All Glories to the Assembled Devotees: Spiritual Names and Cultural Appropriation in Yoga and Devotional Culture in the West

Abstract: In the present-day discourses around cultural appropriation and decolonization in yoga, a Western person, using an Indian spiritual name that they were given as part of a spiritual initiation, is often framed as an example of appropriation or orientalism. However, within the value system of some of these spiritual lineages themselves, the process of initiation is seen as a second birth, which supersedes the devotee’s original national and cultural heritage. In this paper, I will examine traditional conceptions of initiation in Vaishnava and Shaiva lineages, and explore the extent to which Western participants can enter into these lineages, without glossing over or spiritually bypassing larger histories of colonization and exploitation.

Presenter bio: Patricia (Trish) Tillman holds a PhD in History from Catholic University in DC, and currently teaches at University of Maryland-Global Campus. Her research and teaching interests focus on religion and spirituality in the modern world, on the tension between established religions and emerging religions, and the tension between tradition and modernity. Trish also teaches yoga and mentors yoga teachers in the Washington, DC area.

Affiliation: University of Maryland Global Campus