Susan Ganje

su.morrissey@gmail.com
Graduate Student Religions of Asia & Africa, SOAS, University of London
Assignment for Theory & Method in the Study of Religion with Dr. Tullio Lobetti
15th April 2013

Meditative Practices in the Hindu Tantric Traditions: A Theoretical Approach

The study of meditation in the tantric traditions immediately presents a number of hermeneutical
problems. ‘In the history of religions’, notes Alan Sponberg, ‘meditation has been a notoriously vague
and multivalent concept’ (1986: 16), while ‘tantrism’ has been described by André Padoux as ‘a protean
phenomenon, so complex and elusive that it is practically impossible to define it or, at least, agree on its
definition’ (2002: 17). With an overall aim to explore considerations and methods to the study of
meditation in the Hindu tantric traditions, this essay shall begin by seeking to establish parameters
around the complex yet important religious categories of meditation and tantrism. The process of
defining these categories highlights the shortcomings of the phenomenological approach and the
dangers of reducing what may appear to be the same practice or experience down to an essence. In an
attempt to move beyond phenomenology1, the second section, drawing on the work of Gadamer,
focuses on understanding and historicity. The third and final section shall discuss understanding and
language with an endeavour to illustrate how Bakhtin’s theories of language can provide insight and
tools in response to the limitations of the phenomenological approach.

SKETCHING THE BORDERS

The Meaning of Meditation

Meditation, used interchangeably with contemplation, is a term that has been used to describe a variety
of different phenomenon of religious traditions across time and space (Underwood, 2005: 5816). The
Oxford English Dictionary defines the term to meditate as to ‘focus one’s mind for a period of time, in
silence or with the aid of chanting, for religious or spiritual purposes or as a method of relaxation; think

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In reference to Gavin Flood’s seminal work Beyond Phenomenology: Rethinking the Study of Religion
deeply about; plan mentally; consider’. The Oxford English Dictionary’s semantic range for
contemplation is broader encompassing also the concept of spiritual state, the definition reads ‘the
action of looking thoughtfully at something for a long time; deep reflective thought; the state of being
considered or planned; religious meditation; a form of Christian prayer or meditation in which a person
seeks to pass beyond mental images and concepts to a direct experience of the divine’. Both words
derive from Latin, meditate from meditari signifying ‘deep, continued reflection, a concentrated
dwelling in thought’ and contemplaton from cum templum signifying ‘with a consecrated place’
(Underwood, 2005: 5816), the latter perhaps suggesting an original meaning of looking outwards at the
sacred as opposed to looking within.
To differentiate the two terms, Underwood (2005: 5816-5817), somewhat in line with the
Oxford English Dictionary’s definitions, considers meditation to be a ‘preparatory and contributory’
practice of focusing consciousness in order to attain contemplation, while contemplation may also
signify a spiritual state which he describes as ‘direct intuitive seeing’ (2005: 5816). Meditation remains
‘cognitive and intellectual’, while contemplation may involve ‘spiritual faculties’, which go beyond the
intellect (2005: 5816). Underwood describes a further classification of meditative and contemplative
practices into two broad categories: apophatic and cataphatic.
Apophatic forms, typically centred in the mind, involve an emptying process whereby the
practitioner removes any content from their consciousness that is ‘not the object of the quest’
(Underwood, 2005: 5816). This technique, seen used in many traditions, is referred to as via negative in
Christian mysticism. In apophatic theological traditions, which has been a trait of Eastern Christian
thought, the ‘unknowability of God’ is emphasised and thus God is sought by looking beyond ‘all created
categories of sensation and thought to the God that cannot be conceptualised’ (Bondi, 1983: 32). The
apophatic form of practice is also associated with Buddhism (Underwood, 2005: 5816).
Cataphatic forms typically involve the focus of consciousness on a specific image, idea or deity;
the practices tend to be centred in the heart and more devotional in nature (Underwood, 2005: 5817).
Christianity cataphatic theology involves contemplation of God with a process beginning with focusing
the mind on the most universal names such as ‘good’ and ‘being’ and progressively moving the mind
towards ‘a positive understanding of God in relation to creation’ (Bondi, 1983: 32). Writing in around the
sixth century CE, Dionysius the Areopagite (or Pseudo-Dionysius), the Christian theologian, was a strong
advocate of apophatic theology; he claimed that the cataphatic approach could only be an introduction
to apophatic theology as the movement towards God necessitates realisation that He transcends
everything that He is called (Bondi, 1983: 32). Thus, for Dionysius, the affirmations employed in the

