Joga w kontekstach kulturowych 4
Yoga in cultural contexts, Volume 4
Contributor(s): Kamila Gęsikowska (Editor), Anna Gomóła (Editor), Dagmara Wasilewska (Editor)
Subject(s): History, Social Sciences, Cultural history, History of ideas, Theology and Religion, Culture and social structure , History of Religion
ISSN: 2719-9010
Published by: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Śląskiego
Keywords: Yoga; history of yoga; history of yoga in Poland; history of culture
Summary/Abstract: Yoga in cultural contexts, Volume 4 is a publication connected to the joint project of Department of Theory and History of Culture of the University of Silesia (now the Department of Theory and History of Culture) and the Department of Sport and Tourism Management of the Jerzy Kukuczka Academy of Physical Education in Katowice, which has been carried out since 2013.
Yoga in cultural contexts, Volume 4 constitutes an interdisciplinary book, containing works by, among others, cultural scientists, Indologists, Arabists and sociologists. The chapters included in the volume discuss yoga as a complex system of beliefs and practices rooted in the cultural context of India, as well a phenomenon gaining increasing importance in Western culture.
Series: Historia i Teoria Kultury
- E-ISBN-13: 978-83-226-4115-6
- Page Count: 210
- Publication Year: 2021
- Language: Polish
Obraz jogi i mocy jogicznych w „Bhagawatapuranie”
Obraz jogi i mocy jogicznych w „Bhagawatapuranie”
(The image of yoga and yogic powers in the „Bhāgavata-purāṇa”)
- Author(s):Dagmara Wasilewska
- Language:Polish
- Subject(s):Cultural history, History of ideas, Culture and social structure , History of Religion
- Page Range:13-34
- No. of Pages:22
- Keywords:yoga; bhakti; „Bhāgavata-purāṇa” (6th–8th centuries A.D.); Bengali Vaishnavism
- Summary/Abstract:The Bhāgavata-purāṇa, one of the most important Vaishnava texts, dates from around 6th–8th centuries A.D., a period when the system of classical yoga was already well known, while haṭha-yoga had not yet been formed, although its particular practices were already in use. The article presents yoga as a phenomenon perceived to some extent from the outside — from the distance created by the perspective of Puranic Vaishnavism, which on the one hand constituted part of the widely understood Vedic orthodoxy, and on the other was shaped under the strong influence of the pan-Indian devotional current of bhakti. The article deals primarily with what the authors of the Bhāgavata-purāṇa understand by yoga, how they describe it and make value judgments, as well as which of its elements they adapt to their own practice. In the Purāṇa we find extensive descriptions of yogic discipline in its very concrete forms, including detailed meditation procedures, as well as intriguing portraits of yogis and illustrations of the yogic powers they acquire, the so-called śakti. The author devotes special attention to “Book XI” of the text, especially its passage called Uddhava-gītā, in which the god Krishna in conversation with Uddhava in twenty-three chapters discusses in detail the text’s preferred way of yoga.
Praktyki cielesne w sufizmie
Praktyki cielesne w sufizmie
(Bodily practices in Sufism)
- Author(s):Beata Abdallah-Krzepkowska
- Language:Polish
- Subject(s):Cultural history, History of ideas, Islam studies, Culture and social structure , History of Religion
- Page Range:35-55
- No. of Pages:21
- Keywords:Sufism; Sufi tradition; mysticism; bodily practices
- Summary/Abstract:The body occupies a crucial and special place in the Sufi tradition. It is seen as a Gateway leading from the outer dimension of reality (ẓāhir) to the inner dimension (bāṭin), bearing within itself a microcosm that is a mirror image of the macrocosm. Mystics recognize the dual nature of the body — on the one hand, it is a source of obstacles to the individual’s rise above trivial needs and desires, while on the other hand, it provides a means of transgression into the world of immaterial reality. As a boundary point between two worlds, the body can become a means of achieving closeness. The various bodily practices employed by Sufis bear traces of similarity to other mystical practices. This is not surprising, given the inclusive nature of Sufism, readily adapting the practices of local spiritual traditions. It was no different in India, where Islam appeared in the 8th century and entered into dialogue with Hindu traditions, both at the level of intellectual exchange between representatives of Islam and Hinduism, and at the level of mutual interpenetration between the practices of adepts of Sufism and Hinduism. This closeness bore fruit both in the joint practice of spirituality and in the attempts made by Akbar and his great-grandson Dārā Shikōh to combine the teachings of the two religious traditions. Today it is difficult to determine the paths of mutual influence or to say with certainty whether a particular practice is the result of influence or arose independently. The article constitutes an overview of the bodily practices of Sufism and a reflection on their possible origins and similarities to Indian traditions.
