C. Entries in the Encyclopedia of Yoga and Tantra.

Transcription

1 PHL 356-2: Yoga as Philosophy & Practice (crosslisted as ANS 372: 31730) (cross-listed as RS 341G: 43675) Spring 2017 Garrison MWF 2-3 Stephen Phillips Office: WAG 301 Office Hours: Wednesdays 3-5 & by appointment Assistant: TBA Office: WAG Office hours: & by appointment Course requirements: Required reading: David Frawley, Tantric Yoga and the Wisdom Goddesses Shambala Encyclopedia of Yoga and Tantra James Woods (tr.), The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali (Links to an external site.) Stephen Phillips,Yoga, Karma, and Rebirth Readings linked to this Canvas Web page as designated, including this page and links used in le Suggested reading: Other translations of the Yoga-sutra (esp., B.K.S. Iyengar's) Web readings and links as designated (including Woods' translation of the sutras without commentary (Links to an external site.) and outlined according to his own original reading). Schedule of quizzes: Feb 6 (M), Feb 27 (M), Apr 21 (M) Yoga-sutra commentary due: by Feb 27 (M) Midterm exam: March 8 (W) Final exam: May 13 (Sat), 2-5 p.m., location to be announced Topics & Requirements Weeks 1-3: Jan 18 - Feb 3 Introduction. Types of yoga. Definitions of the word yoga. Yoga and awareness; the subcons "superconscious." THE ASHTANGA-YOGA OF THE YOGA-SUTRA, the yamas and niyamas, "social constrain "personal discipline." Pronunciation exercise. (Example: ashta, "ushtu(h)," eight; anga, "ungu(h)," limb, part; yoga, discipline; astanga, "ushtangu(h)," something that has eight parts or limbs.) See the "Pronunciat of David Frawley, Tantric Yoga and the Wisdom Goddesses.

2 Yoga as philosophy. Hinduism and the guru: "Tradition and the individual talent." Yoga literature. The Upanishads. The Bhagavad-gita. The Yoga-sutra (YS). The Yoga-sutra com literature. An overview of yoga psychology: self-monitoring consciousness. Three levels of language in the Yoga-sutra: practice-oriented psychological metaphysical Theory and practice I. The tasks of philosophy: phenomenology evaluation speculation (theory-building) The classical "Yoga" school of philosophy (the school of Patanjali and his Yoga-sutra). Samkhya The "disidentification" prescription of Samkhya. Overview of yoga practice in all the classical philosophies. Yoga as meditation and breath-control and other practices. The goal of the yoga of the YS, kaivalya, "aloneness," and its competitors. Careful reading of YS, chapter 1, and then chapter 4. The structure of the YS (or "How to read the text"). The classical commentators, in particular Vya Indology. Modern commentators. Reading: A. Links: (1) from B. K. S. Iyengar, Tree of Yoga (Boston: Shambala, 2002, pp. 7-9), on the first two (the yama-s, "ethical or social restraints," and the niyama-s, "personal disciplines") (2) G. Feuerstein, "Patanjali and the Exegetical Literature" included in (his YS translation) Patanjali (Rochester, VT: Inner Traditions, 1979) (3) from Swami Satyananda Saraswati, (on pranayama ) Asana, Pranayama, Mudra, Band of Yoga, 1989), pp B. The Yoga-sutra (YS), chapter one, translation by James Woods: The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali ( and the commentatary by Vyasa but you may skip over the subcommentary by Vachaspati). Pleas translation, chapter one--now available in Yoga, Karma, and Rebirth, pp , with notes, pp other translation of YS ch. 1 to which you have access. C. Entries in the Encyclopedia of Yoga and Tantra. D. Yoga, Karma, and Rebirth, from ch. 1, "Yoga Literature and Classical Philosophies," pp Weeks 4-6: February 6-24 >> QUIZ 1: M FEB 6, at the beginning of class Interactive dualism and other models of the mind/body relationship. Materialism and causal

