About

I have been studying Indian religions for over three decades and I feel I am only beginning to appreciate just how rich these traditions are. My main interest in this material is its living impact on the whole person.

Yet I feel that in approaching this material, and in according it proper respect, we should not judge its value primarily by its relevance to us individually. I firmly believe that before we can begin to understand the wealth of these traditions we must make every effort to understand them within their own terms—what they may have meant, above all, to those who created, re-created, and perpetuated them. Thus I believe, yoga, which plays a central role in all Indian religious traditions, is best understood by appreciating it within its larger cultural and religious contexts. This is the basis of the courses and lectures I offer on the history and philosophy of yoga. 

All lectures and courses are fully illustrated, mainly with works of Indian art (miniature paintings and sculpture). Time is provided within every session for questions and discussion.

Special thanks to my niece, Ariel Kiley, for encouraging me to create this web site and for helping me set it up. 

Timothy Gus Kiley received his master’s degree in religion from Harvard University and for several years taught Hinduism and Indian religions in the public program series of the C.G. Jung Institute in Boston and the C.G. Jung Foundation in New York. In 1987 he helped to start Zone Books, a publisher of academic books in the arts, philosophy, and humanities, and served as its publisher until his recent retirement. A former editor of Parabola: The Magazine of Myth and Tradition, he has served on the advisory panel for Mythosphere: A Journal of Image, Myth, and Symbol and on the board of directors of both The Society for the Study of Myth and Tradition and Urzone, Inc. He was also consulting editor and a contributor to The Book of Symbols: Reflections on Archetypal Images (Taschen, 2010). For the last several years he has been teaching the history and philosophy of yoga to yoga teachers in New York and Boston. He is currently at work on a concise history of Indian yoga for a general audience.

Image: Rsabha's Enlightenment (detail), Rajasthan, ca. 1680, San Diego Museum of Art