Mystical Experiences Captured in Paintings: Adaptations of Hindu Visual Culture in the First Yoga School in Chile (1930-1940)

This article analyses visual material produced by members of the Suddha Dharma Mandalam (SDM), presumably the first yoga school in Chile. The SDM, established in India in 1915 and later in Chile in 1927, is one of the first collective expressions of Hinduism in Chile. The canonical foundations of this school include a particular version of the Bhagavadgītā and two lesser-known texts: the Sanātana Dharma Dīpika and the Yoga Dīpika. Its worldview is shaped by deities associated with the Vaishnava and Tantric traditions. Based on correspondence between Chileans and an Indian guru (Swami Subramanya Iyer), remote instruction and initiations were carried out, fostering a cultural exchange between India and Chile, which resulted in the official establishment of the first yoga school in Chile in 1927. SDM yoga practices are based on meditations (dhyāna) accompanied by the recitation of bīja-s and mantra-s. Among its early followers, the SDM attracted a diverse audience, including painters and writers. Some of these artists produced artworks based on their religious experiences, paintings that represent an adaptation and translation of Hindu and yogic aesthetics little known in Chile during the Belle Époque. This paper seeks to ask what paintings, taken as historical sources, can tell us about the adaptations of religious visualities between distant cultural contexts, as well as to explore the visualities associated with early yoga in Latin America. From visual methodologies, this paper explores three paintings created by "yoguistas" and artists from this school. These artworks represent a rich visual material for analysing the adaptations and interpretations of a cultural imaginary, which raise questions about authenticity and cultural contexts. This paper is part of my research for a Master's degree in History at Universidad Católica de Chile.