Author: user

27 Nov | Sabarimala Today with Dr Alex Gath

27 Nov | Sabarimala Today with Dr Alex Gath

Posted on by user

Sabarimala Today – Themes from Phenomenology, Politics and Diaspora

Week 7, Thursday 27 November 2.00-3.00, OCHS Library

Dr Alex Gath 

Sabarimala is Kerala’s most high-profile Hindu pilgrimage. During the season, from mid-November to mid-January, millions of pilgrims undertake to travel to the mountain shrine. They proceed with a mixture of walking and bus and train transport. They dress in pilgrims’ garb and carry the traditional bag of offerings, often perched on the head. Widely seen as distinctively South Indian, the pilgrimage honours the hero-deity Sri Ayyappan. It has long been associated with an egalitarian ethos and popular with members of castes formerly subject to discrimination as well as with non-Hindus. It has been seen as a context within which both philosophical Hindu teachings and spontaneous popular piety can reach into the lives of individuals from many sectors of society. But there are intermittent problems. Some of these are common to many pilgrimages – infectious disease, accidents, environmental damage. Some are controversies and disagreements specifically concerning this tradition. Should female pilgrims of potential child-bearing age (set as 10 to 50 years of age) be permitted to participate despite a traditional exclusion? Is the former inter-religious aspect still apparent and important? What about relations with surrounding communities, including marginalised, formerly classified as ‘tribal’, groups? Sabarimala is becoming something of a global brand outside India, especially within the South Indian diaspora. And it has been an all-India talking point, as its concerns have been taken up by the Supreme Court and Central Government. In grappling with the significance of the Sabarimala pilgrimage today, it is well worth considering themes covering each of phenomenology/philosophy, politics and diaspora issues; and more besides. I hope to do this, drawing upon some thirty years of working with these themes, both through fieldwork and engaging with a variety of overlapping literatures.

Alex Gath has carried out anthropological research on contemporary Hindu culture of Kerala for some thirty years. He trained as an anthropologist at Edinburgh University after beginning his career working on topics in clinical, and philosophical, aspects of psychology (at Oxford, Sussex, Sydney Universities). In recent years he has concentrated on investigating South Indian diaspora communities, especially within UK but also USA and Europe, whilst maintaining his commitments within applied psychology. He emphasizes phenomenological approaches as a method for investigating interdisciplinary themes but also takes a strong interest in politics, history and related fields. He has published in anthropological and psychotherapy journals and, most recently, been a member of St Antony’s College, Oxford.

5 Nov | Book launch for Yoga Studies in Five Minutes

5 Nov | Book launch for Yoga Studies in Five Minutes

Posted on by user

Week 4, Wednesday 5 November 2.30-3.30, OCHS Library

Dr Theo Wildcroft and Dr Barbora Sojkova

Yoga Studies in Five Minutes provides an accessible guide to the diverse and growing field of research into yoga as a social, historical and cultural phenomenon. Both leading scholars and innovative researchers offer 60 brief responses to questions that offer insights into the study of yoga, such as: Who was the first teacher of yoga? Is yoga Indian? What is parampara? Are there holy texts in yoga? What are the goals of yoga? Why do yogis hold their breath? The collection covers ancient history, modern developments, and contemporary issues, considers the diverse practices and philosophies of yoga in a range of contexts, and uses a range of approaches, from philology to anthropology to art history. The collection is useful for established scholars looking to broaden their understanding of this rapidly developing field, as well as for those new to the subject. The book is an ideal starting point for both independent study and the classroom.

At this book launch event, the two editors, together with a few of the contributors, will introduce the book, talk about the process of producing it, and read a few of the entries. This will be a relaxed event to celebrate the book’s publication, free to attend, and with a few nibbles to tempt you. Anyone is very welcome to join us.

