A group blog for interdisciplinary research on (Western) esotericism, occultism, and South Asian Studies
PROJECTS
OCCULT SOUTH ASIA WORKSHOP
From the 19th to the 21st century
A conference at the University of Vienna, 23-24 November 2018,
In the academic study of esoteric currents and occultism, the theme “India’’ has remained a strong undercurrent since the early days. There have been discussions around the concept of the "Mystic East" or “the Magic East” and its influence towards Western esotericism from the very beginning. In recent times approaches that emphasize the interaction of South Asian and foreign occult cultures in colonial and postcolonial times are of increased importance.
The workshop aims to contribute to a critical and nuanced understanding of
1. occult and esoteric currents and their practitioners in modern South Asia
2. the impact of South Asian ideas and practices on modern esoteric and occult currents on the global stage.
South Asia will thus be viewed as a theme as well as a site for the study of esotericism and occultism. Steps will be taken in establishing occult South Asia as a significant field in South Asian academic research.
PSYCHEDELIC SOUTH ASIA
Panel sessions at the 7th Bi-Annual Conference of the ESSWE, University of Amsterdam, 2-4 July 2019
South Asian traditions have often been concerned with the various forms of consciousness. Moreover, mind and consciousness have become a major theme in the entangled occult traditions that connected India and the West. This resulted into various terms of Sanskrit origin, such as, manas, buddhi, chaitanya, and samadhi becoming important signifiers in modern Western occult traditions. This has been the case with the Theosophical movement(s), Yoga schools, modern discourses on Tantra, modern Vaishnavism and its consequent influences on New Age movement. As the Western world attempted to understand oriental notions of consciousness, they influenced the West’s understanding of altered states of mind. The Euro-American esoteric world was curious to know how the Oriental sages achieved ecstasy without consuming any psychoactive substances. But the mind altering techniques of Yoga and Buddhist meditation—as alternatives to psychedelics—was only one side of the story. Under the influence of psychedelic culture a dispute arose on Soma, the mysterious Vedic ritual drink. There is at least one sūtra among Patañjali’s Yoga sūtras that positively mentions the use of herbs for intensifying Yogic meditation. India played an important role within the writings of Aldous Huxley, Timothy Leary and other pioneers of psychedelic thought. How does contemporary Indian society deal with all those hashish smoking sadhus? Did the South Asia teach the occident a parallel stream of non-entheogenic spirituality which ran simultaneously to the western notion of ‘entheogenic esotericism’ (Hanegraaff, 2012)? Or, is it the other way round?
This entire discussion can be seen as part of the larger project of Positive Orientalism that was very much entailed in modern Western occultism and related currents. This session will attempt to discuss the understanding of consciousness in transcultural occultism from a perspective of intellectual history and cognitive studies. This session is divided into two panels arranged here accordingly. Both of the panels will be chaired by Prof. Karl Baier. For the first time, there will be an ESSWE session on South Asia and, therefore, this session have a historic importance.