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cataphatic approach such as divine, truth and goodness are only symbolically true (Russell, 1946: 378),
and ultimately union with God necessitates a movement away from the physical world to ‘a union with
God in the divine darkness which lies beyond concept’ (Bondi, 1983: 32).
Cataphatic forms of meditation are found in the Hindu tantric Vaiṣṇava and Śaiva traditions,
where meditations frequently entail visualisation using images of deities or geometric designs
representing deities (yantra and maṇḍala) and mantra recitation (Underwood, 2005: 5817). However,
the critical observations of Dionysius in relation to apophatic theology highlight the importance of not
confining the practice of meditation or contemplation into one category as either one category may be
too limiting. Indeed in the Hindu tantric context techniques of visualisation are typically employed in
symbolic form and work as part of a process towards tools a specific goal. In the monistic Śaiva tantric
traditions, Śiva is understood as the absolute, the ultimate consciousness, who creates, maintains,
destroys, conceals and reveals all existence and all experience (Flood, 2006: 57). The soteriological goal
of this tradition is for the practitioner to realise that that he or she is Śiva, the omnipresent (Flood, 2004:
102, Muller-Ortega, 2005: 184). Śiva, understood as the absolute, also transcends all names and all
constructs, physical, mental or emotional, as Śiva is the ‘transcendent efficient cause of creation’ (Flood,
2006: 128). Therefore the classification of meditation and contemplation into particular forms may limit
the understanding of the practices, their role in the tradition and the experience they may bring about.
They can, however, serve as key markers or signifiers in attempting to identify methods and patterns of
meditation practices.
The translation of the terms meditation and contemplation into other languages presents
further complexity as one seeks to apply the concepts to another culture and to translate them into
another language. Sponberg makes the interesting observation that while the Western vocabulary for
‘psychophysical spiritual cultivation’ is ‘too vague and too limited’, the corresponding South Asian
vocabulary is ‘characterised by a historical proliferation of refinements and differentiations that has led
to a surprising range and variety of terms, a wealth if distinctions that highly standardised in some
traditions and more free-floating in others’ (1986: 17). Scholars such as Feuerstein (2005, 2008), Flood
(2004, 2006) and Larson (2012) have illustrated how there are many Sanskrit terms used to denote
specific meditative or contemplative practices and states, several of which have a semantic range. A
non-exhaustive list includes dhāraṇā, dhyāna, yoga, samādhi and bhāvanā. Dhāraṇā signifies ‘one-
pointedness’ of concentration (Feuerstein, 2005: 8066). Dhyāna has been translated as ‘one-
flowingness’ (flow of awareness on one object) in the context of Pātañjala yoga (Larson, 2012: 80), and
as ‘subtle visualisation’ in the context of the Śaiva tantric traditions (Flood, 2006: 162). The term yoga

