Dear Friends and Colleagues,
I am happy to announce that we have just
published the International
Journal of Tantric Studies (IJTS) vol. 9, n.
1:
http://asiatica.org/ijts/vol9-1/
In this
issue
Editorial Note
Papers: “A Spirituality of Pleasure: Deciphering
Vijñānabhairava Verse
68” by
by John R. Dupuche”; “Shaping the Italian
Policy on the North-West
Frontier: Giuseppe Tucci and the Limits of the
Strategy of “Peripheral
Destabilization” (1936-1943)” by Gianluca
Pastori
Abstracts
"A Spirituality of Pleasure: Deciphering
Vijñānabhairava Verse 68"
by John R. Dupuche
This heavily coded śloka
from the tantric literature of Kashmir Shaivism
has been misinterpreted and
misused, to the detriment of the reputation
of tantra in the West. This paper
studies the original text and ancient
commentaries, and elucidates the
several levels of meaning of this
arcane verse. It also looks at the various
translations and commentaries
in English, French, German, which do not bring
out the full meaning of
the text or contradict each other or gloss over
problems or bend the
verse to suit their agendas. As a result, this paper
concludes that, far
from being disreputable or trivial, the sloka describes a
spirituality
of pleasure in every-day life which is profound and important
for our age.
"Shaping the Italian Policy on the North-West Frontier:
Giuseppe Tucci
and the Limits of the Strategy of “Peripheral Destabilization"
(1936-1943)"
by Gianluca Pastori
Giuseppe Tucci played an important
role in shaping Italian politics
towards Asia under both Fascism and the
Republic. In the Fascist period,
Rome was a rally point for Asian
nationalists such as Subhas Chandra
Bose and Mohammad Iqbal Shedai. On the
field, the Italian Legation in
Kabul forged links with the frontier tribes to
spread sedition along the
North-West Frontier. Nonetheless, their joint
efforts to fuel a strategy
of “peripheral destabilization” proved unfruitful.
Confirming Tucci’s
opinion, the intellectuals and the Indian population were
unwilling to
replace the Raj with another foreign domination. If they wanted
to free
themselves from the British, «it was not to place someone else in
their
shoes» (Iqbal).
Enjoy!
Dr Enrica
Garzilli
Editor-in-Chief
