Tag Archives: Philosophy

PROMPT: Like Home

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Daily writing prompt
What’s a place you visited that felt like home?
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My bar for a place to feel like home is that I don’t have to think every time about where I will eat or do my laundry. So, I’ve had this a number of times in a number of countries in which I had access to a kitchen(ette) and a washing machine.

BOOK: “The Tao of Bill Murray” by Gavin Edwards

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The Tao of Bill Murray: Real-Life Stories of Joy, Enlightenment, and Party CrashingThe Tao of Bill Murray: Real-Life Stories of Joy, Enlightenment, and Party Crashing by Gavin Edwards
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Publisher site – Penguin Random House

This book lays out Bill Murray’s philosophy of life as revealed by his quirky, daring, and spontaneous approach to living. Much has been made of the influence of the mystic philosopher G.I. Gurdjieff on Murray’s thinking. This background is discussed a little in Edwards’ book, but mostly this is a book that uses anecdotes from Bill Murray’s life to make a case for a philosophy of life that involves spontaneity, generosity, service, and connection. (Furthermore, it’s not clear to what degree Gurdjieff influenced Murray’s thinking, versus Gurdjieff’s ideas appealing to Murray because of the way the comedic actor already experienced the world.)

The author organizes the book around what he calls “The Ten Principles of Bill,” a set of ideas that Edwards argues can be seen cutting across Murray’s working and non-working life (and most of the stories are from his interactions with everyday people in everyday [but often unexpected] settings, and not from Murray’s acting work.)

I found this book to be highly readable and illuminating. The stories are funny but also offer a distinct approach to experiencing the world. I’d highly recommend this book for those interested in living a more spontaneous and rewarding life, or just those who like Bill Murray.

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PROMPT: Best Advice

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Daily writing prompt
What’s the best advice you’d give to someone younger than you?
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Change your relationship to sensation.

Feel it all but stop assigning it meaning and value judgements.

PROMPT: Budget Travel

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What’s your best tip for budget travel?

Learn to love living lean.

BOOK REVIEW: “Siva Samhita” Trans. by Srisa Chandra Vasu

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Siva Samhita (English and Sanskrit Edition)Siva Samhita by Rai Bahadur Srisa Chandra Vasu
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Available online

This book is considered to be one of three surviving classic texts of Hatha Yoga. (The other two being Hatha Yoga Pradipika [probably the most famous of the three because of a popular translation and commentary put out by the Bihar School] and The Gheranda Samhita.) Siva Samhita distinguishes itself among the three. It puts less emphasis on discussing technique (with the possible exception of Mudra, which — like the other two — it explores in depth, covering nine mudra with specificity) and puts greater emphasis on philosophical topics as well as yogic physiology (e.g. chakra and mapping physiology to the macro-scale natural world.) Siva Samhita only discusses four seated postures with specificity (three of which are cross-legged meditation postures,) and discusses pranayama (breathwork) mostly in generic terms. I wouldn’t say that this reflects a lack of interest in technical topics because one other topic that this book puts great emphasis on is the importance of the teacher (meaning there might not be much discussion of technique because of an assumption by the (unknown) author(s) that techniques should be entirely passed down verbally — teacher to student.

Even having read the other two texts, I found the Siva Samhita well worth exploring. The text takes its own distinct approach. I should point out that this version doesn’t include commentary or elaboration (beyond the occasional footnote.) The text is presented bilingually with Sanskrit and an English translation. I enjoyed reading the text and the translation felt skillful, but I think I would benefit from reading an edition with commentary, (provided the translator / commentator knew of what they spoke both in terms of Sanskrit language and Yogic practice.)

If you are a serious student and / or teacher of yoga, I’d highly recommend this text.

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BOOK: “The Lifetime Reading Plan” by Clifton Fadiman

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The Lifetime Reading PlanThe Lifetime Reading Plan by Clifton Fadiman
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Google Books Page

By the standard of most people (even most readers,) my reading life is insane, both in terms of the volume that I read and the variety of kinds of writing I consume. But – still – whenever someone comes out with one of these “100 must-read books” lists, there’re always many titles that I haven’t read. This has led me to reflect on what constitutes “essential reading,” (if such a thing exists) and what more systematic readers would consider the crucial texts to read to be a well-read person. And that lead me to this book, which is one man’s attempt to assemble such a syllabus of readings.

Fadiman arranges his 103 recommendations into seven sections: 1.) The Beginning (writings from the ancient world;) 2.) The Middle Ages; 3.) Plays; 4.) Narratives; 5.) Philosophy, Psychology, Politics, and Essays; 6.) Poetry; and 7.) History, Biography, and Autobiography. He also provides an annex of six recommendations to give a rudimentary overview of subjects not addressed in the listed works (e.g. art, mathematics, science, World History, American History, and how to read a book.) Note: When I refer to Fadiman’s ‘103 recommendations,” I’m not talking about 103 books. In many cases, Fadiman recommends one read all (or at least multiple instances of) a given author’s writings. I wouldn’t want to give the impression that one could knock out the whole syllabus in 111 books (inclusive of the annex recommendations;) it is a “lifetime” reading plan – after all.

The first edition of this book came out in 1960 and the third (and – as far as I know – final) edition came out in 1988. Fadiman’s selection is far less diverse than one might expect of such a book today. The author freely admits the book is Western-centric, but that’s not the whole story. While Fadiman’s selection is completely Western, it’s also highly Anglo-American (Anglo / American, if you prefer) with a few French, German, Russian, and Latin American authors scattered into the mix. Furthermore, the feminine voice is all but absent with only four females among the recommendations (including George Eliot who famously took a man’s name to be able to publish the work she probably couldn’t have as Mary Ann Evans [her birth name.])

