Asparśa-yoga: A unique Vedantic technique of Mindfulness

Mindfulness is a very popular practice today in the West. While its origins in the Buddhist meditation practices of Zen and Vipassanā are grudgingly acknowledged; the rich traditions of meditation and mindfulness in the Vedic tradition, which forms the basis of even the Buddhist practices are rarely written about. This paper examines one such practice of Mindfulness—the asparśa-yoga—that has been conceptualized and practiced in the tradition of Advaita Vedānta. Asparśa-yoga is the yoga of non-contact which has its roots in the Upaniṣad¬-s but finds an explicit mention and a crystal clear enunciation in the Māndukya Kārikā of Ācārya Gauḍapāda. The term asparśa primarily refers to the state of contact-less existence, and secondarily to the means of attaining such a state, both of which will be explored in the paper. It will further be shown how asparśa-yoga can be understood as a unique vedantic practice of mindfulness.

Sensitising About Menstruation One City At a Time: Nithin Sridhar

This is a brief tour report of the 14 city tour to promote Nithin Sridhar’s book ‘Menstruation Across Cultures: A Historical Perspective’ and speak about traditional knowledge and cultural practices related to menstruation. The tour was organized by Indic Academy as part of its initiatives to promote Indic authors and books that enunciate Indic knowledge. .

Conference On Oneness: A Report

Sages, Scholars, and Seekers from across the country gathered at Veliyanad, Kochi- the sacred birthplace of Adi Shankaracharya (Aryamba’s maternal home) on October 15, 2019 for a three day mammoth…

Discovering Life’s Purpose

In this journey called life, every person encounters these questions at some point: What is Life? Is Life merely a journey from birth to death? Does Life end with Death?…