Language of the Gods, Part Three: Tantra and Chakras,withDebashish Banerji

Books Mentioned In This Interview

debashish banerji critical posthumanism and planetary futures debashish banerji integral yoga psychology debashish banerji meditations upon the isa upanisad debashish banerji rabindranath tagore in the 21st century debashish banerji the alternate nation of abanindranath tagore

Debashish Banerji, PhD, is former Dean of Academic Affairs at the University of Philosophical Research in Los Angeles as well as an adjunct faculty member at Pasadena City College and the California Institute of Integral Studies. He is also the former director of the East West Cultural Center in Los Angeles. He is author of Seven Quartets of Becoming: A Transformative Yoga Psychology Based on the Diaries of Sri Aurobindo and also The Alternate Nation of Abanindranath Tagore, a book about his great grandfather. He edited an anthology about his great uncle, Rabindranath Tagore in the Twenty-First Century.

Here he focuses on the more esoteric aspects of the Sanskrit tradition, particularly as embodied in Tantra. Whereas traditional Vedanta teachings emphasize the attainment of spiritual freedom by abandoning all desire, in Tantra the emphasis is placed on the fulfillment of all desires. Tantric traditions also elaborate in great detail the subtle bodies of the human being, include nodes of awareness called Chakras and pathways between these Chakras called Nadis. There are seven Chakras starting at the base of the spine and rising up to the “Thousand Petalled Lotus” above the top of the head. Each of these is associated with a different focus of consciousness. Each is also associated with a different Hindu goddess. Through Tantric meditation one achieves an awareness of the unique powers associated with each goddess.

(Recorded on December 19, 2015)

Published on December 25, 2015

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