Theo Wildcroft, PhD is a yoga teacher-trainer, writer and scholar who is interested in the democratization of yoga post-lineage, somatic literacy, meaning-making and the counter-culture. She is an Associate Lecturer at the Open University, UK, Visiting Lecturer in Dharmic Worldviews at the University of Chester, Fellow of the HEA, former Coordinator of the SOAS Centre of Yoga Studies, editor of the BASR Bulletin, an honorary member of the British Wheel of Yoga, member of the IAYT, a continuing professional development trainer and consultant for Yoga Alliance (E-RYT® 500, YACEP®), and Council Member for the American Yoga Council. She is the author of Post-lineage yoga: from guru to #metoo, co-writer of Leading Safe and Simple Yoga Nidras (coming soon), editor of Religion and the Sense of Self (also coming soon), and co-editor of The Yoga Teachers’ Survival Guide and Yoga Studies in Five Minutes.

Barbora Sojkova holds a DPhil in Asian and Middle Eastern Studies (Sanskrit) from Balliol College, University of Oxford, where her research focused on human-animal relationships in Vedic Sanskrit literature. She is a qualified librarian (PgDip in Library and Information Studies, UCL, 2024) and has previously worked at All Souls College and the Bodleian Library, Oxford. She was a postdoctoral researcher in the MANTRAMS Project at the University of Oxford, working on the history of mantra in Vedic. She is also a certified yoga teacher and trainer focusing on history and philosophy of yoga.

11 & 13 Nov | A Woman’s Nature (two lectures) with Dr Bihani Sarkar

11 & 13 Nov | A Woman’s Nature (two lectures) with Dr Bihani Sarkar

Posted on by user

A Woman’s Nature I: Tapasyā, resistance and heroism in the Kumārasambhava

Week 5, Tuesday 11 November 2.00-3.00, OCHS Library

Dr Bihani Sarkar

The first part of this two part lecture argues that Pārvatī’s vrata in the Kumārasambhava—  penance Kālidāsa describes in lavish and sympathetic detail in Chapter 5 of this epic poem– is a form of protest against the failings of masculine, paternalist orders formerly controlling her. These are the kingdom and hierarchies of conspiring male gods and ascetics, which, under threat from the demon Tāraka, had previously plotted to preserve its status, by using her as a pawn to tempt Śiva. Drawing a parallel in Ambā in the Mahābhārata, a female ascetic like Pārvatī, I will show that, in its very nature and the way in which it was aroused, Pārvatī’s penance (tapasyā)  is antinomian, a protest against the devas. Though reductivist interpretations may claim that her tapasyā is conventional in its intention of winning Śiva, a male god, the lecture argues that it is in fact both an act of heroism and an act of love, arising from an awakening of individual will.

A Woman’s Nature II: Śṛṅgāra (passion) and Self-Awareness in the Kumārasambhava

Week 5, Thursday 13 November 2.00-3.00, OCHS Library

Dr Bihani Sarkar

The second part of this lecture, focuses on chapter 8 of the Kumārasambhava, the (in)famous love-making between Śiva and Pārvatī, to argue that Pārvatī’s erotic awakening in this chapter forms part of the larger narrative in the poem of her growing self-awareness. Kālidāsa, the poet of the Kumārasambhava, intends this chapter as a complement to the one portraying her tapasyā, showcasing twin and apparently divided aspects of Pārvatī as the heroic dharmavijayinī, ‘victor of Dharma’, of the poem. In so doing, he portrays a ‘hero’ who accomplishes both ascetic and erotic self-awareness, an integration made possible only in a goddess who quests for love. The lecture draws parallels from the Buddhacarita, a precedent to the Kumārasambhava, whose hero, the Buddha, Pārvatī both resonates with and also moves away from in significant ways, to demonstrate a different, world-embracing idea of Dharma.

Bihani Sarkar is a historian of early Indian politics, religions and literature (poetry and drama) between the 2nd and the 15th centuries CE. She works mainly with classical Sanskrit and some Middle Indic (Prakrit) sources. She also draws from Bengali, her mother tongue. She has taught and has research interests across Indian philosophy and religions, including Hinduism, Buddhism, and South Asian Islam. Her current research and teaching interests include the Goddess in Indian religion; Sanskrit poetry and drama; classical Indian aesthetics; North Indian classical music; comparative literary theory; gender, transgression and power in early Indian literature and religions; sacred narrative and history; madness, knowledge and kingship. 

