The Cave of the Heart: Multireligious Illuminations

Syllabus Template

The Cave of the Heart: Multireligious Illuminations

Course Number

3 Units

Starr King School for the Ministry – Graduate Theological Union

Fall 2017

Instructor Information:

Rev. Jeremiah Lal Shahbaz Kalendae, M.Div., M.S.S.A.

(510) 549-4704 (office)

Availability: Available by appointment

Meeting Dates and Times:

TBD - Thursday Afternoons

Course Description:

While serving as an introduction to orthodox and heterodox Hindu religious experiences, this course will also catalyze further discourse with Christian and Islamic wisdom traditions. We will explore interreligious dialogue, hybrid spiritual identities, and transreligious mysticism, thea/ologies, and philosophies. A multireligious, counter-oppressive soteriological analysis will ground this spiritual exploration, cultivation, and formation process. Students will gain an understanding of the Vedas, Upanishads, Bhagavad-Gita, Yoga Sutras, and Tantras, in addition to deepening their understanding of intersections with Torah, the Gospels, and Quran. The devotional writings of the mystic Poet-Saints will further illuminate this class. Coursework will include embodied ritual, spiritual exercise, scriptural study, poetry immersion,sufi sohbet, group processes, scholarly research, and class presentation. A learning immersion will be required.

Learning Objectives:

During this course, students will:

•Explore dharmic, yogic, and tantric philosophical systems and their thea/ologies, cosmologies, soteriologies, and cultural contexts. Principal schools investigated through primary texts and secondary readings will be Vedanta, Yoga, Samkhya, and Tantra.

•Engage with traditions of interreligious discourse, hybrid spiritual identities, and transreligious study, and catalyze further investigation.

•Study primary sacred texts, engaging in interpretive comparisons and exercises, including the Vedas, Upanishads, Bhagavad Gita, Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, Tantras, and devotional writings of the bhakti poet-saints.

•Gain familiarity with heterodox movements within and beyond the Hindu tradition and discuss their relevance to contemporary counter-oppressive philosophies of spiritual liberation.

•Deepen the@logical connections between Hindu, Jewish, Christian, and Islamic scriptures, spiritual exercises, and wisdom traditions.

•Engage with the application of holistic, integrative, and embodied spiritual technologies that advance spiritual liberation, including yogic practices, kirtan, mantra, yantra, tantric rituals, sacred rites, and ceremonies.

•Participate in a learning immersion at least one Hindu ceremony of the Vedic or Tantric traditions.

Learning Outcomes:

At the conclusion of this course, students will…

•Philosophically reflect upon the systems studied and articulate clear philosophical positions on the themes explored (e.g., the nature of self/Self, liberation/salvation, death, the cosmos, deities, teleology, eschatology, interreligious identities, etc.). Be able to apply these philosophical reflections to one’s thea/ological process, spiritual formation and professional leadership.

•Interpret sacred texts explored through personal experience, reason, scholastic commentaries, grounded in the philosophical and broader cultural landscapes in which the texts emerged and evolved.

•Engage in transreligious study that considers the interrelationship of Hindu, Judeo-Christian, and Islamic wisdom traditions.

•Utilize spiritual technologies to advance spiritual growth and be able to adapt many of those technologies to appropriate traditions, cultural context, and identities.

•Critically analyze dynamics of oppression and privilege within the philosophical systems, their cultural contexts, and contemporary realities with special attention given to race, sex, gender, sexual/affectional orientation, caste, and religious identity.

•Gain familiarity with the basic language, terminology, ethics, etiquette, aesthetics, and cultural contexts of these philosophical systems and religious traditions to encourage multireligious engagement.

Course Policies:

•Regular class attendance and participation is expected.

•Students are expected to arrive on time and remain for the duration of the class. Students may request to be absent for up to two class sessions. Any other attendance accommodations must be approved in advance by the instructor.

•All assignments are expected to be completed on time. Any special arrangements must be made in advance with the instructor by email.

•If you have special needs, please discuss these with the instructor in advance of the beginning of the course by email.

Course Assignments:

•Weekly written reflections of 1-2 pages in length on the week’s reading materials, experiential learning, and/or proposed questions for reflection.

