Category Archives: Spiritual Practice

Guest post: A response to Christopher G. Framarin’s “Habit and Karmic result in Yogaśāstra”, by Dr. Satyan Sharma

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This guest post is by Satyan Sharma (PhD, Panjab University, Chandigarh). In his chapter titled ‘Habit and Karmic result in Yogaśāstra’, published in the Oxford Handbook of Indian Philosophy, Christopher G. Framarin has many a time stated that Yogaśāstra does Continue reading Guest post: A response to Christopher G. Framarin’s “Habit and Karmic result in Yogaśāstra”, by Dr. Satyan Sharma→

Finding mysticism in unexpected places

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When I was in grad school, a big academic fashion was to heap scorn on the idea that mystical experience could be something cross-cultural: everything was reducible to social context, and the similarities of experience didn’t really matter, as I Continue reading Finding mysticism in unexpected places→

In praise of the present moment

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One of the things that helped me realize the need for self-improvement by not-self-improvement was regular practice with the excellent Headspace meditation app, created by a former Tibetan monk named Andy Puddicombe. Headspace is at the epicenter of “McMindfulness”: the Continue reading In praise of the present moment→

Self-improvement by not-self-improvement

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Years ago, in a difficult period of my life, I had looked for philosophical help and explicitly found it in Buddhism and not Daoism, rejecting Daoism and its sudden-liberation views in about the strongest possible terms. But that wasn’t the Continue reading Self-improvement by not-self-improvement→

Who cares about phenomenological similarities?

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I think one often learns the most about a philosopher from those points where her views change. With that in mind, I’d like to highlight a way I think my own thought has changed recently. Ten years ago on this Continue reading Who cares about phenomenological similarities?→

Mapping the territory: Sanskrit cosmopolis, 1500–today

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There is a lot to do in the European intellectual history, with, e.g., major theories that await an improved understanding and connections among scholars that have been overseen or understudied. Using a simile, one might say that a lot of Continue reading Mapping the territory: Sanskrit cosmopolis, 1500–today→

Veṅkaṭanātha on the pedagogy of emotions

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Veṅkaṭanātha recognises two soteriological paths, namely bhakti (restricted to only few eligible people) and prapatti (being the only one accessible to normal people). In both cases, how can one get there? Prapatti, to begin with, cannot be sought for independently, Continue reading Veṅkaṭanātha on the pedagogy of emotions→

Prof. R.D. Ranade’s Philosophy of Rational Mysticism and morphic spiritual experiences. Guest Post by Charuta Kulkarni

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Prof. R. D. Ranade, was a Mystic Philosopher, devoutly called ‘Gurudev’ by his disciples and followers. Born on July 3, 1886, at Jamkhandi village in Karnataka State of South India, Ramachandra Dattatray Ranade had theistic beliefs since childhood. In the Continue reading Prof. R.D. Ranade’s Philosophy of Rational Mysticism and morphic spiritual experiences. Guest Post by Charuta Kulkarni→