CHAPTER 4. Perception in Chaplaincy Ethnography and Oscillation of Consciousness

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​In this capstone, I ground into forest chaplaincy as an activism with a theoretical lens in sociology of religion. The aim of this project is to hold space for a forest chapel, with a consideration of ritual studies. Ethnography of forest chaplaincy is meant to hold space for anthropology and social change. I aspired to demonstrate the potential contribution of Śākta theology, which is a major branch of Hindu theology, to the discourse on death and dying in interreligious chaplaincy. I am not writing this confessionally; I am not a Śakta Hindu in terms of initiation or ordination; I am using this theological lens as a methodological approach to a deeper understanding of the ontology of death and dying, and deontology within the Veda. 

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The ontology of death and dying is the field in which this capstone is located, with aspects of cosmology and musicology. By locating the virtue of this field, deontology is realized. In further words, by having a value system the realization of sacred law occurs, particularly in terms of death and dying. The values and wisdom that present within the Veda may be readily available upon the quest. More foci within chaplaincy includes facing internal battles such as moral injury, so one is brought to their very own unique approach for choice-making, which I suggest can be more readily understood through the study and ritual of the Veda.

 

With “Veda” as a sound, wisdom or knowledge, the “Vedas” refer to a set of sacred scriptures. The Vedas are considered “śruti,” meaning “what is heard,” and are regarded as the oldest scriptures of Hinduism, being preserved through oral tradition and central to Hindu philosophy and practice. Exploring discourse on death and dying with and through cosmology and musicology is a major part of this capstone, while aiming to hear the Veda is the primary. Forest chaplaincy and interfaith yoga as the involution of this capstone, encapsulates the dialogue in which this research is meant to take part in as well as amplify within the academy and humanity.​

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Perception in Chaplaincy

Through the process of learning more about soulcare, I have greater clarity about will and more awareness of gradual change that relates with spiritual care. My approach to spiritual care is to move like a sloth, while to consider the possibility of accompanying people in moments of disorientation. In other words, my aim is to move slowly with patience, listening to the environment and listening for ways of meeting spiritual needs. The interrelated groups that culminate Hinduism, as well as the interwoven connections between Dharma traditions bring a sense of communion and reason to find ways to have interfaith dialogue. Soulcare has allowed me to pay attention to the speed, acceleration, and motion in the direction of many aims during the process of professional chaplaincy and vocational practice. 

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At this time, I sense situations related to the reason for my early resonance with chaplaincy may be where I may be least effective. These specific situations are related to my mother battling cancer for a large portion of my childhood, as well as my own personal experience in a psychiatric hospital. I originally felt that chaplaincy is necessary in all hospitals, since there can be a sense of feeling out of touch. However, I do not think I will be effective in psychiatric care at this time, as I know it requires more competence and personal growth. Furthermore, I do wish to prioritize the pathway of motherhood, even over a vocational practice for the community. Lastly, because I am prone to live in rural areas, I suspect this will impede my ability to reach a wider network, as well as not feeling as relating with others to offer care in urban areas. Yet, living in the forest seems to offer more connection and relationality with those in the forest, so I suspect I can assist people here in small ways and gradually build self-efficacy.

In “Creating New Rituals,” Herbert Anderson, Edward Foley, and Kathleen A. Cahalan (2019) acknowledges that transitions require addressing ways to facilitate change and transformation, which may unfold through creating new rituals. Anderson et al. (2019) aim to dismantle one common presumption about rituals, which is “that tradition and repetition are essential for any authentic definition of ritual” (2019, 129). This assumption asserts that a true ritual requires a long history with a periodic reiteration, though there are many anthropologists and pastors who have come to define ritual in such a way. Anderson et al. acknowledge a more lucid ritual theorist, Ronald Grimes, who addresses the “inventability of a ritual.” With this at hand, Anderson et al. offer a few ironclad rules for the creation of new rituals, which may allow ministers and chaplains to feel comfortable and competent in creating new rituals.

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While residing in the rainforest, there have already been moments where I was unsure of how to respond to death and dying, so I relied entirely on those around me to declare the next step. However, I am finding these rules offered by Anderson et al. (2019) to be inspiring and empowering, while now re-imagining that there is more I could have done in past instances and now I have a bit more confidence in offering my knowledge and insight to the moment. Anderson et al. list the rules, respect the chronological priority of the human story in the shaping of the ritual, allow a significant role for nonverbal symbols in this ritualizing, resist the compulsion to explain such action, attend to the particularity of the moment, and beware of overcomplicating the ritual (2019, 130). While at the same time, considering these rules as affirmed to me that there were certain times in my life where I did appropriately enact ritual.

