Articles for January 2016 on Sutra Journal

January 2016 Issue of Sutra Journal

A History of Indian Art Through Five Masterpieces Part 1: The Splendor of Ajanta

January, 2016 by William Dalrymple

The murals of Ajanta that I saw that winter morning in 1984 embraced subject matter that was at once both profoundly spiritual and strikingly sensuous. Although the images were originally intended for a monastic audience and the occasional passing pilgrim, what puzzled the 19th century Orientalists who first worked on them was this unexpected yet heady mixture of two worlds normally considered incompatible. read more

Tibet's Secret Temple: Body, Mind and Meditation in Tantric Buddhism

January, 2016 by Ian Baker and Vikram Zutshi

Beyul are places where the physical and spiritual worlds are said to intersect and where meditative and yogic practices are said to be most effective. Located in remote regions of the Himalayan mountain range, beyul are also places known for their extraordinary bio-diversity and physical beauty. The biggest lesson that I learned from staying for extended periods in several such hidden-lands is that wild and untamed landscapes can open us to dimensions of experience that are often overlooked in more tempered read more

A Thousand Years of Abhinavagupta*

January, 2016 by Dr. Jeffrey S. Lidke

A thousand years ago the world’s most prolific and brilliant literary critics is said to have penned his final work. If our historical estimations on the birth date, the date of Abhinavagupta’s final literary work — his luminous commentary, 'Reflections on the Recognition of the Lord' — and death are accurate, then this brilliant Kashmiri polymath put down his pen around the age of 66 some five years before dying, or as lore would have it, transforming back into his divine, Bhairava self. read more

Malathi Iyengar on Dance, Yoga and Rasa

January, 2016 by Lea Horvatic

Malathi Iyengar is a Los Angeles based choreographer, dancer, teacher, writer, and visual artist. Iyengar holds a Master of Fine Arts degree in Choreography and Performance from University of California, Los Angeles. Iyengar studied Bharatanatyam (classical dance of India) with guru Narmada of Bangalore, India and choreography and improvisation under the mentorship of Marion Scott. read more

Pakistan's Sufi Dervishes, Digambar Jain Monks and Udasi sadhus

January, 2016 by Haroon Khalid

Standing in one corner of the courtyard was this group of bald dervish. They were a combination of old ages. Their naked bodies shone through their thin black shawls that they had used to cover up their torso. Some of them wore glass ear rings and had a horizontal tika on the forehead, a symbol of Hindu ascetics. Others had glass bangles on their wrists, associated with Bhaktis. All of them were without shoes, even though shoes were allowed in this courtyard. Dust had become one with the skin of their feet. read more

Reimagining the Mahabharata: In Conversation with Karthika Naïr

January, 2016 by Vikram Zutshi

The more I look at the past, the more I feel that multiplicity of perspectives and guidelines and divergence of thought is not a modern phenomenon as we often pigeonhole it. And absolutisms and binaries can be very reductive; they are also more often the non-practitioners’ predilection. Most of the dancers and choreographers I know are keener on collaborating, on finding ways of entering each other’s worlds than in drawing up hierarchies. read more

Tantra Unveiled through the Feminine: My Initiation into the Tantric Path

January, 2016 by Shantara Khalsa

My initial tantric initiation took me to a place where I was far removed from the everyday dramas of other people. My goal in life to be liberated from the wheel of birth and death set me on a very alone journey to self-mastery. This has been for me one of the greatest blessings of the tantric path. My beloved and I say now to others when they speak of difficulties with aloneness, that aloneness is 'all-one' without the extra 'L' which stands for Love. We grow to learn to be happy... read more

An Interview with Ray Maor on Living without Food

January, 2016 by Virochana Khalsa

A Breatharian, unlike most people think, is a person that uses mostly energy as his primary source of energy. This is the reason why a Breatharian does not feel hunger or thirst. A Breatharian can eat or drink if he chooses to and most Breatharian I am familiar with do eat or drink, only in small quantities and not out of a necessity. They will mostly eat or drink for social situations like being with the family or on holidays. read more

Stories and Storytellers of Kashmir

January, 2016 by Dr. Chitralekha Zutshi

Stories are the lifeblood of Kashmiri socio-cultural and political life. Every rivulet, spring, tree, mountain, meadow, shrine, village, king, personal name, and of course more momentous events such as Kashmir’s origin, or its transition to Islam, have stories attached to them, often in multiple, competing versions. read more

Beloved I am Listening: Reflections on the Vijnana Bhairava Tantra

January, 2016 by Lorin Roche

The Bhairava Tantra is a conversation between The Goddess Who is the Creative Power of the Universe, and the God who is the Consciousness That Permeates Everywhere. For short, they call each other Devi and Bhairava, or Shakti and Shiva. They are lovers and inseparable partners, and one of their favorite places of dwelling is in the human heart. read more

