Debashish Banerji

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Debashish Banerji
Debashish Banerji Getty Center Los Angeles May 2015.png
Debashish Banerji at the Getty Center, Los Angeles in May 2015
Born
CitizenshipUnited States
Alma mater
Known forWritings in Integral Yoga, Art History
Website debashishbanerji.com

Debashish Banerji is a left wing Bengali scholar. He writes in English and specializes in Integral Yoga, Indian Philosophy and Psychology, Art History and Cultural Theory. [1] [2] He is the Haridas Chaudhuri Professor of Indian Philosophies and Cultures and the Doshi Professor of Asian Art at the California Institute of Integral Studies, San Francisco, where he also chairs the department of East-West Psychology. [3]

Contents

Banerji has worked on the philosophy and psychology of 20th c. yogi-philosopher Sri Aurobindo (1872-1950), as well as on the Indian artist Abanindranath Tagore (1871-1951), of whom he is a great grandson. [4] [5] He has also worked on Critical Posthumanism and 20th c. Indian nationalism, as manifest in the Bengal Renaissance. [6]

Education

Banerji received his PhD in Art History from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). Before that he completed his M.S. in Computer Science at the University of Louisville, Kentucky. [3]

Career

Authored and edited books

Reception

Talks and interviews

Awards

Related Research Articles

The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to Hinduism:

Contemporary groups, collectively termed Hindu reform movements, reform Hinduism, Neo-Hinduism, or Hindu revivalism, strive to introduce regeneration and reform to Hinduism, both in a religious or spiritual and in a societal sense. The movements started appearing during the Bengali Renaissance.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">California Institute of Integral Studies</span> Private, non-profit university based in San Francisco

California Institute of Integral Studies (CIIS) is a private university in San Francisco, California. It was founded in 1968. As of 2020, the institute operates in two locations: the main campus near the confluence of the Civic Center, SoMa, and Mission districts, and another campus for the American College of Traditional Chinese Medicine in the Potrero Hill neighborhood. As of 2020, CIIS has a total of 1,510 students and 80 core faculty members.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Integral yoga</span> Philosophy and practice of Sri Aurobindo and The Mother (Mirra Alfassa)

Integral yoga, sometimes also called supramental yoga, is the yoga-based philosophy and practice of Sri Aurobindo and The Mother. Central to Integral yoga is the idea that Spirit manifests itself in a process of involution, meanwhile forgetting its origins. The reverse process of evolution is driven toward a complete manifestation of spirit.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Abanindranath Tagore</span> Indian painter and writer (1871–1951)

Abanindranath Tagore was the principal artist and creator of the "Indian Society of Oriental Art". He was also the first major exponent of Swadeshi values in Indian art. He founded the influential Bengal school of art, which led to the development of modern Indian painting. He was also a noted writer, particularly for children. Popularly known as 'Aban Thakur', his books Rajkahini, Buro Angla, Nalak, and Khirer Putul were landmarks in Bengali language children's literature and art.

Kaikhosru Dhunjibhoy Sethna was an Indian poet, scholar, writer, philosopher, and cultural critic. He published more than 50 books. He was known by the diminutive Kekoo, but wrote his poetry under nom de plume of Amal Kiran.

M. P. Pandit was a spiritual author, teacher and Sanskrit scholar. For several decades, he was a secretary of the Mother of the Sri Aurobindo Ashram. He wrote numerous books and articles on the yoga of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother, on social and political thought, science, philosophy, religion, mysticism, and the classical texts and spiritual traditions of India.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Haridas Chaudhuri</span> Indian integral philosopher

Haridas Chaudhuri was an Indian integral philosopher. He was a correspondent with Sri Aurobindo and the founder of the California Institute of Integral Studies (CIIS).

Indra Sen was a devotee of Sri Aurobindo and The Mother, psychologist, author, and educator, and the founder of Integral psychology as an academic discipline.

