Ancient Futures

Daniel Simpson
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Ancient Futures

Timeless wisdom for modern dilemmas, combining yoga philosophy, practical insight and critical thinking. Hosted by Daniel Simpson. ancientfutures.substack.com

  1. ١٣ شعبان

    Political Yoga – Sunila Kalé and Christian Lee Novetzke

    How closely connected are yoga and politics? Many people today try to keep them apart, but an ancient tradition sees yoga as politics. Although its theories might be distinct from yogic philosophies and mind-body disciplines, they’re nonetheless part of a broader understanding of what yoga means. A new book called The Yoga of Power, by Sunila Kalé and Christian Lee Novetzke, unpacks the implications. Initially inspired by events such as a U.S. court case about whether yoga in schools was religious and the Hindu nationalist promotion of “yoga day”, their work studies texts from the Ṛg Veda onwards, showing how yoga describes the exertion of control. Together, we discuss (among other topics): * The use of yoga-kṣema to refer to people’s welfare * What links good governance to personal self-discipline * How yogic ideas inspired anti-colonial resistance politics * Why texts tell haṭha yogis to find well-governed lands * Whether sun salutations are yogic or martial arts We also talk about this film from 1928, in which the Raja of Aundh promotes sun salutations (as discussed in this article). You can find out more about Sunila’s work here, and Christian’s here – both are professors at the University of Washington. 🤿 To dive deep into yoga history, join me for the year-long Path of Knowledge... 🙏 Donations make this podcast sustainable – please consider subscribing or buy me a coffee... Your support is greatly appreciated! This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit ancientfutures.substack.com/subscribe

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  2. ٢٩ رجب

    Historical Prediction – Michelle Aroney

    How do people cope with uncertainty? What differentiates ways of predicting the future from scientific study of patterns – be that in epidemiology or forecasting weather? Might techniques of divination reveal as much about the past and the present as what happens next? Michelle Aroney is a historian at Magdalen College, Oxford, and co-curator – with David Zeitlyn – of an exhibition at the Bodleian Library titled “Oracles, Omens and Answers”. As we discuss, there are fascinating links between modern sciences and older approaches – particularly astrology. Yet we also examine what distinguishes their methods, and how different cultures do similar things. The exhibition focuses more on social function than predictive accuracy – though it does say all systems have limits. You can find out more in an accompanying book that covers two dozen disciplines – or see recent articles by the co-authors here and here. Michelle also posts on X, and the Bodleian Library shares pictures on Instagram. 🔭 To explore yogic views on clairvoyance – and much else besides – join me for a weekend immersion (March 1-2, 2025) 🙏 Donations make this podcast sustainable – please consider subscribing or buy me a coffee... Your support is greatly appreciated! This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit ancientfutures.substack.com/subscribe

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  3. ١٥ رجب

    Catastrophe Ethics – Travis Rieder

    How can we address global problems – such as catastrophic climate change – when individual actions make very little difference? What’s the right thing to do when there aren’t easy answers? Is it wrong to do nothing? Is everything relative, or are there better ways to think about solutions? As Travis Rieder writes in Catastrophe Ethics, we need our own frameworks for making decisions. Two common pitfalls get in the way. One highlights universal rules and the other rejects them. To avoid being distracted by either, we need to think for ourselves about right and wrong, inspired by ideas drawn from moral philosophy. Our conversation explores how this works to make life meaningful. In the process, we talk about illusions of purity, the need to find reasons to justify actions and the value of “doing our part” – however limited it may be – to minimise harm. We also reflect on life’s inevitable compromises, the complicated ethics of creating new people, and why personal integrity means being transparent not wearing a hair-shirt. Travis works as a professor at the Johns Hopkins Berman Institute of Bioethics. He’s also the author of In Pain: A Bioethicist’s Personal Struggle with Opioids, which expands on a TED talk about his experience. 🎓 Join me in London – or online – for a weekend immersion in yoga philosophy (March 1-2, 2025) 🙏 Donations make this podcast sustainable – please consider subscribing or buy me a coffee... Your support is greatly appreciated! This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit ancientfutures.substack.com/subscribe

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  4. ١ رجب

    Who Am I? – Robert Rowland Smith

    What does it mean to be human, and how can one access one’s innermost self? Robert Rowland Smith writes popular books about practical philosophy, including a memoir that discusses what he’s learned from his relationships – as well as a career as an Oxford don, a strategic adviser and a personal coach, among other things… Our conversation explores the extent to which people can change, and how to get attuned to an inner alarm that reveals when it’s necessary. We also talk about intuitive ways of knowing, the role of fate and how inherited patterns shape our lives. Along the way, we consider the importance of facing mortality, why it might be scary to experience awakening and how to find purpose by asking good questions. If you’d like to learn more about Robert’s approach – including family constellations – he’s running an online “retreat” from January 5 (available on-demand at other times). He’s also co-host of regular philosophy slams, where he and Mark Vernon respond to audience prompts with impromptu ideas. 🧘‍♂️ Join me in London or online for a weekend immersion in yoga philosophy (March 1-2, 2025) 🙏 Donations make this podcast sustainable – please consider subscribing or buy me a coffee... Your support is greatly appreciated! This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit ancientfutures.substack.com/subscribe

