Submissions
We accept submissions that would be considered for our quarterly print journal, TARKA. We are especially interested in innovative, interdisciplinary work that straddles realms of scholarship and practice. Our primary areas of content are Yoga Philosophy, MindBody Studies, Dharma and Contemplative studies. In addition to more accessible yet scholarly work, we also are seeking journalistic pieces addressing current events through a contemplative lens.
Article Criteria
Longer articles (3,000-4,000 words)
Short articles that address key topics/terms by responding to the question, “What is…..?” or “Who is….?” (900-1200 words)
Articles that detail a practice or a key element of practice (500-2,000 words +/-)
Book reviews
Submissions of artwork and/or poetry are also welcome
Compensation
We compensate $100 for short original articles and $250 for longer articles. If you have a previously published longer article that you would like to draft into a shorter article to be published on our website, we compensate a flat $50 per article.
Submission Guidelines
Please submit according to the following guidelines:
Provide a short summary or abstract (100-200 words) outlining the basic idea of your original article.
Provide a link to a writing sample, so that we can get a sense of whether your style fits our platform.
If your article is accepted for publication, please follow our style guide carefully (find it here) to ensure a smooth editing process.
Please follow our style guide for all article submissions.
See Calls for Papers below for submission contact.
Call for Papers
Issue #9 | “On Power”
The pursuit of power is often at the heart of spiritual practice. This could be power over others, power over the spiritual realm, or power over one’s self. At first blush, this suggestion may seem at odds with the concept of spirituality – especially considering other traditions of renunciation and asceticism. The Bhagavad-Gītā, among other texts, mentions how difficult it is to control and harness one’s own runaway mind. Yet, the giving up of material wealth or the sacrifices and hardships of austerity/asceticism are motivated by a concept of power that exceeds the mundane. In the Dharmic traditions of Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism, asceticism, or tapas, can lead directly to siddhis, or mystical powers. Sometimes, these spiritual powers are overtly non-righteous: in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, one of the central texts of Bhakti-yoga, a demon, Hiraṇyakaśipu, performs intense acts of tapas, not to improve himself, but to gain nearly godlike powers, and the ability to dominate others.
In Christianity (as well as many of the world’s other religious traditions) the promise of salvation, or heaven, is reserved for those who give up possessions and status. As stated in the gospel of Luke 12:33, “Sell your possessions, and give to the needy. Provide yourselves with moneybags that do not grow old, with a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys.” Thus, there is a kind of promise of power and security still at the heart of sacrifice and service.
The influence of Michel Foucault’s work on contemporary considerations of power cannot be overestimated. The French philosopher famously pointed out the pervasiveness of power in forms of knowledge, discourse, and institutions. Not interested in offering an account of power itself, he rather focused on the ways in which the effects of power can be traced in cultural systems, and thus in turn how those effects give rise to experiences of domination and exploitation. His philosophy then, in alignment with contemplative practices of empowerment, can offer fruitful insights around issues of imbalance and abuse.
If spiritual and religious practice can lead to a unique, other-worldly power, the leaders and adepts of these practices hold a charged position and responsibility to their constituents. Political and social systems reflect power imbalances in a myriad of complex ways that place a unique imperative upon socially-conscious, individual practices, like yoga and meditation. The traditions of Bhakti-yoga, as well as Western Judeo-Christian teachings, both hold that the individual person is imbued, in some way, with a spark of divine spirit that confers dignity and a measure of equality upon everyone. Seen in this way, it is ironic that both of these traditions have been the site of some notable abuses of power. Of course, many world-changing figures have also leveraged their charismatic authority to effect positive transformations in society.
Martin Luther King Jr. once said, “Power without love is reckless and abusive, and love without power is sentimental and anemic. Power at its best is love implementing the demands of justice, and justice at its best is power correcting everything that stands against love.” How can we negotiate self-love and personal practice with love for others and the need to address systemic injustice?
In this issue of Tarka, On Power, we will examine how power intersects with religious, spiritual, and contemplative practice, in terms of traditional narrative, sacred texts, personal accomplishments, ultimate goals, and contemporary social contexts.
Abstract or intention to write due now. Papers due end of May 2023.
Please respond by writing to stephanie@embodiedphilosophy.com.