•Midterm of 5-7 pages exploring either 1) one of the major philosophical themes or systems in greater depth or 2) analyzing that dynamics of ceremonial/ritual process experienced in the experiential immersion in light of the material covered in class.

•Final 7-10 page reflection paper reflecting on the major philosophical themes, religious intersections, sacred texts, and religious practices, as they relate to one’s personal the()ology, or professional practice.

•Attendance at one pilgrimage to a puja ceremony for experiential immersion. Details to be announced.

Grading:

•Students default graded as Pass/Fail.

•Letter grades can be requested from Instructor and the Registrar before the course commences.

•Evaluation Value Distribution:

•Course Attendance & Participation 40%

•Weekly Written Reflections 25%

•Midterm Paper 15%

•Final Paper 20%

Required Texts:

Abhishiktananda.Hindu-Christian Meeting Point: Within the Cave of the Heart. Place of publication not identified: Ispck, 2001. Print.

2Usedfrom$7.281 Newfrom$24.98

ISBN-10:8172143699

ISBN-13:978-8172143695

Boulay, Shirley Du.The Cave of the Heart: the Life of Swami Abhishiktananda. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis , 2005. Print.

6 Usedfrom$8.0017 Newfrom$14.75

ISBN-10:1570756104

ISBN-13:978-1570756108

Bryant, Edwin F., and Patañjali.The Yoga Sūtras of Patañjali: A New Edition, Translation, and Commentary with Insights from the Traditional Commentators. New York: North Point, 2009. Print.

27 Used from $14.29 54 New from $14.30

ISBN-10: 0865477361

ISBN-13: 978-0865477360

Eck, Diana L. Darśan: Seeing the Divine Image in India. New York: Columbia UP, 1998. Print.

Used from $9.16 New from $21.10

ISBN-10: 0231112653

ISBN-13: 978-0231112659

Hume, Robert Ernest. The Thirteen Principal Upanishads. London: Humphrey Milford Oxford UP, 2010. Print.

Used $12.71

ISBN-10: 1440071233

ISBN-13: 978-1440071232

Huyler, Stephen P. Meeting God: Elements of Hindu Devotion. New Haven, CT: Yale UP, 1999. Print.

12 New from $29.37 42 Used from $0.76

ISBN-10: 0300079834

ISBN-13: 978-0300079838

Jamal, Mahmood.Islamic Mystical Poetry: Sufi Verse from the Mystics to Rumi. New York: Penguin, 2010. Print.

Kinsley, David R. Tantric Visions of the Divine Feminine: The Ten Mahāvidyās. Berkeley: U of California, 1997. Print.

20 Used from $10.48 12 New from $25.00

ISBN-10: 0520204999

ISBN-13: 978-0520204997

Markwith, Zachary.One God, many prophets: the Universal Wisdom of Islam. San Rafael, CA: Sophia Perenis Press, 2013. Print.

6Usedfrom$21.9918 Newfrom$24.45

ISBN-10:1597311391

ISBN-13:978-1597311397

McDermott, Rachel Fell. Singing to the Goddess: Poems to Kālī and Umā from Bengal. Oxford: Oxford UP, 2001. Print.

22 New from $24.90 29 Used from $5.88

ISBN-10: 0195134346

ISBN-13: 978-0195134346

Miller, Barbara Stoler., and Barry Moser.The Bhagavad-Gita: Krishna's Counsel in Time of War. New York: Columbia UP, 1986. Print.

10 Used from $4.85 5 New from $4.85

ISBN-10: 0553213652

ISBN-13: 978-0553213652

Ramanujan, A. K. Speaking of Śiva. Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1973. Print.

48 Used from $0.01 26 New from $3.50

ISBN-10: 0140442707

ISBN-13: 978-0140442700

White, David Gordon. Tantra in Practice. Princeton, NJ: Princeton UP, 2000. Print.

26 Used from $16.95 31 New from $30.05

ISBN-10: 0691057796

ISBN-13: 978-0691057798

Course Schedule*:

*The instructor reserves the right to modify the schedule and assigned readings to achieve course objectives.

