Rajanaka Newsletter: Sessions, Circles, Lexemes, & Godsplaining

 Saturday, July 29, 2023

 

Aho’Rajanaka,

 

I hope this finds you well.

 

I’ve been thinking some about where yoga has come and gone over the last twenty some years since we began our conversation.  I’ve been devising plans for the coming Fall Sessions.  But we’ll circle back to that later.

 

When we say “yoga” nowadays it means asana practice because that’s honestly what the word has come to mean even if that’s not all it means to you or me.  Words mean what people think they mean, so there’s no “real” meaning that is somehow being slighted.  Meaning, however socialized, gains nuance once it’s contrived in more tightly knit communities.  That’s like folks hitting the dance floor to express their feelings as they each hear the “same” song.  Meaning works like that: we in it together and by ourselves all at once.



My favorite definition of yoga isn’t Patanjali is in the Gita where Krsna makes some fine repartee by drawing a circle of Maya around the word.   He's gonna godsplain (sorta’ like mansplaining) by dancing with circular definition.  And (not surprise!) that involves far more that it seems and likely not what you bargain for.  What’s a circular definition exactly?

Things could get real fancy right about now (umm, they are about to, just a little, okay? are you seated? Got a drink? Bored?) since I am but a pedantic jape, old enough to be the donnish parody of a professor, and genuine lover of Krsna’s legerdemain.  You see Krsna’s using a lexeme. (N.B.., feel no obligation whatsoever to Work Yer Wiki to figure that one out).  What?  That is, he’s going to use the word to define the word (that’s the circular part) by fudging around with the grammar (that’s called the inflection part where two different grammatical forms are used to define the meaning).  You’d think I’d have already gotten to the point here but Krsna like Honey Badger loves the guffawing cachinnation that’s happenin’ to you right about…now.

He says, tasmād yogāya yujyasva yogaḥ karmasu kauśalam (2.50cd), which literally says, “Yoke yourself to yoga. Yoga is skillfulness in action.”  See what he did?  First, he used the word to define the word (but in a different grammatical form, that’s the circular definition thing with the lexeme thing).  Then he told us that yoga is doing something(that’s the karma part) and in a certain way.  He told us to act in, with, as kauśalyam.

 

Kaushalyam is the sorcery word here because it means to leverage you as much as inform you.  Kaushalyam means skillful, adept and it also means something worthwhile, good for you, advancing your well-being or prosperity.  But more than that, Kaushalyam means cleverness not only in the sense of capable, adroit, or inventive but also canny, cagey, and shrewd.  Krsna would have it no other way.  He’s not only interested in us being good and astute, he’s not opposed to us being foxy and when it’s really important sly, a wee bit shifty, and politick.  The key is to try to be all of these things at once, that’s the Maya part coming together with the admonition for goodness (Dharma) and the sorcery (abhicaranam) of getting stuff done.  Phew.  Maybe we should talk about this some more?  I think it worth the effort.  You?

 

Today, Saturday July 29, we’re going to have Another Special Saturday Session.  5pm Eastern.   Zoom link is the usual: 

https://rochester.zoom.us/j/95057662268

Our topic is Shiva’s hair.  Good hair, bad hair, what’s in his hair, how’d it get there, why is it there, what’s with the cool dreads?  Last week in Mahabharata we talked about Ganga being in his hair how She got there but there’s all sorts of stuff there that has to do with keeping your archetypes close and your shadows closer.  Did you know that “shampoo” is a word we borrow into English from Indian languages?  Come found out what Śiva is up to.  Recording available if you can make it.

 

All FREE Special Saturdays for 2022 and 2023 are in these Archives for download.  For 2022 go here: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/a34ja95pg4t8bamatfq3q/h?rlkey=0dcorxwfqhocsiime5rhcju1t&dl=0

For 2023 Specials go here: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/rm505c2fcy04y3upn5abv/h?rlkey=6gk1d5rzyypn0r37100wzv5hk&dl=0

 

Tomorrow, July 30th at 5pm Eastern, we’ll have a Sunday Mahabharata and tell a very good story.  There will be a Forest visit and like all Mahabharata Sessions they are “stand alone” so you can come anytime but also are part of our approaching-vast Archive.  Link here: 

https://rochester.zoom.us/j/314987250

We’ve got unicorns coming here, one of the most famous and important stories of the Mahabharata about the sage Rsyasrnga.  Say that five times with r as a vowel.  Come if you can.