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In terms of the personal gifts that I bring to the work of spiritual care, I bring an extraverted intuition and am keen to feminine theology. I sense that this extraverted intuition brings an openness to multiple spiritual and wisdom traditions, while having a sense of oneness. C. Mackenzie Brown (1998) examines the message of universal energy (Śākti), as the Great Goddess (Maha Devī). The “relationship of the Devī’s aspect as the supreme feminine principle of the universe to the fundamental masculine principle, a relation usually expressed in terms of the interaction between Śakta and Śiva” (Brown 1998, 22). The two-fold dynamic relationship is viewed here to draw attention to both creation and liberation.

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“The relationship may be one of dependency or codependency (in the strict meaning of the term), or it may be one of radical independence, or something in between. Tantra in general presupposes a bipolar view of ultimate reality, of the One unfolding into Two as the God and Goddess, associated with various other complementary opposites such as spirit and matter, consciousness and energy, passivity and activity. Both creation and liberation are seen as the result of the union or reunion of the two co-ultimate principles/deities” (1998, 22).
 

Whereby, Brown highlights the purification and transformation of the body are very important as a means for the old body to dissolve and for the body to become infused with divine breath. I have come to find deep reverence and resonance with this practice and connection, which allows for sacrality of daily life and deeper awareness within embodiment through ritual activities.

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My personal vulnerabilities are womanhood and being a woman, as well as residing in the forest and really only holding the capacity to live in rural areas. The function of wilderness contact is acknowledged in Rita Sherma’s (2026) “On Ecopsychology and Biophilia.” “The mountains and forests were also claimed by the hermit’s abode, the guru’s ashram, and the many wandering ascetics who hoped to find realization in a darkened cave, or under a green canopy. Hindu sages (ṛṣis) left towns and villages and sought realization and wisdom in nature propelled by the intuition that the natural world provided the most suitable environment for communion with the Divine” (2026, 15). On behalf of ontology and lending to theology, the field of cosmology holds space for the cosmic vision and heavenly body that is prayed for in Earth frequency, particularly found in the Upanishads for forest living and deepening of perception. All of my vulnerabilities tend to be met well in the Tantric worldview, with deep purpose and an offering of contemplative practices, while I am not entirely sure where my life will lead.

Social Location (Ethnic/Religious/Cultural/Gender/Class Identity) 

In “Why Chaplaincy at Asylum Centers is a Good Idea: A Care Ethics Perspective on Spiritual Care for Refugees,” Pieter Dronkers, Joanna Wojtkowiak, and Geert Smid (2023) focus on how chaplains can contribute to a climate of inclusion and respect.“ The professional identity of chaplains has “gradually shifted from a religiosity-based profession to a broader profession providing caring for all existential needs, away from institutional care provision to more individual spiritual support”” (2023, 4019). Dronkers et al. address that recent goals of chaplaincy have been identified, which is promoting worldview of promoting vitality and well-being, exercising freedom of religion, deepening spirituality, processing life events, and relational affirmation. “Chaplains, thus, accompany people in moments of disorientation, such as (forced) migration; they guide their search for the good in a world that is at times unfair and hurtful” (ibid.). Since chaplains can offer a conversation about the meaning of life, as well as moral dilemmas, hopes and fears, guilt and loss, Dronkers et al. suggest they can assist refugees.

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Dronkers et al. (2023) explore how for refugees, religiosity can be a source of meaning and disorientation. “Spiritual and religious beliefs and practices have been found to be positively related to the well-being of refugees and a strategy to deal with the challenges and for instance, discrimination experienced in host countries” (2023, 4019). There are ways to contribute to an inclusive society in which both newcomers as well as other citizens feel at home and can find community. “Providing chaplaincy care is one way to acknowledge some of the specific needs that asylum seekers have, thus making them more fully part of “the circle of care” of host societies” (2023, 4027). These insights are important building blocks for a joint societal effort to build new connections and develop a healthier social body. Overall, the climate of inclusion and respect is often a part of the intention of many places of communion, while people have more of an opportunity to find out how their values and aims may be earnestly and genuinely shared.

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In Vedic tradition, with the Vedas offering the four aims of human life, the most important and ultimate focus is liberation, while some may consider it as the path of salvation in Abrahamic traditions. The path of liberation with the Great Goddess as in the Song of the Goddess is truly “the realization of the identity of the self (or Self) and the Goddess” (Brown 1998, 47). By devoting to the Goddess, there is a generation or production of divine power to stimulate the creative and nurturing process of the cosmos. “Both ontologically and cosmologically, then, the Great Goddess fully implements her “Brahman nature,” Yet, unlike the more classical Advaita of Samkara, she, as the ultimate reality, not only somehow manifests or wields Māyā, she also is Māyā. Thus Māyā, along with all its productions—the world with all its embodied beings” (Brown 1998, 17). Thus, in a Śākta perspective, the physical body is not seen as something disgusting, but rather as a powerful vehicle of transformation.  