Arya: A Philosophical Review was a 64-page monthly periodical written by Sri Aurobindo and published in India between 1914 and 1921. The majority of the material which initially appeared in the Arya was later edited and published in book-form as The Life Divine, The Synthesis of Yoga, The Secret of the Veda, The Foundations of Indian Culture and The Ideal of Human Unity as well as a number of translations of Vedic literature.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mirra Alfassa</span> French-Indian spiritual guru (1878–1973)

Mirra Alfassa, known to her followers as The Mother or La Mère, was a French-Indian spiritual guru, occultist and yoga teacher, and a collaborator of Sri Aurobindo, who considered her to be of equal yogic stature to him and called her by the name "The Mother". She founded the Sri Aurobindo Ashram and established the town of Auroville; she was influential on the subject of Integral Yoga.

<i>Bharat Mata</i> (painting) 1905 painting by Abanindranath Tagore

Bharat Mata is a work painted by the Indian painter Abanindranath Tagore in 1905. However, the painting was first painted by Bankim Chandra Chatterjee in the 1870s. The work depicts a saffron-clad woman, dressed like a sadhvi, holding a book, sheaves of paddy, a piece of white cloth, and a rudraksha garland (mala) in her four hands. The painting was the first illustrated depiction of the concept and was painted with Swadesh ideals during the larger Indian Independence movement.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sri Aurobindo</span> Indian philosopher, yogi, maharishi, poet and nationalist (1872–1950)

Sri Aurobindo was an Indian philosopher, yogi, maharishi, poet, world federalist, and Indian nationalist. He was also a journalist, editing newspapers such as Vande Mataram. He joined the Indian movement for independence from British colonial rule, until 1910 was one of its influential leaders, and then became a spiritual reformer, introducing his visions on human progress and spiritual evolution.

Supermind, in Sri Aurobindo's philosophy of integral yoga, is the dynamic manifestation of the Absolute, and the intermediary between Spirit and the manifest world, which enables the transformation of common being into Divine being.

Koneru Ramakrishna Rao was an Indian philosopher who served as Chancellor of GITAM, and as Chairman of GITAM school of Gandhian Studies, psychologist, parapsychologist, educationist, teacher, researcher and administrator. The Government of India awarded him the civilian honour of Padma Shri in 2011.

Kireet Joshi was an Indian philosopher, and disciple of Sri Aurobindo and Mirra Alfassa. In 1976, the Prime Minister of India, Indira Gandhi, appointed Kireet as Education Advisor to the Government of India. He also served as the Chairman of the Indian Council of Philosophical Research.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Neo-Vedanta</span> Interpretations of Hinduism that developed in the 19th century

Neo-Vedanta, also called Hindu modernism, neo-Hinduism, Global Hinduism and Hindu Universalism, are terms to characterize interpretations of Hinduism that developed in the 19th century. The term "Neo-Vedanta" was coined by German Indologist Paul Hacker, in a pejorative way, to distinguish modern developments from "traditional" Advaita Vedanta.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Judith Tyberg</span>

Judith Tyberg (1902–1980) was an American yogi ("Jyotipriya"), Sanskrit scholar, and orientalist. Author of The Language of the Gods and two other texts on Sanskrit, she was the founder and guiding spirit of the East-West Cultural Center in Los Angeles, California, an institution through which many Indian yogis and spiritual teachers of various Eastern and mystical traditions were first introduced to America and the West.