3 perspectivalism. The range of Yoga philosophies. The YS's practice concepts and psychological theories II. Karma and samskara, "mental dispositi Phenomenology and first- and third-person points of view. "Voluntarism" (aka "existentialism") a person point of view. "Phenomenology" as trying to capture "what it's like" from a first-person po Self-determination vs. the determinism of nature. Yoga's self-determination thesis. Yoga and ethics. AHIMSA (the first limb of ASHTANGA YOGA), "nonharmfulness," and the vegetarianism. The Buddhist arguments of Shantideva for ahimsa and compassion. Aurobindo's The YS's yama-s and niyama-s revisited. Reading:A. Links: (4) "Jainism" and from the Acaranga Sutra on "ahimsa,"muni Mahendra Kumar, trans., A Delhi: Jain Vishva Bharati, 1981) (5) from Shantideva, The Bodhisattvacaryavatara (6) from Aurobindo, The Synthesis of Yoga, "Standards of Conduct and Spiritual Freedom" Aurobindo Ashram Trust, 1973, pp ) (7) from Swami Satyananda Saraswati, A Systematic Course in the Ancient Tantric Techniques (Munger: Bihar School of Yoga, 1989, pp ), in particular "Codes 1-10" (a slightly di rules in comparison with the yama-s and niyama-s of the Yoga-sutra; cf., the Noble Eightf B. The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, tr. J.H. Woods, through the end for the sutras, but only chapter o all of chapter four with the commentary by Vyasa. The subcommentary (small print) by Vacaspat sutras on which you write your required three-page paper. (For the paper--see below--it is crucial Vacaspati.) To repeat, the main commentary by Vyasa is required through sutra 2.28 (p. 174) and chapter four. For chapter three and the other sutras, read the commentary whenever a sutra is unc translation and notes, Yoga, Karma, and Rebirth, Appendix C, with notes, as needed. C. Yoga, Karma, and Rebirth, from ch. 2, "Yogic Self-Monitoring," "Yoga on Philosophy's Mind "Mind-Body Interactive Dualism," pp (The last section of the chapter, on holism, is strong required.) And from ch. 3, "Ahimsa," pp , and "Karmic Justice," pp (strongly reco required). Compare Woods' and Phillips' translations (and any other that you have access to, e.g. Georg Feu Iyengar's). As stated, it is not invariably necessary to read the commentary (except to help to und with Phillips' notes); here are the sutras only but of course for the sutra or sutras on which you wr definitely should read the commentary and Phillips' notes: see below.» Two-to-three-page YS paper due M Feb 27 Explain one or more sutras taken from the YOGA-SUTRA. Specify the sutra or sutras which you are targeting by typing them out at the top of your paper. Write a double-spaced essay, 11-pt font, reasonable margins, at most three pages in length. Please make at least one pertinent reference to an earlier or later sutra or sutras in the text, designating them, e.g. "YS 1.2," by chapter as well as sutra number. And be sure to refer to, severally, the sutras themselves (by Patanjali), the commentary

4 (by Vyasa), and the subcommentary (by Vacaspati). Alternative topics are possible if cleared in advance by your professor. Weeks 7-8: Feb 24 - Mar 7» QUIZ 2: Feb 24 (M), at the beginning of class Yogic perception and testimony. Should we believe yogic claims? The classical arguments. Epistemology of perception; the theory of appearing. Nyaya's externalist epistemology. Yoga's parallelism thesis. Epistemology of mysticism ask, is it cognitive?). Can yogic experience provide informatio Review for the hour exam. Reading:(A) From Yoga, Karma, and Rebirth, pp (B) Links: (8) from William Wainwright, Mysticism (Madison, Wis: University of Wisconsin Press, 1 (9) from C.B. Martin, Religious Belief ( Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1959) (10) "Theistic Mystical Experience" : From Saint Teresa of Avila, The Interior Castle (tr. J Aurobindo, The Synthesis of Yoga, in S. Phillips, Philosophy of Religion (Orlando: Harcou 76.» MIDTERM EXAM: March 8 (W) Spring Break M MAR 20: YOGA CLASS (TAUGHT BY SHREE JANISHA) IN THE QUADRANGLE ROOM, TH PLEASE BE ON TIME (2-2:50) WEAR LOOSE CLOTHING AND BRING A YOGA MAT I WILL BE A FEW EXTRAS AVAILABLE AND IT IS NOT NECESSARY TO HAVE A MAT) Weeks 9-10: March Mar: Class meets in the Texas Union; see above. Yoga within the history of Indian thought presented in greater detail. The Upanishads. Buddhism. The Bhagavad-Gita. Vedanta. Yoga and the Upanishads. The Upanishadic kosha ("sheath") psychology. Brahman, the Absolute. The teachings of the Upanishads. The Brahma-sutra. The classical Ved Reconsideration of yogic practices within the broad span of classical Sanskrit literature, especiall "world views" (Nyaya, Vaisheshika, Mimamsa, Vedanta, and the rest). The Gita. The Gita's textual setting in the "Great Indian Epic," the Mahabharata. The philosoph Samkhya, Yoga (Seshvara Samkhya), Epic Samkhya. The three "paths" (trimarga) of the Gita: karma-yoga: the yoga of action/sacrifice jnana-yoga: the yoga of knowledge/meditation bhakti-yoga: the yoga of love/devotion. The ethics of the Gita. Karma-yoga: the ethics of disinterested action. Reading:A. "Select Yogic Passages from the Early Upanishads," Appendix A, Yoga, Karma, and and See also Figure A, Yoga, Karma, and Rebirth (koshas).

