Go To Season: 2022-2023 Poster
Presentation Title: The Fundamentals of Tantric Practice
Speaker:
Dr. Sthaneshwar Timalsina
Professor (Religions and Philosophies of India) San Diego State University
San Diego, California, United States
Date/Time: February 17 , 2023 (7:30 PM MST)
Short Description:
In this discussion I would like to address the historical and philosophical background of tantric practice and give an overview of the Sarvamnaya practice that is still vibrant in Nepal. People in contemporary times have either exotic or negative opinions as it comes to tantric practices. This comes due to not knowing the beautiful philosophy behind Agamic literature. Moving beyond classical orthodoxy, tantras provide a holistic worldview that is both world affirming and universal. Even though many of the tantric practices could not survive in the sub-continent for various reasons, these practices remained alive in Nepal. It is not even possible to understand temple rituals, arts and architecture, and festivities such as mask dance or chariot festival of Kumari or Matsyendra without engaging in tantras. This presentation seeks to address the need for the public to have this awareness. Tantric Agamas preserve hundreds of yogic methods and thousands of visualization practices and the world can benefit from this wealth if disseminated for the welfare of the globe.
Speaker’s Bio:
Sthaneshwar Timalsina obtained his Master’s degree in 1991 from Sampurnananda University in Varanasi, India, and taught for several years at Nepal Sanskrit University, Kathmandu. He completed his PhD from Martin Luther University in Halle, Germany (2005) with a focus on the history of the philosophy of Advaita. His dissertation is published under the title, Seeing and Appearance (Shaker Verlag, 2006). Before joining San Diego State University in 2005, Timalsina taught at the University of California, Santa Barbara, and Washington University in St. Louis. His areas of research include classical Hindu, Buddhist, and Jain literature and philosophies with a specific focus on consciousness studies. His book, Consciousness in Indian Philosophy (Routledge, 2008) is a comparative study of Advaita and Buddhist understandings of the self and consciousness. Timalsina also works in the area of Tantric studies and his recent publications, Tantric Visual Culture: A Cognitive Approach (Routledge, 2015), and Language of Images: Visualization and Meaning in Tantras (Peter Lang, 2015), explore the cognitive and cultural domains of Tantric visualisation. Timalsina has published over forty articles, book chapters, and reviewed essays on religion, culture, literature, aesthetics, and philosophy. Timalsina teaches courses on Hindu, Buddhist, and Jain religious, philosophical, and literary traditions, and his teaching interests include ‘Religion and Science’ as well as ‘Yoga Philosophy and Practice.’ His current areas of research include theories of mind, with a particular focus on the cognitive aspects of recognition, memory, imagination, and emotion.