Silence Unheard: Deathly Otherness in Pātañjala-Yoga

Acknowledgments

Foreword xi xi Acknowledgments Sometimes I consider Påtañjala-Yoga the epitome of cool sobriety. Its envisaged end-of-ends, the ultimate default of life, postdisintegration silence, seems to me profoundly reasonable, an only, inevitable, necessary end. At other times, yoga philosophy (“darkness covered by darkness”) is beyond the range of my mind. Aside from my own openness to philosophies of a somewhat morbid nature and my interest in “possible transformations,” I owe this book to four presences. The first is Professor David Shulman, my first mentor in Indian studies. In the beginning (twenty years ago), he seemed to me incredibly scholarly, poetic yet strangely personal, beyond the ken of my life experience and reading. But, in his presence and under his guidance, I have gradually discovered the connection between reading and writing, and one’s own being (self). It is this connection—as it has revealed itself to me in what David does and says—that makes intellectual life meaningful. For me, at least, this is what has inspired and informed my entire effort in the study and interpretation of ancient India. That is a teacher’s and friend’s most precious power; there is no higher gift. The second presence is that of Professor Wilhelm Halbfass, my mentor at the University of Pennsylvania. I cannot accept his premature death; indeed , I still address him often in my mind. Feeling inferior and lacking true scholarship, I once complained about a chapter I had given him: It is mere interpretation, I said. And he responded emphatically: “Interpretation, this is what we want!” Dr. Nita Schechet is the editor and producer of this book. I still suspect that she resents the underlying message of the Yogas¥tra—the urgent plea for disintegration and end. She is, I am afraid, too much into life. Her intense interest in “textual realities” initiated and intensified my curiosity about others’ thoughts and verbal expressions of yogic reality. The focus in this book on the tension between the practitioner’s yogic silence and the various—inherently deficient—verbalizations thereof is largely due to her commitment to the value of speech and talent in xii Acknowledgments penetrating texts. In the course of our relationship she has become a real co-author of Silence Unheard. On many occasions I joke with my wife, Rivka, telling her that she was “born from the truth.” I, for my part, would often prefer to stay with a more softened, less poignant sense of truth. However, Rivka, with her disturbing truthfulness and power of discernment, is a source of dear inspiration. She is present behind any touch of truth available in this book. Two of Hebrew University’s promising graduate students also helped in the long journey from idea to book. Anna Kventsel provided many helpful suggestions concerning meaning and translation of sutras and commentaries thereupon. Spartack Arbatov bridged classical India and contemporary computer science at crucial moments in this production. I thank them and the others who have accompanied me on my way. ...