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In Bereavement and Final Saṃskāra (Antyeṣṭi) in Hindu Tradition, Sri Dhira Chaitanya (2005) states, “A human is also endowed with a basis, upon which he can make his choices. For instance, he may make them based on his desires. However, since he is not alone in the world and there are others too endowed with the same capacity, if his choices are based purely on desires they may very well conflict with desires of others, thereby disturbing the harmony between them” (2005, 76). The very notion of preserving universal harmony is known as Dharma, in which resonance amplifies connection with harmony. By accepting a branch and traditional framework, within the scope of a family of faiths of Hinduism and of Dharma traditions, I am committed to studies and practices that cross traditional disciplinary boundaries for the care that is necessary for a climate of inclusion and respect.

 

Faith and Spiritual Tradition(s)

In “Negotiating Religious Difference: The Strategies of Interfaith Chaplains in Healthcare,” Wendy Cadge and Emily Sigalow (2013) aim for the consideration of how religion intersects with other aspects of social life.  “Chaplains in healthcare increasingly work in interfaith roles with patients and families from a range of religious and spiritual backgrounds. Some move with ease between their own religious backgrounds and those of the individuals with whom they work. Others encounter tensions as their status as a person of faith comes into conflict with their status as an interfaith chaplain” (2013, 146). Cadge and Sigalow focus on how secular organizations negotiate religious diversity, while bringing information from the case of one secular academic medical center. “While much has been written about religion, health, and healthcare, little focuses on how healthcare organizations themselves manage religious diversity” (ibid., 147). They explore two main strategies-–neutralizing and code-switching—when working with individuals whose backgrounds are different from one’s own background.

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Cadge and Sigalow (2013) describe these strategies: “to neutralize (use a broad language of spirituality that emphasizes commonalities rather than differences) and to code-switch (use the languages, rituals, and practices of the people with whom they work)” (2013, 146). I sense that I have more of a tendency to neutralize, in general, with aims toward universality and unification, so I sense this character trait may be found valuable in vocational practice. “Interactions between chaplains in training and patients that were celebrated at the ceremony were impromptu, improvised, and centered on shared humanity, neutralizing religious differences, and helping patients tell their own stories” (2013, 152). Getting to help people tell their stories is truly what I am aiming for in media production within the activism of forest chaplaincy. When it comes to code-switching, I think this is where I have yielded and am slow to find resolution for all the different variables and preferences; notably, code-switching is where I could use more practice.

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The Tantras are concerned with the practitioner’s spiritual journey, which is experienced and conceptualized as a journey of the Kuṇḍalinī, moving through the body. Among Śaiva traditions, common features include the concern with practice or sādhana, involving initiation (dīksā), ritual and yoga. “The soul is eventually liberated from this entanglement by ritual action and by Śiva’s grace” (Flood 1996, 163). Although I sense that I align more with Śakta tradition, studying Śaiva traditions assists me in understanding relational dynamics between groups as well as recognizing sociality that may affect communion because of social location. Developing my own approach to spirituality is based on the premise of Kashmir Shavism, in relation to Shiva Siddanta, in which there is an interrelationship to realize between rural and urban ways of living.

Tantrikas are followers of the Tantras, and it is theorized that they originated among ascetic groups in cremation grounds and not of brahmanical origin, but these ideologies of these groups influenced popular religion and brahmanical circles. The common ritual structure varies depending on deities and mantras, but the structure is based on “the purification of the body through its symbolic destruction; the creation of a divine body/self through mantra; internal worship or visualization; followed by external worship or pūjā” (ibid., 160). Within the Hindu religious life that is often connected with all Dharma traditions, there is an open space for worship that is encouraged for practitioners, while the network is expanding internationally. The primary consideration is finding means to connect with the lineages that have rooted and developed these studies and practices, and getting to meet in places of communion that inspire dialogue and transcendence with nature. 

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By resonating with Śākta theology, I have allowed myself to embody the value system that is intrinsic to my own nature, while feeling an openness to multiple spiritual and wisdom traditions. In the Mother of My Heart, Daughter of My Dreams, Rachel Fell McDermott (2001) explores “three kinds of bhakti: Vaisnava bhakti, a dualistic devotion based on external image worship; nirguna bhakti, focused on a formless conception of the divine; and Tantric or Śākta bhakti, where the Goddess is not understood as a real presence ‘out there’ but as a symbol of the world or of the self, introjected into the spiritual physiognomy of the body through kundalinī yoga” (2001, 71). McDermott reveals the devotees as Tantrikas, who realize the union of Śiva and Śakti in the sahasrāra or crown chakra, as aligned at the top of the chakra system. Developing my own approach to spiritual care will be an ongoing practice and means of finding alignment, which I realize requires jnana (knowledge), bhakti (devotion), and karma yoga. 

