Author: Jan Olof Bengtsson
Spirituality - Arts & Humanities - Europe
Oxford Paper
I read my paper ‘In Defence of the Personal Idealist Conception of the Finite Self’ at the Oxford conference on British Idealism in August (photo by Jane Ferreira):
Abstract:
Revisiting the great international controversy, throughout the nineteenth and well into the twentieth century, between so-called personal and absolute idealism regarding the nature and identity of the finite self, and primarily the well-known and comparatively late debate on this issue between Pringle-Pattison as representative of the former branch of idealism and Bosanquet as representative of the latter, this paper further explores the two closely related aspects of the problem focused on by these thinkers, and largely in their own conceptual terms: the question of whether finite individuals (or, more precisely, finite individuals that are selves) are to be conceived as having a “substantive” or an “adjectival” mode of being, and the question of the “imperviousness” of such finite individual selves, or persons. Complexifying the debate by introducing a number of new definitions and distinctions deemed necessary for its proper elucidation, while at the same time remaining entirely within and confirming the general framework of idealism that was both Pringle-Pattison’s and Bosanquet’s, the paper defends what could perhaps be said to be the general position of personal idealism (in contradistinction to every single particular formulation of Pringle-Pattison’s) in the manner in which it was normally defended by the personal idealists themselves, i.e. as an idealist position that in no way rejects, as the classificatory terminological distinction between personal and absolute idealism might suggest, the concept of the absolute.
Silvio Poma: Lago di Lecco
Airport-ansvarig: Kerstin Lindberg Göransson
Jag är upprörd över det här. Det tycks vara i samband med att det nya statliga företaget Swedavia tog över de svenska flygplatserna från Luftfartsverket, eller det senare ombildades till det förra, som Arlanda – och, visar det sig, inte bara Arlanda, utan även alla andra svenska flygplatser – officiellt blev “airports” i stället för flygplatser i svenskspråkiga sammanhang.
Arlanda och alla andra flygplatser omnämns konsekvent som “airports” på Swedavias svenskspråkiga sidor. Även i Swedavias tidskrift Nya Arlanda omtalas Arlanda från början som “airport”, även om det i de tidiga numren finns ett och annat återfall till “flygplats” inne i artiklarna.
Därmed måste misstanken riktas mot Swedavias första vd och Arlanda-chef Kerstin Lindberg Göransson, numera vd för Akademiska Hus. Fortfarande ifrågasätter såvitt jag kan se ingen de nya namnen och det nya språkbruket. Jag tror därför att man måste gå vidare och individualisera den här kritiken, peka på de personer som är direkt ansvariga för och själva har initierat pinsamheten.
Om Lindberg Göransson med all sannolikhet personligen fattade eller åtminstone var centralt involverad i beslutet att Arlanda m.fl. flygplatser officiellt på svenska ska kallas “airports”, har hennes efterträdare, nuvarande vdn Torborg Chetkovich, synbarligen inte gjort något för att upphäva det. Styrelseordföranden Ingemar Skogö måste också uppmärksammas.
Ställ dessa personer till svars. Eventuell kompetens på andra områden kan naturligtvis inte uppväga kulturell och social analfabetism på så centrala områden som detta.
För övrigt är alla svenska företagsnamn som börjar på “Swe” och “Swed” töntiga, av samma skäl som Arlanda Airport, och Ronneby Airport, är töntiga som svenska namn.
Basile Catoméris Interview
Catoméris is one of my yoga teachers. I practiced with him for at least a year in the early 90s.
He says a few strange things here. But so do all yoga teachers.
Basile P. Catoméris: Foundations of Yoga
The Traditional Teachings of Sri Shyam Sundar Goswami
Inner Traditions, 2012 Amazon.com
From the Back Cover:
Foundations of Yoga presents the full and rigorous yogic training of traditional Hatha Yoga as taught by renowned Indian Yoga master the late Sri Shyam Sundar Goswami. Written by his disciple and spiritual heir, the book emphasizes metaphysical, spiritual, and psychological cultivation in addition to physical practice. It offers Yoga practitioners and teachers a way to enrich and advance their physical Yoga practice through a deeper understanding of physiology, psychology, philosophy, and spirituality centered on Vedic and Tantric principles.
