PhD and academic yogis

[Guest guest]

Sat Nam!

 

I have one big question about academic writing and yoga.

 

I am starting to do my PhD on Architecture and Urban Studies, and my

idea is to use the concepts behind yoga and the teachings of Yogi

Bhajan as the underlying principle behind my PhD. This means, to shed

the light of the teachings into new areas of knowledge, like

architecture (related precisely to urban studies, cultural studies,

future studies, sociology). My main topic is (so far) about a society

of consciousness and future lifestyles which include what YB has

taught, but also other things as leisure and play, ego and the city

(self-centered development of cities and urban life), mobility and

immigration.

 

It is big help for me to share this with you. I humbly ask for your

comments and also your help on finding resources (academic writings)

which discuss YB teachings in the academic sphere, since at university

and PhD level, is hard to prove things by personal practice. Besides,

everybody is very skeptical. It is a huge challenge for me in the

upcoming years, something I will encounter probably almost daily. I

have not found many academic writings from our fellow yogis who deal

with this issue. Other philosophies (e.g. Phenomenology) deal very

much with the subject, but remain superficial and mental, compared

with the wholeness of yoga. I am sure I am not the first one to

encounter this challenge. It is probably something that in the

Aquarian age people will not even think about

 

I also need to find a supervisor (or ideally a supervising team) from

any university worldwide who has qualifications and experience in

these subjects.

 

Thanks a lot for your support and Guru's blessings!

 

Sukhdev Kaur from Estonia/Mexico

[Guest guest]

Sat nam,

 

My name is Siri Simran, I have a PhDin economic geography from the

UK, the last place you'd expect to find yogic practices and

teachings. Though my experience is different, I hope you will find

something of value to chew on.

 

I've not seen any academic within my subject venture into realms of

couscious or aquarian teachings (they're probably not even aware of

it), and Yogi Bhajan's writing is currently beyond the pale as far as

I can tell as a source for " serious " academic discussions. There are

researchers working on yoga's effects on health and well being, if

you are intersted in that, contact Sat Bir Singh, he is the director

of research at KRI.

 

Academics are conservative and sceptical at the best of times.

However, a way around this is the language and the approach you use.

To gain an initial entry into academia, a low-key approach works

best. I suggest you work on using key words and concepts from YB's

teachings in your thesis, but translated into Academic-speak, rather

than outright labelling your work as being " yogic " . Once you have a

rapport with your supervisor, then begin to introduce these ideas

more obviously. This will also help you to develop your own ideas,

and avoid any preconceived notions that the supervisor might have

about " yoga " being imposed on you, which you'll then have to work

hard to dispell.

 

Good luck.

 

Prayers,

Siri Simran

 

Kundalini-Yoga , " sukhdev.kaur "

<liliadelrio wrote:

>

> Sat Nam!

>

> I have one big question about academic writing and yoga.

>

> I am starting to do my PhD on Architecture and Urban Studies, and my

> idea is to use the concepts behind yoga and the teachings of Yogi

> Bhajan as the underlying principle behind my PhD. This means, to

shed

> the light of the teachings into new areas of knowledge, like

> architecture (related precisely to urban studies, cultural studies,

> future studies, sociology). My main topic is (so far) about a

society

> of consciousness and future lifestyles which include what YB has

> taught, but also other things as leisure and play, ego and the city

> (self-centered development of cities and urban life), mobility and

> immigration.

>

> It is big help for me to share this with you. I humbly ask for your

> comments and also your help on finding resources (academic writings)

> which discuss YB teachings in the academic sphere, since at

university

> and PhD level, is hard to prove things by personal practice.

Besides,

> everybody is very skeptical. It is a huge challenge for me in the

> upcoming years, something I will encounter probably almost daily. I

> have not found many academic writings from our fellow yogis who deal

> with this issue. Other philosophies (e.g. Phenomenology) deal very

> much with the subject, but remain superficial and mental, compared

> with the wholeness of yoga. I am sure I am not the first one to

> encounter this challenge. It is probably something that in the

> Aquarian age people will not even think about

>

> I also need to find a supervisor (or ideally a supervising team)

from

> any university worldwide who has qualifications and experience in

> these subjects.

>

> Thanks a lot for your support and Guru's blessings!

>

> Sukhdev Kaur from Estonia/Mexico

>

[Guest guest]

Sat Nam dear Siri Simran and dear Sangat!

 

Thank you sincerely for your reply. It has been an interesting journey

so far trying to map how much academy can deal with the wide teachings

of our Master. Actually, I have found it now easier than I thought! I

have found it that the best source for academic writings (those which

somehow everybody at academy believes by heart) which has a LOT to do

with yogic teachings is philosophy. Henri Bergson, for example, speaks

about consciousness and intuition vastly, and he even developed a

concept of " èlan vital " (which is the force of life, namely Prana).

Very interesting to read and very much praised among academics.

Phenomenology is very much related as well to concepts of

consciousness, feelings, emotions and is as well a good source which I

am starting to explore, and it links the sense of place, architecture

and physical place with the consciousness and mind. Husserl is a (very

heavy) vast source of academic writing for that. Even the praised

architecture theorist Alberto Perez Gomez talks in his last book about

love as the ultimate force which drives architecture.

 

Somehow I feel that, as long as it is western and familiar, academics

are more at ease with the source or writer. Eastern philosophers can

be a source but limited, since it goes beyond their scope of

knowledge. i am not saying this as a judgement, it is just maybe

tradition and commodification Needless to say, Adorno and the

Frankfurt school play a role as well in my research, which will deal

on how the ego plays an important part in our current city making.

 

So anyways, it is all connected, even academy and yoga

Thank you all for your comments and support! Ill try to keep you

informed on how this research goes on...

 

May Guru bless you all,

Sukhdev Kaur

[Guest guest]

sat nam

 

i am dev atma singh, and i am writing about your post about academic writing and

the yogic lifestyle.

 

i just finished a master's and in the process of writing my thesis i developed a

kind of method for myself that makes the most of both worlds. it is a pretty

particular process, very attuned to myself. but i figured it couldn't hurt to

sketch a little for you.

 

essentially there are two components: the bindu and the kriya. the bindu is the

point of focus, and the kriya is the action of moving through the writing

process.

 

for my bindu, beside the subject matter, i remembered a simple fact: the

privilege i have of writing from a place that is not only heart-centered, but is

also securely based there. i found that remembering this allowed me to see much

of what i studied (Lit and Philosophy) as a groping, via the navel center, for

heart-awareness.

 

this led naturally to the practice, within the kriya of writing my thesis, to

the art of suniaa, or listening. i tried many times to strategize and plan my

paper. and i did stick to my outline for the most part, but what made my thesis

take off was when i found a time of day to read it over and write. cultivating

that space was a sadhana, and it allowed me to hear through my own words to the

stillness and to allow my action in the navel-centered world to be guided by my

heart.

 

i hope this helps. i know its pretty vague, but like i said, keeping this in

mind allowed me to finish my Master's program with success (Honors on my thesis

defense).

 

all the best.

wahe guru ji ka khalsa

wahe guru ji ki fateh

dev atma singh