The Collapse of Institutional Authority
Introducing Embodied Philosophy's New Newsletter: The Scaffolding
In Hindu cosmology, we learn about the four yugas – four periods of time, or ages, that repeat cyclically. It is often said by spiritual teachers that we are currently living in the kali yuga, which is characterized by a loss of wisdom and the collapse of traditional authorities, virtue, and clarity. The kali yuga is a time of ignorance, when the knowledge about who we are has been obscured by ethical decline and disorder.
Among the various challenges associated with the kali yuga, one that stands out to me is this idea of authority.
The recent decline of faith in institutions, governments, ideologies, and cultural narratives that during a previous time may have felt natural and normal begs the question of how this has happened, and of course why. Answering these questions seems to first require grappling with how authority is generated and sustained – not from the outside, but from within.
What makes a tradition of thinking, a culture, a mindset, a system of knowledge, or a theoretical disposition authoritative for us? What imbues it with a sense of meaningfulness – not as something heirarchically ‘handed down’ from some patriarchal or paternalistic position, but something that emerges from an inner alignment?
In whatever direction we look, it seems evident that a once-prevailing worldview and scaffolding of knowledge is in decline. To this, we pose a question: what scaffolding of knowledge will take its place? Will the old normality reassert itself, or will a ‘new normal’ continue to be forged out of the rubble of what once was? And who stands to benefit? As a new normal becomes increasingly ‘authorized’ by the naturalizing effects of cultural habit, who will be served?
And perhaps most importantly for contemplatives, what is our role in this process? How do we speak authentically for truth, value, and principle when no one seems to agree on the source from which they derive? What does it mean to know something at a deeper level than what is trafficked in the modern social media economy of ideas and opinions? To put it in an Indian philosophical framing, what is a valid source of knowledge?
For the Pratyabhijñā philosophical tradition of medieval Kashmir, the most important means of knowledge (pramāṇa) is referred to as āgama. Often translated as “scripture,” āgama has a more expansive meaning as that which is “always arriving.” It is the governing intelligence of reality, the primordial Self at the heart of everything that arises spontaneously by means of its own intrinsic dynamism. As such, it is the only authority that never declines – because it is the ground upon which all relative authorities gain traction.
Grappling with how we think about knowledge today – and how we resolve the crisis of authority by anchoring it within ourselves – is to pursue a subtler kind of epistemic ground. If we pursue that ground through ideology or through an imagined consensus imposed by a powerfully vocal few, we risk enabling authority’s externalist shadow – authoritarianism.
While these considerations are philosophical ones, their implications extend beyond a merely intellectual digression. As a student of these tradtions, it might be my own biased view, but engaging with the Pratyabhijñā (and contemplative philosophies more generally) are rich resources for understanding what is happening to our world right now. They bear insights into what personal and collective strategies might be sufficient to the task of responding to current events with wisdom rather than reactivity.
At the end of the day, the subtlest authority is a matter of the heart. As the Tantrik philosopher, Maheśvarānanda says in his jaw-droppingly beautiful text, the Mahārthamañjarī:
“Our only scripture is the vibration of our own heart, in which all modes of awareness collide and gather — a pulsation, a reflexive awareness, a profound wonder (camatkāra).”
Maheśvarānanda · Mahārthamañjarī
This reflection initiates a new Embodied Philosophy “thought experiment” – The Scaffolding. Partly a weekly newsletter to inform our international community of what’s new and what’s coming up at Embodied Philosophy, it’s also intended to introduce a regular cadence of philosophical exploration to the heart of EP’s outreach.
Since we first opened our digital doors in 2015, EP has been deeply committed to exploring how yoga traditions, contemplative practice, and cross-cultural philosophy can help us navigate the challenges of modern life. These traditions still have much to teach us.
Ancient wisdom is not a dead relic or an archaeological artifact. As with any tradition from another culture and time, there are inevitably ideas, perspectives, and practices that won’t fit our contemporary cultural context. However, amidst what appears to be out of alignment with our current needs and commitments, there shines forth an altogether timely and necessary reminder.
In many contemplative traditions, there is a perennial message: connect with that which is most meaningful. While the form that carries this meaningfulness may shift depending on tradition, the essential content of insight remains continous. There is something deeply profound about this life – something magnificently meaningful and infinitely accessible. It whispers to us in every moment, encouraging us toward the blissful repose of its nurturing beatitude.
As external systems of authority rise and fall, the paradoxical persistence of life unfolds anew – offering its nectarean delights to be tasted, relished, imbibed, and embodied. Resting in the authority of this Tantrik truth – that life, at its deepest level, is a kind of rapturous relishing – is not an invitation to escape the problems we encounter in our communities or in the worlds we inhabit. It is an invitation toward a source of knowledge that has always provided answers to the burning questions that drive and animate us.
Toward what authority do we – consciously or unconsciously – direct the questions that strike us as most timely and meaningful? If we direct them toward the “scriptures” of an externalized institution or discourse, the answers we receive may prove to be as unstable as the ground on which such authorities are built.
In a world that demonstrates only one permanence – the permanence of impermanence –, the non-dual Tantrik traditions suggest that we redirect the most important of life’s questions to the scripture of our own hearts. Not to the ego or to the limited personality with its variable likes and dislikes, but rather to the limitless creativity that vibrates within each of us.
I look forward to exploring more questions with you in this first volume of The Scaffolding.
In wonder and curiosity,
Jacob Kyle
Director of Embodied Philosophy
Contemplative Prompt:
“If we consider recognition as the ground of authority rather than a goal of practice, what changes about how you are practicing right now?”
Thank you for reading.
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