<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><p>S<italic>atsaṅga</italic> is a public domain where ideas related to transcendence and culturallycontingent “Truth” are suggested. This paper combines a longitudinal study of Shanti Mandir’s (<ext-link ext-link-type="uri" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" xlink:href="http://www.shantimandir.com">www.shantimandir.com</ext-link>) <italic>satsaṅga,</italic> with close reading of local and non-local literary theories related to the performativity of <italic>satsaṅga</italic> and the doctrine of appreciating tranquillity (<italic>śāntarasavāda</italic>). This leads to the possibility of framing <italic>satsaṅga</italic> as a <italic>rasavatkāvya</italic> (charming-literature) literary artefact; which we can regard as a type of hybrid <italic>campū-rasavat kāvya</italic>. Finally, from an interdisciplinary perspective, I provide a novel epistemological bricolage to understand the soteriological and sociological aims of <italic>satsaṅga</italic> from within the Temple of Peace (Shanti Mandir) organisation, and propose an analytical framework about how <italic>satsaṅga</italic> operates as a formal learning domain; where <italic>sādhaka</italic>-s (aspirants) attempt to gain access to a yoga-inspired disposition related to becoming (<italic>praśama</italic>), embodying and experiencing <italic>śānti</italic> (tranquillity), which occurs through learning to become <italic>śāntamūrti</italic>-s (embodiers of tranquillity) by appreciating <italic>śāntarasa</italic> (the aesthetic mood of tranquillity).</p></abstract>

Satsaṅga is a public domain where ideas related to transcendence and culturallycontingent “Truth” are suggested. This paper combines a longitudinal study of Shanti Mandir’s (www.shantimandir.com) satsaṅga, with close reading of local and non-local literary theories related to the performativity of satsaṅga and the doctrine of appreciating tranquillity (śāntarasavāda). This leads to the possibility of framing satsaṅga as a rasavatkāvya (charming-literature) literary artefact; which we can regard as a type of hybrid campū-rasavat kāvya. Finally, from an interdisciplinary perspective, I provide a novel epistemological bricolage to understand the soteriological and sociological aims of satsaṅga from within the Temple of Peace (Shanti Mandir) organisation, and propose an analytical framework about how satsaṅga operates as a formal learning domain; where sādhaka-s (aspirants) attempt to gain access to a yoga-inspired disposition related to becoming (praśama), embodying and experiencing śānti (tranquillity), which occurs through learning to become śāntamūrti-s (embodiers of tranquillity) by appreciating śāntarasa (the aesthetic mood of tranquillity).

Suggesting <italic>Śāntarasa</italic> in Shanti Mandir’s <italic>Satsaṅga</italic>: Ritual, Performativity and Ethnography in Yogaland

Graduate School of Global Enviromental Studies

Ethnologia Actualis

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License.

Suggesting  in Shanti Mandir’s : Ritual, Performativity and Ethnography in Yogaland

Satsaṅga is a public domain where ideas related to transcendence and culturallycontingent “Truth” are suggested. This paper combines a longitudinal study of...

Suggesting Śāntarasa in Shanti Mandir’s Satsaṅga: Ritual, Performativity and Ethnography in Yogaland

Published Online: Mar 30, 2018

Page range: 81 - 122

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/eas-2018-0005

Keywords
Shanti Mandir, literature, epistemology, global yoga, ethnography

© 2018 Patrick Mccartney, published by De Gruyter Open

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License.

Suggesting Śāntarasa in Shanti Mandir’s Satsaṅga: Ritual, Performativity and Ethnography in Yogaland

Published Online: Mar 30, 2018

Page range: 81 - 122

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/eas-2018-0005

KeywordsShanti Mandir, literature, epistemology, global yoga, ethnography

© 2018 Patrick Mccartney, published by De Gruyter Open

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License.

Keywords
Shanti Mandir, literature, epistemology, global yoga, ethnography