The Heart of Recognition
pratyabhijñahrdayam
study group with kathleen knipp
The study of a text is also the study of ourselves. The Pratyabhijñahrdayam will be used a springboard for introducing and discussing the non-dual philosophy of Self-recognition in Kashmir Shaivism. No experience with text study is necessary, simply an interest in understanding Consciousness in its play as ourselves.
2020 online study group dates coming soon!
Interested in participating? Contact Kathleen kk@pathlessyoga.com
participant reflections
I had the great good fortune of attending many of Kathleen Knipp’s classes on the Pratyabhijnahrdayan over the years. The text itself is well worthy of serious study, but what attracted me over and over again was the love and tenderness with which Kathleen conveyed these teachings. The Pratyabhijnahrdayan is all about love and like any true teacher she not only spoke with authority, but more impactful still was how she embodied the teachings in her beingness.
Kathryn Harvey, PhD
There is a kind of spiritual transmission that simply flows from a person because s/he is true and generous and serious in her/his pursuit of the pearls beyond price. I was so longing to be with that kind of person and experience that kind of teaching … suddenly, to my amazement and delight, there it was right in front of me. I danced inside all weekend. Thank you, Kathleen.
Veronica Policaric
Thank you, Kathleen. I loved the structure of the course, especially the interaction between you and the group, and the interactions between the group members! Consistently reviewing what we learnt at various steps of the program and asking review questions were really valuable to me as a learner. The practical exercises also really helped solidify my current understanding of the verses in the text. I also loved the pace of the seminar, starting off slower and building progressively allowed me not to be intimidated by the depth and vastness of the text. I will forever appreciate this weekend.
Melanie Brosseau
You no doubt will hear from others how valuable and even life-changing the weekend was, and my voice joins theirs. However, I would add something to my thanks: While it is true that you could reach untold numbers through social media, as so many do, my sense is that the embodiment they would see and hear would be but a pale imitation — just more than a ghost — of Kathleen Knipp. Much of the effect of your teaching comes from the contemplative spontaneity and calm that marks your delivery, and that quality would be lost in any electronic reduction. Only in person, at just the right time, would the rustle of a hat’s brim on shoulders being taken for a hungry mountain lion have the instructive impact it does in the fulness of the moment.
John Reid
Having spent over two years studying this text, I still find it is a revelation each time; each line an opening to something at once profound and yet wondrously simple. It is a joy to explore this as practice in all its forms: through group discussion, reading comparative translations, somatic exercises, silent sitting and chanting. Each session is an opportunity to see through the eyes of the heart, to understand a language that is beyond words, to sit with others in the wonder.
Sonia Osorio
Glenda
Studying the Pratyabhijñahrdayam has given me a handhold as I scramble through the ups and downs of this life. Without it, I wouldn’t have thought I was missing anything. With it, I am endlessly grateful for the beauty and mystery that is the universe. With Joan’s and Kathleen’s interpretation, the text flows in and out of all the crevices of the day-to-day monotony, losses, joys, strangeness, normalcy and majesty of life. Knowing the text is like knowing I have a friend who I can always turn to no matter how long it’s been and they will be there for me.
Dr. Angela Cerkevich
Explorer le Pratyabhijñahrdayam m’a permit de démystifier l’étude d’un texte, c’est une pratique. Capter l’essentiel de chaque sutras aide à toutes les sphères de la vie. C’est un texte qui réconforte l’âme.
Carole Bessette
Text study sounds boring to some people, but… it really is a marvellous way of being together with friends (sangha/community) and, in the context of this text, looking at the great questions of our lives: Who am I ? What is it all about ? What is this that calls to me… this yearning… ? and through the discussion, chant, practice to live the questions.
Tina Koskelo
My introduction and study of the text came through my association with Joan, Kathleen and Tina. Together we met and read the sutras, we chanted them out loud, we pondered and discussed their meaning, we looked at the many different translations and found, as well, our own meaning for each of the sutras. Over a number of years now, I return again and again, to new faces, who gather to study and explore and I never seem to tire of the revelations, of the grace and of the recognition of our own heart.
Susan Bouthillier
What a treasure this simple and eloquent book is! Each time I explore this lovely text with its beautiful images, I am invited to journey into the deep primordial forests of my own heart and to take refuge in its tender opening. I am forever grateful for this generous gift of love.
Mary O’Connor
Le Pratyabhijnahrdayam de Kshemaraja (élève d’Abhinavagupta) résume en 20 versets un texte en plusieurs volumes d’Utpaladeva. Poésie métaphysique mais aussi traité pratique, ce mythe de la création décrit le voyage de la Conscience, du non-manifesté au manifesté, de l’Un jusqu’à l’illusion de la séparation, de la Béatitude à l’identification au limité, puis le « retour » vers l’Un qu’en réalité, nous ne quittons jamais, mais que nous sommes appelés à reconnaître. Voilà la grande aventure à laquelle nous convie The Recognition of Our Own Heart (La Reconnaissance de Notre Propre Cœur).
Édith Fortier