Welcome to the website of Bettina Sharada Bäumer!
Yasyāmantarviśvametadvibhāti bāhyābhāsaṁ bhāsamānaṁ viśṛṣṭau
Kṣobhe kṣīṇe'nuttarāyāṁ sthitau tāṁ vande devīṁ svātmasaṁvittimekām
I bow to that One Goddess in the form of Self-consciousness,
in whom this universe that appears as an external objective existence
in the state of manifestation, shines,
on the disappearance of agitation,
in the state of the Unsurpassable Reality.
(Abhinavagupta, maṅgalaśloka to Parātrīśikā Vivaraṇa)
Study of the texts, especially Abhinavagupta, since 1976, intensified and deepened since initiation into the tradition by Swami Lakshman Joo in 1987.
Since then translations and studies of texts into German and English, teaching of texts of the tradition along with spiritual practice for the last 20 years, in Europe and in India.
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- In collaboration with and succession of Alice Boner, work on Śilpaśāstras of Orissa and ca. 20 years field work in Orissa with study of the temples.
- In collaboration with Dr. Kapila Vatsyayan, from the initial phase of the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA).
Starting a branch office at Varanasi, from 1987 till 1995. Editing of Kalātattvakośa, A Lexicon of Fundamental Terms of the Indian Arts collaboration with a number of scholars, Pandits and art historians.
- in collaboration with Prof. Raimon Panikkar for ca. 25 years
- working for the spiritual and intellectual heritage of Swami Abhishiktananda
- President of the Abhishiktananda Society from 1988–2007, editing SETU, Bulletin of the Abhishiktananda Society
- organizing interreligious seminars, publications
- organized and conducted courses on Hindu-Christian dialogue in Austria (Salzburg) and Switzerland
- till date advisor to the Monastic Interreligious Dialogue (DIMMID).
Visiting professor at the Universities of Vienna, Berne and Salzburg.
Audio/Video Teachings
Video recordings of Bettina Sharada Bäumer’s teaching on Vijñāna Bhairava Tantra, Netra Tantra and other texts are now available on YouTube.
Audio/video recordings of her teachings on various texts of Kashmir Shaivism are also available from the following institutions:
Deer Park Institute, Bir, HP (www.deerpark.in)
Swami Rama Sadhaka Grama, Rishikesh (www.ahymsin.org)
Recent Publications
Paśyantī: Trika Śaivism of Kashmir. Themes and Practices, Bettina Sharada Bäumer, ed. by Sadananda Das, Aryan Books International, Delhi 2023
Science and Spirituality: Bridges of Understanding, ed. by Bettina Bäumer and Shivam Srivastava, IIAS Shimla and D.K. Printworld, New Delhi 2020