Paradoksy w Dźiwy Goswamina koncepcji duszy, drogi do doskonałości oraz wyzwolenia

Przedmiotem artykułu jest rola i znaczenie paradoksów w myśli filozoficznej i mistyce teologa wisznuizmu bengalskiego – Dźiwy Goswamina (XVI w.). Sytuuje on swój system w obrębie szkoły wedanty, w której główną kategorią odróżniającą jej nurty i decydującą o ich specyfice jest relacja pomiędzy absolutem a światem zjawiskowym i człowiekiem. U Goswamina będzie to relacja jednoczesnej tożsamości i odrębności (bhedābheda) powyższych kategorii, dookreślona słowem acintya – „niedostępna rozumowi” – co dodatkowo uwydatnia ten ontologiczny paradoks. Chociaż doktrynalnie najistotniejszy, nie jest to jednak jedyny paradoks w myśli Goswamina. Poprzez przyjęcie tej nadrzędnej tezy metafizycznej powstało bowiem wiele innych aporii, między innymi dotyczących natury duszy, problemu wcielenia, a także koncepcji bhakti (nabożnego oddania dla bóstwa) oraz wyzwolenia (mukti), które następnie Goswamin stara się rozwiązać w swoim najważniejszym traktacie filozoficznym – Szatsandarbhsze

ŚRADDHĀ: A FÉ COMO O ÍMPETO A MOVER O PROCESSO RELIGIOSO DENTRO DO HINDUÍSMO DEVOCIONAL

O presente trabalho vem problematizar o conceito de śraddhā, entendido como a fé dentro do Vaiṣṇavismo Gauḍīya de Caitanya Mahāprabhu (1486-1534), baseado em textos como a Bhagavad-gītā e o Bhāgavata Purāṇa, os quais servem de norte para toda Filosofia e Teologia nos Vedas dessa tradição de devoção monoteísta (bhakti), uma das mais proeminentes vertentes religiosas do hinduísmo. Será a fé um recurso desenvolvido por ignorantes em sua infância racional, ou seria um elemento universal sob certa perspectiva comum a todos? Tal elemento, por distinguir e caracterizar a existência entre teístas e ateístas seria concedido a uns e negado para outros de acordo com os caprichos de Deus? Analisaremos o desenvolvimento sistemático e gradual de śraddhā a prema (amor puro) como demonstrado em textos como o Bhāgavata Purāṇa e o Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu de Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī com as considerações finais ao problema aberto sendo verificadas no Caitanya-caritāmṛta e por Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura de como a divindade se mantém imparcial mas essa segue a vontade de seu devoto.

The Devotional Metaphysics of Śaṅkaradeva (1449–1568): The Advaitic Brahman as the Beloved Friend

Various forms of Advaita Vedānta as well as devotional Vedānta developed during the medieval centuries diverse hermeneutic strategies of positioning and repositioning jñāna and bhakti in their own conceptual-soteriological systems. These Vedāntic systems do not place jñāna and bhakti in hermetically sealed compartments but interweave them from within their distinctive metaphysical structures. Our discussion of the Assamese poet-saint Śaṅkaradeva (1449–1568) will highlight these broader themes in the reception histories of the Vedāntic materials. Śaṅkaradeva developed a distinctive pattern of devotional metaphysics rooted primarily in the Bhāgavata-purāṇa, where the ultimate reality, which is indicated with highly characteristic Advaitic analogies, is also repeatedly described as the beloved friend who lovingly protects the devotees and who even becomes subservient to them

Adaptive Reuse

The present volume explores a specific aspect of creativity in South Asian systems of knowledge, literature and rituals. Under the heading of “adaptive reuse,” it discusses the relationship between innovation and perpetuation of earlier forms and contents of knowledge and aesthetic expressions within the process of creating new works. Although this relation rarely became the topic of explicit reflections in the South Asian intellectual traditions, it is here investigated by taking a closer look at the treatment of older materials by later authors."Adaptive Reuse" ist ein wichtiges theoretisches Konzept aus dem Bereich der Architektur. Dort bezeichnete es die Verwendung eines teilweise umgebauten Gebäudes zu andern Zwecken als denen seiner ursprünglichen Errichtung. Im vorliegenden Band wird dieses Konzept zum ersten Mal auf ein weiteres Spektrum kulturellen Schaffens übertragen, nämlich auf die Komposition von Texten und auf die Kreation neuer Konzepte und Ritual

ISKCON and intelligent design: The case of Leif A. Jensen and Rethinking Darwin

Bhaktivedanta Swami (1896–1977), the founder of ISKCON, had a complex relationship with science and modernity, and many of his followers have consequently allied themselves with various kinds of critiques of the modern project. A favourite enemy has been Darwin’s theory of evolution. This article undertakes a close reading of the book Rethinking Darwinism, written by a Danish member of the society, Leif A. Jensen, and published by the movement’s official publishing house, Bhaktivedanta Book Trust in 2010. Contextualising the book within the history of ISKCON’s relationship with science, the article asks what the motivations for challenging Darwin here are, how it is done, and what the consequences of it are for a movement often taken to be a fundamentalist one

