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New CED Term begins 16 Jan 2022
Learn something new this year
Join us for the upcoming term at our Continuing Education Department starting on 16 January 2022.
This term we are pleased to present two new courses: Hinduism and popular religious art tutored by Dr Layne Little and Hinduism, Yoga, and Ecology tutored by Prof. Christopher Key Chapple, a course developed in collaboration with our environmental outreach project Hindu Climate Action.
You can find all our courses here, or browse a small selection below.
Patañjali’s Yoga Sūtras is one of the best known, yet least understood texts on Yoga. Yoga Sūtras are accepted as the authoritative text on Yoga doctrine and practice and in this course you can comprehensively – chapter by chapter, sūtra by sūtra – understand what Patañjali intended and what it means to modern spiritual practice.
Start date: 16 January 2022
Tutor: Daniel Simpson
Course creator: Dr Nick Sutton
Course duration: Eight weeks
Read more and sign up: here!
Bhagavad Gita is an ancient Indian text that is vital to Hindu tradition, literature, and philosophy. This Bhagavad Gita course is an engaging and informative learning experience, brought to you remotely by OCHS online. Within this course, you will study the main themes of Krishna’s teachings and the principles, ideas, and theories within the 18 chapters, or 700 verses, of Bhagavad Gita.
Start date: 16 January 2022
Tutor: Dr Layne Little
Course creator: Dr Nick Sutton
Course duration: Seven weeks
Read more and sign up: here!
What do Hinduism and Yoga Philosophy have to say about ecology and the environment? Hinduism is full of big ideas. How do these big ideas relate to modern life?
Start date: 16 January 2022
Tutor: Prof. Christopher Key Chapple
Course creator: Prof. Christopher Key Chapple
Course duration: Eight weeks
Read more and sign up: here!
Hinduism and popular Religious Art
Join us on this visually striking course exploring Hinduism and popular religious art over the past two centuries and more. With more than 25 hours of richly illustrated video we learn the story of India’s use of modern technologies to reimagine the sacred in vibrant and unexpected new ways.
Start date: 16 January 2022
Tutor: Dr Layne Little
Course creator: Dr Layne Little
Course duration: Eight weeks
Read more and sign up: here!
In this Tantra course, we reflect on what the Tantric traditions are, their origin, formation, core texts and practices, and what they mean for us today. As with all of our online courses, you’ll be supported on this Tantra course by an expert in the field. For more information on the course outline, continue reading below for a full breakdown.
Start date: 16 January 2022
Tutor: Prof. Gavin Flood
Course Creator: Prof. Gavin Flood
Course duration: Seven weeks
Read more and sign up: here!
See you on January 16!
Annual Report 2021
Annual Report
2021
Dear Friends,
A full year of pandemic restrictions in education has been hard but I must congratulate our scholars and students for their focus and adaptability. All have done very well, mastering the mysteries of all things Hindu, and what were once the mysteries of Teams, Canvas, and Zoom. Our students have also done well academically – which is the great achievement.
I’m very happy to announce that we will start the next academic year with a new relationship with the Faculty of Theology & Religion and the University of Oxford. Beginning in October, two of our scholars, Dr Jessica Frazier and Dr Rembert Lutjeharms, will become Research Lecturers in the Faculty, positions funded by the OCHS. Both will share their time with the University and the Centre. It represents the strongest institutional tie that both our Centre and the Faculty will have with any other external body.
In spite of the difficulties of the year, education and publication went very well, as this report notes. Research also progressed, the only areas of our operation hindered being Library access and coming together for meals and discussion. Even with all the promise of technology there is nothing to replace the wealth of personal interaction.
As an unexpected benefit of shutdown around the world, we had an understandable rise in student numbers for our online courses – 2300 in total. While so many of us were bound to our homes in the pandemic we roamed the universe of the internet looking for education, news, and distraction. Our online experts adapted quickly and launched very successful virtual weekend schools and Zoom tutorials, making our subject widely available.
I would like to thank our scholars, students, and staff who rose to the occasion; to our patrons and friends who retained their commitment and maintained our efforts; and to the army of volunteers who have worked in Leicester, Birmingham, and London, and far afield in New York, Denver, and Gainesville, USA, and Mumbai, Delhi, and Chennai, India. We are your servants.
Warm regards,
Shaunaka Rishi Das
Handbook of Hinduism in Europe
Book Launch
Handbook of Hinduism in Europe
Please join us for the launch of the Handbook of Hinduism in Europe (Brill)
edited by Knut A. Jacobsen and Ferdinando Sardella.
The event will take place online on Zoom.
