Hi Howard, For some reason, I think that Heinrich Zimmer, may have written about this, but I’m away from my library and can’t recall exactly where. Maybe Philosophies of India. He was a Schopenhauerian, which would make good sense here, as the problem of the autonomy or heteronomy of the will seems clearly central to the topic that interests you.
good luck Matthew Sent from [Proton Mail](https://proton.me/mail/home) for iOS On Wed, Aug 28, 2024 at 05:29, Howard Resnick via INDOLOGY <[[email protected]](mailto:On Wed, Aug 28, 2024 at 05:29, Howard Resnick via INDOLOGY <<a href=)> wrote: > Dear Scholars, > > Within various genres of Sanskrit literature, perhaps especially > itihāsa-purāṇa, we find a pervasive belief that tapasya — serious austerity > -- bestows power on the performer, either directly or through the agency of a > Deva, Ṛṣi, or other superior being. The examples are almost innumerable. > > I’m trying to explore this claim about the power of tapasya. On the empirical > side, one can speak of the power of mental discipline and detachment from the > body, etc. But of course empirically, there is nothing like the supernatural > results obtained by serious ascetics in the ancient literature. > > One common apologetic is to attribute or assign such powers to the previous > three yugas, with the claim that those powers fail in Kali-yuga. > > I bring this up because I am working on a reconstruction of the famous > Mahābhārata story of Ambā who performed unimaginable tapasya, and then, as a > result, took birth as Śikhaṇḍī and enabled the killing of Bhīṣma at > Kurukṣetra. > > The facile explanation of course is to invoke the notion of pre-scientific > mythology. I am trying to take a more cautious approach. Of course tapasya as > a source of power intersects the notion of attaining yoga-siddhis, a process > in which tapasya is also heavily involved. > > I bring this up in a heuristic, exploratory way and would be grateful for any > observations, insights, or theories about this, especially the link between > severe self-abnegation and power. > > Thanks in advance! > > Howard > > _______________________________________________ > INDOLOGY mailing list > [email protected] > https://list.indology.info/mailman/listinfo/indology
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