Weeks 2, 4, 6, 8 | Readings in the Tantrāloka IX to XII with Prof. Alexis Sanderson

Weeks 2, 4, 6, 8 | Readings in the Tantrāloka IX to XII with Prof. Alexis Sanderson

Posted on by user

Weeks 2, 4, 6, and 8, Thursday 5.00-6.00, OCHS Library

Professor Alexis Sanderson

The Kashmirian Śaiva theologian Abhinavagupta offers in his magisterial Tantrāloka, composed c. 1000 CE, an all-embracing analysis of the Tantric Śaiva paths to liberation from the standpoint of the Śākta Śaiva system known as the Trika. In these four lectures I will complete my exposition of the opening verses of this text.

Alexis Sanderson studied first Classics and then Sanskrit at Oxford as an undergraduate (1967–71). As a postgraduate student he spent six years in Kashmir studying the Śaiva literature of that region under the guidance of Swami Lakshman Joo, the last learned exponent and practitioner of the Kashmirian Śākta Śaiva tradition. He returned to Oxford in 1977 to teach Sanskrit and Indology. He held that post until 1992, when he became a Fellow of All Souls College through election to Oxford’s Spalding Professorship of Eastern Religions and Ethics. He retired from that position in 2015. He moved to Japan in August of 2022 and there continues his work on the history of the religions of the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia.  He is currently writing a history of the pre-Islamic religious traditions of Kashmir and producing a critical edition and English translation of the Tantrāloka of Abhinavagupta (fl.c. 975–1025) accompanied by an extensive commentary.

October 4th: Talk on “The Infinite Play of Consciousness: Liberation according to Vasiṣṭha” by Aamir Kaderbhai

October 4th: Talk on “The Infinite Play of Consciousness: Liberation according to Vasiṣṭha” by Aamir Kaderbhai

Posted on by user

OCHS Leicester Friends are pleased to invite you to a talk on “The Infinite Play of Consciousness: Liberation according to Vasiṣṭha” by Aamir Kaderbhai in Glenfield Memorial Hall, Leicester, Saturday 4th October 2025 at 5.30 pm.

About the talk:
The Mokṣopāya — the original title of the Sanskrit epic poem known today as the Yogavāsiṣṭha — is a philosophical epic originally composed in 10th-century Kashmir. At its core is an extended dialogue between Rāma and his teacher Vasiṣṭha, who instructs Rāma on the nature of the world and the nature of jīvanmukti or liberation in life. This instruction unfolds not only through explicit philosophical teaching but also through a number of fantastical and often mind-bending stories. This combination of philosophy and narrative, the text tells us, is intended not only to describe jīvanmukti, but to give the reader herself a taste of this life of liberation. Using original translations from the newly published critical edition, as well as a philosophical analysis of the implicit philosophy within the text’s stories, this presentation will aim to flesh out this transformative aspect of the Mokṣopāya. Specifically, I will argue that the text uses its radical and unique philosophy to create a thought experiment that offers a taste of liberation by inviting the reader to see her own world as a purely spontaneous and yet completely necessary appearance within a truly infinite cosmos — one in which every imagined possibility exists.

Aamir Kaderbhai is a PhD student at the University of Oxford. His interests range from continental philosophy, particularly Nietzsche, Bergson and Deleuze, through to Hindu and Buddhist philosophy and Sanskrit poetic literature. He is currently working on a dissertation on the 10th-century Kashmiri epic poem entitled the Mokṣopāya, a unique, unorthodox, and genre-defying philosophical text that makes the ambitious claim of being able to bring its reader to enlightenment. Through his analysis of the way the text seeks to do this, Aamir hopes to investigate the possibility of the academic study of Indian philosophy taking claims about transformed human consciousness more seriously while remaining philologically detailed and philosophically rigorous. Before beginning his doctoral studies, Aamir completed undergraduate and master’s degrees at Oxford and has spent semesters researching and learning Sanskrit at RKMVERI in West Bengal; Philipps-Universität in Marburg, Germany; and at McGill University in Montreal, Canada.

The talk is FREE and all are welcome.