 

Place of Hope

In “The Spiritual Assessment,” Aaron Saguil and Karen Phelps (2012) offer a clear way to determine spiritual needs and ways to cultivate dialogue. The purpose of this article is to emphasize the value oddfiuf a spiritual assessment, which can “allow physicians to support patients by stressing empathetic listening, documenting spiritual preferences for future visits, incorporating the precepts of patients’ faith traditions into treatment plans, and encouraging patients to use the resources of their spiritual traditions and communities for overall wellness” (2012, 546). Saguil and Phelps introduce three different ways of considering and structuring questions in relation to specific goals. The FICA Spiritual History Tool focuses on faith and belief, importance, community, and address in care. The HOPE Questions for Spiritual Assessment focuses on sources of hope, organized religion, personal spirituality and practices, and effects on medical care and end-of-life issues. The Open Invite Mnemonic focuses on intentionally opening the door to conversation and inviting the patient to discuss spiritual needs.

Saguil and Phelps (2012) state that this documentation helps meet hospital regulatory requirements as well as assisting physicians in connection with patients. I find that a chaplain could most value from The Open Invite Mnemonic assessment since this rightfully initiates with faith when aiming to open the door to conversation. Although the HOPE Questions for Spiritual Assessment intends to focus on hope, which could prove beneficial to both chaplains and physicians, I find that the Open Invite Mnemonic assessment brings me hope. I find that this assessment not only directly and intentionally holds space for faith, but it also gears toward more action by aiming to discuss spiritual needs. To be honest, the focus on faith and direction toward spiritual needs is what is most essential for chaplaincy, though we could otherwise get easily overshadowed or undermined in secular environments, such as hospitals. I am grateful to consider the open-invite approach as a means to get to necessity as well as cultivate dialogue.   

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The place of hope in my approach to spiritual care relates to dialogue and the process of dialogue, and a capacity to be in tune with dialogue as well as gauge the course of dialogue. In “Methodological Considerations for Interreligious Theological Engagement: New Directions in Comparative-Dialogical Theology,” Rita Sherma (2022) engages with theological epistemologies at a deeper dimension of experience. In this case, she pursues “comparative studies that are not merely multireligious, or even just dialogical, but critical, creative-constructive, immersive and intersubjective” (2022, 20). Sherma developed the term “Hermeneutics of Intersubjectivity” to describe an approach, which aims to assume the “Other” as not merely an object of study, but rather as a subject from which we can learn. The approach “starts with the assumption that understanding and the bestowal of human dignity are both aided by, and dependent on, the perception of the Other” (2022, 21). Therefore, the goal is to not view another as an object of investigation, but instead a subject to be in conversation with that is immersed in a dialogue.

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Sherma (2022) suggests that an approach that embodies intersubjective construction consists of two factors, to reflect on an encounter in a way that seeks comprehensive understanding of their lexical context and strives to articulate how the encounter may inform or transform one’s own constructive thought. This is aimed to broaden our vision to reconsider present perspectives, opening more to the possibility of mutual transformation or a “fusion of horizons.” “The hermeneutics of intersubjectivity does not imply uncritical acceptance of the Other or his/her/their lifeworld. It does, however, give primacy to integrating our deepest understanding of the self-perception of the Other into our conceptual portrait of the Other” (2022, 21). While there is both critical and constructive engagement, there is an overall premise of recognizing that one cannot change what one does not fully understand, holding space for gradual change that can occur when we listen for faith and glisten to spiritual needs.

 

Pain and Struggle
In “Does God Really Care? A Hindu Response to the Problem of Suffering,” Gopal K. Gupta (2009) delivers a message as to how the Bhagavata Purana’s narrative deals extensively with the problem of suffering. “Permeated as it is with key Vedantic terms and concepts, the Bhagavata is largely grounded in Vedanta discourse and is considered by certain North Indian Bhakti traditions to be a commentary on the Vedanta-sūtra” (2009, 106). Gupta suggests that the Vedanta-sūtra resolves the problem of evil in three sutras, determining that the world is the result of Brahman (God). “In their commentaries on this sūtra, Śaṇkara, Ramanuja, and Baladeva posit that although ultimately Brahman is the operative cause of the suffering and enjoyment of living beings, God always takes into account the karma of the soul (jīva)” (2009, 107). Gupta states that the explorations in his essay offer a Hindu response to the problem of suffering, thereby providing unique insights that a chaplain may find useful. 

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The karma theory is often put to question, for which commentators of the Vedanta-sūtra respond. “Commentators on this sūtra justify the beginninglessness of creation and action by employing the seed-sprout paradox. They argue that action and creation have the relationship of a seed and a tree: a seed produces a tree and the tree produces another seed, and so on. In his commentary, Baladeva posits four categories that eternally coexist with Brahman: the jīvas (individual souls), prakṛti (substance), kāla (time), and karma (action)” (Gupta 2009, 107). The Vedanta-sūtra is known to posit karma as the solution to the problem of suffering, as living beings suffer and enjoy as the result of their free actions. “Baladeva argues that free action must exist. Freedom is necessary not just for love, but for life, for something that does not have freedom is not a person, but a mere puppet. The theory of karma allows for this freedom because it is based on the assumption that every person has a moral responsibility for his or her actions, and hence the freedom of moral choice” (2009, 108), which is all a part of Brahman’s perfection.

