Gerhard Oberhammer’s Works on Sāṃkhya and Yoga in Light of Recent Research

Gerhard Oberhammer is a prominent Austrian scholar of Indian philosophy and religions. This paper presents an analysis Oberhammer’s works on spiritual practices sāṃkhya yoga. Based the that belong to traditions sāṃkhya, Patañjali’s yoga Pāśupata’s śaivism, reconstructed phenomenology each path developed general typology yogic practices. Particularly, in Yoga-sūtras, he identified four distinct different origin, which implies initially this work was compilation. revealed affinity between one these later teaching theistic Mṛgendratantra. material Yuktidīpikā described tradition often believed be purely theoretical character. attracted interest scholars However, with course time they were almost forgotten, not least because positivist bias modern indology. It seems promising compare practices, as well his philosophical transcendental hermeneutics, by Mircea Eliade Evgeniy Torchinov, provide broad descriptions religious focus experience.