Aryan Books

THE LIGHT IN-BETWEEN: A Journey of Recognition

By :- Bettina Sharada Baumer

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Type: English

Pages: 376

Format: Hard Bound

ISBN-13: 978-81-7305-726-7

Edition: 1st

Publisher: ARYAN BOOKS INTERNATIONAL

Size: 17cm x 25cm

Product Year: 2025

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Bettina Sharada Bäumer, a disciple of Swami Lakshman Joo and a scholar-practitioner of Kashmir Śaivism, has been teaching various texts of this sacred tradition in intensive seminars for the last 25 years. This book is an account of her inspiring pilgrimage through life, in her own words. Beginning with her birth in Austria during the years of World War II and her family barely escaping the Nazi persecution, she gives a vivid account of her formative experiences which launched her on a lifelong quest for the Divine. With the life-changing, early influence of great religious figures like Raimon Panikkar and Swami Abhishiktananda, she was initiated into the experiential depths of Hindu-Christian dialogue. Coming in contact with the teachings of Sri Ramana Maharshi and the Upaniṣads, her pilgrimage took a decisive turn as she made Banaras (Varanasi) her centre for studying the Indian traditions. It remained her place of work and living. But it was only in 1986, when she met her Guru, Swami Lakshman Joo, that her quest found its fulfilment in the spirituality of non-dualist Trika Śaivism. Continuing the responsibilities received from Swami Lakshman Joo and his closest disciples, Devis Sharika and Prabha, Bettina Sharada has dedicated her life to studying and disseminating the teachings of this great tradition. She has authored/edited more than 25 books, and continues to engage with seekers from all over the world who are interested in a spirituality which addresses the challenges of the present age. For her contributions to the field of education and towards promoting bilateral relations between India and Austria, she has been awarded the Cross of Honour for Science and Art by the Government of Austria (2012), and Padmashri by the Government of India (2015).

Foreword by Sudhir Sopory

Photo Credits

List of Illustrations

Acknowledgements

Bhūmikā: The Ground

Part I: Beginnings and Education in Europe (1940-1967)

1. Birth: Between Harmony and War

2. Ancestral Roots

3. Persecution and Refuge in Grossarl

4. Post-war, We Are Poor

5. Childhood and Music Education

6. Teenage: Fall at Mönchsberg

7. At Crossroads: Beginning University

8. A Fateful Meeting with Raimon Panikkar

9. Rome: A Catholic Initiation

10. First Immersion in India

11. Preparation towards Doctorate

12. A Retreat in Patmos

13. Līlā: Doctorate Completed

Part II: Exploring Indian Traditions: Art & Spirituality (1968-1985)

14. Beginnings in India

15. In the Presence of Saints and Sages

16. Yogasūtras and PY Deshpande

17. Love of Sanskrit: Learning from the Pandits

18. Making of the Vedic Experience

19. Banaras: City of Music

20. HWL Poonja and the Lucknow Adventure

21. Transitions in Banaras

22. Abhishiktananda’s Fulfilment

23. Alice Boner and the Art of Odisha

24. Return to Europe

25. Vienna and Indology

26. Final Years with Parents

27. Shivamurthy in Vienna

28. Towards a New Freedom

29. A Transformative Retreat (1978)

30. Return to Banaras: Settling in Assi Ghat

31. Pilgrimage to Kedarnath

32. Towards Kashmir

Part III: Fulfilment in Kashmir Śaivism (1986-)

33. First Meeting with Swami Lakshman Joo

34. 1986: An Eventful Year

35. Śaiva Dīkṣā: Initiation

36. Yajña: Integrating Inner and Outer

37. Kyoto: Spirituality in Interfaith Dialogue

38. Śaiva Centres in South India

39. Life at Ishvar Ashram (1988-‘91)

40. Sharika Devi’s Liberation

41. Mahāsamādhi of a Jīvanmukta

42. Phulchatti: The Flowery Roof

43. Sailing on Two Boats: IGNCA and Alice Boner

44. Spiritual Anchors in Europe

45. Interreligious Dialogue in Practice

46. Kailash: The Archetypal Pilgrimage

47. Beginning of University Teaching

48. Continuing the Tradition

49. Śāradā Kula: My Students

50. Enchanted by Mystical Poetry

51. IIAS: Scholarship in Shimla

52. Overcoming Suffering and Death

53. The Essence of Trika

Glossary

Bibliography

Index

Bettina Bäumer (Prof. Dr. Dr.h.c) was born in Salzburg, Austria (1940). 'Sharada' was added to her name when she obtained Indian citizenship in 2011.

Her important publications include: Śilparatnakośa, A Glossary of Orissan Temple Architecture; Abhinavagupta's Hermeneutics of the Absolute, Anuttaraprakriyā: An Interpretation of His Parātrīśikā Vivaraṇa; The Yoga of Netra Tantra: Third Eye and Overcoming Death; co-edited: Utpaladeva, Philosopher of Recognition (with Raffaele Torella); Tantrapuṣpāñjali: Tantric Traditions and Philosophy of Kashmir (with Hamsa Stainton); Samvidullāsaḥ, Manifestation of Divine Consciousness: Swami Lakshman Joo, Saint-Scholar of Kashmir Shaivism (with Sarla Kumar); Science and Spirituality, Bridges of Understanding (with Shivam Srivastava), etc.

Her German translations and commentaries on classics of Indian spirituality have been much appreciated and have seen several editions: Yogasūtras of Patañjali; Upanishads; Vijñāna Bhairava Tantra; a selection from Abhinavagupta's works, and an introduction to Trika Shaivism of Kashmir.

Felicitation Volume: Sāmarasya: Studies in Indian Arts, Philosophy and Interreligious Dialogue in Honour of Bettina Bäumer, ed. by Sadananda Das and Ernst Fürlinger.

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