Sahaja is the natural state of mind realised as bliss void by the Mahasiddhas. The Siddhas’ realisation of this void is in the form of songs of enlightenment called Doha or Charyagiti, simple allegories of nature and village life. The lyrics portray erotic mysticism to express the experience of Tantric sadhana. This book presents selected contributions at conferences on the subject that critically re-evaluate Doha and Charyagiti collections of songs, referring to works of yore as well as scholarly contributions in the modern era. Beginning by discussing the origins of the sahajayana, the articles explore the Indian mahasiddha traditions in Tibetan translation, the Tibetan Shakyapa tradition on Mahamudra and Karma Kagyu perspective, the Buddhist Nawar tradition from Nepal, the Indian Natha tradition, and the Vaishnava Sahajiya tradition of Bengal. The aim is, among other things, to understand the concept of sahaja from a contemporary Indian perspective.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR Andrea Loseries
Prof. Dr. Andrea Loseries, Head, Convener and Editor, Department of Indo-Tibetan Studies, Centre for Buddist Studies, Visva-Bharati, Santiniketan. She is an Austrian national, and has studied in Paris, santiniketan and Vienna. History of Asian Art, Museology, Tibetology, Indology and Ethnology (1971-1983). She is an expert on Buddhist Art and Tibetan Iconography, sian Languages and Civilisations, Cultural History and Buddhist Studies and has performed field studies and research projects in Tibet, Mongolia, Japan, India and in the Austrain Alps. She has published several monographies and over hundred research papers, has produced several ethnographical films, curated five major art exhibitions, was convener of three international conference and director of the cultural program of Kalachakra Graz 2002, next to her teaching activities at the University of Graz and the Academy of Buddhist Education, Salzburg (Austria) In 2006 she joined the Department of Indo-Tibetan Studies as Professor and Head. Author of Tibetan Mahayoga Tantra: An Ethno- Historical Study of Skulls, Bones and Relics, New Delhi,2008.
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