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Brahman is often described as the ultimate truth that underlies all existence, connecting all forms of life and consciousness. “The Devī Gītā, in accord with the Advaitic theism just discussed, sees the Goddess as the embodiment of Brahman, “one alone, without a second,” and associates her creative power of projecting the universe with Māyā” (Brown 1998, 17). Actualizing the whole of the self occurs upon realizing the never-ending divinity, in which one could say the soul is always transforming. “The more mystical religious concern of liberation is seen in another medieval definition of utsava as “that which takes away samsara.” In the case of the Goddess, this latter goal may be [a]mended to “that which takes away the pain and suffering of samsara (but necessarily samsara itself),” for liberation is not something wholly apart from this world” (1998, 258). The sense of longing may eventually be met with the sense of belonging; thus, the yearn for the divine is not to be bypassed as it may be part of the journey to realization, while joy and pleasure are a foretaste or participation in divine bliss.

Compassion

Compassion is necessary because empathy does not have a direction. Compassion stems from the creation and cultivation of one’s own practice. The concept of compassion can be understood as Mother, and the unconditional love found in motherhood, which the Great Goddess is. The Devī Gītā states, “1.17. As a mother feels no lack of compassion whether indulging or chastening her child, just so the World-Mother feels when overseeing our virtues and vices. 1.18. A son transgresses the limits of proper conduct at every step: who in the world forgives him except his mother? 1.19. Therefore go for refuge to the supreme Mother without delay, with sincere hearts. She will accomplish what you want” (Brown 1998, 52-53). The Devī Gītā is my go to in terms of Śākta tradition, which has allowed me to ground my ontology. Furthermore, other Sanskrit sacred texts have been helpful offering clarity to Yoga philosophy (in terms of the Sharīra Traya) such as the Yoga Sutras of Patañjali, and further connection has been made with the Veda while connecting with the Upanishads. 

Another way to remember is to hold awareness of another and their own right to choose actions. “A person can, by his choice, live in a manner that goes against the principles of Dharma. When this happens, the unseen results of his actions accrue to him in the form of pāpa that are unfavorable consequences to be experienced in his current life or later. Thus, we see how Dharma is applicable to a human being, since he is endowed with free will and the capacity to choose the course of his actions” (Chaitanya 2005, 77). From the fructification of karma, there will be consequences to actions that include experiences of both joy and sorrow, while to know that as a truth of life will alleviate suffering. To be able to stand in the knowing of impermanence brings freedom, and this seems to allow one to not get lost in empathy and thus find compassion. Lastly, to remember that faith is intrinsic, so each has their own force of nature moving through them to hold and adhere.

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Compassion is never a cause of fatigue. Compassion is the ultimate reality, and the process of compassion is the ultimate recharge. When one is requiring rest and relaxation, compassion is the only way. Compassion does require patience, so alleviating fatigue in relation to the soul requires this virtue. The aims and values for compassion reveal a natural synchronization, upon the ongoing relationship between value, aim, and virtue. Soulcare has allowed me to pay attention to my capacity, whereby to take note in the field, of velocity, when in the vocational practice of accompanying people in moments of disorientation. There is a gradual process to unfold, to sense speed, acceleration, and motion. Somewhere within the rippling out of consciousness, one finds direct perception, and may hold the social awareness, in which one experiences resilience, and can remember how to hold space for recovering wellness, by learning and ritualizing. Spiritual practitioners are aware that the social body is what allows for this process of compassion through patience and compassionate interaction consisting of surrendering.

 

The arch of an ethnography of forest chaplaincy is to consider the inclusion in the circle of care, while accounting for velocity. In the foreground of forest chaplaincy is personal spirituality; together they are meant to hold space for the subtle body and ritual studies. The epiphany discovered after completing chaplaincy coursework has revealed to me the possibility of space holding within the network of chaplaincy. The activism of forest chaplaincy has been anchored in the notion that women have been restricted from forestry, and that I currently do not sense that I am capable of working in psychiatric work at this time. I imagine the possibility of focusing on the ethnography of forest chaplaincy, and while being in a network that is devoted to health and connection, I will grow through the years to be a chaplain that can contribute to provide spiritual guidance in psychiatric care practice.

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Contemplative Fieldwork​

The foundational premise of this research is to consider the social body, upon the process of subtilization and the cognitive world. From Nancy Scheper-Hughes and Margaret M. Lock’s (1987) “The Mindful Body: A Prolegomenon to Future Work in Medical Anthropology,” the conception of the “three bodies” (body politic, social body, and the individual body-self) has allowed me to consider the process of socialization and ritualization that is within the theoretical lens brought by Peter L. Berger (1967) and Catherine Bell (1992). Berger illuminates the process of socialization, which lends Bell's illumination into the process of ritualization. In The Sacred Canopy, Peter L. Berger (1967) offers an argument that is meant to have a modest aim, as an exercise in sociological theorizing of religion. In Ritual Theory, Ritual Practice, Catherine Bell (1992) offers a framework that reveals the production of a ritualized social agent.