<i>The Passing of Shah Jahan</i> 1902 painting by Abanindranath Tagore

The Passing of Shah Jahan is a Miniature painting, painted by the Indian artist Abanindranath Tagore in 1902. The painting depicts a scene in which the fifth Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan stares upon the Taj Mahal on his deathbed, with his daughter Jahanara Begum at his feet. Initially involved with the dominant style of European Naturalism, Tagore's mentor Ernest Binfield Havell had introduced him to various types of Indian art. Of these varieties, Tagore was most impressed with old Mughal miniatures, which often featured emotionless, but detailed illustrations of scenes and characters. Incorporating this style with the traditional Indian artistic concept of Bhava', or emotion, Tagore had painted a scene based upon the growing re-interest in Indian history during the British Raj.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Faculty Profile: Dr. Debashish Banerji". California Institute of Integral Studies. Retrieved 21 June 2021.
  2. "Journey to Wholeness: Self, Person, Cosmos, God, and Other in Indic Yoga Traditions and the Transformational Psychology of Sri Aurobindo with Debashish Banerji, PhD". California Institute of Integral Studies. Retrieved 21 June 2021.
  3. 1 2 3 "Faculty and Staff Directory: Debashish Banerji". California Institute of Integral Studies. Retrieved 21 June 2021.
  4. 1 2 Dorbolo, Jon L (2015). "Review of "Seven Quartets of Becoming: A Transformative Yoga Philosophy Based on the Diaries of Sri Aurobindo" by Banerji, D." International Journal of Dharma Studies. 3. doi: 10.1186/s40613-015-0014-4 . S2CID   56554868.
  5. 1 2 Romain, Julie. "The Alternate Nation of Abanindranath Tagore". CAA.Reviews. Retrieved 21 June 2021.
  6. 1 2 Banerji, Debashish (2010). The Alternate Nation of Abanindranath Tagore. New Delhi: SAGE. pp. xviii–xxviii. ISBN   978-8132102397.
  7. Wilson, William (7 February 1998). "Carriers' Addresses Adversity, Identity". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 21 June 2021.
  8. "Around & About (Exhibits: The World of Gods: Tradition and Modernity in Contemporary South Asia)". Los Angeles Times. 29 December 2010. Retrieved 21 June 2021.
  9. Sherma, Rita D., ed. (2021). Swami Vivekananda : his life, legacy, and liberative ethics. Lexington Books. p. 256. ISBN   9781498586047.
  10. Banerji, Debashish (2012). Seven quartets of becoming : a transformational yoga psychology : based on the diaries of Sri Aurobindo. New Delhi: Nalanda International and D.K. Printworld. pp. 3–4. ISBN   978-8124606230.
  11. Banerji, Debashish (2020). Meditations on the Īsha Upaniṣad : tracing the philosophical vision of Sri Aurobindo (First ed.). Kolkata, India. pp. 1–7. ISBN   978-93-84721-47-3.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  12. Critical Posthumanism and Planetary Futures. India: Springer. 2016. pp. 3–9. ISBN   978-81-322-3635-1.
  13. Banerji, Debashish (15 December 2014). Rabindranath Tagore in the 21st century : theoretical renewals. Springer. ISBN   9788132220381. OCLC   898214176 . Retrieved 21 June 2021.{{cite book}}: |website= ignored (help)
  14. Gonzales, A. (2020). "Book Review: What, and Who, Ever Am I?". Journal of Dharma Studies. 3 (2): 423–427. doi: 10.1007/s42240-020-00080-0 . S2CID   220511009.
  15. McDermott, R. "Review of Integral Yoga Psychology: Metaphysics & Transformation as Taught by Sri Aurobindo, edited by Debashish Banerji. SOPHIA 59, 821–823 (2020)". doi:10.1007/s11841-020-00800-w. S2CID   228915838 . Retrieved 21 June 2021.{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  16. "P2P Foundation: Critical Posthumanism and Planetary Futures" . Retrieved 2 August 2021.
  17. "The Ethics, Sustainability And Sri Aurobindo's Integral Advaita". Cultural Integration Fellowship. Retrieved 2 August 2021.
  18. "Shakti, Bhakti, Yoga and Darshan: Practice And Experience In The Religious Art Of India". Sutra Journal: A curated journal on art, culture and dharma. Retrieved 2 August 2021.
  19. "Episode 24: Existential Posthumanism, Wisdom, Yoga & PostColonialism & Episode 23: Covid19, Death, Immortality and the Posthuman". Vlog Posthumans. Retrieved 2 August 2021.
  20. "New Thinking Allowed: Debashish Banerji". New Thinking Allowed. Retrieved 21 June 2021.
  21. Schentrup, Allison. "East-West Psychology Chair Wins India's Prestigious Award". California Institute of Integral Studies. Retrieved 21 June 2021.