Like a Tree Universally Spread: Sri Sabhapati Swami and Śivarājayoga

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Keith Edward Cantú (Research Affiliate, Research Affiliate, Center for the Study of World Religions at Harvard Divinity School)

Like a Tree Universally Spread

Sri Sabhapati Swami and Śivarājayoga

Keith Edward Cantú (Research Affiliate, Research Affiliate, Center for the Study of World Religions at Harvard Divinity School)

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English

Oxford University Press Inc
05 March 2024

Hinduism; Alternative belief systems; Mysticism, magic & ritual

Series: OXFORD STU WESTERN ESOTERICISM SERIES

"This book examines the life of a nineteenth- to early twentieth-century Tamil yogin named Sri Sabhapati Swami ('Sr=i Sabh=apati Sv=am=i or Cap=apati Cuv=amika.l, ca. 1828-1923/4) and his unique English, Tamil, Hindi, and Bengali literature on a Sanskrit-based system of yogic meditation known as the ""R=ajayoga for 'Siva"" (Tamil: civar=ajay=okam, Sanskrit: 'sivar=ajayoga), the full experience of which is compared to being like a ""tree universally spread."" Its practice was based on a unique synthesis of Tamil V=ira'saiva and Siddhar cosmologies in the colonial period, and the yogic literature in which it is found was designed to have universal appeal across boundaries of caste, gender, and sectarian affiliation. His works, all of which are here analyzed together for the first time, are an important record in the history of yoga, print culture, and art history due to his vividly-illustrated and numbered diagrams on the yogic body with its subtle physiology.

This book opens with a biographical account of Sabhapati, his editor Shrish Chandra Basu, and his students as gleaned from textual sources and the author's ethnographic field work. Sabhapati's literature in various languages is then analyzed, followed by a comprehensive exposition of his 'Saiva cosmology and religious theories. Sabhapati's system of 'Sivar=ajayoga and its subtle physiology is then treated in detail, followed by an analysis of Sabhapati's aesthetic integration of aural sound and visual diagrams and an evaluation of the role of ""science"" in the swami's literature. Sabhapati also appealed to global authors and occultists outside of South Asia, so special attention is additionally

given to his encounter with the founders of the Theosophical Society and the integration of his techniques into the thelemic ""Magick"" of Aleister Crowley, the German translation of Bavarian theosophical novelist Franz Hartmann, and the American publication of New Thought entrepreneur William Estep. To these are appended a never-before-translated Tamil hagiography of Sabhapati's life, a lexicon in table-form that compiles some archaic variants and Roman transliterations of technical terms used in his work, and a critically-edited passage on an innovative technique of 'Sivar=ajayoga that included visualizing the yogic central channel as a lithic ""pole."""

By: Keith Edward Cantú (Research Affiliate Research Affiliate Center for the Study of World Religions at Harvard Divinity School)
Imprint: Oxford University Press Inc
Country of Publication: United States
Dimensions: Height: 165mm, Width: 226mm, Spine: 56mm
Weight: 726g
ISBN: 9780197665473
ISBN 10: 0197665470
Series: OXFORD STU WESTERN ESOTERICISM SERIES
Pages: 496
Publication Date: 05 March 2024
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active