Week 1: Introduction to the Course, the Vedas, and Upanishads (Week of Sept. 4)

Topics to be Covered:

•Student Introductions

•Introduction to Indian Philosophical Traditions

•Introductions to Transreligious Study

•Language and Vocabulary

•Introducing the Vedic Tradition

•Transreligious Creation Stories (Judeo-Christian, Vedic, and Islamic)

Readings (To be read for this class):

•Meeting God: Elements of Hindu Devotion (Pages 1-63)

•Seeing the Divine Image in India (Pages 1-92)

•The Thirteen Principal Upanishads (Read 1-72, 73-176)

•Rig Vega Selections Online (Review Book 1 Online)

•Genesis & Quranic Selections (Provided in Class)

Week 2: The Upanishads (Week of Sept. 11)

Topics to be Covered:

•The Philosophy of the Upanishads

•Chandogya Upanishad

•Isa Upanishad

•Mundaka Upanishad

•Svetasvatara Upanishad

•The Cave of the Heart

•Interreligious Dialogue

Readings (To be read for this class):

•Meeting God: Elements of Hindu Devotion (Pages 64-156)

•The Thirteen Principal Upanishads (Read 177-274; 362-365; 366-377; 394-411)

•The Cave of the Heart (Selections Provided)

•Hindu Christian Meeting Points (Selections Provided)

Week 3: The Upanishads (Week of Sept. 18)

Topics to be Covered:

•The Philosophy of the Upanishads

•Briihad-aranyaka Upanishad

•Taittiriya Upanishad

•Aitareya Upanishad

•Maitri Upanishad

•The Cave of the Heart

•Interreligious Dialogue

•Mantra Yoga: AUM & Gayatri Mantra

Readings (To be read for this class):

•Meeting God: Elements of Hindu Devotion (Pages 64-156)

•The Thirteen Principal Upanishads (Read 73-176; 275-293;294-301; 412-458)

•The Cave of the Heart (Selections Provided)

•Hindu Christian Meeting Points (Selections Provided)

Week 4: TheBhagavad Gita & Devotional Mysticism(Week of Sept. 25)

Topics to be Covered:

•Introduction to The Bhagavad Gita

•Introduction to Bhakti Movement

•Vaishnavism and Shivism

•Introduction to the Bhakti Poet-Saints (i.e., Basavanna & Islamic Mysticism)

Readings (To be read for this class):

•The Bhagavad-Gita: Krishna's Counsel in Time of War (Pages 1-49)

•Speaking of Śiva (19-91)

•Islamic Mystical Poetry (xviii-156)

Week 5: TheBhagavad Gitaand Devotional Mysticism(Week of Oct. 2)

Topics to be Covered:

•The Bhagavad Gita

•Bhakti Poet-Saints (i.e., Devara Dasimayya, Mahadeviyakka, & Islamic Mysticism)

Readings (To be read for this class):

•The Bhagavad-Gita: Krishna's Counsel in Time of War (Pages 50-96)

•Speaking of Śiva (Pages 91-143)

•Islamic Mystical Poetry (203-251)

Week 6: Learning Immersion (Week of Oct. 9)

Week 7: TheBhagavad Gitaand Devotional Mysticism (Week of Oct. 16)

***MIDTERM DUE*** (Email to as MS Word Document)

Topics to be Covered:

•The Bhagavad Gita

•Bhakti Poet-Saints (i.e., AllamaPrabhu & Islamic Mysticism)

•Midterm Evaluations

Readings (To be read for this class):

•The Bhagavad-Gita: Krishna's Counsel in Time of War (Pages 97-162)

•Speaking of Śiva (Pages 143-189)

•Islamic Mystical Poetry (252-331))

Week 8: Reading Week (Week of Oct. 23) (NO CLASS)

Week 9: Yogic Philosophy and Islamic Spirituality(Week of Oct. 30)

Topics to be Covered:

•History of Yoga

•Introduction to Samkya Philosophy

•Yoga Sutras Chapter 1 & Commentary: Meditative Absorption

•Yogic Ethics: Yamas (Ahimsa, Satya, Asteya, Brahmacharya, Aparigraha)

•Yogic Ethics: Niyamas (Saucha, Santosha, Tapas, Swadhyaya, IshwaraPranidhana)

•Introduction to Islamic Spirituality

Readings (To be read for this class):

•The Yoga Sūtras of Patañjali (Pages i-Iix; 3-168)