19th August: “Hindu Chaplaincy–Principles and Practice” with Shaunaka Rishi Das in conversation with Dr Shama Mehta

19th August: “Hindu Chaplaincy–Principles and Practice” with Shaunaka Rishi Das in conversation with Dr Shama Mehta

Posted on by user

Through a new series of online talks, we aim to explore the vital role Hindu chaplaincy can play in healthcare today. In the UK, the need for Hindu chaplains in hospitals is growing rapidly. At the Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies (OCHS), we carried out an informal survey of some of the country’s largest hospitals. Every single one told us the same thing: the demand for spiritual care far exceeds their current capacity.

OCHS Director Shaunaka Rishi Das will host the series and, through conversations with guests, dive into what Hindu chaplaincy is and why it is so important. Shaunaka and the guests will share experiences and patient stories to offer listeners examples of moments in which medical care alone was not enough, and where compassionate, spiritually informed support made all the difference.

Sign up here!

TALKS

19th August, 4 pm UK time: “Hindu Chaplaincy: Principles and Practice” with Shaunaka Rishi Das in conversation with Dr Shama Mehta

28th August, 4 pm UK time: “Hindu chaplaincy in hospitals and palliative care” with Shaunaka Rishi Das in conversation with Dr Abha Mehndiratta and Dr M. R. Rajagopal

 

SPEAKERS

Shaunaka Rishi Das, Director of the Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies, a position he has held since the Centre’s foundation in 1997, is a lecturer, a broadcaster, and Hindu Chaplain to Oxford University. His interests include education, comparative theology, communication, and leadership. He is a member of The Commission on Religion and Belief in British Public Life, convened in 2013 by the Woolf Institute, Cambridge. In 2013, the Indian government appointed him to sit on the International Advisory Council of the Auroville Foundation.

Dr Shama Mehta is a Board Certified Chaplain and Certified Educator Candidate at Michigan Medicine. She is also co-founder and vice-chair of the North American Hindu Chaplains Association. As the first Indian Hindu Board Certified Chaplain in the United States, she brings a unique perspective to navigating cultural identities, personal growth, and professional development.

With over 12 years of healthcare experience and a Doctorate in Ministry, Dr Mehta specialises in bridging traditional wisdom with contemporary challenges. As a Certified Educator Candidate at Michigan Medicine, she mentors future spiritual caregivers and develops innovative resources that blend Hindu principles with practical life management tools. Her work focuses on helping individuals find resilience, purpose, and alignment across personal and professional domains.

6 Sep: Embodied Devotion–The Interplay of Religion and Performance in Kathakali Tradition with Dr Janaki Nair

6 Sep: Embodied Devotion–The Interplay of Religion and Performance in Kathakali Tradition with Dr Janaki Nair

Posted on by user

Friends of the Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies invites you to a talk on

Embodied Devotion–The Interplay of Religion and Performance in Kathakali Tradition 

with Dr Janaki Nair

Date: Saturday 6 September 2025 at 5.00 PM
Venue: Glenfield Memorial Hall, 35 Stamford ST, Glenfield, Leicester LE3 8DL

Kathakali, the classical dance-drama of Kerala, India, is not merely an art form but a deeply spiritual practice that merges religious narrative, ritual, and performative expression. This talk explores the intricate relationship between religion and performance in Kathakali, examining how the tradition serves as both a medium of devotional expression and a mode of cultural transmission. By investigating the historical roots, ritualistic aspects, and mythological content of Kathakali, this talk highlights the spiritual dimensions embedded in its aesthetics, training, and enactment.

Dr Janaki Nair is a visual anthropologist and a performer, who through her research, explored
possibilities of making ethnographic films to create cultural and artistic memories. In her research, she continues to explore the concept of embodying and aligning psychophysical practices, concepts and methodologies. She is currently working as the Deputy Head at East 15 Acting School, University of Essex and is also affiliated with the Sakta Traditions research project at the OCHS. She is a Kathakali performer who specialises in performing male characters and has won Kerala State Best Actress Award, 2015 for her acting in a film. Dr Nair is elected as a Fellow of Royal Society of Arts, London in 2017 and has received Selma Cohen Lecture Award from Fulbright Association, USA in 2022.

The talk is FREE and ALL ARE WELCOME!