Najstarsze obrazy: jogowie w kinie niemym
Najstarsze obrazy: jogowie w kinie niemym
(The earliest images: yogis in silent cinema)
- Author(s):Anna Gomóła
- Language:Polish
- Subject(s):Cultural history, History of ideas, Culture and social structure , Film / Cinema / Cinematography, History of Religion
- Page Range:57-77
- No. of Pages:21
- Keywords:yoga; silent movies; German expressionism; „Der Yoghi”; „Das indische Grabmal”; Fritz Lang; Thea von Harbou
- Summary/Abstract:This article focuses on two of the oldest films in which the figure of the yogi occupied a central position. The first of them is the film Der Yoghi (alternatively: Das Haus des Yoghi), filmed in 1916 and preserved only in fragments. Paul Wegener was the director, screenwriter and actor playing the two roles of the title yogi and his opponent. In the film, the yogi is the inventor of a magic drink that makes invisibility possible. The creator of the work, focused on recognizing the properties of the new medium, was interested in visualizing invisibility and not in presenting the figure of the yogi according to the accounts that were available to Europeans on the subject. This was not the case with the monumental 1921 film Das indische Grabmal, directed by Joe May and with a screenplay by Fritz Lang and Thea von Harbou, author of a novel of the same title published in 1918. In the book, the story of the betrayed Raja and the oriental setting constructed through the references to the history of the Taj Mahal were important, while in the film an equal place was given to the recurring theme of the exceptional powers of Ramigani the yogi, whose primary goal was to bring about the spiritual transformation of the Raja. Bernhard Goetzke, superb as Ramigani, had a powerful effect on the audience: he evoked admiration as well as fear. He convinced the Europeans that the mysteries of the East were greater than they had supposed, and that the “miracles” and extraordinary powers of the yogis were only tools, not goals.
"Trzeba czerpać z przeszłości". O jodze w Polsce lat 60.
"Trzeba czerpać z przeszłości". O jodze w Polsce lat 60.
("You have to draw from the past". On yoga in Poland in the 1960s.)
- Author(s):Kamila Gęsikowska
- Language:Polish
- Subject(s):Cultural history, History of ideas, Culture and social structure , Film / Cinema / Cinematography, History of Religion
- Page Range:79-89
- No. of Pages:11
- Keywords:physical yoga; „Wojna domowa”; yoga in Poland
- Summary/Abstract:After 1945, Poland saw a more pronounced interest in yoga as a practice related to physical exercise, which is evident in book publications (manuals such as Yoga for You by Claude Bragdon, Eng. ed. 1954, Pol. ed. 1955) or press publications (such as the February 17, 1959 issue of “Przekrój”, which featured an interview with the pianist Witold Małcużyński, in which the artist talked about his experiences with yoga and his use of the practice in his daily and professional life). Yoga also became an object of interest for the creators of the popular 1960s television series Wojna domowa (“House Quarrels”) (1965). This paper analyzes episode seven of Wojna domowa entitled “Polish Yoga.” The author traces the social and cultural changes that occurred in the perception of yoga and the people who practice it. On the basis of her analysis, she proves that the figure of the yogi gradually ceased to be associated only with the culture of India at that time, undergoing a kind of “Occidentalizing” — the yogi did not have to be an Eastern master, but could be a specialist (though in the case of the show presented in a comedic fashion). Yoga, adjusting to the new cultural reality, became an interesting novelty for the young generation, at the same time entering more and more clearly into everyday life.
Joga i jogini w „Klanie”
Joga i jogini w „Klanie”
(Yoga and yogis in „Klan”)
- Author(s):Małgorzata Rygielska
- Language:Polish
- Subject(s):Cultural history, History of ideas, Culture and social structure , Film / Cinema / Cinematography, History of Religion
- Page Range:91-106
- No. of Pages:16
- Keywords:series; „Klan”; soap opera; yoga as physical exercise; yoga popularization
- Summary/Abstract:Klan (The Clan), one of the most famous and popular Polish television series, aired for over twenty years on Channel One of the Polish Television, is considered by film scholars to be a soap opera or a family saga. Characteristics of the series include: the correspondence of film time and real time, continuity, multi-threading, as well as the assumption of reflecting non-film reality and at the same time modeling it by influencing the audience. The theme of yoga and yogis in Klan have appeared relatively recently. This theme has been recurring with varying frequency for several years. It was preceded by the publication of a book by Paulina Holtz (the actress who plays the character Agnieszka Lubicz in Klan) and her trainer Ewelina Godlewska, entitled Po pierwsze joga (First of All Yoga) (2015). Yoga is presented in Klan primarily as a form of physical exercise, positively affecting many aspects of the human psychophysical condition. It takes a skeptical and distanced approach to the forms of “Orientalizing” yoga present in contemporary culture, which is sometimes presented as a complex system of exercises associated with an eclectic mix of selected elements from different cultures, religions, and philosophical systems. The series promotes a healthy lifestyle, which may or may not include yoga, promoted as a recommended exercise for all, regardless of age and physical condition.
