Gerhard Oberhammer’s Works on Sāṃkhya and Yoga in Light of Recent Research
Vestnik NSU Series History and Philology December 1, 2022 Peer reviewed DOI: 10.25205/1818-7919-2022-21-10-147-155 via OpenAlex
Summary
Gerhard Oberhammer, an Austrian scholar of Indian philosophy, analyzed spiritual practices in sāṃkhya, Patañjali’s yoga, and Pāśupata śaivism. He reconstructed the phenomenology of each path and developed a typology of yogic practices. In the Yoga-sūtras, he identified four distinct practices of different origins, suggesting the text was originally a compilation. He found an affinity between one practice and the later theistic Mṛgendratantra. Using the Yuktidīpikā, he described the spiritual path of sāṃkhya, often considered purely theoretical. His works, though influential, were later neglected due to positivist bias in indology.
Study at a glance
| Design | theoretical or philosophical paper |
|---|---|
| Key finding | Oberhammer identified four distinct yogic practices of different origins in the Yoga-sūtras, implying it was a compilation, and found an affinity between one practice and the later theistic Mṛgendratantra. |
Abstract
Gerhard Oberhammer is a prominent Austrian scholar of Indian philosophy and religions. This paper presents an analysis of Oberhammer’s works on spiritual practices of sāṃkhya and yoga. Based on the works that belong to the traditions of sāṃkhya, Patañjali’s yoga and the Pāśupata’s śaivism, Oberhammer reconstructed the phenomenology of each spiritual path and developed a general typology of yogic practices. Particularly, in the Yoga-sūtras, he identified four distinct practices of different origin, which implies that initially this work was a compilation. Oberhammer revealed an affinity between one of these practices and a later teaching of the theistic Mṛgendratantra. Based on the material of the Yuktidīpikā he described the phenomenology of the spiritual path of sāṃkhya, a tradition that is often believed to be of purely theoretical character. Oberhammer’s works on sāṃkhya and yoga attracted interest of scholars of Indian religions. However, with the course of time they were almost forgotten, not least because of the general positivist bias of modern indology. It seems promising to compare Oberhammer’s typology of yogic practices, as well as his philosophical teaching of transcendental hermeneutics, with the works by Mircea Eliade and Evgeniy Torchinov, which provide broad descriptions of religious practices with a general focus on the phenomenology of spiritual experience.