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has served as a more general category, designating ‘any ascetic technique and any method of meditation’
(Eliade, 1969:4), while samādhi has been used to denote both a process of meditation and a spiritual
state.
Different Sanskrit terms are also seen employed to denote a spiritual state reflecting the
tradition’s understanding of the experience. In the non-dual Śaiva tantric traditions of Kashmir the term
saṃvitsamāveśa has been translated as ‘immersion into supreme consciousness’, which suggests
realisation of identification with Śiva, which is the spiritual goal of the tradition (Flood, 2004: 102). The
Sanskrit term was undoubtedly carefully chosen to capture the understanding of the experience. In
Pātañjala Yoga, samādhi (meaning ‘placing together’) has been translated as ‘enstasy’ by Eliade (1969)
to describe the experience of ‘standing in oneself’ in contrast with ecstasy or ‘standing outside oneself’
(Feuerstein, 2005: 8066). Similarly, we find that the word chosen to designate the spiritual state reflects
the tradition’s specific understanding of divine experience. Pātañjala yoga, based on Sāṃkhya
philosophy, understands spiritual liberation to be realisation of the true self as puruṣa, unchanging pure
consciousness which is separate from the material world (Larson, 2012: 78). There is no union with a
transcendent lord but rather a ‘standing in oneself’ upon the realisation of one’s true self distinct from
materiality. Neither the term meditation nor contemplation could translate this level of insight; hence it
is important to understand the underlying philosophical teachings and goals of the tradition to gain a
deeper understanding of how the tradition itself understands the techniques and experiences.
Two practices in two different traditions may appear to be the same and thus merit the same
description. An example may be visualisation of God in Christian contemplation and visualisation of Śiva
within Śaiva traditions. As Flood notes, at a descriptive phenomenological level we may find what
appears to be similar practices and processes along with shared terminology across traditions (2006:
121). However, by delving beyond the appearance of the practice we will most likely find that the role of
meditation, the internal process, the goal and the understanding of experience will differ fundamentally
in some aspects. We may also find some points of convergence. Gregory notes, in his discussion on
Chinese Buddhism, that the practice of meditation cannot be easily separated from its doctrinal context
nor the other practices or rituals of the tradition (1986: 6). The practices reflect the doctrinal teachings
of the tradition, their cosmological understanding and world-view and are typically designed to attain
the goals of the tradition. The non-dual Śaivas understand the human being to be a contraction of
supreme consciousness, Śiva, and meditative techniques are employed with an objective to retrace this
contraction and to expand consciousness (Flood, 1993; Muller-Ortega, 2005: 188). This illustrates, as
also observed by Gregory, that the understanding of the experience arising from the practice will most

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likely be different reflecting the specific doctrinal context (1986: 7). The meditative practices may be
integrated with other rituals and practices of the tradition (Gregory, 1986: 6), depending on their
purpose and the primacy of their role. In the non-dual Śaiva traditions of Abinavagupta, the tenth
century Kashmiri monistic theologian, meditation was important but perhaps more important was
‘perfected reasoning’ and ‘liberative grace’ of Śiva (Muller-Ortega, 2005: 184).
Sponberg attributes the vague understanding of the concept of meditation in the West to the
‘relative lack of elaboration and systemisation in the Western religious traditions, especially in their
post-Enlightenment form’ (1986: 16). The West has been gradually ‘detraditionalised’ since the
Enlightenment and with the focus on reason, the loss of a generally accepted religious metaphysical
narrative ensued (Flood, 2004: 235-236). On the other hand, the West has been experiencing the
globalisation of yoga and meditation and the introduction of Eastern philosophies and religions and with
them new understandings of the concept of meditation. The decline of religious tradition in the West
accompanied by an introduction to new forms of meditation may explain the lack of systemisation. This
lack of a clear referent in our own culture is seen by Sponberg as something beneficial as, as we have
seen, the category of meditation (to which I shall combine contemplation) needs to be broad (1986: 16).
So while a neat definition is difficult and limiting, key markers such as focus of consciousness, inner
asceticism, internal process, visualisation, recitation, preparatory or contributory practice for an
experience of the divine, spiritual state and so on can help create a useful framework. The border needs
to be sketched with an imaginary pencil which can be blurred or erased so that the category can be
defined and refined over time.

