Friends Event: Understanding Love

A talk By Anuradha Dooney of the Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies

Indian culture is noted for its wonderful love poetry and none more beautiful than that of the bhakti poets. Their devotion has become one of the greatest influences on Hindu practice by cutting through stereotypes of caste, gender and religion.

This talk explores bhakti, or devotion, through the writings of Antal a South Indian poetess from the 8th century; Chaitanya, a 15th century Bengali saint and Mirabai, a 16th century Rajasthani princess. We will consider their understanding of love and why their influence is so enduring.