5 B. Introduction to the Gita and selected passages from it, inyoga, Karma, and Rebirth, Appenix B Recommended: any other translation of the Gita. C. From chapter three of Yoga, Karma, and Rebirth, "Karma Yoga," pp (And review pp. D. Entries in the Encyclopedia of Yoga and Tantra. Weeks 11-13: April 3-21 Four final topics (all exhibiting the "Tantric turn"): Buddhism and yoga; Tantra and rasa yoga; th Vedanta and Neo-Vedanta. 1. The story of the Buddha's life. The Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path. An overview of Buddhist literature. Theravada and Mahayana. Tibetan Buddhism. Buddhist Mahayana (the Great Vehicle). Its Bodhisattva ideal. 2. Tantra; Tantric metaphysics. Kashmiri Shaivism and the Tantric turn in Hinduism. Abhinava Gupta. Tantric psychology: chakras. Kundalini yoga. Shakta yoga. Aesthetic experience (rasa, "tasting the essence,'' "relishing"). Abhinava's new yoga of art an 3. Women and yoga in the pre-modern age: the bhakti poems of Mira-bai (sixteenth century) and 4. Modern Vedanta. Swami Vivekananda ( ). Tantra in Neo-Vedanta. Aurobindo (1872 Aurobindo's "psychic being'' and "soul evolution." Reading: A. Links: (11) from the Large Sutra on Perfect Wisdom, tr. Edward Conze (London: Luzac, 1961) (12) from P. Muller-Ortega, The Triadic Heart of Siva, "The Heart as Ultimate Reality" (A pp , along with his translation of the Anubhava-nivedana-stotra of Abhinavagupta (13) K. C. Pandeya, "Introduction to the Second Edition," Abhinava: An Historical and Ph with a drawing depicting Abhinava and his followers ) (Varanasi: Chowkhamba, 1963 (14) J.N. Mohanty, Classical Indian Philosophy (on rasa) (Lanham, Maryland: Rowman & (15) "The Bhakti Movement," poems by Akka Mahadevi, Janabai, Lalla, and Mirabai, Intr Philosophy, ed. D. Bonevac and S. Phillips (New York: Oxford University Press, 2009), p (16) Swami Vivekananda's "Religious Inclusivism" (introduction) and selections from Viv World Parliament of Religions, Chicago, 1892 (17) from Aurobindo, The Life Divine, ch. 23, bk. one, "The Double Soul in Man" (Pondic Ashram Trust, 1973)

6 B. David Frawley, Tantric Yoga and the Wisdom Goddesses, pp and (the remainde recommended). For the quiz on April 21st, be sure to review Frawley's "Glossary of Sanskrit Ter that are also present in the Encyclopedia of Yoga and Tantra are (super) prime candidates for the C. "Selections from (Tantric) Kashmiri Shaivite Texts" (including the Kularnava Tantra and Abh Circle of Divinities" along with a section from his Commentary on the Natya-Shastra), and "Sele Pradipika," Appendices D and E of Yoga, Karma, and Rebirth, pp Also required fromy "Extraordinary Emotion: Bhakti (Devotional Love), Rasa (Relish), and Ananda (Bliss)," pp Weeks 14-15: April 24 - May 5 QUIZ 3 : April 24 (M), at the beginning of class Commercialization of yoga. Elitism versus populism. Bringing it all back home: What makes yoga work? Common-sense answer: ekagrata, "one-pointed concentration" (compare Gita 2:50 "Yoga is sk The Yoga answer: purity or "making the nature sattvic." The answer of Tantra: manifestation of "conscious-force" in "fit" persons (adhikari). Vedanta and Buddhism: attunement to one's true nature. Modern medicine: increased oxygenation for the motor skills and oxygen deficiency for the spe (Compare YS1.34.) The science of religion: the debunking explanations of anthropology, sociology, and psycholog Historicism. The sociology of knowledge. Indology and the historicist paradigm. Phenomenology Materialism and the mind-body problem revisited. Personal identity revisited: Rebirth -- Is it pos Science and yoga: conclusions. Reading:A. Links: (18) s from Paul Muller-Ortega and Ellen Briggs on the commercialization of yoga (19) from Sigmund Freud, The Future of an Illusion, in S. Phillips, Philosophy of Religion (20) Rosch, Eleanor (1999). Is Wisdom in the Brain? Review of James Austin, Zen and the Psychological Society10.3 (May): (21) Bordia, A., O. P. Gupta and L. K. Kothari (1973), "Studies on a Yogi During an Eight-day Underground Pit." Indian Journal of Medicine 61 (November): (22) from Paul Edwards, Reincarnation: A Critical Examination (Amherst, NY: Promethe (23) Stephanie Lim, "The Therapeutic Effects of Yoga Practice," unpublished honors thes Austin (pages to be determined). B. Yoga, Karma, and Rebirth, "Arguments For and Against," pp Recommended: the Web site of the International Association of Yoga Therapists. (Links to an external site.) Review for the final exam.

7 Final exam: Sat May pm Location: TBA