wOMEN AND TANTRA

Picture
Shakti Yantra. Tantric Painting, Rajasthan. 1600s.
PARW 6798 Women and Tantra
Credit Hours: 2 units                                              
Grade Option: Letter Grade or P/F        
Semester: Spring 2021
Meeting Days/Times: Thursday 10am-1pm January 21 and Friday 10am-1pm January 22; Fridays 3pm-6pm February 5, March 5, April 9
Class Location: Online via Zoom
Instructor: Monica Mody, Ph.D., M.F.A.
Office Hours: By appointment       
…………………………………………………………………………………………………..
COURSE DESCRIPTION (from catalog)
This course is an experiential exploration of Tantra, a sacred embodied tradition. We will review Sakti, the feminine energy; trace her immanence in creation, the Earth, and our bodies through sacred art and yantras; learn how presence, sensuality, and ecstasy are doorways to the Divine; and explore the role of women in Tantra from historical through contemporary times. We will engage with practices of mantra, mudra, and movement to deepen our presence and embodiment.     

PERSPECTIVE ON DIVERSITY FOR THIS COURSE
The course seeks to establish an accountable pedagogical space, exploring Tantra as a rooted knowledge system. It invites a compassionate and critical engagement with cultural perceptions and power relations.  

TEACHING PHILOSOPHY
The course instructor teaches from a transformational, whole-person paradigm of teaching, with an emphasis on the following principles:
  • Classrooms can be laboratories for change, bringing the self in conversation with the world.
  • Enacting transformation asks for continual self-reflexivity, a commitment to listening, and a regard for collective well-being.
  • The instructor and the students are partners in the practice of education.

STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES
  1. Become familiar with the philosophy and tradition of Tantra.
  2. Understand the relationship between and manifestations of Shakti, the Earth, and our bodies.
  3. Learn about historical and contemporary roles of women in the Tantric tradition.
  4. Experience and practice specific practices of mudra, mantra, and meditation.       

LEARNING ACTIVITIES                                                              
  1. cognitive/didactic (e.g., readings and discussion)                                             \
  2. experiential (e.g., movement, group process, meditation)                          
  3. practical/applied (e.g., presentations/providing critical feedback)      

CRITERIA FOR EVALUATION
Presence and participation:                                                               50%                                         
Full participation in this class requires that you:
  • attend all synchronous virtualized classes,
  • complete the readings and any other assignments on specified dates,
  • be actively and fully engaged in class.
Final paper due end of semester:                                                      50%

COURSE TEXTS
Course reader. Supplemental readings will be posted by the instructor on Canvas.
 
COURSE SCHEDULE

January 21: Introduction to Tantra
Readings:
  • Sherma, Rita DasGupta. 2011. A Hermeneutics of Intersubjectivity. In Woman and Goddess in Hinduism: Reinterpretations and Re-Envisionings, edited by Tracy Pintchman and Rita DasGupta Sherma, 1–16. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
  • Sherma, Rita. 2000. ‘Sa Ham - I Am She’: Woman as Goddess. In Is the Goddess a Feminist?: The Politics of South Asian Goddesses, edited by Alf Hiltebeitel and Kathleen M Erndl, 24–51. New York: New York University Press.
  • Shaw, Miranda. 1994. Seeking the Traces of Sky-Dancers. Passionate Enlightenment: Women in Tantric Buddhism, 3-19. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press.
Assignment: 
Explore “Tantra: enlightenment to revolution,” current special exhibition at The British Museum, London:   
January 22: Shakti, Kundalini, Chakras
Readings:
  • Feuerstein, Georg. 1998. Awakening the serpent power. In Tantra: The Path of Ecstasy, 165-183. Boston, MA: Shambhala.
  • Mookerjee, Ajit. 1981. Kundalini: The Arousal of the Inner Energy, 9-56. New York: Destiny Books.
  • Silburn, Liliane. 1988. Kuṇḍalinī: The Energy of the Depths: A Comprehensive Study Based on the Scriptures of Nondualistic Kasm̦ir Sa̦ivism, 3-11. Albany, N.Y: State University of New York Press.
  • Mookerjee, Ajit, and Madhu Khanna. 1996. Ritual—Instruments of Transformation. In The Tantric Way: Art, Science, Ritual, 132-156. London: Thames and Hudson.
 
