Tantra and Abhinavagupta: A Conversation with Professor Sthaneshwar Timalsina

Join Mukunda as he speaks to Professor Sthaneshwar Timalsina, Professor of Religious Studies at San Diego State University. He is also a qualified Acharya and has been trained in Sanskrit and Shastras since he was a child. He is an expert on Tantra and Abhinavagupta, a 10th century polymath genius who worked on philosophy, drama, math, music, aesthetics, and other areas. Acharya Sthaneshwar is also Founder of the Vimarsha Foundation, a 501c(3) non-profit that engages in expounding and maintaining the Kashmiri Shaivism tradition. In this episode, we discuss a host of topics including:

00:01:11 Introduction to Acharya Sthaneshwar Timalsina
00:03:23 Acharya Sthaneshwar’s Background growing up in Nepal and in a traditional gurukula (discussion on the difference of traditional gurukula and the current education system in India and Nepal)
00:14:20  Gurukula schools as immersion and “Montessori” style schools, the relationship between modern urban education and nature
00:18:40 Discussion of Landownership and traditional gurukula and brahmana mentality to ownership
00:22:00 The Remnants of the Gurukula system in the modern world and the Phd. Journey of Acharya Sthaneshwar
00:29:00 Life (village and also urban) growing up in Nepal in the 1970s and 80’s
00:34:50 Traditional Panditas method of learning and incorporating new knowledge or ideas (the idea of Guru as a thinker)
00:41:10 Conversation about Creativity and Originality
00:46:35 Paying Homage to the Thinkers and Philosophers that came before and how to have them engage with the modern world
00:50:10 The philosophy of Dynamism and its fruition with Abhinavagupta
00:58:50 Who was Abhinavagupta?  Why is he important in Hindu and World Thought?
01:07:50  What is Tantra?
01:18:40  What is Spanda? Oneness and Diversity, Identity and Individuality
01:29:12  Why didn’t Abhinavagupta’s Thought take the sort of hold that Sankara’s Advaita has?
01:39:55  Ancient Knowledge and Philosophy in a Modern World, how have these ideas engage with each other even as ancient traditions are dying
01:57:25   Final Thoughts on civilization concerns, exploration of different ways of thinking, Vimarsha Foundation and bringing these ideas into the marketplace of human thought 

You can find Prof. Sthaneshwar Timalsina at: https://sdsu.academia.edu/SthaneshwarTimalsina https://www.facebook.com/pages/category/Nonprofit-Organization/Vimarsha-Foundation-103229978091068/

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Mukunda

Mukunda Raghavan: Mukunda is a jack of all trades but master of none. His educational background is a mix of political science, criminology, psychological and philosophy. He received his Juris Doctorate in Law from Boston University and was simultaneously working on his Masters in Philosophy focusing on continental philosophy (not completed). He has practiced as a prosecutor in New York City, General Counsel and Operating Officer of a healthcare company in Southern California, Head of Business and Operations for a legal tech company in India and is now in Strategy and Development. Much like his career, Mukunda’s intellectual interests and knowledge is varied, he is interested in Indian and Western philosophy, world mythology, Quantum Physics, Consciousness Studies, Psychology and variety of other fields.

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