THE RADICAL AESTHETICS OF THE MOVEMENT FOR SPIRITUAL INTEGRATION INTO THE ABSOLUTE (MISA)

Abstract

This paper examines the history, worldview, and legal problems of MISA, the Movement for Spiritual Integration into the Absolute (MISA), founded by Romanian yoga teacher Gregorian Bivolaru, as a form of radical aesthetics. In the first part, we summarize the development and doctrines of MISA. In the second, we present the legal controversies that accompanied the movement’s history. In the third, we introduce five theoretical tools derived from the contemporary sociology of aesthetics. In the fourth, we use these tools to interpret MISA’s worldview and societal reactions to it.

Keywords

• yoga
• MISA
• Gregorian Bivolaru
• integration
• sociology of aesthetics