February 5: Kali, Mahavidyas, Yoginis, Dakinis
Readings:
  • Feuerstein, Georg. 1998. Time, Bondage, and the Goddess Kali. In Tantra: The Path of Ecstasy, 51-60. Boston, MA: Shambhala.
  • Saxena, Neela Bhattacharya. 2011. “Mystery, Wonder, and Knowledge in the Triadic Figure of Mahāvidyā Chinnamastā: A Śākta Woman’s Reading.” In Woman and Goddess in Hinduism: Reinterpretations and Re-Envisionings, edited by Tracy Pintchman and Rita DasGupta Sherma, 61–75. New York: Palgrave Macmillan. 
  • Dehejia, Vidya. 1986. Yoginī: Cult and Temples: A Tantric Tradition, 11-38. New Delhi: National Museum.
  • Shaw, Miranda. 1994. Women in Tantric Theory. In Passionate Enlightenment: Women in Tantric Buddhism, 35-73. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press.
  • Willis, Jan. 2020. Dakini: Some Comments on Its Nature and Meaning. Dharma Matters: Women, Race, and Tantra. Wisdom Publications.
 
February 19: Vāc—the Word
Readings:
  • Rao, Mani. 2019. Living Mantra: Mantra, Deity, and Visionary Experience Today, 13-17. Cham: Palgrave Macmillan.
  • Padoux, Andre. 2002. The Levels of the Word. In Vac: The Concept of the Word in Selected Hindu Tantras. Delhi: Sri Satguru Publications,India.
  • Khan, Inayat. 1996. The Power of the Word. The Mysticism of Sound and Music. Boston: Shambhala.
  • Hirshfield, Jane, ed. 1995. Yeshe Tsogyel; Lakshminkara; Three Tantric Buddhist Women’s Songs. In Women in Praise of the Sacred: 43 Centuries of Spiritual Poetry by Women. New York, NY: HarperPerennial.
 
March 5: Women in the Tantric Tradition
Readings:
  • Saxena, Neela Bhattacharya. 2004. In the Beginning Is Desire: Tracing Kali’s Footprints in Indian Literature, 1-17. New Delhi: Indialog.
  • Saxena, Neela Bhattacharya. 2016. Absent Mother God of the West: A Kali Lover’s Journey into Christianity and Judaism, 1-25. Lanham: Lexington Books.
  • Mani, Lata. 2011. Interleaves: Ruminations on Illness and Spiritual Life. New Delhi: Yoda Press. (selected pages)
  • Biernacki, Lorilai. 2011. “The Kālī Practice: Revisiting Women's Roles in Tantra.” In Woman and Goddess in Hinduism: Reinterpretations and Re-Envisionings, edited by Tracy Pintchman and Rita DasGupta Sherma, 121–145. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
 
March 19: Guru, Authority, Lineage
Readings:
  •  Bhairavan, Amarananda. 2000. The Clan of Matriarchs. In Kali’s Odiyya: A Shaman’s True Story of Initiation, 59-73, 81-83. York Beach, ME: Nicolas-Hays.
  • Yeshe, Thubten Lama. 2001. Inspiration and the Guru. In Introduction to Tantra: The Transformation of Desire, edited by Jonathan Landaw, 64-72. Boston: Wisdom Publications.
  • Pechilis, Karen. 2011. Spreading Śakti. In Woman and Goddess in Hinduism: Reinterpretations and Re-Envisionings, edited by Tracy Pintchman and Rita DasGupta Sherma, 97–120. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
  • Rao, Mani. 2019. Living Mantra: Mantra, Deity, and Visionary Experience Today, 52-53, 183-207. Cham: Palgrave Macmillan.
 
April 9: Body, Earth, Cosmos
Readings:
  • Khanna, Madhu. 2003. Yantra, the Tantric Symbol of Cosmic Unity, 29-96. Rochester, VT: Inner Traditions.
  • Saxena, Neela Bhattacharya. 2020. “Mapping the Chiasmus: Liberating Patterns in a Planetary Mandala.” In Contemporary Voices from Anima Mundi: A Reappraisal, edited by Frédérique Apffel-Marglin and Stefano Varese, 229–48. New York: Peter Lang.
  • Odier, Daniel. 2001. Desire, the Tantric Path to Awakening, 27-43. Rochester, VT: Inner Traditions.
  • Apffel-Marglin, Frédérique, and Julia A. Jean. 2020. “Weaving the Body and the Cosmos: Two Menstrual Festivals in Northeastern India.” Worldviews: Global Religions, Culture, and Ecology 24 (3): 245–84. https://doi.org/10.1163/15685357-02402001.