Lecture tag: Tantra

Is Yogic Suicide Useless? The Practice of Utkrānti in Some Tantric Vaiṣṇava and Śaiva Sources (MT17)

The aim of this lecture is to discuss the practice of yogic suicide, as it occurs in some Tantric Vaiṣṇava sources, as well as in the Mālinīvijayottaratantra, particularly as concerns the affinities between the latter and certain Pāñcarātra saṃhitā-s. After a summary account of the contents of the text-passages where this practice is either described or alluded to (passages which are given in full in the Handout), some of the problems raised by these texts are discussed and provisional working hypothesis are put forward. In the first place, the question of how and why the practice of yogic suicide is treated in different ways in the texts where it occurs is examined. In the second place, the issue of whether and how this practice harmonizes with the visions of liberation advocated by the texts in question is discussed.

Dr Silvia Schwarz Linder has lectured in the past at the Leopold-Franzens-Universität in Innsbruck and at the University Ca’ Foscari in Venice, and is presently Research Associate at the Institut für Indologie und Zentralasienwissenschaften of the University of Leipzig. Her interests focus on the Tantric religious traditions of the Śrīvidyā and of the Pāñcarātra, specifically on the philosophical and theological doctrines expressed in the relevant South Indian Sanskrit textual traditions. She has also translated into Italian texts from the Sanskrit narrative and devotional literature, for editions aimed at a general readership. She is affiliated with the Śākta Traditions project at the OCHS led by Professor Gavin Flood and Dr Bjarne Wernicke-Olesen.

Haribhaktivilāsa as the meeting of Vedic, Tantric and Puranic ritualism (TT17)

The Haribhaktivilāsa (HBV) is an extensive Sanskrit ritual compendium written around 1534 by Gopāla Bhaṭṭa Gosvāmin, a grand-disciple of the celebrated Bengali mystic and reformer Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya (1486–1533), the founder of the Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava saṃpradāya. Though being one of the oldest of the Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava texts, the HBV has received little academic study so far. No doubt this has been partly because scholars of Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇavism have largely focused on the saṃpradāya’s theology, especially in relation to the concept of rasa, but also because so little of this text is original. More than 90% of its verses are cited from other texts.

In this talk, based on my present text-critical work with this book, I will try to shed light on some of its vexing questions, such as its authorship, primary and secondary sources, purpose, Tantric influences and neglect or downplaying of practices thought typical for Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇavism. Further, by looking at its manuscript history, I will offer some tentative thoughts on the spread of Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava texts in the early 17th century.

Dr. Måns Broo is a university researcher in comparative religion at Åbo Akademi University, Finland. His main research interests include yoga – both its history and contemporary forms – and the intersections between Vaiṣṇavism and Tantrism in pre-modern Bengal. He is at present engaged in compiling a critical edition and translation of the mediaeval Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava ritual compilation Haribhaktivilāsa. 

Rādhā Tantra and the agonies and ecstasies of studying obscure texts (TT17)

The Rādhā Tantra (RT), also known as Vāsudevarahasya (Vāsudeva’s secret), is a fairly extensive, anonymous Tantric work dealing with the story of Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa. Contrary to what the name might indicate, the RT is not a Vaiṣṇava text; rather, it is a Śākta text giving a Śākta reinterpretation of a Vaiṣṇava story. The RT is by all standards a late Tantra, written in poor Sanskrit, seldom quoted by Tantric authorities and little studied today. Plainly said, this is not an important text.

Nevertheless, in this talk, I will argue for the importance of studying such obscure texts. This I will do by taking a close look at the historical context of the RT, its fascinating manuscript history, its intertextualities and doctrines, all of which paint a vivid picture of the meeting of Śāktism and Vaiṣṇavism in 17th century Bengal. Who wrote this text, and why? Considering such questions, I argue, will not only help us understand this particular text, but also give us a larger picture of the history of religion in Bengal in general.

Dr. Måns Broo is a university researcher in comparative religion at Åbo Akademi University, Finland. His main research interests include yoga – both its history and contemporary forms – and the intersections between Vaiṣṇavism and Tantrism in pre-modern Bengal. He is at present engaged in compiling a critical edition and translation of the mediaeval Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava ritual compilation Haribhaktivilāsa. 

Readings in the Netra Tantra: Week Two (TT19)

The Netra Tantra is an important text that gained prominence in the early medieval (post-Gupta) period. These readings will focus on chapter seven, the sukṣma-dhyāna, using the oldest surviving manuscript from Nepal and making reference to the KSTS edition.