•One God, Many Prophets (Pages 1-136)

Week 10: Yogic Philosophy and Islamic Spirituality(Week of Nov. 6)

Topics to be Covered:

•Ashtanga Yoga

•Yogic Practice: Asana, Pranayama, Pratyahara, Dharana, Dhyana, Samadhi

•Yoga Sutras Chapter 2 & Commentary: Practice

•Introduction to Islamic Spirituality

Readings (To be read for this class):

•The Yoga Sūtras of Patañjali (Pages 169-301)

•One God, Many Prophets (Pages 144-190)

Week 11: Yogic Philosophy and Islamic Spirituality(Week of Nov. 13)

Topics to be Covered:

•Ashtanga Yoga II

•Yoga Sutras Chapter 3-4 & Commentary: Mystic Powers and Absolute Independence

•Introduction to Islamic Spirituality

Readings (To be read for this week):

•The Yoga Sūtras of Patañjali (Pages 301-476)

•One God, Many Prophets (Pages 193-305)

Week 12: Shaktism, Tantra, and the Mahavidyas (Week of Nov. 20)

Topics to be Covered:

•Introduction to Shaktism

•Introduction to Tantra

•Introduction to MahaKali

•Tantric Puja

Readings (To be read for this class):

•Tantra in Practice (Pages 1-36; 41-51; 72-80;463-488) Introduction; The Tantric Guru; Interviews with a Tantric Kali Priest: Feeding Skulls in the Town of Sacrifice; The Worship of Kali According to the Todala Tantra)

•Tantric Visions of the Divine Feminine (Pages i-92: Introduction; Kali)

•Singing to the Goddess: Poems to Kālī and Umā from Bengal (Pages 1-75)

Week 13: Shaktism, Tantra, and the Mahavidyas (Week of Nov. 27 )

Topics to be Covered:

•Introduction to the Mahavidyas

•Shaktic & Tantric Devotional Poetry

•Tattva Shuddhi Spiritual Exercise

Readings (To be read for this class):

•Tantra in Practice (Pages 167-183; 347-360; 509-520; 574-586 )Raising Snakes in Bengal; The Ocean of the Heart: Selections from the Kularnava Tantra; The Purification of the Body; On The Seal of Sambhu: A Poem by Abhivnavagupta)

•Tantric Visions of the Divine Feminine (Pages 92-176; Tara, Tripur-Sundari;, Bhuvanesvari; Chinnamasta; Bhairavi))

•Singing to the Goddess: Poems to Kālī and Umā from Bengal (Pages 76-103)

Week 14: Shaktism, Tantra, and the Mahavidyas (Week of Dec. 4)

Topics to be Covered:

•The Mahavidyas

•Shakta & Tantric Devotional Poetry

•Yoga Nidra Spiritual Exercise

Readings (To be read for this class):

•Tantric Visions of the Divine Feminine (Pages 176-252; Dhumavati, Bagalamukhi, Matangi; Kamala; Conculsion)

•Singing to the Goddess: Poems to Kālī and Umā from Bengal (Pages 103-151)

Week 15: STUDY WEEK (Week of Dec. 11) (NO CLASS)

Week 16: Final Class (Week of Dec. 18)

***FINAL DUE**** (Email to as MS Word Document)

Topics to be Covered:

•Final Presentations

•Course Summary & Conclusion

•Course Evaluations

Additional Suggested Texts:

Bryant, E. (2003). Krishna, the beautiful legend of God. London: Penguin Books.

Harding, Elizabeth U. Kali. Newburyport: Nicolas-Hays, Inc, 1993. Print.

Patanjali, Bhagwan Shree., and Haviharonanda.Yoga Philosophy of Patanjali: Containing His Yoga Aphorisms ... Calcutta: U of Calcutta, 1981. Print.

Patañjali.,Zambito, S. (1992). The unadorned thread of yoga.Poulsbo, WA: Yoga-Sūtras Institute Press.

Redington, J., & Vallabhācārya,. (2000). The grace of Lord Krishna. Delhi: Sri Satguru Publications.

Whicher, Ian. The Integrity of the Yoga Darśana: A Reconsideration of Classical Yoga. Albany, NY: State U of New York, 1998. Print.