A short overview of Tantric- and medieval yoga discourse
A new cultural epoch
It has been argued that throughout its long history Indian society and culture experienced some decisive ruptures or discontinuities. This argument denies the doctrines of modern Hindu nationalism and most yoga popularisers, who take the opposite view that we can talk meaningfully about a single coherent Hindu culture since the Vedas. Revolution of paradigms’ is an often-used term inspired by Thomas Kuhn’s analysis of the history of Western science – a paradigm being the overall model of the world around which various theories, ideas, concepts and doctrines are clustered. A shift in paradigm is a fundamentally new way of perceiving and understanding the world, in other words, a rupture in episteme . This rupture means that previous thoughts, words and practices change their meaning and function.
Shift of paradigm: fundamental re~ configuration of worldview so constituting ideas and practiccs ebangc meaning
The body and its desires has been re-defined and constructed with new meaning
Large parts of feudal or medieval’ India experienced such a cultural paradigm shift Scholars today name it Tantra – i.e. the Tantric period – lasting from about 600-1300 AD269. By looking at some of the visual imagery from the period often displayed at royal courts and in temples, it can easily be verified that something had changed. While the ascetic-wisdom discourses typically had been about controlling and mortifying the body, the new Tantric imagery revealed bodies in lustful situations. – people copulating and enjoying the desires of the body as a part of finding release and salvation! It is apparent that the body and its desires had been redefined and constructed with new meaning. Where for instance Patanjali-yoga and Krishna-yoga saw desire as a fundamental hindrance to liberation, it seems that desire now has the opposite meaning as sexual intercourse is even sculpted into temple walls.
Yoga has a long and rich history that, like many Daily yoga poses for weight loss things, has been developed and refined over time. The goal of this book is to Daily yoga poses for weight loss accomplish a few things as you read. First, I want to give you some history on the practices of yoga and how they were developed. It’s always interesting to know the origins of something, as it can broaden your mind. As such, I intend to provide some background on the original purpose of yoga. With this knowledge, you will hopefully be able to dive in to this book with more of an open mind. The whole idea of this book is to give you poses or exercises that will help you gain control of your mind and be able to focus your thoughts, which can be a very powerful tool. Which brings us to our next goal, teaching you about breathing and the power that can bring.