 

 

 

Fall Sessions coming in September.  

 

Do yourself some good.  Make some yoga that’s kauśalyam. Write to me (douglas@rajanaka.com) or send me a postcard and I’ll send you one back (7296 Gregg Road, Bloomfield, NY 14469).  Sadie read the mail with me but she’ll keep your confidences.  Talk soon.

Saprema, Douglas

 

 

 

&&

Rajanaka Summer Camp 2023, “The Sorcery of Śiva: Teachings on Abhicara and the Luminous Shadow”.
Dropbox Archive link is here:

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/836d746qa8917cdcgnjll/h?rlkey=bqb06vxanp69s4o17gar035nx&dl=0

Tuition for the Archive is $200, please use the usual PayPal (svcourses@gmail.com) or Venmo (same email or douglas-brooks-8).


 

THE HEART OF RECOGNITION SESSIONS

Please use the usual PayPal (svcourses@gmail.com) or Venmo (douglas-brooks-8). 

*Dropbox Recordings Available IN FULL, NOW, Anytime!: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/3lvz5j1ajcidwjasy7fsl/h?dl=0&rlkey=qibpejcv3blkq0ngmjx6atsc8

*All Courses are recorded and available on our Archive for download.  

*Tuition for the Archive is $150, please use the usual PayPal (svcourses@gmail.com) or Venmo (same email or douglas-brooks-8).

INDIA is a go.  If you are interested in joining us on the India Pilgrimage that can still happen for you.  There’s room.   There are more details below the line but you can write to me directly with any questions or interests, douglas@rajanaka.com.  Join the Facebook Group Rajanaka 2023 India Pilgrimage even if you don’t think you can come this time.  You’ll meet lovely people and you won’t be able to resist.  This is the real deal.

 

SUNDAY MAHABHARATA

ALMOST EVERY Sunday---DATES AND REMINDER ABOVE---AND there is always ia new story, every bit of it makes sense no matter when you choose to attend!

Time: Sessions on Sundays at 5pm Eastern.
Dates: Every Sunday unless we announce otherwise!

ZOOM link is the same for all Sundays: 

 https://rochester.zoom.us/j/314987250

Tuition: $15 per Session or $20 and all goes to India causes. Your call.

Complete Recorded Archive INCLUDING a free Audio book is here:

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/bfqt15y3n0uglir/AAAB_89LiCOob0hJI1w8BK7_a?dl=0 

(Remember that you must download Sessions from Dropbox because when you listen directly on Dropbox you receive only the first hour.)

NEW ARCHIVE COURSES ARE NOW AVAILABLE FROM THIS PAST SPRING 2023.

·      The Tamil Goddess in Six Sessions, tuition for all Sessions is $95.  You can download from here directly. Tuition is on the honor system, use Paypal or Venmo (svcourses@gmail.com)
https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/owz6urldp6rnl4nv6bpdh/h?dl=0&rlkey=7rty7mxnjwk301bjk6vt7qtpi

 

·      Muruga of the Six Temples, tuition for all Sessions is $95 payable as PayPal or Venmo (svcourses@gmail.com), here is the Dropbox link for downloading directly: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/1fwu9qhlghlmz9t1a1sd2/h?dl=0&rlkey=2lz0ox3znbhl0iqc48qu59gpx

You can find all of our Newsletters on the Kalliyam Blogspot here:

https://kalliyam.blogspot.com/2023/01/rajanaka-newsletter-january-10-2023.html

 

And so much to read on the Rajanaka Sammelana, Rajanaka Adesa, and the Contraiety [SIC] Blogspots, links here:

 

https://rajanaka.blogspot.com/2023/01/a-story-in-news-rajanaka-past-and.html

 

https://rajanakadesa.blogspot.com/2023/01/vrata-resolutions-and-new-year.html

 

https://contraiety.blogspot.com/2022/08/what-you-havent-earned-is-more-important.html

 

What will you find?

Six Sessions and PDF to aid in study.  Write to me if you need help.

Description: No form of Hanuman is more important or less understood and studied than the great Pancamukha.  Here Hanuman bears the visage of Varaha the Boar, Garuda the Raptor, Hanuman the Monkey, Narasimha the Lion Man, and Hayagriva the Horse.  We will bring this character to life in mythos, mantra, and mudra, in theory and practice, and there will be new stories and work that extends far beyond what we have done before with the Tantric Hanuman.  Everyone is welcome.  We start at the beginning and we go deep.