The Meaning of Tantrism

Tantrism remains a difficult term to define, particularly as Padoux notes it is generally ‘a category of
discourse of the West’ and that no description or definition can be found in the Sanskrit texts for this
category (2002: 17). The word tantra does however appear in early Sanskrit texts such as the Vedic
Shrauta Sūtras dating from around fifth century BCE (Smith, 205: 8987). It has been proposed that the
word derives from the Sanskrit tan, meaning ‘to extend, stretch, expand’, possibly signifying ‘succession’,
‘unfolding’, ‘continuous process’ or ‘extension’ (Smith, 2005: 8987) or that it could be related to tanu,
‘the body’, which becomes important in the tantric traditions (Flood, 2006: 9). A common interpretation
of the word is ‘loom’ (a device used to weave cloth) or the ‘warp’ (length-way yarns) of a loom,
connoting a frame-work (Flood, 2006: 9).

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 Most scholars agree that there is not a ‘unified tradition’ of Tantrism but a ‘loose grouping’ of
texts, practices and doctrines (Smith, 2005: 8987). Padoux understands Tantrism to be ‘essentially
sectarian’, with ‘tantric’ sects existing within the main divisions of Hinduism (Brown, 2002: 2). As
perhaps a solution to a lack of a specific philosophical system, Padoux has identified characteristics
which could serve as signifiers of tantrism; his lists contains: use of ritual, manipulation of power,
transgression of norms, use of the mundane to reach the supramundane and the identification of the
microcosm with the macrocosm (Brown, 2002: 2; Padoux, 1987). Based on the work of Padoux, Brown
(2002: 2 - 5) elaborated a framework for approaching the subject of tantra as a process rather than ‘a
static structure of characteristics’ (2002: 2). Process points are emphasised rather than beliefs or
doctrine; Brown’s aim is to provide a tool for identification of what may be ‘tantric’ in terms of
application of characteristics and as such key processes are identified as illustrated in the table below.
Under the scheme one begins with the goals (typically associated with worldly power and spiritual
liberation in the tantric traditions) and works back to understand the system of accomplishing the goals
through practices which entail specific processes such as visualisation or identification and which are
under the guidance of a deity or guru.

Processes Accomplished by Guided by Goals

Visualisation Ritual (kriya), yoga, Teacher/guru Enlightenment
Verbalisation The body, maṇdala, Deity Mukti
Identification Yantra, Cakra Worldy power
Internalisation Mantra , Pūjā, Bhukti
Concretisation Icon
Transformation

Brown’s framework can be helpful in detecting patterns of tantric process and it may serve as a heuristic
device as a guideline in approaching the subject. It may not, however, be particularly insightful to a
specific study, which indeed is the case for perhaps all definitions. In the case of the non-dual Śiva
traditions worldly power does not appear as the goal of the tradition and the goal of enlightenment has
the specific meaning of realisation of identification with Śiva (Muller-Ortega, 2005:184-188). In addition,
rituals do not have significant role in the path to liberation but ‘perfected reasoning’ and ‘liberative
grace’ of Śiva are important, none of which figure in the scheme (Muller-Ortega, 2005: 184). Thus some
processes may be shared across traditions, while others are not.

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 David Gordon White has proposed the following definition which focuses on a general tantric
vision or ideology:
Tantra is the Asian body of beliefs and practices, which working from the principle that
the universe we experience is nothing other than the concrete manifestation of the
divine energy of the godhead that creates and maintains the universe, seeks to ritually
appropriate and channel that energy, within the human microcosm, in creative and
emancipatory ways (2000: 16).
This definition is a good proposal as it is broad enough to facilitate dialogue while placing as the key
marker of tantra the underlying philosophical understanding of the universe found in the tantric
traditions (without elaboration as the cosmological understanding varies across traditions) and the
central characteristic of the human being representing the microcosmic replicate of the universe.
Padoux echoes this central ideology of tantra; he notes ‘the ideological aspect of the Tantric vision is the
cosmos as permeated by power (or powers), a vision wherein energy (śakti) is both cosmic and human
and where microcosm and macrocosm correspond and interact’ (2002: 19). The process of finding good
definitions reinforces the importance of focusing the study to a specific tradition, perhaps considered to
have tantric traits, rather than approaching ‘tantric’ traditions broadly.

