Jeffrey Lidke on the Goddes, Nepal and the Sri Yantra (#45) By Jacob Kyle Posted on June 30, 2017 #Philosophy#Traditions About the Guest: Jeffrey S. Lidke earned his M.A. (1996) and Ph.D. (2000) in South Asia Religion and Philosophy from the University of California, Santa Barbara, and his B.A. in Religious Studies from the University of Colorado (1990). He was a Fulbright Dissertation Fellow to Nepal in the 1996-97 academic year. During his graduate years, Lidke devoted himself to Sanskritic languages, both classical and vernacular, with training from several teachers, including Gerald Larson, Nandini Iyer and Sthaneshwar Timalsinsa. Currently, he is chair of the Department of Religion and Philosophy at Berry College where he has taught since 2003. After two years as editor for the Southeast Review of Asian Studies (SERAS), Lidke is now attending to the publication of his recent research on the neuroscience of contemplative practice as well as three book projects: the long overdue The Goddess Beyond and Within the Three Cities: Sakta Tantra and the Paradox of Power in Nepala-Mandala ; a textbook for Cognella Academic Publishing on the world’s religions titled World Religions: A 21st Century Primer, and a reissue of his first book Viśvarūpa Maṇḍir: A Study of Chaṅgu Nārāyaṇa, Nepal’s Most Ancient Pagoda (to appear in a newly titled, revised and updated edition, with proceeds going toward the rebuilding of Changu Narayan, one of several Nepalese UNESCO heritage sites severely damaged by the 2015 earthquake). Dr. Lidke’s publications and current projects can be found here: https://berry.academia.edu/JeffreyLidke In this episode, we discuss: Jeffrey’s motivations and personal experience that inspired him to write his book, The Goddess within and Beyond the Three Cities: Shakta Tantra and the Paradox of Power in Nepala-Mandala, and why he chose to focus on a Shakti centered traditionWho is the goddess of the text, what are the three cities and what is their significanceHow the triad of these three cities correlates with other triadic references found within various eastern texts, including sacred geometry and etymologyThe difference between a yantra and a mandalaThe importance in sacred geometryWhat’s unique about the Sarvāmnaya system in comparison to the many variants of the Shiva/Shakta traditionsThe chakra system as a medical tool and its place within the systems of tantraIdeas around the muladhara chakra and the goddess Lakshmi, and how they represent financial stability and abundance in both the Sarvāmnaya system and interpretations within western currency Take the podcast with you Subscribe in your favourite app Read more like this #Philosophy #Yoga Knowledge, Experience, and the Yoga Teacher with Daniel Simpson (#160) Daniel Simpson is the author of The Truth of Yoga, an accessible guide to yoga history and philosophy. This episode was previously recorded as part of the Future of the Yoga Teacher Summit and is being republished for its depth and relevance. By Jacob Kyle #Philosophy #Practice #Rasa #Traditions #Yoga Pratipakṣa Bhāvana: Cultivating the Opposite as a Celebration of Our Humanity The Oxford Dictionary defines passion as a strong and barely controllable emotion. Many so-called positive emotions fit that bill. So what happens if we experiment with touching sorrow in times when we feel the most euphoric of highs? Cultivating the opposite in all situations, even in times of elation, prepares us for the inevitability that we will at some point feel the lowest of lows. By Tara Lemerise #Traditions #Yoga Ashtanga Yoga in Sutras and the Gītā: A Comparison with Edwin Bryant (#157) Edwin Bryant is the professor of Hinduism at Rutgers University. He has published eight books, and authored a number of articles on the earliest origins of the Vedic culture, yoga philosophy, and the Krishna tradition. By Jacob Kyle #Practice #Traditions Is the West Ready for Tantra? with Andrew Holecek (#156) In this episode, author and Embodied Philosophy faculty, Andrew Holecek, is in conversation with Stephanie Corigliano and Jacob Kyle, as they discuss Andrew’s article, “Is the West Ready for Tantra?” an article released in the latest issue of Tarka. By Jacob Kyle TARKA Journal Discover our latest issues or become a monthly subscriber to access all digital and/or print content. Tarka #06: On Spiritual Citizenship Tarka #05: On Queer Dharma Tarka #04: On Death Tarka #03: On Ecology Tarka #02: On Illusion Tarka #01: On Bhakti Tarka #0: On the Scholar-Practitioner