Theos Casimir Bernard

Theos Casimir Bernard

Bernard, practicing yoga
Born 1908
Died 1947
Nationality American
Known for explorer, author, expert on Tibetan Buddhism

Theos Casimir Bernard (1908–1947)[1] was an explorer, and author, known for his work on yoga and religious studies, particularly in Tibetan Buddhism.[2]

Career

Bernard first trained in law, obtaining a bachelor's degree in 1931 and embarking on an internship in 1932, but decided instead to pursue an advanced degree at Columbia University.[3] There, according to 2010's The Madman's Middle Way, Bernard, who described himself as "the first white lama", became the first American to write a dissertation on the subject of Tibetan Buddhism.[4]

In 1936, he toured India and Tibet with his wife, Viola, studying Tantric Yoga in an effort to master its fundamental principles.[5] On his return to the United States in 1937, his experiences were published across the country over several weeks by the North American Newspaper Alliance and Bell Syndicate.[6] This was followed by a series of lectures and radio appearances in 1939 and by the publication of the memoir Penthouse of the Gods.[7] Bernard was also featured in popular magazines, including a cover story in Family Circle in 1939, followed shortly by his second book, Heaven Lies Within Us, which explored Hatha Yoga under the guise of an auto-biography.[8] According to 2008's Barbarian Lands, many of the experiences Bernard describes in his books have recently been discovered to have been fabricated, based on the experiences of his father.[9] In 1939, Bernard opened the American Institute of Yoga and the Pierre Health Studios.[10][11]

Further reading

  • Hackett, Paul. Barbarian Lands: Theos Bernard, Tibet, and the American Religious Life. Ph.D. dissertation, 2008. Columbia University (forthcoming from Columbia University Press). 

References

  1. ↑ Hackett, Paul. Barbarian Lands: Theos Bernard, Tibet, and the American Religious Life. Ph.D. dissertation, Columbia University, 2008. 
  2. ↑ . 15 September 2003. http://c250.columbia.edu/c250_celebrates/remarkable_columbians/theos_casimir_bernard.html. 
  3. ↑ Hackett. pp. 196–197. 
  4. ↑ Donald S. Lopez (15 May 2007). The Madman's Middle Way: Reflections on Reality of the Tibetan Monk Gendun Chopel. University of Chicago Press. p. 31. ISBN 9780226493176. 
  5. ↑ Syman, Stefanie (22 June 2010). The Subtle Body: The Story of Yoga in America. Macmillan. pp. 119–120, 122.. ISBN 9780374236762. 
  6. ↑ Syman, 123.
  7. ↑ Hackett, 687-690.
  8. ↑ Hackett, 695-701.
  9. ↑ Hackett, 694-702.
  10. ↑ Hackett, 726-730.
  11. ↑ Syman, 132.
Raja Yoga
Yoga Sutras of Patanjali  · Eight Limbs: (1) Yama (2) Niyama (3) Āsana (4) Pranayama (5) Pratyahara (6) Dhāraṇā (7) Dhyāna (8) Samādhi
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