S5 Introduction

Season 5 continues our conversation about Yoga and the centrality of Awakening in its many manifestations. We look specifically at why things like self transcendence and awakening are necessary for humans, and how these things are intimately tied to our need for Meaning in life. We initiate an inquiry into the nature of liberation itself in order to speak about what kind of “thing” it is, rather than define it specifically as if it were a fact for instance. And lastly, we are hoping to steer these various themes in the direction of  Wisdom, which is central to the project of awakening. Along the way, we’re enlisting the help of not only traditional sources from the Yoga tradition like the Bhagavad Gita, The Vedas, Upanishads and the Tantras, but also cognitive and social psychology.

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Episode Transcript (Edited)

Introduction

Welcome everyone.

Season Five is designed to continue our conversation about yoga, and about how awakening is the central feature in yoga’s many manifestations. We  look specifically at why things like awakening, self transcendence, and transformation are necessary for human beings because of our deepest nature, zooming in on how these things are intimately tied to our need for meaning in life. 

And then lastly, we want to steer the discussion in the direction of cultivating wisdom, which is central to the project of awakening and liberation, and also central to the project of experiencing meaning in life. Along the way, we’ll enlist the help of not only many traditional sources from the yoga tradition - like the Bhagavad Gita, the Vedas, the Upanishads and the Tantras - but also Western disciplines, like cognitive science, cognitive psychology, and the social and moral psychology that defines our nature as a social, tribal-oriented species. These ideas are important because they show that we are not only in need of realizing individual fulfillment, but also of finding a way to live with others, such that our groups can cohere and stay together in a way that meaning and wisdom are realized at both  the individual and collective level.