Roar (Ramesh) Bjonnes

Roar Ramesh Bjonnes (born July 20, 1955) is a Norwegian-born writer whose background with agronomy in the 1970s is finding contemporary expression through interrelated dimensions of ancient Indian culture. What's more, by adopting a socio-economic approach integrating social science and traditional wisdom, he's also said to be "creating a new discourse for a post-capitalist future".
This orienting framework is further evidenced by his overview of the respective vantage points involving "dualism" across a linage of traditional figures where Bjonnes sees "in Vivekananda and Aurobindo", a "fruitful integration of the dualism of Patanjali with the non-dualism of Shankara" as being reasonably evident. He similarly notes, where "Aurobindo called his yoga Integral Yoga", "Georg Feuerstein thinks it is Aurobindo, more than any other yogi, who epitomizes the birth of modern yoga in the world".
Likewise, he subsequently credits Ken Wilber for discerning "that the nondualism of Tantra brings together the inseparable and eternal unity of Purusha and in a 'nondual embrace' of fundamental importance to yogic philosophy"—further concurring with how this "logical embrace seems to reconcile the best of Patanjali with the best of Shankara, the essence of dualism with the essence of nondualism" .
Life and career
Born and raised in Fredrikstad, Norway, Roar attended Sogn Jord- og Hagebruksskule where he studied Agronomy prior to his graduation in 1974. As a participant in Norway's 'green activist' movement during this same period, he played a subsequent role in transforming Sogn Jord-og Hagebruksskule (SJH) into an organic agriculture and horticulture school as an outcome of protest actions he organized while a student there.
Likewise, and by the early 1980s, this same trajectory led to his initiating a study of Tantra with the Seva Dharma Mission, an "affiliate of Ananda Marga Pracaraka Samgha" in turn, residing in both Nepal and Varanasi. Launching his personal practice of yoga and Tantra from this point on, the unfolding development of his alternative economic vision has been inspired in part by Prabhat Ranjan Sarkar’s, and Arne Naess’, in addition to the spiritual lens of Eastern thought in general.
Philosophical views
Drawn from his practice of Tantra suggesting that "consciousness is...the soul and fabric of the universe", Bjonnes summarizes his worldview in saying, "Under the umbrella of this outlook, the artificial divisions between people and nations, between plants and animals, between science and spirituality will disappear. We will no longer inhabit a divisive world in a mechanical universe" .
Published works
In addition to the five texts listed in this page's Bibliography, Bjonnes is a popular blog contributor to the Elephant Journal and has written for Norwegian newspapers and journals including Fredrikstad Blad, Vinduet, and Samtiden.
Other accomplishments
Bjonnes is also a cofounder of both, the Prama Institute, a holistic retreat center in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina and the Systems Change Alliance which aspires to 'connect the dots' "between individuals, groups and organizations working in different fields to collaborate, educate, advocate and implement positive systemic change".
Bibliography
Books
* Bjonnes, Ramesh - Sacred Body, Sacred Spirit: A Personal Guide to the Wisdom of Yoga and Tantra, 2012, InnerWorld Publications, San Germán, Puerto Rico
* Bjonnes, Roar - Principles of a Balanced Economy: An Introduction to the Progressive Utilization Theory, 2012, Prout Research Institute, Copenhagen, Denmark
* Bjonnes, Ramesh - Tantra: The Yoga of Love and Awakening: A Personal Guide to the Tradition, Philosophy and Practice of Tantra, 2014, Hay House Publisher, Delhi, India
* Bjonnes, Roar and Caroline Hargreaves - Growing a New Economy: Beyond Crisis Capitalism and Environmental Destruction, 2016, InnerWorld Publications, Puerto Rico
* Bjonnes, Ramesh - A Brief History of Yoga: From Its Tantric Roots to the Modern Yoga Studio, 2018, InnerWorld Publications, Puerto Rico
Essays
* Bjonnes, Roar - "Introduksjon til en politisk mystiker" (Introduction to a political mystic), Samtiden (A Journal about politics, literature, and social issues), Norway, 1993, ISSN 0036-3928

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