Tuition for Six Sessions is $150, payable over time if you need, use PayPal (svcourses@gmail.com or nallapaampu@gmail.com) or Venmo (douglas-brooks-8 or svcourses@gmail.com) If you can’t afford full tuition, talk to me.  Your access is guaranteed.  Tuition further promises unlimited access to the Recorded Dropbox Archive that will allow you to listen whenever you like.  Registration for all is by attendance and tuition is on the honor system.

  • Rasa in Theory and Practice.

Six Sessions on Saturday Evenings

ARCHIVE is HERE: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/d4uwwjw17seca2livd6r2/h?dl=0&rlkey=nh4g7xj6x7skeghw4x6tcsk2c

Description: Rasa means essence, taste, liquidity, flavor, sentiment, elemental feeling and emotion.  At the heart of the study of poetry, Rasa Theory is a remarkable, rich, and complex method of analysis and appreciation of artistry and aesthetics.  But rasa is also a roadmap, a process and practice, a method for understanding and exploring our most elemental feelings.  Rajanaka has among the most developed and useful rasa traditions of yoga.  At the center of every yoga is engagement with feeling and the development of “taste”: rasa is the core of our being and here we learn the way through that labyrinth of essence.

Tuition for Six Sessions is $150, payable over time if you need, use PayPal (svcourses@gmail.com or nallapaampu@gmail.com) or Venmo (douglas-brooks-8 or svcourses@gmail.com) If you can’t afford full tuition, talk to me.  Your access is guaranteed.  Tuition further promises unlimited access to the Recorded Dropbox Archive that will allow you to listen whenever you like.  Registration for all is by attendance and tuition is on the honor system.

 

TUITION FOR ANY OF THESE ARCHIVES IS $150 FOR COMPLETE ACCESS. YOU ARE ON YOUR HONOR TO ACCESS THEM AS YOU PLEASE AND OFFER TUITION VIA PAYPAL (SVCOURSES@GMAIL.COM OR NALLAPAAMPU@GMAIL.COM) OR BY VENMO (SVCOURSES@GMAIL.COM OR DOUGLAS-BROOKS-8).  

 

Gayatri Mantra

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/r58rwnp3ryxgi6a6y8yme/h?dl=0&rlkey=59kbd7hjdrl8n809zv8becmdi

 

Lalita 1000 Names

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/18o5rtle7p91hz2/AADQnph8ofpPAX5mtW7mX-L4a?dl=0

 

OM Autobiography

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/11jd30d14ibjjtv3wauaj/h?dl=0&rlkey=1wugbag9m7myo1c50gt6qoa6d

 

Shakuntala for India

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/osx5n6i9vrz5vi5ek9vch/h?dl=0&rlkey=pa7akqysgrauu07mw9te61yb1

 

Pancamukha Hanuman

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/d62llefrjvyidefn3uequ/h?dl=0&rlkey=p774e7zbme37d8cc49ocysog2

 

Rasa Theory

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/d4uwwjw17seca2livd6r2/h?dl=0&rlkey=nh4g7xj6x7skeghw4x6tcsk2c

 

Free Saturdays in 2023

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/rm505c2fcy04y3upn5abv/h?dl=0&rlkey=6gk1d5rzyypn0r37100wzv5hk

 

Sricakra Puja Appa Svadhyaya

https://www.dropbox.com/s/bi7z70589ztuak4/cakra%20puja.wav?dl=0

 

Religion 270 The Meaning of Life

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/ab5ioprn7bk2qgsd8800i/h?dl=0&rlkey=k9g4xukvctff91fkye1wo5mdr

 

Poised for Grace Audio Book

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/iw0za7jwml6m7mc/AACjDhxf9owOXjbkzT2r2k-Ra?dl=0

 

Patanjali Essential Core

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/2qd7wc5qroiva3v/AAAaZPvnc9I2JQSrO88Iv1exa?dl=0

 

Sivakamasundari Practicum

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/ifddb0hglwrm5hx/AABGyYYfSJ9B_KHhU1LgdsT3a?dl=0

 

Mahabharata Sundays
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/bfqt15y3n0uglir/AAAB_89LiCOob0hJI1w8BK7_a?dl=0

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 




 

 

 

 

 

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