Espejo Sideral

WRITINGS

The Absolute as sound and silence

In this short article I present some initial reflections on Hazrat Inayat Khan’s understanding of existence and God in connection to sound. I will first summarize Khan’s basic metaphysical premises, and then I will introduce the topic of the sawt-e-sarmad, the subtle universal sound, and the mystical techniques that use it as an object for…

(Translation) Love according to André Comte-Sponville

A rendering of one entry in Comte-Sponville’s “Philosophical Dictionary”, yet untranslated into English

The five-step process to kaivalya in the Yoga-Sūtra

On the process of attaining kaivalya through progressive subtilization akin to sāṃkhya

(Writing sprout) An annotated history of yoga

In this post, I present a concise account of the history of yoga according to Georg Feuerstein, as well as some annotations that problematize or complicate it.

Yajña: Continuities and change in the early Vedic period

The cultivation of tapas through concentrated thought and intention in the context of yajña would be no different to the fundamental human activity of casting off dogmatic beliefs and freeing oneself from the stagnation that comes with limited perspectives, allowing man to truly own his life at the root level

(Writing sprout) Ṛg Veda: Five hymns to Indra

A general overview of Antonio de Nicolás’ approach to understanding the five Hymns to Indra (Ṛg Veda), as well as comparisons to the renderings of Griffith and Jamison/Brereton.

(Writing sprout) Yoga: Feuerstein’s view and some points for further discussion

There is a deeply rooted human urge to find meaning in life, to transcend ordinary consciousness and connect to a larger Reality

(Writing sprout) Abhidharma

The different senses of the word “Abhidharma”

(Writing sprout) A short commentary on ‘Family Matters in Indian Buddhist Monasticism’

Clarke points out a “scholarly misperception” in the study of Indian Buddhism: the assumption that renunciation implied the severing of all family ties, an idea that explains the lack of interest in issues related to the families of Buddhist monks and nuns

Silence, sound and meditation in some traditional Buddhist sources

Textual references to the possibility of perceiving sound or reverberation even in the absence of all conventionally identifiable auditory sensations, and their use as an object of meditation.

The inner sacrifice: continuity and change in the Vedic tradition at the onset of the Śramaṇa movements

Brief overview on the Śramaṇa movements

(Writing sprout) Minor glosses on the topic of the life of Siddhārtha Gautama –Buddha Śākyamuni–

The life of the Buddha is a good way of explaining basic Buddhist teachings

The Sonorous Theophany: Listening to Nāda in Traditional Haṭha Yoga and Tantra

A specific practice taught in the Haṭhapradīpikā under the name nādānusandhāna, involves actively listening to internal sound (nāda) as a means for attaining a state of dissolution or absorption (laya)