Thesis Chapters by Ben Williams
This dissertation aims to recover a model of religious authority that placed great importance upo... more This dissertation aims to recover a model of religious authority that placed great importance upon individual gurus who were seen to be indispensable to the process of revelation. This person-centered style of religious authority is implicit in the teachings and identity of the scriptural sources of the Kulamārga, a complex of traditions that developed out of more esoteric branches of tantric Śaivism. For convenience sake, we name this model of religious authority a “Kaula idiom.” The Kaula idiom is contrasted with a highly influential notion of revelation as eternal and authorless, advanced by orthodox interpreters of the Veda, and other Indian traditions that invested the words of sages and seers with great authority. The purpose of recovering and contextualizing the Kaula framework for religious authority is to demonstrate the ways in which it makes Abhinavagupta’s representation of himself as a guru in his lengthy “autobiographical” excerpts intelligible. Although Kaula notions of religious authority and transmission—focused on the agency and intervention of perfected masters (Siddhas)—inform Abhinavagupta’s representation of himself as a guru, his self-portrayal also adds new elements to what an ideal guru should be. A close reading of the form, content, and didactic power of Abhinavagupta's autobiographical passages suggests that the ideal guru should not only be a fully-enlightened Kaula master, but also schooled in the finer points of Indian scholastic discourse and a connoisseur of Sanskrit poetry; in short, a cosmopolitan Siddha.
Papers by Ben Williams
Naropa Magazine, 50th Anniversary Edition, 2024
Indo-Iranian Journal, 2024
On the basis of a parallel passage in Abhinavagupta’s commentaries on the Nāṭyaśāstra and the Īśv... more On the basis of a parallel passage in Abhinavagupta’s commentaries on the Nāṭyaśāstra and the Īśvarapratyabhijñākārikā, this article considers the ways in which Abhinavagupta theorized “transmission” (saṅkrānti) in his descriptions of aesthetic experience and the reception of knowledge in non-dual Śaiva philosophy. We argue that this notion of transmission, in which the lines between author and qualified audience are blurred, is indebted to a number of earlier sources that explain the way in which knowledge and liberation are transmitted, most significantly the Kaula Śākta traditions in the immediate background of Abhinavagupta’s tantric exegesis. Here the terms saṅkrānti and saṅkramaṇa are employed in descriptions of initiation, the transferal of lineage, and a Guru’s awakened awareness passing into the body of a disciple. In Abhinavagupta’s parallel passages, he expands upon this notion of “transmission” by showing how it can emerge even when a teacher/poet and a student/audience are separated by time and space. In both accounts, what allows an ideal audience to internalize or identify with a teaching or text is an act of participation that effectively dissolves the limitations of time, space, and individuality. Interestingly, in both the aesthetic and non-dual Śaiva context, this process of transmission unfolds through an indirect mode of expression that cannot be reduced to reasoning. The article concludes with an exploration of the purpose of Abhinavagupta’s vision of transmission, particularly related to the notion that texts can encode, preserve, and, in the presence of a sensitive audience, reenact the awareness of their authors, even after lineages break or traditions fragment.
The Oxford Handbook of Tantric Studies, 2022
After noting the paramount importance placed upon speech and language in the Vedas, Upaniṣads, an... more After noting the paramount importance placed upon speech and language in the Vedas, Upaniṣads, and philosophy of Bhartṛhari, this chapter charts models of divine sound, word, and phonemes in tantric literature, particularly as the source of all language, mantras, and, in certain sources, reality itself. In surveying numerous tantric scriptures on these themes, including the Niśvāsa corpus, orthodox Śaiva Siddhānta, and traditions devoted to Bhairava and related goddesses, an extraordinary diversity of metaphysical accounts of divine resonance (nāda), phonemes of the syllabary (mātṛkā), and divine speech (parāvāc) surfaces.
Journal of Cognitive Historiography, 2022
Believing that "all the world's a stage" exemplifies using theater as a metaphor for life, also k... more Believing that "all the world's a stage" exemplifies using theater as a metaphor for life, also known as a dramaturgical perspective (DP). This project examines DPs in two historical contexts-contemporary psychological research, and the work of medieval Indian philosopher and literary theorist Abhinavagupta. Recent psychological research suggests that viewing oneself as "acting out a part" protects against social threats, but can simultaneously be alienating. Abhinavagupta posits that recognizing performativity can aestheticize life in a way that offers freedom from reified notions of self and other. This divergence suggests that DPs are entwined with cultural contexts. To test this, we examined the association of cultural orientations with responses to the DP among US emerging adults (N = 1146). Cultural variables were associated with DP endorsement, and with a key component of associations between DP endorsement and distress: feelings of inauthenticity. The discussion focuses on salient sociocultural dimensions of DP operation.
The Journal of Transpersonal Psychology, volume 53#2, 2021
This article explores parallels between the theory of conceptual cognition in a Sanskrit philosop... more This article explores parallels between the theory of conceptual cognition in a Sanskrit philosophical work on non-dual philosophy, the Īśvarapratyabhijñākārikā (‘Stanzas on the Recognition of Śiva’), and brain processes that filter out a broader perceptual awareness. This philosophy discusses the power of conceptualization as an essential component of the creative process in which all-pervasive consciousness identifies itself with a particular individual/mind-body complex. We show parallels between this framework and research identifying brain networks active in the process of filtering a vast array of perceptual inputs into a narrowly defined individual psycho-somatic subjectivity. This is followed by a consideration of practices designed to reduce the filtering function of conceptuality in the text under consideration and in neuro-scientific studies on meditation and other experiences that include expanded and lucid states of awareness.
Journal of Dharma Studies, volume 3, Issue 2, pp. 373-387, 2020
Through a study of Abhinavagupta’s deployment of the metaphor of a bee in search of nectar, this ... more Through a study of Abhinavagupta’s deployment of the metaphor of a bee in search of nectar, this article reconstructs a model of religious education implicit in Abhinavagupta’s representation of his own career as a student and guru. Based on a brief examination of the symbolism of the bee in classical Sanskrit poetry, the article elucidates how Abhinavagupta creatively implements prominent themes in this trope. Abhinavagupta’s use of the bee motif powerfully evokes his own liberal engagement with the intellectual culture and religious worlds of medieval Kashmir, and this educational ideal arguably carries prescriptive force for a qualified and sensitive audience. In considering the bee imagery across Abhinavagupta’s corpus, one encounters a vision of revelation that invites students to relish an all-encompassing truth present in all traditions as their essence, like a fragrance permeating a flower.
Books by Ben Williams
Tripurā Tallikā, 2024
A Translation of the Saubhāgyahṛdayastotra of Śivānanda (fl. 1225-1275), with introduction and no... more A Translation of the Saubhāgyahṛdayastotra of Śivānanda (fl. 1225-1275), with introduction and notes by Brian Campbell.
Tripurā Tallikā, 2023
A Translation of the Cidvilāsastava of Amṛtānanda (fl. 1325-1375), with introduction and notes by... more A Translation of the Cidvilāsastava of Amṛtānanda (fl. 1325-1375), with introduction and notes by Brian Campbell.
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Thesis Chapters by Ben Williams
Papers by Ben Williams
Books by Ben Williams