Agata Świerzowska

The vegetarian diet was seen by esotericists at the turn of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries as the only diet fully compliant with the laws of Nature. Adopting it was therefore treated not only as a way of staying healthy (i.e. maintaining a psycho-physical and spiritual balance) and progressing spiritually, but also as a duty towards Nature and a way to preserve its original, pure and therefore beneficial character. The aim of this paper is to analyse pro-vegetarian and – as the author claims – at the same time pro-ecological discourse developed within the Polish esoteric milieu at the turn of the twentieth century. Based on the example of Polish esoteric vegetarians, the specificity of argumentation and characteristic depiction will be presented as well as the practical implementation of the proclaimed postulates.

This text presents the concept of the five (and not, as in European tradition, four) elements in Indian thought, concentrating in particular on the philosophy and practices of yoga, whose aim is to use the elements on a path ultimately meant to lead to liberation. Earth (prithiwi), water (ap), fi re (agni), air (wata), ether (akasha), known in Sanskrit as bhuta or mahabhuta (terms which only overlap to a limited degree with the English terms like „element”), come from original materials, and mix together in given proportions. In this way they not only become the basis of the existence of the reality surrounding us, but also form, describe and to a certain degree determine the nature and functioning of the person. These fundamental elements, although they remain concealed and are not available for direct understanding, manifest their existence in many various ways: thanks to these it is possible for the five senses to work, constituting a determinant of the division of the human body into five parts, are at the basis of the five pranas of life and the so-called humours of the body (dosha). Lastly, they are manifested in the various chakras, the concept of which is so often invoked and even more often deformed in popular Western literature. Thanks to these subtle manifestations, it is possible for the various elements to be influenced in a given way, controlled, until complete enthralment –and this is not only in the microcosmic dimension (the person) but also macrocosmic (reality). The gradual enthralment of the elements designates the various degrees of the ecstatic journey towards ultimate liberation. The article is opened by a short description of the individual elements, and then the following are shown: the mechanism, selected ascetic-mystical practices (asana, pranayama, meditation of elements), the effects of transformation of elements and their role in achieving ecstatic states.

This is a much revised version of the paper that appeared in “Eastern Quaterly”, Vol. 3, Issue II, July–August 2005, pp. 75–85. A Hindi Translation, by Om Prakash, has appeared in “Pahal”, 84, November 2006. Polish translation based on M. Nanda, How Modern Are We? Cultural Contradictions of India’s Modernity [in:] eadem, Breaking the Spell of Dharma and Other Essays, Three Essays Collectives, Gurgaon, Haryana 2007, s. 145–164.

The article is a comprehensive attempt at demonstrating the entry of the concept of the Indian Tantric Left-Hand Path into the Western esoteric tradition. Based on selected examples such as Wicca, Satanism and Thelema, the authors show the ways in which this idea has been reinterpreted and absorbed by the Western esoteric milieu.

The study of the history of yoga in Poland has only just begun, and knowledge about the earliest stages of the reception of the idea in thi country is so far negligible. This paper is an attempt to broaden the current state of knowledge on yoga in Poland in the interwar period. It focuses on the interpretation/understanding of yoga presented by Eugeniusz Polończyk (?–1932), a medical doctor, social activist and esotericist. Polończyk’s interpretation of yoga forms an integral part of his socio-political views. It may be seen as an attempt to strengthen his synarchist beliefs as well as a way to introduce them into the practice of social life in order to enable the revival of the Polish nation and create an ideal (utopian) state. The paper also highlights the most characteristic features of interpretations of yoga in Poland in the interwar period – patriotic, messianic, Christian and esoteric.

The fundraising activity initiated by the Birla family in India resulted in the construction of more than 20 Hindu temples, commonly referred to as the Birla Mandirs. Although they vary in terms of architectural forms and iconographic programs it seems, that one basic and common theme remains - to show reformed Hinduism as a religion that is the pillar of the identity of the people of New India. It is understood at the same time as separate but also higher than other great religions, yet assuring a place within its confines for all of them. It is – as the authors argue in this paper - the practical realization of the thought expressed in the Ṛgveda(I 164.46) and repeatedly referred to in the Birla temples as ‘ekam sad viprā bahudhā vadanti’, which seems to be the motto of all foundations of the Birla family.