HISTORICITY AND UNDERSTANDING

The ‘I’ of the Researcher

A meditation teacher once described to me her understanding of a ritual as simply ‘to enter a
conversation with the soul’. I thought that that this simple definition could also capture the essence of
meditation with the emphasis in meditation on interiority. To enter would suggest a movement, perhaps
an internal process, from the gross to the subtle or from the ordinary to the divine. A conversation could
draw on the etymology of the word, which derives from Latin ‘to live with, keep company with’ (Oxford
English Dictionary) and soul could remain an open concept, thus offering possibilities for the experience
of the divine as a mystical union or communion with a supreme being or God or realisation of the true
self as within, separate from the material world.
There are some obvious shortcomings with this definition. Firstly, a process of bracketing out
the non-essentials will inevitably lead to a partial understanding, as we have seen that any attempt to

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understand meditation must be set against the context of the tradition including the doctrines,
soteriological goals, worldview and other practices in addition to the historical and cultural background
of the tradition. Thus by reducing the practice to an essence without such framing one may lose sight of
what the practice may actually mean for the other. Secondly, the essence perceived is inevitability
shaped by the historicity of the researcher. In his study on asceticism, Flood speaks of a self, which is
‘not a disembodied self, but a historical, language-bearing, gendered person with their own name and
story’ (2004: 2). What one perceives will be shaped by one’s place in time and culture, their inherited
history and language and one’s own personal story. In the foreword to his classic, Yoga: Immortality and
Freedom, Eliade, renowned for his phenomenological approach, makes the insightful observation that
‘the analysis of a foreign culture principally reveals what was sought in it or what the seeker was already
prepared to discover’ (1969: p. xxi).
The proposed definition undoubtedly reflects my own personal experience and place in history.
The term soul may have Christian overtones; it may signify the ‘seat of the supernatural or eternal life’
(MacGreggor, 2005: 8561) or imply duality with the physical body; it may connote ‘spirit’ from the Greek
word psuchē2. The definition excludes goals that are not related to the sacred and for example, pursuit
of worldly power has been identified as a goal in some of the Hindu tantric traditions (Flood, 2004: 99).
There are, perhaps, many aspects which have yet been revealed to me or which, as Eliade suggests, I
have not yet been prepared to see. For the monistic Śaiva traditions ‘conversation’ may imply duality
and the transformative aspect of meditation may not be adequately captured. Indeed, we are warned
by Sponberg not to allow our own conception of the term meditation construct our view of the tradition
we are seeking to understand through a phenomenological approach (1986: 17).
Awareness of our own presuppositions is thus an important first step towards understanding
another tradition (Gregory, 1986: 4; Sponberg, 1986). In 1949 in a preface to a work by W. Dilthey, H. G.
Gadamer wrote ‘What can be considered established is only the negative insight that our own basic
concepts, which were coined by the Greeks, alter the essence of what is foreign’ (Halbfass, 1988: 164;
Gadamer, 1949). However, this was not an entirely negative observation but one that could be fruitful;
he proposed that the recognition of our own assumptions could help us in approaching the other
(Halbfass, 1988: 164). In the words of Halbfass, Gadamer’s critique can ‘encourage us to see the fact
that, in approaching Indian thought, we carry with us our Western perspectives and presuppositions not
merely as an impediment and aggravation, but as a necessary and positive ingredient of understanding
itself’ (Halbfass, 1988: 164; Gadamer, 1985). Gadamer advises that the first step is to be aware of one’s

