Poetics of self

131 Pages·2015·2.82 MB·English

University of Iowa
Iowa Research Online
Theses and Dissertations
2012
Poetics of self: an existential phenomenological
investigation of Hindu Advaita
Binita Vinod Mehta
University of Iowa
Copyright 2012 Binita Mehta
This dissertation is available at Iowa Research Online: http://ir.uiowa.edu/etd/4874
Recommended Citation
Mehta, Binita Vinod. "Poetics of self: an existential phenomenological investigation of Hindu Advaita." PhD (Doctor of Philosophy)
thesis, University of Iowa, 2012.
http://ir.uiowa.edu/etd/4874.
Follow this and additional works at:http://ir.uiowa.edu/etd
Part of theReligion Commons
POETICS OF SELF: AN EXISTENTIAL PHENOMENOLOGICAL INVESTIGATION
OF HINDU ADVAITA
by
Binita Vinod Mehta
An Abstract
Of a thesis submitted in partial fulfillment
of the requirements for the Doctor of
Philosophy degree in Religious Studies
in the Graduate College of
The University of Iowa
1
July 2012
Thesis Supervisors: Professor James Duerlinger
Professor Frederick Smith
1
ABSTRACT
- th-9th CE) and
Abhinavagupta (10th-11th CE), both of whom played a significant role in developing the
Advaita philosophy within the Hindu tradition. I offer an innovative analysis of the
Advaita thought, drawing upon the fields of religious studies, philosophy, psychology,
and history and philosophy of science. This multidisciplinary exploration focuses on the
structure of human consciousness and its relation to the existential dimensions of human
experience. On the basis of non-dualism, I examine the subject-object relationships in the
contexts of cognitive activity, aesthetic experience and interpersonal relationships. I
argue that certain structures of self-object or self-other relations, which I characterize as
the sacred, point to experiences of depth which do not merely reduce to cultural
phenomena or socio-political dynamics, though their expression often take specific
cultural forms. Such structures play a crucial role in developing authentic dynamics with
the other, in enhancing creativity and enriching aesthetic activities. Thus the sacred create
the possibility for a vital and caring relationship with one’s environment. Because my
investigation focuses extensively on subjective awareness, it will add important
dimensions to questions concerning the nature of cognition.
1
2
Abstract Approved: ____________________________________
Thesis Supervisor
____________________________________
Title and Department
____________________________________
Date
____________________________________
Thesis Supervisor
____________________________________
Title and Department
____________________________________
Date

2
POETICS OF SELF: AN EXISTENTIAL PHENOMENOLOGICAL INVESTIGATION
OF HINDU ADVAITA
by
Binita Vinod Mehta
A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment
of the requirements for the Doctor of
Philosophy degree in Religious Studies
in the Graduate College of
The University of Iowa
1
July 2012
Thesis Supervisors: Professor James Duerlinger
Professor Frederick Smith
Copyright by
BINITA VINOD MEHTA
2012
All Rights Reserved
2
Graduate College
The University of Iowa
Iowa City, Iowa
CERTIFICATE OF APPROVAL
_______________________
PH.D. THESIS
_______________
This is to certify that the Ph.D. thesis of
Binita Vinod Mehta
has been approved by the Examining Committee
for the thesis requirement for the Doctor of Philosophy
degree in Religious Studies at the July 2012 graduation.
Thesis Committee: ___________________________________
James Duerlinger, Thesis Supervisor
___________________________________
Frederick Smith, Thesis Supervisor
___________________________________
Ralph Keen
___________________________________
Edward Kelly
___________________________________
Ali Hasan
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I would like to gratefully thank my supervisors, Dr. James Duerlinger and Dr.
Frederick Smith. Dr. Duerlinger’s constant guidance and encouragement has greatly
contributed to my successful completion of the project. Dr. Smith’s guidance has played
a very crucial role in enhancing my Sanskrit reading skills. The course work with Dr.
Smith on Tantra sparked an interest in non-dual Kashmir Saivism and Hindu aesthetics,
the two areas which are important components of my work. I am very grateful to Dr.
Ralph Keen, who provided assistance to me in many different ways since the day I
arrived to Iowa City. The classes I taught and the coursework I conducted under Dr. Keen
has greatly broadened my understanding of western religious traditions and has enriched
my outlook. I heartily thank Dr. Edward Kelly for his support. Many long discussions
with Dr. Kelly allowed me to place this project within a wider framework of
contemporary consciousness studies. I am thankful to Dr. Ali Hasan for his willingness to
be a committee member and for his feedback. I would like to express special gratitude to
Dr. Tom Zelle for his valuable comments on the chapter on music and aesthetics. Finally,
I would very much like to thank my colleagues in the religious studies department and
friends in Iowa City whose kindness has made this long journey through the Ph.D.
program a truly fulfilling one.
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ii
ABSTRACT
My dissertation is an interpretive inqu
- th-9th CE) and
Abhinavagupta (10th-11th CE), both of whom played a significant role in developing the
Advaita philosophy within the Hindu tradition. I offer an innovative analysis of the
Advaita thought, drawing upon the fields of religious studies, philosophy, psychology,
and history and philosophy of science. This multidisciplinary exploration focuses on the
structure of human consciousness and its relation to the existential dimensions of human
experience. On the basis of non-dualism, I examine the subject-object relationships in the
contexts of cognitive activity, aesthetic experience and interpersonal relationships. I
argue that certain structures of self-object or self-other relations, which I characterize as
the sacred, point to experiences of depth which do not merely reduce to cultural
phenomena or socio-political dynamics, though their expression often take specific
cultural forms. Such structures play a crucial role in developing authentic dynamics with
the other, in enhancing creativity and enriching aesthetic activities. Thus the sacred create
the possibility for a vital and caring relationship with one’s environment. Because my
investigation focuses extensively on subjective awareness, it will add important
dimensions to questions concerning the nature of cognition.
3

iii
TABLE OF CONTENTS
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ............................................................................................ vi
INTRODUCTION ...............................................................................................................1
CHAPTER
I. STUDY OF RELIGION AND HUMAN CONSCIOUSNESS ........................7

Discursive Epistemologies ................................................................................7
Participatory Mode of Knowing .....................................................................13
The Methodological Will to Power ................................................................25
A Multi-Dimensional Epistemology ...............................................................31
CHAPTER
II. THE ADVAITA VIEW OF SELF .................................................................33

The Self and Modes of Being .........................................................................33
Knowledge and Ātman ...................................................................................39
CHAPTER
III. SELF-CONSCIOUSNESS AND COGNITION ............................................49

Self as the Cognizer ........................................................................................49
The State of Deep Sleep .................................................................................54
The Non-Locality of Consciousness ...............................................................61
Concluding Remarks ......................................................................................69
CHAPTER
IV. AESTHETIC EXPERIENCE AND MUSIC ..................................................71

Abhinavagupta’s Advaita Aesthetics ..............................................................71
Celibidache and Western Classical Music ......................................................78
Concluding Remarks ......................................................................................88
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CHAPTER
V. INTERPERSONAL RELATIONSHIP AND EXISTENTIAL
WHOLENESS ................................................................................................91

Non-Duality and Otherness ............................................................................92
The Self and Modernity ..................................................................................95
Concluding Remarks ....................................................................................103
CONCLUSION ................................................................................................................105

Science and the Context of Discovery ..........................................................105
Artistic Creativity .........................................................................................110
Self-Other Interactions ..................................................................................111
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