    ١ من الساعات

  5. ١٧‏/٠٦‏/١٤٤٦ هـ

    Slowing Down – Elliot Cohen

    "What are we doing wrong that requires us all to be so resilient so often?” That’s the basic question that frames a new book by Elliot Cohen. The Psychology of Slow Living investigates ways to avoid being frazzled by a culture of urgency fuelled by quests for instant gratification via digital technology and overconsumption. Drawing on ideas from Buddhist, Hindu, Daoist and Jewish traditions – as well as social psychology – the book explores how to slow down from a range of perspectives. It warns against seeking quick fixes, but highlights the value of meditative practice, communion with nature and social rituals, from tea ceremonies to the Sabbath. We also talk about the mental effects of surroundings – from the impact of urban environments to natural examples of living with balance. In the process, Elliot cites teachings on the “usefulness of uselessness”, promoting some renouncing without dropping out. You can find out more about his research here. 📅 Join me in March to explore authenticity in yoga (in London or online). 🙏 Donations make this podcast sustainable – please consider subscribing or buy me a coffee... Your support is greatly appreciated! This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit ancientfutures.substack.com/subscribe

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  6. ٠٣‏/٠٦‏/١٤٤٦ هـ

    Why History Matters – Philipp Maas

    N.B. for more on this topic, see this article. What if the text known as the Yoga Sūtra never existed – at least not to start with? Philipp Maas is a scholar of Patañjali’s yoga, whose work suggests its teachings were originally transmitted as part of a larger philosophical text with explanations. We discuss how this accompanying commentary (bhāṣya) interprets the sūtras, and reflect on the broader significance of studying history for modern practitioners. We also consider the distance in time and space between yogic texts and their uses today. Among other topics, our conversation explores: * The evidence for Philipp’s conclusions on Patañjali * What studying another culture reveals about our own * Whether scholars of yoga ought to practise its methods * The risks of colonising history for political purposes * Recent critical comments by Shyam Ranganathan You can find out more about Philipp’s research at academia.edu, where his work is downloadable (free registration needed). This recent overview is a helpful place to start. It covers much of what we discuss, including several layers of commentary. 🎓 For accessible insights on yoga, join me for a course at truthofyoga.com. 🙏 To support this podcast, please consider subscribing or buy me a coffee... All donations are greatly appreciated! This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit ancientfutures.substack.com/subscribe

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  7. ١٨‏/٠٥‏/١٤٤٦ هـ

    Lost in Translation – Dorothy Figueira

    This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit ancientfutures.substack.com What do Heinrich Himmler and Mohandas Gandhi have in common? Both were inspired by the Bhagavad Gītā. As Dorothy Figueira explains, what they found in it were mental projections. So Gandhi saw promotion of non-violence, while Himmler thought it justified killing for an avatar of God called Adolf Hitler. These interpretations – among many others – are the subject of Dorothy’s recent book, The Afterlives of the Bhagavad Gītā. As a scholar of religion and comparative literature, she shows how modern translations are often more revealing of their authors’ ideas than the texts they engage with. With the Gītā, there are so many readings that it’s difficult to summarise where they diverge. Our conversation discusses the “decadence”, as Dorothy terms it, of Western seekers such as Allen Ginsberg. She contrasts this with meticulous colonial scholars and use of the Gītā by Indian nationalists. Detached from commentaries, it proved politically malleable, serving to justify many positions. Some of the most shocking continue to resonate. The Nazi Gītā is resurgent online, via the writings of a European woman known as “Savitri Devi”. Although Dorothy laments these distortions, her general advice is to accept the existence of multiple readings, and to explore them open-mindedly to counteract dogma. She works as a professor at the University of Georgia. 🎓 For accessible overviews of yoga’s evolution, join me for a course at truthofyoga.com. 🙏 To support this podcast, please consider subscribing or buy me a coffee... All donations are greatly appreciated!

    ٣١ من الدقائق

  8. ٠٤‏/٠٥‏/١٤٤٦ هـ

    Disaster Nationalism – Richard Seymour

    This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit ancientfutures.substack.com A shift in focus for the podcast this week to discuss a new book by Richard Seymour. Subtitled “The Downfall of Liberal Civilization”, Disaster Nationalism investigates “a struggle for our collective soul”, along with the psychology of far-right movements. As Richard warns, these can take many forms – including the perversion of liberal and leftist agendas into authoritarianism. “There is a fascist temptation for everyone,” he writes: “we all have our jackboots.” Rather than focusing on charismatic leaders, as if defeating them might solve the problem, he highlights the trends and tendencies that they exploit, and in the process suggests how to counter them. Richard used to blog as “lenin”, so we start by discussing his political perspective, then explore other topics from living with purpose to the limits of materialism. He’s the author of multiple books, and a co-founder of Salvage, “a bi-annual journal of revolutionary arts and letters”, which “recognises that the catastrophe is already upon us and that the decisive struggle is over what to do with the remains.” 🙏 To support Ancient Futures, please consider subscribing or buy me a coffee... All donations are greatly appreciated! 🧘‍♂️ N.B. the Truth of Yoga course starts this week and there's still time to join us.

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Timeless wisdom for modern dilemmas, combining yoga philosophy, practical insight and critical thinking. Hosted by Daniel Simpson. ancientfutures.substack.com

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    Daniel Simpson
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