2
Translation in ‘Soul: Christian Concepts.’ Encyclopedia of Religion. pp. 8561

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own biases so that ‘the text may present itself in all its newness and thus be able to assert its truth
against one’s own fore-meanings’ (Gadamer, 19853).
Gadamer has famously described understanding as necessitating a ‘fusion of horizons’ (Halbfass,
1988: 165, Gadamer, 1985). This regards not only the horizon of one’s own culture and the culture of
the other; Gadamer tells us that the horizon of the present cannot be formed without the horizon of the
past and one’s own culture is also a blend of horizons such as the European tradition is an assimilation
of various cultures, Greek, Roman, Hebrew and so on (Halbfass, 1988: 165, Gadamer, 1985). Gadamer
writes:

Just as an individual is never simply an individual, because he is always involved with others, so
too the closed horizon that is supposed to enclose a culture is an abstraction. The historical
movement of human life consists in the fact that it is never utterly bound to one standpoint, and
hence can never have a truly closed horizon. The horizon, is rather, something in which we move
and that moves with us. 4

As aforementioned, the first stage of understanding thus begins with our own culture and an
exploration of how it has been shaped by the horizons of the past and of various cultures and how as a
consequence it has shaped our own perspective and view of the world. Then with awareness of our
assumptions and conditionings we can approach the study of the other and pave the way for the
possibility of enhanced understanding of the other. Fixed ideas and ways of thinking may in the process
be softened, which may also facilitate enhanced self-understanding through Gadamer’s ‘fusion of
horizons’. Understanding, in Gadamer’s words, does not involve ‘extinction of one’s self’5, an insight
echoed by Bakhtin who asserts that ‘creative understanding does not renounce itself, its own place in
time, its own culture; it forgets nothing’ (Bakhtin, 1986).

The Other: the Tantric Self

The observations regarding the researcher are equally applicable to the object of the research, as ‘the
other’ is also an historical self with its own story influenced by its personal history and wider historical
culture. It is thus important to place the other in time and space and endeavour to understand their
heritage. In his study on asceticism, Flood spoke of an ‘ascetic self’, whom he showed to be an

3
Quote from Truth and Method in Halbfass, 1988:165
4
Quote from Truth and Method in Halbfass, 1988:165
5
Ibid.

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ambiguous self as he is seen exercising control over the will but is simultaneously seen submitting
himself to the tradition (Flood: 2004, 13). This is an interesting consideration applicable to the study of
the ‘tantric self’ as meditation necessitates a certain inner asceticism and the self is understood in
relation to its tradition. Flood puts forward the idea of ‘a tradition-dependent subjectivity’ with the
notion of self defined in relation to the tradition and context (2006: 5). Elaborating on this idea, he
explains that the tantric practitioner ‘identifies his body with the cosmos and deity in daily ritual and in
yogic practice, identifying himself with something outside of himself that he then becomes’ (2006: 5).
Therefore it is paramount to gain an understanding of how the tradition understands the body, the self,
the true self, the relationship of the self with the cosmos and the different levels of experience of the
self.

LANGUAGE AND UNDERSTANDING

The Dialogical Nature of Language

The observations on the historicity of understanding reinforce the importance and necessity of dialogue
in approaching the study of another tradition. Bakhtin, the Russian linguist, literary critic and
philosopher greatly contributed to the study of the other with his ground-breaking theories on the
philosophy of language, notably with his focus on the ‘otherness of the other’s voice’ (Slater, 2005: 741)
and the ‘dialogic conception of language’ (Morson & Emerson, 1990: 124). While Bakhtin’s theories
were mainly focused on the novel, they highlight important considerations in approaching a religious
tradition.
Bakhtin’s work illustrates how language is essentially dialogical as every utterance involves an
author and reader (or speaker and listener) and understanding entails ‘the joint creation of the word’
(Morson & Emerson, 1990: 127-130). Varying understandings arise due to ‘different perspectives and
different senses of the world’ of the author and reader; the context is ever changing bringing new
understandings (Morson & Emerson, 1990: 131, 237). Therefore, for Bakhtin, as Slater explains, neither
the author’s intention nor the reader’s response alone determines the ‘dialogically realised meanings’
(2005: 741). Thus like any other text, the historical life of the researcher will colour its reading just like
the historical life of the theologian author of the tantric commentaries or indeed the author of the
tantras (if one is to believe that they were not revealed) will colour their writing. A greater

