461. Christopher “Hareesh” Wallis

Posted on July 9, 2018 by Rick Archer

Christopher Wallis, also known as Hareesh, is a scholar-practitioner with thirty years of experience, having been initiated into the practice of yogic meditation at sixteen, and fifteen years of formal education. His degrees include a B.A. in Religion and Classics from the University of Rochester, an M.A. in Sanskrit from U.C. Berkeley, an M.Phil. in Classical Indian Religions from Oxford, and a Ph.D. in Sanskrit from U.C. Berkeley. His doctoral dissertation focused on the role of spiritual experience in the tradition of Tantric Shaivism. Additionally, he received traditional education at yoga āshrams in upstate New York and India, training in meditation, mantra-science, kīrtan, karma-yoga, and pedagogy. He currently teaches meditation, yoga darśana (practical philosophy), Tantrik philosophy, Sanskrit, mantra-science, and offers spiritual counseling.

Hareesh is the Founder and Head Faculty of Tantrik Yoga NOW. His teachers, mentors, and gurus, in chronological order, include: Gurumayī Chidvilāsānandā (dīkṣā-guru), Paul Muller-Ortega (Śaiva Tantra and Classical Yoga); Alexis Sanderson (Śaiva and Śākta Tantra and Sanskrit); Marshall Rosenberg (Nonviolent Communication); Somadeva Vasudeva (Śaiva Tantra), Kolbjorn Martens (Tantrik Yoga); and Adyashanti (Meditation).

Hareesh is the author of Tantra Illuminated: The Philosophy, History, and Practice of a Timeless Tradition and The Recognition Sutras: Illuminating a 1,000-Year-Old Spiritual Masterpiece.

Website: hareesh.org

Discussion of this interview in the BatGap Community Facebook Group.

Interview recorded July 7, 2018.

Video and audio below. Audio also available as a Podcast.

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417. Paul Muller-Ortega

Posted on September 20, 2017 by Rick Archer

Professor Paul Muller-Ortega, Ph.D., is recognized internationally as one of the world’s most highly respected and renowned academic scholars in the field of Indian Religion and Hindu Tantra. He is the founder of Blue Throat Yoga, which teaches the elegant Svatantra philosophy of Kashmir Shaivism, along with the practice of Neelakantha Meditation.

For nearly fifty years, Paul has been a pioneer in the technology of Consciousness, lecturing and teaching about meditation and Indian philosophy to hundreds of thousands of people in North and South America, Europe, and India. Through his books, articles, essays, commentaries, and translations, Paul has earned a reputation for his unparalleled scholarly authenticity and for being a charismatic teacher with a remarkable capacity to convey esoteric truths and teachings. Paul’s teachings are highly accessible, relevant, and comprehensible to the Western mind.

Paul Muller-Ortega is the author of the highly acclaimed book, The Triadic Heart of Siva: Kaula Tantricism of Abhinavagupta in the Non-Dual Shaivism of Kashmir (Suny Series, Shaiva Traditions of Kashmir), in which he examines the “Heart” as the mystical core of Consciousness. He is also one of the co-authors of Meditation Revolution, as well as numerous scholarly articles on aspects of Tantric Studies.

Professor Paul Muller-Ortega earned his undergraduate degree in Philosophy from Yale University in 1971. He received his Ph.D. in Religious Studies from the University of California, where he studied Sanskrit, Indian Religions, and Asian Philosophy and Culture. For twenty-five years he was a Professor of Religion at Michigan State and then the University of Rochester, and was known for his passionate and innovative teaching style and enrolled-to-capacity classes.

Paul has been a meditation practitioner and teacher for nearly fifty years. He has formally studied with several of the greatest meditation masters of our time, and subsequently has organized and taught hundreds of meditation seminars, disseminating potent practices of meditation to thousands of individuals. With this rare combination of training, experience, skill, spiritual practice, and profound insight, Paul teaches his students to abide in the heart of Consciousness: a journey that is inspiring, life changing and enlightening.

Website: bluethroatyoga.com

Another book:

The Philosophy of Sadhana (SUNY Series in Contemporary Continental Philosophy)

Discussion of this interview in the Batgap Community Facebook Group.

Interview recorded September 16, 2017

Video and audio below. Audio also available as a Podcast.

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257. Panel Discussion on Kashmir Shaivism with Sally Kempton, Igor Kufayev, and Menas Kafatos

Posted on November 2, 2014 by Rick Archer

Sally Kempton is a deeply practiced teacher of meditation and spiritual philosophy, and the author of the books Meditation for the Love of It and Awakening Shakti: as well as the audio course Doorways to the Infinite, recently put out by Sounds True. A former swami in the Saraswati order of India, she has been practicing and teaching devotional contemplative tantra for more than 40 years. Her teaching is powerfully sourced in the eastern meditative traditions of yoga and Kashmir Shaivism, yet highly contemporary in her focus on evolutionary practice. She offers a powerful transmission of meditative experience.

Books:

Website: sallykempton.com

BatGap interview with Sally

Dr. Menas Kafatos is The Fletcher Jones Endowed Professor of Computational Physics and Director of Excellence at Chapman University. He received his B.A. in Physics from Cornell University in 1967 and his Ph.D. in Physics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1972. After postdoctoral work at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, he joined George Mason University and was University Professor of Interdisciplinary Sciences there from 1984-2008. He has authored and co-authored numerous books including The Conscious Universe, The Non-local Universe and Principles of Integrative Science. He is a recipient of the Rustum Roy Award from the Chopra Foundation, which “honors individuals whose devotion and commitment to their passion for finding answers in their field is matched only by their commitment to humanity” and the IEEE Orange County Chapter – Outstanding Leadership and Professional Service Award. He has been interviewed numerous times by national and international TV networks, newspapers and radio programs.

Books:

BatGap interview with Menas

An artist and healer by nature, Igor has been sharing his revelations into the essence of Being since 2002. His approach, in the form of intimate gatherings, silent transmissions and private correspondence, is based on spontaneous and intuitive insight which allows him to empathize with uniqueness of each individual conditioning.

Igor Kufayev was born in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. In his childhood he had many episodes associated with awakening. At the age of thirty six Igor underwent a radical transformation of consciousness which subsequently blossomed into spontaneous unfoldment of Grace.

Since April 2011, Igor and his family have been based in Costa Rica. He continues working with those who require guidance using various forms of communication.

Website: Igor Kufayev ~ Vamadeva

YouTube Channel: Flowing Wakefulness

Other BatGap events with Igor:

Discussion recorded 10/24/2014

Video and audio below. Audio also available as a Podcast.

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247. Sally Kempton

Posted on August 25, 2014 by Rick Archer

Sally Kempton is a deeply practiced teacher of meditation and spiritual philosophy, and the author of the books Meditation for the Love of It and Awakening Shakti: as well as the audio course Doorways to the Infinite, recently put out by Sounds True.. A former swami in the Saraswati order of India, she has been practicing and teaching devotional contemplative tantra for more than 40 years. Her teaching is powerfully sourced in the eastern meditative traditions of yoga and Kashmir Shaivism, yet highly contemporary in her focus on evolutionary practice. She offers a powerful transmission of meditative experience.

Books:

Website: sallykempton.com

Interview recorded 8/23/2014

Sally Kempton in panel discussion on Kashmir Shaivism

Video and audio below. Audio also available as a Podcast.