The erotic imaginary of divine realization in Kabbalistic and Tantric metaphysics

Martin, Paul C. (2012). The erotic imaginary of divine realization in Kabbalistic and Tantric metaphysics. , Papers and Publications of Former UQ Staff and Postgraduate Students, The University of Queensland.

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Author Martin, Paul C.
Title The erotic imaginary of divine realization in Kabbalistic and Tantric metaphysics
School, Department or Centre Papers and Publications of Former UQ Staff and Postgraduate Students
Institution The University of Queensland
Publication date 2012-07-20
Publisher The University of Queensland
Start page 1
End page 32
Total pages 32
Language eng
Subject 220402 Comparative Religious Studies
220404 Jewish Studies
220406 Studies in Eastern Religious Traditions
440201 Hindu Studies
440203 Jewish Studies
220310 Phenomenology
229999 Philosophy and Religious Studies not elsewhere classified
Abstract/Summary In this paper I consider the way in which divinity is realized through an imaginary locus in the mystical thought of Jewish kabbalah and Hindu tantra. It demonstrates a reflective consciousness by the adept or master in understanding the place of God’s being, as a supernal and mundane reality. For the comparative assessment of these two distinctive approaches I shall use as a point of departure the interpretative strategies employed by Elliot Wolfson in his detailed work on Jewish mysticism. He argues that there is an androcentric bias embedded in the speculative outlook of medieval kabbalah, as he reads the texts through a psychoanalytic lens. In a similar way, I will argue that there is an androcentric bias to the speculations presented in medieval Shaiva tantra, in particular that division known as the Trika. Overall, my aim is to suggest some functional and perhaps structural similarities to the characterization of divinity in these two traditions, through brief analyses of the erotic understanding of the nature of the Godhead.
Keyword Kabbalah
Mysticism
Sakti
Shakti
Shekhinah
Tantra
Tantrism
Gender and God
Additional Notes This working paper essays in a preliminary and tentative way some possible correspondences between medieval kabbalah and tantra, from a phenomenological standpoint. I am reliant on translations into English, as well as secondary literature. Version 1 published 2009.

Document type: Working Paper
Collection: Former UQ Staff and Postgraduate Students' Publications
 
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