Why Humour Includes All the Emotions | Abhinavagupta’s Rasa Theory | Dr. Sunthar Visuvalingam

Описание: #SabgamIKS

Dr. Sunthar Visuvalingam reveals Abhinavagupta's radical theory of humour (hāsya-rasa), why it defies every definition you have ever encountered. Discover how the concept of ‘semblance’ (ābhāsa) explains how all nine rasas are paradoxically contained within humour, and why the Vidūṣaka on the Sanskrit stage was far more complex, both aesthetically and ritually, than a simple clown. Dr. Sunthar Visuvalingam, whose 1984 PhD on Abhinavagupta's conception of humour remains a landmark in comparative aesthetics, exposes the core insight that Western thinkers from Plato to Freud failed to grasp: that laughter is not a unitary emotion but a binary cognitive structure triggered when the mind simultaneously says ‘yes’ and ‘no’ and falls into cognitive paralysis. Essential viewing for students of Indian philosophy, Sanskrit aesthetics, Nāṭya Śāstra, Kashmiri Shaivism, and anyone seeking to understand why the Indian intellectual tradition offers a theory of consciousness and art that still has no equal.

Key Points:
Decode Abhinavagupta's four paradoxical statements about hāsya (humour)
Rasa-Bhāva distinction: Lived emotion versus Aesthetic Experience
Ābhāsa (semblance) of any emotion becomes humour on stage
Sādhāraṇīkaraṇa makes Rasa a Universal Shared Experience

About the Speakers:

Sunthar Visuvalingam is an independent researcher on Indic traditions, born in Kuala Lumpur to Sri Lankan Tamil parents and based in Chicago since 2001. He earned his PhD from Banaras Hindu University in 1984 for his work on Abhinavagupta’s conception of humor, receiving special commendation for its scholarly excellence. Deeply engaged with Abhinavagupta’s thought, he has contributed to major conferences, edited volumes, and authored numerous interdisciplinary papers exploring aesthetics, philosophy, comparative religion, and acculturation across Hindu, Buddhist, and Islamic traditions. He has also contributed to the Oxford Handbook of Religion and the Arts.

Prachand Praveer has published fifteen books, with notable fiction such as Alpahari Grihtyagi (2010), the non-fiction prose on cinema Abhinav Cinema: Ras Siddhant Ke Alok Mein Vishva Cinema Ka Parichay (2016) and its English translation Cinema Through Rasa (2021), Hindi Novel 'Mitne ka Adhikar' (2024), and an introductory book on Indian Classical phonology 'Varnochchar Vidhan: Bharatiya Dhwani Tattva Shastra mein Varna Vilas' (2026).

Topics Covered:
00:00 Introduction: Hāsya Rasa of Abhinavagupta
01:10 Dr. Sunthar Visuvalingam’s foray into the Philosophy of Abhinavagupta
05:29 What Drew a Spiritual Seeker to Rasa Aesthetics and Abhinavagupta
12:46 Discovering Abhinavagupta Through the Mystical-Aesthetic Experience Link
15:54 Abhinavagupta's Four Paradoxical Statements About Hāsya Rasa
22:16 All Nine Rasas Contained Within Hāsya
31:37 Rasa versus Bhāva — Why Painful Emotions Become Enjoyable in Theatre
41:26 Heroism, Fear, Disgust —Examples of Semblance Unpacked
44:41 Humour Is a Binary Structure, Not a Single Unitary Emotion
50:02 Incongruity - When Mind Says ‘Yes’ and ‘No’ Simultaneously, Laughter Follows


#AbhinavaguptaRasa #HaasyaRasa #SanskritAesthetics #NatyaShastra #IndianPhilosophy #RasaTheory #KashmiriShaivism #SangamTalks

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