One the one hand, this book did offer insights into many authors and books, including giving a few recommendations I’d never even heard of before. On the other hand, I wouldn’t call it a recipe for being a well-rounded intellect. It’s far too siloed for that purpose. That said, if you’re looking some readings to round out the Western portion of your reading list, I’d recommend you give this book a look. However, as a “lifetime reading plan,” I think it would leave the reader with some pretty broad blind spots.

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BOOK: “Gheranda Samhita” Trans by. Srisa Chandra Vasu

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Gheranda SamhitaGheranda Samhita by Srisa Chandra Vasu
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Available online – Terebess.hu

The Gheranda Samhita is said to be one of three surviving foundational texts of Hatha Yoga (along with Hatha Yoga Pradipika [HYP] and Shiva Samhita.) This is the first known edition of the Gheranda Samhita to include an English language translation. (It does retain the Sanskrit, as well.) This edition does not include commentary or elaboration (with the exception of the occasional footnote;) it’s just the shloka of the original and a translation, thereof.

The translation is clear and readable. The book does sometimes assume a basic vocabulary of terms that exist only in yoga and – therefore – do not have English language counterparts, but these can usually be easily looked up if the reader is not familiar with them. (And there is probably no good way around this because if one didn’t use the Sanskrit term one would have to give a longwinded explanation of the concept that would be painful reading for those who do have a basic yoga-related Sanskrit vocabulary (i.e. which is more likely the case for a reader of canonical texts.)

The book is arranged into seven lessons that cover Shatkarma (cleansing practices,) Asana (postures,) Mudra (“seals,”) Pratyahara (sensory withdrawal,) Pranayama (breathwork,) Dhyana (meditation,) and Samadhi (unified consciousness.) As with Hatha Yoga Pradipika [HYP] one sees cleansing practices (Shatkarma) elevated to essential elements of a practice, whereas Yama, Niyama (together the ethics of yoga) and Dharana are not afforded the status of “limbs” of practice. While there are similarities between HYP and Gheranda Samhita content there are differences as well. For example, the latter felt like it raised the importance of breathwork (pranayama) in part because it speaks of how crucial such practices are and also because it moves pranayama closer to samadhi in the progression of practice.

I’d highly recommend yoga teachers and students interested in the evolution and progression of Yoga read this text.

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PROMPT: Best

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Daily writing prompt
What’s the best local dish you’ve ever eaten while traveling?
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I’m not big on tabulating the “best” this or that. It feels like it hamstrings experience and puts one in a comparison mode in which one is always living half in the past. If it looks good, eat it, and then move on to the next experience — giving that experience your presence.

PROMPT: Schools

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Daily writing prompt
What’s a thing you wish schools actually taught?
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It’d be nice if schools taught people how to NOT be docile, unquestioning worker-bees.

One can come through today’s education system with a PhD without emotional intelligence, self-confidence (beyond one’s silo,) a capacity to think soundly about a range of topics outside one’s discipline such that one recognizes potential unintended consequences and counter-intuitive influences, with an intolerance of competing worldviews, and with a lack of humility about what one knows and what humanity as a whole knows.

BOOK: “Hatha Yoga Pradipika” by Swatmarama [Commentary by Muktibodhanada Saraswati]

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Hatha Yoga PradipikaHatha Yoga Pradipika by Swatmarama
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Publisher – Yoga Publications Trusk

Hatha Yoga Pradipika [HYP] is one of the foundational documents of Hatha Yoga and is said to date to the 15th century. This edition, from the Bihar School’s Yoga Publications Trust, is the most popular one (at least among those offering English language translation and commentary; Note: the original text is also included in Sanskrit.) The book offers clear and detailed commentary on each shloka. (Sometimes one commentary per shloka, but other times a few are addressed at one go, as seemed logical to the editor.)

The book’s 389 shloka are divided into four parts: asana & lifestyle (e.g. diet;) pranayama & shatkarma (cleansing practices;) mudra & bandha; and meditation & samadhi. People are sometimes surprised to find that asana (postures) are barely mentioned in Patanjali’s Sutras (and none specifically,) given how central postural yoga is to our present-day conception and practice of yoga. In HYP, we see an expanded focus upon asana, but still only to a modest level. While the text mentions that Shiva taught 84 asana, HYP discusses less than 20 (mostly grounded postures — i.e. seated and supine or prone reclined.) The second part discusses breathwork (i.e. pranayama) that will be familiar to many present-day yoga practitioners and cleansing practices (i.e. shatkarma) practiced by relatively few. Readers may find it interesting that the greatest number of shlokas are devoted to mudra and bandha, techniques often only taught in the pranayama or asana in which they are employed. The final section is on Samadhi, which is not a surprise given that it is the goal of yoga and its discussion features in all the classical yoga texts.

This edition has several ancillary features of note. First, there is an extensive introduction to set the stage for a modern-day reader. Second, there are many line drawn graphics to clarify the text. Third, there are appendices including listings of the shloka — both a Sanskrit and an English list (making it easier to find what one is looking for without wading through interspersed commentary) and a glossary of useful Sanskrit terms (Romanized.)

Not only was this book interesting for its tidbits of information about yogic technique and philosophy, it also offered insight into the evolution of yoga over time. The latter is a topic which I’ve been researching of late, and this is a crucial text for understanding the subject.

I’d highly recommend this book for students and teachers of yoga, particularly those interested in the philosophy and evolution of technique, and for understanding how Hatha Yoga is distinguished from the broader body of Yoga.

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