Shamans, Mystics and Doctors: In Conversation with Sudhir Kakar

January, 2016 by Vikram Zutshi

At the beginning of my practice in India, I was acutely aware of the struggle within myself between my inherited Hindu-Indian culture and the Freudian psychoanalytic culture that I had recently acquired and in which I was professionally socialized. My romantic Indian vision of reality could not be easily reconciled with the ironic psychoanalytic vision, nor could the Indian view of the person and the sources of human strengths be reconciled with the Freudian view... read more

A Conversation with Chogyal Rinpoche (podcast)

January, 2016 by Phillip Goldberg and Dennis Raimondi

Chogyal Rinpoche was born in Nepal in 1985. At the age of five, he entered into monastic life at Rumtek Monastery, founded by the 16th Karmapa. He earned a Khenpo degree in Buddhist Philosophy and spent many years studying meditation and Vajrayana ritual practice. Today, he travels the worldteaching Buddhist philosophy and meditation and helping others through non-profit organizations he founded, such as the Sertshang Orphanage Home in Kathmandu, the Music Academy for underprivileged children in Indi read more

Alchemy and the Hermetic Tradition: Mircea Eliade and Carl Jung

January, 2016 by Cerena Ceaser

The relationship between Mythology and the Religious traditions is an intricate weaving of metaphor. Both Mythology and Religion have the similar function of relating lived experience to a universal purpose. Often, religion relates life choices to divine models, while Mythology creates narratives that contextualize experience. In many instances mythology and religion function simultaneously. However, a major distinction between the two traditions is that... read more

How Ravi Shankar Made Musical History

January, 2016 by Philip Goldberg

Many listeners felt that vibrational shift, and the euphoria it generated triggered a widespread exploration of India's spiritual treasures. For that reason, Ravi Shankar should be remembered as much for his contribution to contemporary spirituality as for his extraordinary virtuosity, his prolific output as a composer of concert and film music and his role in promoting his country’s musical heritage and world music in general. read more

Kriya Yoga in the Light of Recent Findings in Neuroscience

January, 2016 by Marshall Govindan

If we consider that the mind is an embodied and relational process that regulates the flow of energy and information, we can use the mind to change the brain. By focusing our attention, intentionally directing the flow of energy and information through our neural circuits, we can directly alter the brain’s activity and its structure. To do so, we must know how to promote well-being through awareness. Mental activity actually creates new neural structures. Hence, even fleeting thoughts and emotions can leave read more

Malathi Iyengar Choreography Videos

January, 2016 by Malathi Iyengar

Dance Performances Choreographed by Malathi Iyengar and performed by Rangoli Dance Company read more

The Flowering of Freedom: The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali - Part Two

January, 2016 by Richard Miller

Dr. Miller has translated several classical Indian texts from Sanskrit into English. In the last issue we published a seminal text of Advaita Vedanta - Drg-Drsya-Viveka: An Inquiry into the Nature of the Seer and the Seen. We now bring you part two of Richard's translation of Patañjali's Yoga Sutras four part series along with his rich insights and incisive commentary. read more

Tibet's Secret Temple - Image Gallery

January, 2016 by Ian Baker

Ian Baker is the curator of Wellcome Collection’s major winter exhibition, ‘Tibet’s Secret Temple’, which uncovers the mysteries of Tantric Buddhism and the rich history of its yogic and meditation practices. Taking inspiration from a series of intricate murals that adorn the walls of the Lukhang Temple in Lhasa, Tibet, the exhibition showcases over 120 outstanding objects from collections around the world that illuminate the secrets of the temple, once used exclusively by Tibet’s Dalai Lama. read more

Six Seasons Part Two by Freedom Cole

January, 2016 by Freedom Cole

The season themselves can trigger emotions within us. Indian culture has a complex science of emotion from great antiquity. Emotional experience is a complex process of multiple factors: triggers (vibhāva), affects (bhāva), feelings (ālambana), and emotions (rasa). read more

Notes on the Sensuality of Sensation

January, 2016 by Godfrey Devereux

Sex is perhaps the most problematic of all human activities. The sex drive is a powerful, natural and necessary force of nature: it creates sexual appetite as a matter of course. It cannot be healthily denied. Rather, it must be embraced and navigated consciously. Yet so deep is it in us that it is not easy to recognise and express its simple, natural place in the overwhelming complexity of our modern lives. read more

dharma	yoga	tantra
ayruveda	meditation	buddha

January 2016 Issue of Sutra Journal

Get the One and Only Sutra Journal Newsletter