11 June: Talk on As the Monks Have Always Lived: The Mūlācāra and Monastic Conduct in Digambara Jainism by Kshitij Jain

11 June: Talk on As the Monks Have Always Lived: The Mūlācāra and Monastic Conduct in Digambara Jainism by Kshitij Jain

Posted on by user
As the Monks Have Always Lived: The Mūlācāra and Monastic Conduct in Digambara Jainism 


by Kshitij Jain


The Mūlācāra of Vaṭṭakera (est.2nd century CE) is the earliest monastic lawbook in Digambara Jainism. Composed at a time when Jain samghas were acquiring distinct sectarian identities, the Mūlācāra laid the foundation for Digambara monastic conduct, providing a source of authority to the later Digambara authors. My presentation will discuss the early history of this text to underline its significance in the Jain tradition. I will look at some facets of monastic conduct that Vaṭṭakera uses as  “identity markers” of a Digambara monk to understand theMūlācāra’s role in the formation of Digambara sectarian identity as a historical context.

The second, and the more elaborate part of this presentation will focus on the Mūlācāra in the medieval period: which witnessed the reproduction of monastic conduct in new socio-political backdrops. I will introduce the Ācāravṛtti of Vasunandi, the earliest commentary on the Mūlācāra (11th century CE) and analyse a few case studies where Vasunandi exhibits commentarial reinterpretations which signify that rather than being a fossilised text, the Mūlācāra was being reinterpreted and adapted to the new circumstances of medieval India. I will then look at a fifteenth century monastic lawbook – the Mūlācārapradīpa of Sakalakīrti  wherein the author maintains a conscious association with the Mūlācāra to achieve socio-political legitimacy and monastic authority. My presentation will attempt to highlight what did the Mūlācāra mean for medieval Digambara authors and how did they associate with it to further their projects of identity-building in north-western Digambara communities.


Kshitij Jain is a second year MPhil student reading Classical Indian Religion at the Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies at the University of Oxford. He holds an undergraduate degree in Sanskrit (Hons.) Kshitij’s research primarily focuses on medieval Digambara monastic lawbooks and aims at studying them to understand the socio-cultural history of medieval Digambara Jainism. Kshitij is also interested in the Dharmashastra tradition and Classical Sanskrit Literature.
29 May: POETRY AT THE GARAGE

29 May: POETRY AT THE GARAGE

Posted on by user

29th May 2025  18:30-19:30

FRONT ROOM: POETRY AT THE GARAGE
Anelog, a poetry project attached to the letterpress printer at the Garage, is hosting an evening of poetry reading and acoustic music.

BACK ROOM: A RESPONSE
3 OCHS Associate Artists (Dorsett, Flexen, Gupta) contribute a quote from Roberto Calasso’s Ka: ‘Every brick, baked and squared, was a thought. Its consistence was the consistency of their attention. Every thought had the outline of a brick. It wouldn’t disappear, wouldn’t let itself be swallowed up in the mind’s vortex. Rather it became something you could lean on. Something you could place a next thought on – and slowly, crisscrossed with joints, a wall was raised.’

All are welcome!

30 May: 41th Sanskrit Traditions Symposium hosted in partnership with the High Commission of India, London

30 May: 41th Sanskrit Traditions Symposium hosted in partnership with the High Commission of India, London

Posted on by user

The 41st Annual Sanskrit Traditions Symposium was hosted by the Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies in collaboration with the High Commission of India, London on 30 May 2025 at Trinity College, Oxford.

 

This years panels
Sanskrit and the Digambara Jaina bhaṭṭāraka traditions
Dr Tillo Detige
Respondent: Prof. James Mallinson

Ritualising Passion: The Tantrification of Rāgānugā Bhakti
Dr Lucian Wong
Respondent: Dr Lubomír Ondračka

‘The Blood-Soaked Grace of the Goddess’: Contestations of Power in and around the Devīmāhātmya
Dr Mikel Burley
Respondent: Dr Bjarne Wernicke-Olesen

An Examination of the Soteriological Role of Yoginīs in Śākta Tantric Śaivism
Gonzalo Fernandez
Respondent: Dr Ruth Westoby