Metaphysics as Therapy: List-Making and Renunciation in Gnostic Yogas (Indian Philosophy: Past and Present)

By: Karl-Stéphan Bouthillette

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Synopsis: This book examines the significance of metaphysical list-making as a determining feature of &‘spiritual exercises&’ in South Asian gnostic yogas. It examines how these ancient traditions sought spiritual transformation through the dialectical practice of taxonomy. It highlights the gnostic thread that intersects &‘spiritual exercises&’ and &‘ways of life&’ in Hindu, Buddhist, and Jaina circles. It fills a gap in yoga studies by proposing a new understanding of jñāna-yoga (yoga of knowledge). Departing from mainstream Anglophone philosophical traditions, it articulates an original meta-theory of philosophical practice, explaining how philosophy can be 'therapeutic' in concrete terms. The book theorizes yogic Gnosticism, as a South Asian religious undercurrent and as a distinctive form of philosophical practice and ascetic way of life internalizing a sacrificial worldview. Finally, the book analyzes four literary case studies, presenting therapeutic methods in competing gnostic traditions, namely, the Verses on Sāṃkhya of Īśvarakṛṣṇa; the Advaita Instructions on the Doctrine of Gauḍapāda; the Buddhist Heart Sūtra; and the Twelve Contemplations of the Jaina Kundakunda. The groundbreaking multidisciplinary and trans-sectarian book offers a must-read for scholars across the fields of world philosophy and religious studies.