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As an aside from my series on armed yogis, I thought I’d take a look at some examples of Indian satirical plays that feature ascetics – particularly the so-called heterodox religions, such as the Jainas and Buddhists, but also some tantric (or at least proto-tantric) practitioners.
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I have to thank David Southwell for sparking my interest in the Indian Rope Trick. In 2019, I was preparing a lecture on the relationship between Yoga and Magic for Treadwells Bookshop (see Yogis, Magic and Deception – I) and was reading an early draft to David. He pointed out, quite rightly, that of all the Yogic feats I had mentioned, I had omitted the most famous of them all – the Indian Rope Trick! Continue reading »
In the previous post in this series, I briefly sketched out the orientalist position on yoga & yoga powers before outlining how the extraordinary abilities attributed to yogis became associated with stage magic and deception. Now I will take a look at how yoga powers were represented in the writings of the leaders of the Theosophical Society. Continue reading »
This post is an extract from a recent lecture at Treadwells Bookshop, entitled “Flying through the air, entering other bodies: Yoga and Magical Powers”. The lecture examined the relationship between yoga and magical or extraordinary abilities. When I began reading for the lecture, I was very familiar with the anti-Yoga views of 19th century scholars such as Max Muller or H.H. Wilson, but less so regarding how attitudes to yoga and yoga powers intersected with popular culture. So here is a brief examination of how yogic powers became associated with stage magic, duplicity and deception. Continue reading »
In the first post in this series, I introduced the subject of armed yogis – a concept which does much to perturb the common representation of yogis as peaceful ascetics given to inward, spiritual pursuits and generally unconcerned with the trappings of the material world. Continue reading »
“Never have I seen such yogis, brother.
They wander mindless and negligent, proclaiming the way of Mahadeva.
For this they are called great mahants.
To markets and bazaars they peddle their meditation – false siddhas, lovers of maya.
When did Dattatreya attack a fort?
When did Sukadeva join with gunners?
When did Narada fire a musket?
When did Vyasadeva sound a battle cry?
These numbskulls make war. Are they ascetics or archers?
They profess detachment, but greed is their mind’s resolve.
They shame their profession by wearing gold. They collect stallions and mares,
acquire villages, and go about as millionaires.”
Kabira-bijaka
For my first post for 2017 I thought I’d explore an issue that I touched on in the introduction to the lecture I gave at Treadwells Bookshop in London – “Yogis Behaving Badly” last November – armed Yogis. Continue reading »
For this Group Book Review, I’m going to review three books which focus on Indian Sadhus and Yogis. In popular texts, sadhus and yogis are frequently represented as disengaged from the world – socially isolated and in popular works on tantra, often portrayed as marginalised “antinomian” figures existing on the edges of Indian society. All of these books challenge these representations in various ways. Continue reading »