Tarka means “perfected reasoning” and is an embodied discernment that arises from the refinement of knowledge.

This definition of tarka is inspired by the work of the medieval Indian philosopher, theologian, aesthetician, and polymath, Abhinavagupta, who described a six-limbed system of yoga. Tarka, he argued, was the highest limb of yoga.

The wider usage of the term tarka in the Indian philosophical tradition suggests a less exalted meaning. Often defined simply as “reasoning” or “logic”, many texts of Indian philosophy – including Nyāya, Mīmāṃsā, Jainism, and Buddhism – include sections on tarka, which outline the parameters of a school’s approach to philosophical argument and debate. Outside of these traditions, tarka is considered its own śāstra – or science, precept, rules, or treatise.

Tarka Journal’s guiding mission is to dissolve the institutionalized boundaries between scholarly, devotional, and embodied methods, in an effort to forge a new paradigm of cross-disciplinary and cross-cultural research and practice.