Readings in the Netra Tantra: Week Three (TT19)

The Netra Tantra is an important text that gained prominence in the early medieval (post-Gupta) period. These readings will focus on chapter seven, the sukṣma-dhyāna, using the oldest surviving manuscript from Nepal and making reference to the KSTS edition.

Readings in the Netra Tantra: Week Four (TT19)

The Netra Tantra is an important text that gained prominence in the early medieval (post-Gupta) period. These readings will focus on chapter seven, the sukṣma-dhyāna, using the oldest surviving manuscript from Nepal and making reference to the KSTS edition.

Readings in the Netra Tantra: Week Five (TT19)

The Netra Tantra is an important text that gained prominence in the early medieval (post-Gupta) period. These readings will focus on chapter seven, the sukṣma-dhyāna, using the oldest surviving manuscript from Nepal and making reference to the KSTS edition.

Readings in the Netra Tantra: Week Six (TT19)

The Netra Tantra is an important text that gained prominence in the early medieval (post-Gupta) period. These readings will focus on chapter seven, the sukṣma-dhyāna, using the oldest surviving manuscript from Nepal and making reference to the KSTS edition.

Readings in the Netra Tantra: Week Seven (TT19)

The Netra Tantra is an important text that gained prominence in the early medieval (post-Gupta) period. These readings will focus on chapter seven, the sukṣma-dhyāna, using the oldest surviving manuscript from Nepal and making reference to the KSTS edition.

Śākta Traditions Symposium III (TT19)

Hinduism cannot be understood without the Goddess (Devī/Śakti) and the goddess-oriented Śākta traditions. The Goddess pervades Hinduism at all levels, from aniconic village deities to high-caste pan-Hindu goddesses to esoteric, tantric goddesses. Nevertheless, these highly influential forms of South Asian religion have only recently begun to draw a more broad scholarly attention. Taken together, they form ‘Śāktism’, which is by many considered one of the major branches of Hinduism next to Śaivism and Vaiṣṇavism. Śāktism is, however, less clearly defined than the other major branches and sometimes surprisingly difficult to discern from Śaivism in its tantric forms. These sometimes very complex and challenging forms of South Asian religion provide a test case for our understanding of Hinduism and raise important theoretical and methodological questions with regard to the study of religious traditions in South Asia as well as to the more general and comparative study of religion.

This Śākta symposium is a contribution by leading scholars in the field as well as research students to the Śākta Traditions project and its endeavor in tracing developments in the history of goddess worship among the orthoprax brahmans, among the tantric traditions and at village level in South Asia. Thus, the symposium acts as a historical exploration of distinctive Indian ways of imagining God as Goddess (and goddesses) and aims at presenting an interdisciplinary state-of-the-art survey of Śākta history, practice and doctrine in its diversity as well as to convey something of the fascinating Śākta religious imaginaire and ritual practice that is distinctive and sets ‘Śāktism’ apart from other South Asian religious traditions. Any headway in this field will be of great value for the future study of religion in South Asia.

Webpage: saktatraditions.org

Monday 17 June 2019, OCHS Library (10.00-13.00) and Campion Hall (14.30-18.00)

Convener: Dr Bjarne Wernicke-Olesen

Programme

10-13.15 Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies  (13-15 Magdalen Street, Oxford)

10.00-10.15 Welcome by Professor Gavin Flood (Oxford)
10.15-10.45 Dr Bjarne Wernicke-Olesen (Oxford): On the State of the Art and Research Challenges in the Study of Hindu ‘Śāktism’

10.45-11.00 Tea and biscuits

11.00-12.00 Professor Mandakranta ­­­Bose (British Columbia): Correlating Divinity and Femininity in the Hindu Tradition

12.00-12.30 PhD Fellow Silje Lyngar Einarsen (Oslo and Aarhus): Navarātri in Benares: Narrative Structures and Social Realities

12.30-13.00 Prema Goet, MA (SOAS): The Path of Śakti (Exhibition)

13.00 Opening reception with short introduction by Professor Chris Dorsett (Oxford)

13.15-14.30 Lunch break

14.30-18.00 Campion Hall  (Brewer Street, Oxford)

14.30-14.45 Campion Hall tour with Professor Gavin Flood

14.45-15.45 Dr Bihani Sarkar (Oxford): Taking over Skanda: Religious appropriation and political transformation in the worship of Durgā (c. 7th century CE).

15.45-16.00 Tea and biscuits

16.00-17.00 Dr Silvia Schwarz Linder (Leipzig): The Concept of jīvanmukti in the Non-Dualistic Śākta Perspective of the Tripurārahasya

17.00-18.00 PhD Fellow Janaki Nair (Northumbria): Intertwining Hands: Tāntric Mudrās and Kathākali Theatre