"List of Illustrations Acknowledgments Abbreviations Introduction From Hidden Roots to Outer Blossoms A Treelike ""Translocalization"" of Yoga The Chapters and Methodology of This Book Chapter 1. Hagiographies and Old Diary Leaves Extant Sources for Sabhapati's Life Sabhapati's Childhood A Quest for Religious Truth A Visionary Experience in Velachery A Southbound Quest Lectures and a Himalayan Flight A Splash on the Lahore Scene Shrish Chandra Basu and the Theosophical ""Founders"" John Campbell Oman and ""Sadhuism"" A Vision of Agastya Once in Fifty Years Sabhapati in Bombay Agastya and the Konnur Meditation Hall South Indians to the Fore Om Prakash Swamigal Konnur Ramalinga Swamigal Sabhapati Swami's Death and Disappearance Chapter 2. A Vast Forest of Printed Words Textual Stemmata of Sabhapati's Works The Alpha Stemma Three Original Editions of vry cpsps as Alpha Stemma Detailed Contents of the Alpha Stemma Bengali and German Translations William Estep's Esoteric Cosmic Yogi Science The Beta and Gamma Stemmata Contextualizing Sabhapati's Vernacular Works cpsps as Beta and Gamma Stemmata ctcspv and the Gamma Stemma ryb and the Beta Stemma Pamphlets for Konnur Meditation Hall Sabhapati's Literature in Telugu Sabhapati's Tamil Work mcvts Chapter 3. Seeds of a Cosmological Religion Sabhapati's Two Gurus Chidambara Swamigal and ""Instructive Truth"" Shivajnana Bodha and the Tamil Siddhas An Embodied Cosmos Shiva as ""Infinite Spirit"" A Cosmogonic Separation of ""Faculties"" ""Illustration by Examples"" The Tree Universally Spread Emancipation and Transmigration Household of the Body's Truth (dehatattva) Connections with Tamil Saiva Discourse Views on Other Religions and Movements Sabhapati and Buddhism Sabhapati and Christianity Sabhapati and Islam Sabhapati and Zoroastrianism, or ""Parsism"" Sabhapati and ""Samajees"" Sabhapati and the ""Theosophical Societies"" Sabhapati and Atheism Chapter 4. Breathing into 'Sivar=ajayoga Three Branches of Yoga Hatha Yoga or ""Yoga of Force"" Ha.thar=ajayoga or ""Royal Yoga of Force"" 'Sivar=ajayoga or ""Royal Yoga for Shiva"" 'Sivar=ajayoga: From Purification to Nonbeing Chapter 5. Singing Mantras and Visualizing Flowers Lyrical Compositions and Musical Poems Incantation of Tones and Mantras Sabhapati's Visual Diagrams Changing Visual Representations Svar=upa and Yoga Chapter 6. Dissecting the Nature of 'Sivar=ajayoga Spiritual and Physical Phenomena The Pure Ethers A Naturalistic Cosmology of Yoga Chapter 7. Magical Fruits of Occult Yoga Sabhapati and Theosophy Franz Hartmann and Sabhapati in German Translation Sabhapati and ""Thelemic Magick"" William Estep and ""Super Mind Science"" Epilogue: Parts of a Universal Tree Appendix 1. A Translation of t2 (in mcvts) Excerpt of t2 (English Translation) Excerpt of t2 (Original Tamil) Appendix 2. Lexicon of Common Terms and Variants Appendix 3. A Passage from vry on the ""Pole"" of 'Sivar=ajayoga References Index"

"Keith Edward Cantú is a Research Affiliate at the Center for the Study of World Religions at Harvard Divinity School and a Visiting Assistant Professor at St. Lawrence University. He has previously held roles as a postdoctoral Visiting Fellow at Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, in the DFG-funded project ""CAS-E: Alternative Rationalities and Esoteric Practices from a Global Perspective,"" Assistant Professor (Postdoc/Research Associate) at the Jagiellonian University, and was also a teaching assistant at University of California, Santa Barbara, where he received his doctoral degree in 2021. His previous publications include the chapter ""Sri Sabhapati Swami: Forgotten Yogi of Western Esotericism"" and (as co-editor) City of Mirrors: Songs of L=alan S=ai, published with OUP's South Asia Series in 2017."

Reviews for Like a Tree Universally Spread: Sri Sabhapati Swami and Śivarājayoga

Excavating the massive archive of the heretofore unexplored writings of the late nineteenth-century South Indian visionary Sri Sabhapati Swami, Keith Cantú's magisterial work opens vast new horizons in the field of Modern Yoga Studies. Essential reading for both scholars and practitioners. * David Gordon White, author of Sinister Yogis and The Yoga Sutra of Patanjali: A Biography * A work of exceptional scholarship, this carefully crafted exploration of Sabhapati Swami's life and work demonstrates deft historical and linguistical detective-work. Cantú provides a transparent map of this Swami's previously under-appreciated reach and influence, an exemplary model for future explorations of vernacular transmissions of yoga. Sabhapati's legacy has both 'deep roots and far out branches' relevant to anyone interested in the development of yoga traditions as well as processes of knowledge transmission. * Suzanne Newcombe, Senior Lecturer in Religious Studies, The Open University and Honorary Director of Inform based at King's College London *