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Scheper-Hughes and Lock (1987) describe the social body as a natural symbol for thinking about relationships among nature, society, and culture. “Symbolic and structuralist anthropologists have demonstrated the extent to which humans find the body ‘good to think with.’ The human organism and the natural products of blood, milk, tears, semen, and excreta may be used as a cognitive map” (1987, 19). Scheper-Hughes and Lock offer a prolegomenon for anthropology that toggles well with a sociological lens of religion and ritual studies. This prolegomenon also offers an ethno-epistemology “to court a Cartesian anxiety—the fear that in the absence of a sure, objective foundation for knowledge we would fall into the void, into the chaos of absolute relativism and subjectivity” (1987, 30). The significance of acknowledging the objective world, the cognitive world, and the subjective world, allocates space for enlightenment.

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Berger (1967) explores how the sociality of the human is necessary, though the social world forms a duplication of consciousness, in terms of its socialized and non-socialized components. Berger does not propose a sociological definition of religion, while instead he “operates with what he considers the conventional conception of the phenomenon common to the history of religion” (1967, vi). Illumination brought by Berger is that consciousness proceeds socialization and that socialization is always partial. When consciousness internalizes the social world, it produces “dialectical tensions between identity as socially assigned and identity as subjectively appropriated. The consequence is a setting aside, congealing or estranging, one part of consciousness as against the rest. Put differently, internalization entails self-objectivation” (1967, 83). The experience of socialization is gradually sorted out upon a dialectical character, with two elements producing each other.

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Society is seen as a dialectic phenomenon, in which society is a human product yet continuously acts back upon its producer. “That is, a part of the self becomes objectivated, not just to others but to itself, as a set of representations of the social world-a "social self," which is and remains in a state of uneasy accommodation with the non-social self-consciousness upon which it has been imposed” (1967, 83-4). Dharma traditions can appreciate sociology for drawing attention to feedback loops enforced upon sociality, to realize more about saṃsāra in relation to process of subtilization through the social body. “It is important to emphasize that this estrangement is given in the sociality of man, in other words, that it is anthropologically necessary” (1967, 84). To have more awareness about embodiment does seem to alleviate the suffering of the never-ending and ongoing turmoil of the human condition.

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Bell (1992) does seem to illuminate where Berger may have obscured our connection to the social body, appealing to this basic feature of ritual in describing its role in socialization. “Socialization cannot be anything less than the acquisition of schemes that can potentially restructure and renounce both self and society” (Bell 1992, 216). The domains of ritual not only provide a fuller theoretical basis for comprehending complex social transactions in ritualized activities as well as providing clarity into transformation of the self and society.

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Ritual is represented as a means to understand the natural process of transformation, and potentially the means to face the human condition, not necessarily as a means in socialization. “As a "discursive practice," ritual activity concerns knowledge (ritual mastery) that is "reproduced through practices made possible by the framing assumptions of that knowledge"” (Bell 1992, 216). The intention is to consider the effect of the ritual on the social body, as well as to consider how spiritual masters are influenced in ritualization and by their accomplishments, rather than to suggest that a ritual is a part of society or that ritual activity resolves socialization. “The practical knowledge that emerges by and through ritualization, what I have referred to as ritual mastery or the sense of ritual, which structures and fixes meanings in historical forms, is an "accomplishment of power"'” (ibid.). The private contemplative domain of ritual may be somewhat obscured by ritual studies, unless there is deeper self-reflexivity and potential auto-ethnography in the study, while also reflecting on ritual and power.

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A ritual studies lens brought by Bell (1992) is being applied within how modern science is learning how to study and integrate Dharma traditions, which proves to be illuminating. In “Introduction to “Cognitive Science and the Study of Yoga and Tantra”,” Glen Alexander Hayes and Sthaneshwar Timalsina (2017) explore essays about Tantric language, as a means to lay a found for the need of a disciplinary dialogue between cognitive science and contemplative practices. “There are fundamental philosophical differences between Mahayana Buddhist and Saiva Sakta Tantric practices. Nevertheless, numerous deities, mandalas, mantras, and rituals that are commonly shared demonstrate a cultural fluidity in which Tantric Saivism and Vajrayana Buddhism evolved” (Hayes and Timalsina 2017, 6). With this in mind, Hayes and Timalsina focus on an essay by Richard K. Payne, in which Payne engages Buddhist Tantric ritual for an understanding of “ritual syntax.” 

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With their history in pan-Indian culture, rituals are central to temple religion, and can be publicly performed. “Payne makes a distinction between the ritual domain and syntax by observing that rituals are often modeled on ordinary activities, producing some form of motivation” (Hayes and Timalsina 2017, 6). In this analysis, one may attune to cognition as operating at the intersection of body, mind, and the environment, rather than as exclusively to the objective world, mental objects and operations. “By borrowing Catherine Bell’s conception of ritualization, Payne concludes in his paper that the dichotomy between the mind and the body can be avoided, and he uses ritual homa as an example of the intersection between the mental and physical” (ibid). Ritual studies thus have been enlightening on how one could view the world other than through a Cartesian dualism, further pointing to the social body, or the subtle body.