O fenômeno místico do sankīrtana enquanto singularidade da experiência religiosa de bhakti-yoga

Bhakti-yoga, the yoga of devotion, is the core of the Vaiṣṇava Gauḍīya tradition of Hinduism, and its most present and known ritual is the practice of congregational chanting of mantras, sankīrtana. In this work, we bring concepts such as samādhi, mokṣa and prema-bhakti from the perspective of the studied tradition, presenting the practice of sankīrtana as what expresses the Vaiṣṇava mystic and makes possible the real experience of the aforementioned concepts in the devotees life. Having as the supreme goal a consciousness connected to the Divinity and a state of pure love for God (prema), we demonstrate in this article, from phenomenology and bibliographical analysis, the sankīrtana as uniqueness and essence of the path of bhakti-yoga.El bhakti-yoga, el yoga de la devoción, es el elemento central de la tradición vaiṣṇava Gauḍīya del hinduismo, y tiene como ritual más presente y conocido la práctica del canto congregacional de mantras, sankīrtana. En este trabajo, traemos conceptos como samādhi, mokṣa y prema-bhakti desde la perspectiva de la tradición estudiada, presentando la práctica de sankīrtana como lo que expresa el místico vaiṣṇava y hace posible la experiencia real de los conceptos antes mencionados en la vida de los devotos. Con el objetivo de una conciencia conectada con la Divinidad y un estado de amor puro por Dios (prema), demostramos en este artículo, a partir de la fenomenología y el análisis bibliográfico, el sankīrtana como unicidad y esencia del camino del bhakti-yoga.Bhakti-yoga, o yoga da devoção, é o elemento central da tradição Vaiṣṇava Gauḍīya do Hinduísmo, possuindo como ritual mais presente e conhecido a prática do canto congregacional de mantras, o sankīrtana. Neste trabalho, trazemos conceitos como samādhi, mokṣa e prema-bhakti sob a ótica da tradição estudada, apresentando a prática do sankīrtana como aquilo que exprime a mística vaiṣṇava e torna possível a vivência real dos conceitos supracitados na vida do devoto. Tendo como meta uma consciência conectada à Divindade e um estado de amor puro por Deus (prema), demonstramos neste artigo, a partir da fenomenologia e análise bibliográfica, o sankīrtana como singularidade e essência do caminho de bhakti-yoga.&nbsp

Mīmāṃsā, Vedānta, and the Bhakti Movement

This dissertation concerns the reception history of the Bhāgavata Purāṇa (BhP), an influential Hindu scripture, among Sanskrit intellectuals who lived between the 13th and 18th centuries CE. The BhP is most widely recognized for its celebration of bhakti, or religious devotion to an embodied god, through its narrative, didactic, and philosophical treatment of the god Kṛṣṇa. Composed in Sanskrit, the BhP was also closely connected to popular traditions of vernacular poetry and song, collectively known as the “bhakti movement.” I study the rise to prominence of this text-tradition by examining its impact on two important systems of Sanskrit scriptural interpretation: Mīmāṃsā and Advaita Vedānta. I situate the shifting discursive registers of these hermeneutical traditions in particular social contexts, paying special attention to the lives and careers of scholars in the academic center of Banaras in early modern north India. I also investigate how Sanskrit discourse about the BhP reveals intersections between popular religious movements and elite scholarly pedagogy. The thesis contributes to a number of scholarly fields, each wider than the previous. First, it provides a fuller picture of how particular Sanskrit systems of knowledge experienced change in precolonial India. Second, it attempts to understand the challenges that bhakti, qua the public expression of personal devotion, posed to Sanskrit intellectuals. Third, it revisits certain binaries and narratives in the historiography of Indian religion and philosophy. Fourth, it incorporates the insights of intellectual and social history into the study of the premodern non-West. Finally, it helps make a space for intellectual history within religious studies, and for religion among intellectual historians

Translating the Gāyatrī-Mantra

No single standard translation of the mantra known as Sāvitrī, Gāyatrī, or Gāyatrī-Mantra (Ṛgveda III 62.10) has ever become widely accepted. Many authors seem to have felt that a famous mantra such as this one must have, or allow for, several interpretations and translations – a position that is not without justification, especially when it comes to mantras. Yet, translators of the Gāyatrī-Mantra have rarely taken into consideration that language changes over time, and that this has an impact on how the mantra is to be translated. The aim of this paper is to remedy this situation. It provides grammatical, morphological, etymological, lexical, and semantic analyses of the textual content of the mantra against the background of the linguistic changes that took place during the transition from early to late Old Indo-Aryan. In other words, this paper explores how the mantra would be understood by users of Vedic and Sanskrit. To this end, each textual component of the Gāyatrī-Mantra is analyzed in dedicated sections. An appendix also provides a collection of more than sixty scholarly translations into European languages