During the event, there will be talks from:
Prof. Gavin Flood
Prof. Knut A. Jacobsen
Prof. Ferdinando Sardella
Shaunaka Rishi Das
Ross Andrew
and others
Date and Time:
Monday 22 November 2021
4.00 – 5.30 pm (GMT)
Join on Zoom here
All are welcome!
Happy Diwali 2021
New Phenomenology Conference 2021
The Phenomenology of Religion as Philosophical Anthropology - A Virtual Conference -
The Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies and Campion Hall, Oxford University welcome you to join the Phenomenology of Religion as Philosophical Anthropology conference, a three-day online event where we will discuss and rethink the Phenomenology of Religion as an intellectual discipline.
The conference is directed by Professor Gavin Flood, FBA.
From 4 October to 6 October, 2021
It is free to participate and everyone is welcome.
You can read more about the conference and download the abstracts on our website: newphenomenology.org
Friends Sponsored walk 2021
8.15am registration, 9.00am Start
Hindu Mandir, 34 St Barnabas Road, Leicester LE5 4BD
The annual event that participants can enjoy with friends, family and the community at large
Everyone is welcome and there are no age limits. Children under the age of Sixteen will need to be accompanied by an adult. The walk is at a gentle pace and suitable for most people.
The walk is a great way to explore some of the varied places of worship, mainly of Hinduism. It takes in the various community places of worship. At each place of worship, one is free to do Darshan of the deities and spend some time in interacting with the priests and support workers.
The planned route for the 10th anniversary walk is as follows:
Starting at Hindu Mandir, Sanatan Mandir, BAPS, Shirdi Sai/Ganesh Chaturti, durshan, Hanuman Temple, Durga Mata Temple Shri Swaminarayan Temple (I.S.S.O.), Ram Mandir, Murugun Temple.
This is a sponsored walk and we request all Yatris to raise funds for the Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies to the best of their abilities. A minimum contribution of £25.00 is kindly requested from each participant. This can be made up of sponsorship from friends, work colleagues and family members or a personal contribution by the Yatri.
Registration is essential to comply with the Health and Safety requirements.
Registration:
leicesterfriends@ochs.org.uk or
0116 268 0306 or 07845 286057
Please note
All Yatris attending the sponsored walk are advised to be double vaccinated or do a lateral flow test the day before, mask wearing is advised and at the Yatris discretion.
Attendance is at own risk, no liabilities accepted. Please be extra careful crossing roads, wear non-slip footwear, appropriate clothing for the weather, and look out for traffic and other hazards.
Please do not race ahead of the walk leader as you could easily go off track and lose the group.
Photographs from the events may be used for social media promotion, and publicity.
You are responsible for ensuring you are correctly dressed for walking, that you are bringing any water and refreshments you require and that you feel fit and healthy enough to take part. We cannot foresee and prevent all hazards. By signing up you agree you are taking part at your own risk and agree to our terms and conditions.
OCHS Friends Talk August 2021
The Yogic Body of Haṭhapradīpikā
Friends of the Oxford Centre For Hindu Studies presents
A talk by Gitte Poulsen
of the Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies
The pre-modern yogic body is an intriguing and challenging concept that has been shaped over several millennia and it has also gained importance in some modern yoga- and meditation traditions and practices.
But what is this “yogic body” actually made up off? The pre-modern yogic body was not an empirical or biological body, but a more subtle and rather complex body consisting of various energy centers and channels in which substances and energy could be caused to move around and the natural flow of the body reversed. The idea of something moving around in this body is persistent in all systems of yogic bodies but what this something is differs from system to system and from technique to technique.
In this lecture, I will present an introduction to understanding the yogic body as it is presented in the medieval text Haṭhapradīpikā (1450) which has become the classic text of both pre-modern, and to some extent, modern haṭhayoga. Haṭhapradīpikā is however not a representation of one single system or tradition, but rather a compilation that combines many different yoga systems, traditions and techniques here labeled as haṭhayoga by the author Svātmārāma.
Saturday 7th August 2021 at 4.00pm GMT
Join us on our Online talk via YouTube or Zoom. For Zoom details please contact us on lc@ochs.org.uk or via Facebook Messenger.
We recently launched a new research project at the OCHS. “The Phenomenology of Religion as Philosophical Anthropology” directed by Professor Gavin Flood FBA.
New research project
We recently launched a new research project at the OCHS:
The Phenomenology of Religion as Philosophical Anthropology
directed by Professor Gavin Flood FBA.
The project will include a three-day Virtual Colloquium from October 4th to 6th. More info will follow later.
Read more about the project here!