Srividyalaya
2012 Course Descriptions
FIRST SESSION: FEBRUARY 6 – APRIL 30
(Spring Break the week of March 19)
CC205: An Introduction to Patanjali’s Yoga Sutra
This course presents an overview of one of the most important texts in the transmission of Yoga to the West—The Yoga Sutra of Patanjali. The Yoga Sutra presents a worldview to which few modern yogis would ascribe and yet offers a valuable compendium of advice and practices, drawn from diverse traditions, which are still effective and useful today. In this course we will explore the traditional understandings of The Yoga Sutra as grounded in the dualistic metaphysic of Sankhya Yoga and then draw those ideas forward into our modern lives. We will examine the traditional commentators’ understandings of the text and then explore how these great teachings might be of relevance to us as modern yogis.
(Session One, 12 two-hour lectures)
CC301: Bhagavadgita, Part One
Poised between two great armies arrayed for battle, Arjuna, the great, shining archer of the Mahabharata, questions his duty and collapses in his chariot with his eyes filled with tears. And there in the mid-line, in the moment before the battle, taking pause on the Field of Dharma he receives the teachings of Krsna in the form of The Song of the Blessed One—The Bhagavadgita. In this course we will begin our study of The Gita with Chapters One through Six. We will follow close readings of the traditional commentaries of Sankara, Ramanuja and Abhinavagupta as well as draw from the oral traditions of the late South Indian Sakta Tantra tradition of Rajanaka Yoga.
(Session One, 12 one-hour lectures)
CC401: Key Concepts in Yoga Philosophy
In this course we will address the fundamental terminology needed to gain a basic understanding of Yoga Philosophy.
(Session One, 5 one-hour lectures. This course will run from February 6 – March 5.)
CC402: Tattva Theory
What is the nature of the universe? What is it that we are experiencing when we have an experience? This course will examine some of the ways the traditions of Yoga have sought to answer these questions through the concept of The Tattvas as they emerge in Sankhya Yoga and are then further developed by the traditions of Kashmir Saivism.
(Session One, 5 one-hour lectures. This course will run from March 26 – April 23.)
SECOND SESSION: MAY 28 – AUGUST 20
(Summer Break the week of July 9)
CC206: Hanuman in the Ramayana and Beyond
Few figures in Hindu lore are as universally adored as Hanuman, the shape-shifting monkey who plays a key role in the great Hindu epic, The Ramayana. In this course we will begin with the traditional understanding of Hanuman inside of the traditions of The Ramayana, from which he emerges as the perfect model of devotion. We will then move into the teachings of the South Indian, goddess-centered, Sakta traditions, in which Hanuman is Pancamukha Anjaneya—the five-faced son of Anjani. This course will include many traditional stories of Hanuman as well as Tantric traditions incorporating his mantras, mudras and yantras.
(Session Two, 12 two-hour lectures)
CC302: Bhagavadgita, Part Two
This course is a continuation of CC301. In CC302 we will continue our study of the Bhagavadgita covering Chapters Seven through Twelve.
(Prerequisite: CC301: Bhagavadgita, Part One)
(Session Two, 12 one-hour lectures)
CC403: Mapping the Subtle Body
While there is much talk of the Subtle Body in modern yoga, there is no one single theory of what the “Subtle Body” might mean. In this course we will examine some of the various historical ways that the subtle body has been envisioned by the traditions of yoga and examine how the early views have led to our modern understandings of these esoteric traditions.
(Session Two, 5 one-hour lectures. This course will run from May 28 – June 25.)
CC404: Krsna Stories
Whether pictured as the baby butter thief who holds the universe in his mouth or dancing the Rasa Lila with his beloved Radha, the stories of Krsna enchant us even as they reveal us to ourselves. In this course we will examine the myths of Krsna, gazing into his mouth and finding ourselves.
(Session Two, 5 one-hour lectures. This course will run from July 16 – August 13.)
SESSION THREE: SEPTEMBER 3 – NOVEMBER 26
(Fall Break the week of October 15)
CC207: Siva Sutra, Book Two and Three
This course will complete our overview of The Siva Sutra, perhaps the single most important resource for understanding the cosmology, teachings and practices of Kashmir Saivism and its legacy in Shakta Tantrism. This course will include close readings of Ksemaraja and Bhaskara’s commentaries as well as teachings from the oral traditions of the Sakta centered tradition of Rajanaka Yoga.
(Session Three, 12 two-hour lectures)
(Prerequisite CC203, Siva Sutra, Book One)
CC303: Bhagavadgita, Part Three
This course will complete our study of the Bhagavadgita covering Chapters Thirteen through Eighteen.
