BUCSA Hosts Symposium on Yogic Traditions in the U.S.
The Center for the Study of Asia (BUCSA), an affiliated regional center of the Frederick S. Pardee School of Global Studies at Boston University, hosted an April 6, 2018 symposium and concert on yogic traditions and sacred sound practices in the United States.
The day-long symposium, entitled “Yogic Traditions and Sacred Sound Practices in the United States: A Symposium of Scholarly Presentations and an Evening Concert of Indian Music and Kirtan,” featured a day of panels on a range of topics at the BU Photonics Center as well as an evening concert of Indian vocal music on yogic themes and a range of kirtan chants at Marsh Chapel.
The symposium explored the sacred sound practices in the ancient and contemporary liminal space between music and religion, spiritual practices and beliefs, and theologies of sound. An interdisciplinary group of scholars representing disciplines from ethnomusicology and anthropology to religious studies, Sanskrit, and theology, delivered research presentations on the sacred sound or music practices of Vedic chanting, the history and philosophy of yoga as well as musical theologies of the Tantras, and diverse yoga traditions currently practiced in the United States.
The presentations began with the historical and literary lineages of Indian yogic traditions currently practiced in the United States, including a substantial section on Indian sound concepts, early music treatises, and the history and philosophy of yoga.
Panels also delineated diverse ethnographic traditions practiced in the U.S. that draw upon Indian yogic thought and sacred music practices. These presentations touched upon the sacred sound practices of Siddha yoga, Nada yoga, Hatha yoga, American musical experimentalism, and adaptations of kirtan or sacred chanting in many different forms. Several presentations drew upon the ethnomusicological and anthropological methodology of in-depth interviews to investigate peoples’ experiences of diverse sound practices and the meanings individuals and culture groups ascribe to these practices.
The keynote at the symposium was delivered by Guy Beck, Fulbright-Nehru Senior Research Fellow in India in 2010 and 2016 and Lecturer in Philosophy, Religious Studies, and Asian Studies at Tulane University. Beck’s delivered a presentation entitled “Understanding Indian Sacred Sound Concepts and Liturgical, Musical, or Ritual Practices in the American Context.”
The symposium was followed by an evening of Indian Music and Kirtan held at Marsh Chapel.
The symposium and concert were co-sponsored by the Boston University Department of Musicology and Ethnomusicology and the BU Center for the Study of Asia, with key support from the BU Center for the Humanities and the BU Arts Initiative.