I have corrected my Mircea Eliade quote. Tim, who evidently has a better sense than I do of what Eliade is likely to say, investigated the matter. It turns out that Eliade wrote precisely the opposite of what was ascribed to him by the site where I found my quote.
Here's what Eliade really said:
The ritual nudity of the yogini has an intrinsic mystical value: if, in the presence of the naked woman, one does not find in one's inmost being the same terrifying emotion that one feels before the revelation of the cosmic mystery, there is no rite, there is only a secular act, with all the familiar consequences (strengthening of the karmic chain, etc.).So Eliade may not be fearless in the presence of a naked woman after all. However, the subject is not just any naked woman, but the mystical nudity of the yogini.
Mircea Eliade, Yoga: Immortality and Freedom, p. 259.
Oh well. It's still an adequate excuse to publish this photo:
1 comment:
Sadly, probably, quote unworthy! See ...it must be true!
Post a Comment