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understanding thus also necessitates an investigation into how the utterance of the tradition has
‘dialogued’ with its lineage, both with its predecessors and its successors, its followers and criticisers.

The Third Voice

Bakhtin’s concept of polyphony can also provide insight into a study of the tantric texts. The concept
brings one’s attention to the possibility of having different voices within the one text, rather than a
single voice (Bennett & Royle, 2009: 325). Bakhtin applied the concept of polyphony to the novel where
at times, one could find a multitude of voices reflecting multi-consciousness, whereas in poetry and in
religious texts one would tend to find one voice reflecting one consciousness (Holoquist & Emerson,
1981: 434).
The Tantras are considered to be texts of revelation leading to ‘liberation and power’ (Flood,
2006: 9). The followers of the Śaiva, Vaiṣṇava and Śākta Tantras believe that these texts were revealed
by Viṣṇu, Śiva and the Goddess (Flood, 2006: 7). There is a ‘polyphony’ of voices around these texts
including the Sanskrit commentators with theological voices. A third voice to consider is the voice of the
deity of tradition6 and this is notably important in the tantric traditions where initiation is seen as crucial
in regards to oral teachings as well as spiritual transmission (Feuerstein, 1998: 97, 98). For the followers
of the tradition the true meaning of the sacred texts would be passed down the lineage through master
to disciple. The commentary texts of the theologians would be a very useful source in this regard for the
researcher, in particular as the tantric traditions are sometimes known for their secret teachings
(Feuerstein, 1998: 97). In addition a literary review of the texts will undoubtedly reveal different voices
within the text. For example, some scholars have traced certain tantric concepts to the Upaniṣads such
as the subtle currents of life energy (Feuerstein, 1998: 16) and the tantric cosmological understanding is
believed to be an elaboration of the earlier Sāṃkhya philosophical system (Flood, 2006: 122).

CONCLUSION

A study of meditation necessitates a deep integration of theory and practice, as Gregory has proposed
(1986: 7). As we have seen there is no overarching common religious tradition of Tantrism and thus the

6
I credit here Dr Tullio Lobetti who shared his idea of the third voice with me when I presented a discussion on
Bakhtin and the Upaniṣads.

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study first necessitates the study of a corresponding tradition which shall be a specific tradition in a
specific time and historical culture. Meditation can as such be investigated against the broader
framework of the tradition’s worldview, doctrinal teachings, soteriological goal and its role in relation to
the goal. A comparative study of meditation across tantric traditions can only follow such a study.
Gadamer has shown us the importance of recognising the historical nature of understanding and how
we can use this to our benefit if we bring our prejudices with awareness to our study and in the process
we can perhaps also gain greater understanding of what it means, to ourselves, to be a human being.
Bakhtin’s theories around the active nature of understanding due to the dialogical nature of all
utterance and to the historicity of both researcher and the other, reader and writer, can also provide
very useful insights to this complex subject. His work reminds us of the necessity of dialogue and
openness so that we can move towards a fuller understanding. We are also reminded that the
‘unfinalisability’ of life comes hand in hand with the ‘unfinalisability of understanding’; our work will
never be complete but will continue to be enriched as new understandings are constantly found.
Bakhtin tells us that ‘in each culture of the past lie immense semantic possibilities that have remained
undisclosed, unrecognised and unutilised throughout the entire historical life of a given culture’ and
‘each epoch always discovers something new in the great works of the past’ (1986: 4, 6).

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