate the puruṣa (spiritual consciousness) from prakṛti, (materiality). The practices of yoga that developed were minimally physical and mostly meditative: a proper seated posture and controlled breathing were considered the essential prerequisites to the pursuit of the meditative goal.
In Tantric contexts, yoga thrived on practices that, instead of seeing the body as a secondary tool to be eventually abandoned, looked at it as an instrument for transformation and alchemical purification to achieve not only soteriological goals but also immortality and powers. The body "visualised" in Tantric traditions became the "yogic body," acquiring a complexity never seen before, becoming a receptacle for energies and deities.
It is in this context that haṭhayoga appears. The groundbreaking work of James Mallinson, Jason Birch and Mark Singleton has been fundamental in reconstructing the development of haṭhayoga as a yogic method in which physical practices predominate. This haṭha method is worthy of study because "[b]etween the 14th and 18th centuries haṭhayoga was gradually assimilated into several mainstream Indian religious traditions" and this versatility allowed it to be "the source of much of the yoga practised around the world today" (Mallinson 2020a)".
For fanatics:
Hidden down here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zYfvbnZ5vsQ&ab_channel=LeVieuxSage / min 3 '06