Issue #10 | “On Yoga Philosophy”
Instead of approaching yoga philosophy as an ocean of artifacts, at Embodied Philosophy we engage with yoga philosophy as a living tradition. We thus derive inspiration from a lineage of inquiry – both ancient and modern – that seeks to reconcile the wisdom of the past with the unique circumstances of modern life. In this issue of Tarka, we are seeking to expand the horizon of yoga philosophy along three interweaving threads: 1) by making available and accessible translations of lesser known yogic texts that are spiritually and philosophically significant for modern practitioners; 2) by creatively engaging with the recent work of modern scholars and philosophers in a spirit of bridging the gap between knowledge and practice; and 3) by experimenting with the forms that yoga philosophy might take through featuring works of poetry, storytelling, mythological commentary, visual art, and other forms of playful practice. Our motivating intention is to enliven the field of yoga philosophy, expand our understanding of yoga textual history, and enact the most transformational perspectives of yoga philosophy in modern terms for changing times.
Possible topics include, but are not limited to:
Intellectual biographies of previous scholar-practitioners of the yoga tradition.
Reconstructions of insightful debates about yogic concepts between philosophical schools.
Translations or excerpts from translations of previously less-than-considered yoga texts.
Readings of thinkers who were working at the time of haṭha-yoga’s emergence – like Matsyendranātha.
Philosophical engagements with iconographic material and deities commonly associated with yogic practice.
Comparative work between different systems of Hindu yoga, like that of the Tantric six-limbed system vs. the eight-limbed system of Patañjali.
Comparative work between Hindu yogas and Buddhist, Jain and/or Sikh yoga traditions.
Speculative considerations regarding how yoga philosophy can be harnessed to respond to various socio-political issues.
Interdisciplinary and cross-cultural research between yoga philosophy and other global philosophical traditions.
Readings and interpretations of neglected passages from the Yoga Sūtras.
Accounts of philosophical practices evident in the yoga tradition that challenge the scope of European philosophical assumptions.
Original compositions of poetry, prose, visual art, and narrative story-telling that perform philosophical material through traditionally non-philosophical methods.
Outlines for future research in the emerging field of yoga philosophy.
Hermeneutical investigations of ritual, mantra, āsana, visualization, and other subtle practices represented and prescribed by yoga traditions.
Please send your abstracts or a short statement of your intention to write to stephanie@embodiedphilosophy.com and jacob@embodiedphilosophy.com by June 15, 2023.
Full articles due August 22, 2023.
Issue #11 | “On Collective Grief”
Grief is a universal experience that arises in response to loss. Research indicates it is so universal that it even transcends boundaries within the animal kingdom. Like humans, other creatures inhabiting the Earth have also exhibited behaviors that demonstrate the capacity to feel emotions, enter emotional bonds, and mourn when such bonds are shattered. Perhaps it can be said that not only is the experience of grief universal across species but that metaphorically speaking, anything that lives grieves, including the Earth itself.
From the onslaught of large-scale events such as natural disasters and animal extinction to terrorists’s attacks, police violence, mass shootings, pandemics, and war nearly every corner and creature of the Earth has experienced insurmountable losses. As human beings, we have also experienced the losses that come with disillusionment, disappointment, and disenfranchisement. While grief is indeed a deeply universal experience, the ways in which we grieve or in many cases are allowed to grieve varies across cultural beliefs, practices, politics, and norms.
Cultures embedded in ideologies of individualism, oppression, and rooted in capitalism create conditions in which grief often goes unprocessed, unattended, or outright denied. In many cases where the experience of grief in such a culture is acceptable, it is viewed as something that should occur in privacy. Furthermore, it should be temporal. Under such conditions individuals and entire communities are denied the opportunity to make real meaning of the weight of losses and unprocessed grief over time. We are denied the space to examine things like the cultural and institutional root causes of our losses or the impact of present and past trauma that undergirds the chronicity of losses and suffering. Without time and space to fully awaken to and experience grief in witness and support of others, we move on as individuals who are disembodied, disconnected, and devoid of the ability to make meaning of our losses rather than as a collective that can be mobilized to change and transform the conditions and institutions under which our losses occur.
In this issue of Tarka, On Collective Grief, we will explore harnessing the power of collective grief as a pathway to healing and justice. We are interested in articles that contribute to a conversation about the complexities of grief, the role of collective grief in community healing and reconciliation, the intersection of collective grief experiences and social justice movements, the importance of collective grief rituals in activism, the cultural expressions of collective grief in art, literature, and media, and the use of contemplative and somatic practices for collective healing, transformative action, and justice.
Please send your abstracts or a short statement of your intention to write to letonia@embodiedphilosophy.com and stephanie@embodiedphilosophy.com by July 7, 2023.
Full articles due November 1, 2023.