Jerzy Grotowski i jego inspiracje jogą
Jerzy Grotowski i jego inspiracje jogą
(Jerzy Grotowski and his yoga inspirations)
- Author(s):Lesław Kulmatycki
- Language:Polish
- Subject(s):Theatre, Dance, Performing Arts, Cultural history, History of ideas, Culture and social structure , History of Religion
- Page Range:107-137
- No. of Pages:31
- Keywords:yoga; Jerzy Grotowski; Laboratorium Theatre; yoga in theatre
- Summary/Abstract:Jerzy Grotowski, founder of the Laboratorium Theatre and a charismatic explorer who has combined Eastern and Western modes of working with the body and psyche, has been also inspired by Indian yoga. There are four main phases in his artistic activity: performance theater, participatory theater, source theater, and vibrational song theater. In all of these phases there is a fascination with mystery and understatement. Grotowski consistently seeks a specific language for “opening up to the sacrum,” but in order to achieve this he uses carefully selected “laboratory” tools. He does not adapt ready-made techniques, but rather seeks them in other cultures, observing how they work in order to later propose solutions that seem most appropriate to him. Therefore, in all four of these phases of work, the actor, performer, participant and seeker experiencing the internal process is supposed to transform it into an external process, one that is oriented towards opening rather than closing. Particularly in the last phase of Grotowski’s work, terms such as centers of vital energy, vibration of sound when it is chanted, and verticality of movement of Energy in the body appear. During this period, the practice aims to unblock individual body centers on the vertical axis, and this flow is to be accompanied by the subjective sensation of luminosity coming not only from the body, but also, in a psychological sense, by the experience of the “expansion of boundaries” of one’s own self.
Pięć twarzy Śiwy. Sādhana jako rytualna konstrukcja ciała
Pięć twarzy Śiwy. Sādhana jako rytualna konstrukcja ciała
(The five faces of Shiva. Sādhana as ritual construction of the body)
- Author(s):Anna Mazur
- Language:Polish
- Subject(s):Cultural history, History of ideas, Culture and social structure , History of Religion
- Page Range:139-182
- No. of Pages:44
- Keywords:yoga; yoga tantra; ritual construction of the body; Shajesh Tantra; Ānanda Nātha Sampradāya
- Summary/Abstract:In this article, the author describes the secret ways of teaching tantra. The knowledge regarding the daily practice of tantra comes from participant observation and from instruction given by Shajesh Tantra, a continuation of the Ānanda Nātha Sampradāya tradition associated with the Śrī Vidyā Upasaka spiritual system. The participant observation was conducted in December 2018 at the Chinnmaya International Foundation ashram (Kerala, India). The author describes in large part the method of transforming the human body into a tantric body through the recitation of mantras during daily sādhana. As a result of the sādhana practice, the yogi’s body is gradually transformed into a body made of mantras, the sound form of tantric deities. The described method of body transformation refers to the tantric concept of the five faces of Shiva. Its source was the mantra Oṃ namaḥ śivāya, the hidden meaning of which still remains unknown. When a yogi repeats this five-syllable mantra, namaḥ śivāya purifies the physical body, the subtle body and the karmic body.
Doświadczanie jogi w Internecie. Analiza danych zastanych na Instagramie
Doświadczanie jogi w Internecie. Analiza danych zastanych na Instagramie
(Experiencing yoga online. An analysis of data posted on Instagram)
- Author(s):Dagmara Tarasiuk
- Language:Polish
- Subject(s):Cultural history, Media studies, History of ideas, Culture and social structure , History of Religion
- Page Range:183-203
- No. of Pages:21
- Keywords:yoga; Internet; Instagram; analysis; yoga practice
- Summary/Abstract:This article takes a closer look at the social world of haṭha yoga practitioners who post content online on the popular website Instagram. The analysis of the available research material included both photographs and, to a greater extent, descriptions accompanying the photographs. The data posted on the app became the source of the analyzed meanings and definitions of yoga constructed by the online community centered around yoga practice.