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Scheper-Hughes and Lock suggest that we are “[t]o do otherwise, using a radically different metaphysics, would imply the "unmaking"of our own assumptive world and its culture-bound definitions of reality” (1987, 30). I have come to find deep reverence and resonance with this practice and connection, which allows for sacrality of daily life and deeper awareness of transformation within embodiment. All of my vulnerabilities tend to be met well in the Tantric worldview, with deep purpose and an offering of contemplative practices, where I am an activist for forest chaplaincy. To lean in with an ethnography of forest chaplaincy implies a radical act for social change, while to establish and cultivate an open space for a forest chapel feels to be up to the local environment and potential of the social body. 

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In terms of the gifts and beliefs that I bring to the work of spiritual care and network of chaplaincy, I bring an extraverted intuition and am keen to feminine theology. I sense that this extraverted intuition brings an openness to multiple spiritual and wisdom traditions, while having a sense of oneness. With the Devī Gītā, C. Mackenzie Brown (1998) examines the message of universal energy (Śākti), as the Great Goddess (Maha Devī). The “relationship of the Devī’s aspect as the supreme feminine principle of the universe to the fundamental masculine principle, a relation usually expressed in terms of the interaction between Śakta and Śiva” (1998, 22). The two-fold dynamic relationship is viewed here to draw attention to both creation and liberation.

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“The relationship may be one of dependency or codependency (in the strict meaning of the term), or it may be one of radical independence, or something in between. Tantra in general presupposes a bipolar view of ultimate reality, of the One unfolding into Two as the God and Goddess, associated with various other complementary opposites such as spirit and matter, consciousness and energy, passivity and activity. Both creation and liberation are seen as the result of the union or reunion of the two co-ultimate principles/deities” (ibid).
 

Whereby, Brown highlights the purification and transformation of the body are very important as a means for the old body to dissolve and for the body to become infused with divine breath.

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My personal vulnerabilities are womanhood and being a woman, as well as residing in the forest and really only holding the capacity to live in rural areas. The function of wilderness contact is acknowledged in Rita Sherma’s (2026) “On Ecopsychology and Biophilia.” “The mountains and forests were also claimed by the hermit’s abode, the guru’s ashram, and the many wandering ascetics who hoped to find realization in a darkened cave, or under a green canopy. Hindu sages (ṛṣis) left towns and villages and sought realization and wisdom in nature propelled by the intuition that the natural world provided the most suitable environment for communion with the Divine” (2026, 15). For this project, that is to adhere to forest living and feminine theology, I am considering more into sociology and ritual studies, as a means to recognize the process of subitization, which I theorize is experienced in the individual and the Divine.

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Overall, the ultimate objective is to look to sustain ethnographic fieldwork and ways to continually develop and use questions as the transforming force for a forest chapel. This circulation is to be maintained by ritualization, as well as considering my place within the social world that appears as the cognitive world. Thus, I am to participate in ritual activities, while I am to maintain an understanding of my part in the world. While in the position of working with grief and bereavement, advocating for retreat and restoration, it may not be the place for direct and formal ethnography. It does seem that ritual studies can illuminate the temple rituals that are publicly performed, while I suspect I will be slow to conduct formal ethnographic interviews in the space as a chaplain. Although chaplaincy occupies the place of estrangement, that is a curious space within society, in which an ethnographer would naturally wish to document ritual practice, this process will require tremendous patience, care and consideration into shared values.

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Contemplating the Three Bodies

With consideration of the anthropological conception of the three bodies, which I suspect has ontological roots in ancient philosophy found in Dharma traditions, I quest into the area of the social body (and cognitive world) that is a micro-reflection of the Divine, while the individual-body self (and subjective world) is in a feedback with the body politic (and objective world). The contemporary purpose of my ethnography, within forest chaplaincy as an activism, is to hold space for Dharma traditions within media production as well as consider the ritual studies of Tantras that enlighten us of the process of subitization. 

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  The reason for understanding a social body is to consider psychological values that orient a circle, to be healthy and sustainable, as a microcosm of the microcosm, which sustains and brings health to the shared cognitive world. Self-reflexivity has been a means to document practice and enact ritual in relation to my own personal set of yoga studies, within a self-study of how a woman can attain forestry within the outer edges of society or within many layers of micro-societies. Berger would like to consider the outer edges of society as a place of estrangement, while Bell might recognize how within many layers of micro-societies a woman may embody an entrancement. The contemporary purpose of my ethnography, within forest chaplaincy as an activism, is to hold space for Dharma traditions within media production as well as consider the ritual studies of Tantras that enlighten us of the process of subitization. 