(Prerequisites: CC301 & CC302)
(Session Three, 12 one-hour lectures)
CC405: Tales of the Beloved: Siva and Sakti in the Tantric Tradition
In this course we will examine Tantric myths of Siva and Sakti, the essential source of being and his beloved who is none other than his own empowered self. We will see how these myths offer us a mirror reflecting our own selves as empowered beings.
(Session Three, 5 one-hour lectures. This course will run from September 3 – October 1.)
CC406: Panca Ayatana Devata: Five Gateways to the Divine
The traditions of Smarta Brahminism offer us five essential windows through which we can experience the light of the divine. In this course we will examine each of these experiential realities as a form of our own selves. We will approach these forms of the divine in their iconography, myths and mantras.
(Session Three, 5 one-hour lectures. This course will run from October 22 – November 19.)
ARCHIVED COURSES: THESE COURSES ARE ALWAYS FULLY AVAILABLE FOR DOWNLOAD
CC101: Introduction to the History and Practices of Yoga I, From Veda to Tantra
In this course, we begin with the history and development of yoga as it originates in India and work through the texts, traditions, and resources as they evolve chronologically. This is our course in foundations, essentials, and historical development and it is recommended to everyone. Our study will include readings from the Veda, the emergent importance of the Upanisads, the early voices of yoga as they appear in Buddhism, Jainism, and Patanjali’s classical yoga through the developments of the schools of Vedanta and eventually Tantra. This is the first level overview, a course that provides a foundation for all future studies.
(12 two-hour lectures available from the Archive)
CC102: Introduction to the History and Practices of Yoga II, From Veda to Tantra
In this course, we will continue our study of the history and development of yoga as it originates in India and work through the texts, traditions, and resources as they evolve chronologically. Again, this is our course in foundations, essentials, and historical development and it is recommended to everyone. Our study will include readings from the Veda, the emergent importance of the Upanisads, the early voices of yoga as they appear in Buddhism, Jainism, and Patanjali’s classical yoga through the developments of the schools of Vedanta and eventually Tantra. This course provides a foundation for all future studies.
(12 two-hour lectures available from the Archive)
CC 201: Ganesha Puja, Crossing the Threshold of Tantric Understanding and Practice
In this course we will study not only the iconography, mythology, and symbolism of Ganesha but also the traditions of mantra and yantra that form the essential basis of Tantric understanding and the threshold practices of ritual, meditation, and contemplation. Simply put, we will learn as much as we can about Ganesha in history, concept, and practice. In addition, we will discuss why and how Hindus and Tantric practitioners encounter the elephant-headed god as the guardian the threshold who provides all beginnings, who is both remover and creator of obstacles, and whose theory and practice provide the basis for all other aspects of Tantric yoga and traditional Hindu thought and worship.
(12 two-hour lectures available from the Archive)
CC 202: Tantrism: History, Teachings, and Practices
What is Tantra and how did these traditions of philosophy and yogic practice evolve? In this course, we will trace the history of Tantra, learn about the evolution of the primary sources, and investigate the formation of different movements, schools, and traditions. We will look at a wide array of the expressions and types of Tantra, from alchemy to contemplative mysticism, probe into the essential teachings, and trace the further development of Kashmir Shaivism and Shakta goddess-centered Tantra, including the concepts of Spanda, Krama, and Srividya. This course presumes no historical or textual knowledge, just a willingness to plunge deeply into the understanding of the evolution of Tantra in India and beyond.
(12 two-hour lectures available from the Archive)
CC 203: Sivasutra I, Book One
This course presents an overview of Book One of the Sivasutra, perhaps the single most important resource for understanding the cosmology, teachings, and practices of Kashmir Shaivism and its legacy in Shakta Tantrism. This course includes close readings of Ksemaraja and Bhaskara’s commentaries and will also offer meditations and contemplations.
(12 two-hour lectures available from the Archive)
CC 204: Mantra Theory and Practice I.
What are mantras, how did they come about, what do they mean and mean to do? We will start with Vedic concepts and work our way through some of the most illuminating and important teachings of the Tantra. Here you’ll get an overview that explains in detail the theory of Vac, the goddess who is Voice, and learn too the practice of seed-mantra or bija as a Tantric practice. There will be readings, lectures, meditation, and contemplations offered. There will be more advanced courses on mantra in the future that will require the level of information provided in this course but you can be assured that this course will be substantial even if you have had a lifetime of learning and practice.
(12 two-hour lectures available from the Archive)
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