বসমত যগর বশববযপ জঞনবকষ: শর সভপত সবম ও শবরজযগর বহভষক ইতহস | The Forgotten Yogi’s Tree of Global Knowledge: Sri Sabhapati Swami and the Multilingual History of Śivarājayoga
BHĀBANAGARA International Journal of Bengal Studies July 17, 2026
A review of Keith Edward Cantú's book recovers the life and teachings of the Tamil yogi Sri Sabhapati Swami (c. 1828–1923/24), arguing that his Śivarājayoga synthesized Tamil Vīraśaiva traditions, Śaiva Siddhānta, Advaita Vedānta, Haṭha and Rājayoga, Tamil Siddha body theories, and Purāṇic mythology. Sabhapati transformed from a regional ascetic into a transregional teacher through print, translation, travel, and discipleship, with Bengali scholars mediating his entry into North Indian and English-language contexts before Vivekananda. His teachings were reinterpreted in Theosophical, Thelemic, and American metaphysical settings, demonstrating that modern yoga developed through complex interactions among regional traditions, colonial education, vernacular print, and global esotericism, not a simple divide between authentic premodern and corrupted modern forms.