Woven together with stories from Sri Shyam Sundar Goswami’s life, the book explains pratyahara (control of the senses), charana (yogic bodybuilding), mental concentration exercises, and the energy-focusing and purifying muscular-control movements known as mudras, including the metabolism-boosting mahamudra and advanced pelvic mudras and sexual practices to transcend the ego. The book explores methods of internal purification such as dhauti (cleansing of the stomach with air or water), vasti (intestinal cleansing), neti (nasal cleansing), trataka (visual concentration exercises), and kapalabhati (diaphragmatic hyperventilation) and shows how these purifications are necessary before beginning the advanced breathing practices of pranayama to eradicate deep internal impurities and strengthen the immune system. Exploring the philosophy of Yoga, the book shares meditative exercises for introspection, expanding consciousness, and seeking your true divine nature.
As the teachings and life of Sri S. S. Goswami show, by strengthening the body, vital force, and mind, one can master all three for a long, healthy, harmonious life.
Reviews:
“A profound and lucid study of yoga in the deeper sense of the term, covering both practice and philosophy. Foundations of Yoga is an important book for those who are interested in how Hatha Yoga relates to the greater transformation of body, mind, and heart.” David Frawley, author of Yoga & Ayurveda and founder of the American Institute for Vedic Studies
“In Foundations of Yoga, Basile P. Catoméris presents a comprehensive view of the ancient practice of Yoga through the eyes of a present day yogi. Those interested in the roots of yogic philosophy and practice will find his clear explanations informative and enlightening.” Biff Mithoefer, international yoga teacher and author of The Yin Yoga Kit and co-author of The Therapeutic Yoga Kit
“It is with the greatest pleasure I recommend Basile P. Catoméris’s book Foundations of Yoga. Sri Shyam Sundar Goswami and his understanding and practical application of hatha yoga has been instrumental in spreading this form of yoga in the West. The increased interest in the practice of hatha yoga in Europe and the United States makes this book especially important.” Olle Qvarnström, professor of Indic Religions, Lund University, Sweden
“With Foundations of Yoga, devotee Basile P. Catoméris shares the Hatha yoga legacy of the late Hindu sage, Sri Shyam Sundar Goswami. His account of the lineage and life of the founder of the oldest yoga school in Europe, the Goswami Yoga Institute in Stockholm, is directed at the English-speaking yoga practitioner…Foundations of Yoga will cultivate the knowledge of yoga practitioners at every level and reinforce the expertise of the advanced yoga practitioner.” Allyson Gracie, Retailing Insight, December 2012
“This book is recommended for those who want to move beyond a perfunctory level…In the spirit of his predecessor, Catoméris offers an excellent synthesis of the ancient science of yoga that will help guide serious aspirants on their journey toward a healthy body and peaceful mind.” Ajoke Kokodoko, Library Journal, March 2013
About the Author:
Basile P. Catoméris is the disciple and spiritual heir of Sri Shyam Sundar Goswami. Devoting his life to the study and practice of yogic traditions, he studied under Sri S. S. Goswami from 1956 until Goswami’s death in 1978, whereupon he took over Sri S. S. Goswami’s teaching duties at the Goswami Yoga Institute in Sweden. In December 1983, he was granted yogic final initiation (brahma mantra diksha) by Ma Santi Dei, Sri Goswami’s “spiritual mother.” He lives in southern France.
Sri Rama Varma XV, Maharaja of Cochin
The Maharaja is wearing the mantle of the Order of the Star of India, of which he was Knight Grand Commander (GCSI).
British Idealism and the Concept of the Self
Another conference, in Harris Manchester College, Oxford, 27th-30th August, organized by William Mander and Stamatoula Panagakou. Many of the leading figures in the revival and renewal of British Idealism in the last few decades attended, as well as philosophers in younger generations who build on their work.
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Wilhelmplatz, Berlin
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Paul Brunton: The Ego
From Birth to Rebirth
The Notebooks of Paul Brunton
Volume Six
Larson, 1987
Back Cover:
The ego is just as powerful whether it is condoned or condemned, for in both cases it keeps the man engaged ona self-centered quest.
We must understand that heaven and hell are deep inside the heart and not places to which we go…the true heart of man is deathless.
– Paul Brunton
Part 1, The Ego, is a unique and uprecedented contribution to the literature of self-realization. It exposes, at an existential rather than merely psychological level, the most fundamental problem obstructing the life of unfailing self-integrity.
Part 2, From Birth to Rebirth, shows the role of death in the ongoing cycle of life, clarifies beliefs about reincarnation, and explores the creative relationships between fate, destiny, and free will.
Jan Olof Bengtsson 