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These roots present themselves in the Tantras, while building from Vedanta Sūtra knowledge in Hindu philosophy, Buddhabhūmi-sūtra and Madhyāntavibhāgakārikā of Mahāyāna Buddhism, and the Jaina Doctrine Of Karma—vis-à-vis the anatomy and process of the body system. Vedanta Sūtra brings forth three bodies in Yoga philosophy, sthula-sukṣma-karaṇa-sarira, as casual, subtle, and gross body. Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra offers an early conception for a three body theory, while Mahāyāna-sūtrālamkāra signified how the threefold function or "fluctuations" (vṛṭṭi) within the singular Dharma realm of the Buddhas, encapsulated by Dharmakaya (Truth Body), Sambhogakaya (Enjoyment Body), and Nirmāṇakāya (Emanation Body). Jainism also has a concept of the three bodies that is a fundamental aspect of the philosophy, known as the audarik body, tejas body, and karma body.

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The shared assumption between these traditions is that the body system is a singular source of function, which is the individuate, while the recognition of this individuation is actualized through the realization of the aggregate. The individual-body self sees itself in the body politic, finding obstacles and experiencing challenges, where the sthula sarira (causal body) finds and experiences the karaṇa-sarira (gross body). A healthy social body or sukṣma-sarira (subtle body) is required for the individuate to realize the aggregate. Within Hindu philosophy, when the physical body which is of  the karaṇa-sarira perishes, the energy carried by the sthula sarira (causal body) also falls away with the objective world, while the karaṇa-sarira moves on its own and yet remains as a micro-reflection of the Divine. 

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In Jainism, the audarik body is the physical body, which is what perishes. The tejas body is responsible for managing the body systems, su pported by prana energy, while the karma body is the invisible body that contains karma and is always in union with the soul, which is maintained until the soul attains emancipation. These bodies are integral to the understanding of the soul's journey and the cycle of rebirth, the union of the karma body and tejas body is referred to as the subtle body; the liberation of the soul involves getting freedom from the imprisonment by these two bodies. Thus, one could say that the body politic is the work of the audarik body like the gross body of Vedanta philosophy, while the liberating process of subtilization occurs once the social body and the individual-body self are in union.

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In Mahāyāna buddhology, or the theology of Buddhahood, the concept of the three bodies posits that a Buddha has three types of kayas or "bodies", aspects, or ways of being, each representing a different facet or embodiment of Buddhahood. The three are the Dharmakāya (Dharma body, the ultimate reality, the Buddha nature of all things), the Sambhogakāya (the body of self-enjoyment, a blissful divine body with infinite forms and powers) and the Nirmāṇakāya (manifestation body, the body which appears in the everyday world and presents the semblance of a human body). These bodies are not separate realities, while they are functions that circulate within a single state of Buddhahood.

When considering holding space for the process of subtilization, the Dharma body may be similar or the same (for a liberated jiva) as the karma body in Jaina and as the subtle body in Vedanta philosophy, while the Sambhogakāya may be as the tejas body or casual body. Thus, to consider holding space for the many Dharma traditions, it is interesting to take note where areas of socialization and ritualization may be shared by the many traditions and how this sharing can be the source of communion within a forest chapel. My original in-take on forestry was from a Western standpoint that looked to consider how socialization is improved or advanced through right action, which was the way to hold space for estrangement and alienation. While now that I have been living more in the forest, I look to not fill a void in which I am the messiah to do so, but rather, knowing where I find joy and where I wish to take part in ministerial work. ​​

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Within the Krama lineage, instead of a linear view of life and processes, there seems to be an emphasis on the oscillation of perception and the transmission of consciousness. “Niṣkriyananda was one of the early Krama siddhas and the preceptor of the Higher Krama of the Oral Instruction (Sanderson, 2007a, p. 333), who transmitted the teachings to his spiritual son, and the siddha whose appearance was that of a tribal (śabara), by the name Vidyananda or Vidyasabara” (Wenta 2021, 727). At the end of the phenomenology of a twelvefold process of perception, Mahākāla Kālī digests time, along with the totality of the universe. “She is described through the use of apophatic language as “neither the object of perception, nor the object of speech, free of attributes” (2021, 737). At it all, Mahābhairavacaṇḍograghora Kālī dances in the universal cremation ground, as the effulgent light of supreme consciousness responsible for manifesting subjective, objective and cognitive worlds.

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Conclusion​

Further questions and outlooks, in relation to upholding Dharma and holding space for Dharma traditions, pertains to proper ways of interfaith dialogue, as well as encouraging particular faith leaders and ritual masters of specific traditions, to hold space in the forest chapel. As I connect more with networks around me, am I to focus more on a specific lineage alongside inviting individuals from many faiths to participate in ritual activities, and sacred studies? Might it be better to focus more on a specific area or would it be better to consider where the many traditions connect and relate? How might certain times of the year, or different times of my cycle change my outlook of the social, and how I connect with different members of faith? Is it best for a chaplain to follow ritualization of specific lineage or is it wise to consider creating new rituals?