In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:

This work is, in part, the fruit of many academic connections and correspondences over a number of years. I believe it is a positive reflection of the collegiality of the academic community involved in the study of the religions of South Asia. Indira Junghare and Robert Tapp at the University of Minnesota provided a wealth of advice and encouragement that continues to inspire and inform my work. Professor Junghare’s guidance, support, and friendship have been an invaluable part of my academic career, and I am profoundly grateful for her generosity. David Knipe, my mentor at the University of Wisconsin, initiated me into the History of Religions as a living tradition of scholarship, and I am indebted to him for his sage advice, patience, and friendship. Also at the University of Wisconsin, I received significant support from John Dunne, Charles Hallisey, Joseph Elder, Usha Nilsson, and Ven. Geshe Lhundub Sopa. John Dunne played a critical role in the development of many of the ideas in the manuscript and inspired within me the confidence to work more deeply and closely with primary texts. Charles Hallisey helped greatly to bring focus, discipline, and closure to my writing. Joseph Elder has served in many respects as a model for my development as a scholar and researcher throughout my academic career. Usha Nilsson helped fill my imagination with a panorama of religious imagery found in Indian literature as a necessary counterpoint to the analytic and philosophical dimensions of my study. Lastly, I am grateful for the many insights into the Gelukpa tradition of Tibetan Buddhism given to me by Ven. Geshe Lhundub Sopa. In the early stages of this project, I had the fortunate opportunity to discuss many of my ideas with Winston King of Vanderbilt University. He provided helpful comments on my early work and numerous insights into his own work on the relationship between yoga and Buddhism. Professor King passed away before this manuscript was completed, but I am comforted by the fact that my work bears his imprint and influence in many significant ways. Two other scholars who greatly encouraged me in the early stages of the project were Edward Crangle of the University of Sydney and Alan Wallace of the University of California, Santa Barbara. Both provided valuable suggestions and encouragement during the early and formative stages of this project. ix Acknowledgments A great number of scholars on the topic of yoga provided significant interest, support, and encouragement during various stages of research and writing, including Ian Whicher of the University of Manitoba, Christopher Key Chapple of Loyola Marymount University, David Carpenter of St. Joseph’s University, and Lloyd Pflueger of Truman State University. Professor Whicher in particular went out of his way on numerous occasions to provide guidance, encouraging me to engage myself fully in both traditional and contemporary issues in the study of yoga. Likewise, I have benefited greatly from the examination of the scholarly work of and from personal communications with Johannes Bronkhorst and Gerald Larson, whose correspondence at important points during the development of this manuscript proved profoundly fruitful for my work. All of these scholars provided both academic and moral support during the various stages of this project, and their influence can be clearly seen in the finished product. The academic environment in Chicago has proven to be an outstanding one in which to pursue this project, and I have greatly benefited from my numerous discussions and interactions with many colleagues and friends. George Bond of Northwestern University spent a considerable amount of time discussing a number of key points of intersection between his research and my project. He provided countless suggestions that ended up shaping the text in profound ways, and I am particularly grateful for his support and encouragement. Sarah Taylor Rountree, also of Northwestern University, has been an outstanding supporter of my academic work and is deserving of much gratitude for her kindness. Tracy Pintchman at Loyola University Chicago provided innumerable insights into the writing and editing process that have helped considerably in completing the project. Conversations with David Gitomer at DePaul University provided a range of insights on the topic of yoga that brought much light to the ideas that I have endeavored to develop in the text. The work as a whole is an expanded and revised version of my doctoral dissertation from the University of Wisconsin, entitled “The Concept of Sama\dhi: Method and the Study of Meditation in South Asian Religion,” completed in December 2001. This work was...

Share