The Heart of the Secret
A Personal and Scholarly Encounter with Shakta Tantrism in Siddha Yoga
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 20199653 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Sarah Caldwell (corresponding author) |
| Year | 2001 |
| Volume | 5 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 9-51 |
| Publication date | 2001-10-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Nova Religio The Journal of Alternative and Emergent Religions (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1092-6690 • E-ISSN: 1541-8480 |
| Publisher | Project MUSE (PUBLISHER • US) |
| DOI | 10.1525/nr.2001.5.1.9 |
| OpenAlex | W1974312509 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 12 |
| References cited | 3 |
This article suggests two apparently contradictory theses: namely that Swami Muktananda (1908–1982) was an enlightened teacher and practitioner of an esoteric form of Tantric sexual yoga, and that he also engaged in actions that were not ethical, legal, or liberatory with many disciples. These two theses are brought into creative tension through a developing Tantric hermeneutic. In discussing secrecy and power, the article addresses critical cultural, feminist, and psychological issues about sexual abuse and the importation of Asian religious traditions into contemporary American society, and argues that what has happened in the recent history of Siddha Yoga arises directly out of Tantra's long history of dissimulation and secrecy. I suggest that a hybrid scholarly sensibility might emerge out of the secret heart of the Tantric teachings, itself offering a way forward in the study of such traditions
Aesthetics · Political science · Psychoanalysis · Secrecy · Siddha · Sociology · Swami · Tantra · Theology · Indian and Buddhist Studies · Law · Philosophy · Psychology · Psychology of Social Influence · Religious studies · Religious Studies and Spiritual Practices
Yoga in Britain
Branding yoga
Mythology Wars
Involvement in a New Religious Movement
Denied Violence, Glorified Fighting
Asymmetrical Religious Commitments? Religious Practice, Identity, and Self-Presentation among Western Scholars of Hinduism and Buddhism
Yoga, Sexual Violation and Discourse
Research on Contemporary Indian Gurus
The Young Goddess Who Dances through the Ordinariness of Life-A Study on the Tantric Traditions of Kerala
Definitional Transgression, or the Revenge of the Vernacular in Hindu Tantric Studies
The Development of Modern Yoga
I Am Afraid of Telling You This, Lest You'd Be Scared Shitless
| Unique citing works | 12 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0,63 |
| Citation span | 2007 - 2022 (16) |
| Citation velocity | historical |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 9 |