East meets West: philosophies that mesh with kundalini yoga

[Guest guest]

Thank you Sukhdev for an excellent post, on the western philosophies that give solidity to some esoteric Eastern ideas. I'm sure many of the group's 1,700 worldwide members would love more brainy yogis to post to kundalini-yoga , their thoughts on other classic philosophers whose writings can give helpful context for this experience we're all undertaking in the Yoga of Awareness. Indeed, the meeting of East and West is always interesting and helpful.Amar

Atma---------------------------- Re: PhD and academic yogis

 

Posted by: "Lilia Del Rio (Sukhdev Kaur)"

liliadelrio

 

 

Tue Jul 8, 2008 1:40 pm (PDT)

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