In Tibetan Tantric Buddhism and Bön, yoga is a method for liberating oneself and others from cyclic existence by mastering a subtle physiology of energy channels and wheels along the body's central axis. The practice known as Tsalung Trulkhor, or Magical Wheel, brings subtle energy and mental states under conscious control. This chapter traces the development of the Magical Wheel within Perfection and Great Perfection practices, which are upheld as progressively effective means for freeing oneself from conditioned existence by realizing the illusory and mutable nature of self-identity.
Yogic Gnosticism, also known as jñāna-yoga or the yoga of knowledge, is an elite, contemplative, and intellectual form of spiritual cultivation that has been largely neglected in the emerging field of Yoga Studies. This paper gathers core definitional components of this tradition, drawn from a forthcoming monograph, and presents textual evidence for the term's usage and meaning development. Ten shared features are proposed across various gnostic currents of yoga. The doctrinal antagonism between ritual-oriented karma-yoga and knowledge-oriented jñāna-yoga is discussed, highlighting how Hindu, Buddhist, and Jaina Gnostics insisted on knowledge as the sole means of liberation. Vivekananda's perception of jñāna-yoga is critically engaged, and the paper concludes with remarks on the challenging elitism of this trans-sectarian South Asian current.