The Netra Tantra is an important early medieval Śaiva text. We will read and discuss sections of the text based on the two manuscripts in the NGMPP Library and compare these with the published KSTS edition. Apart from reading the text we will discuss its meaning.
Lecture tag: Hinduism
Hinduism 2: Hindu Traditions (Paper 21): Week Eight (HT 14)
Beginning with the early medieval period, this paper traces the development of Hinduism in devotional (bhakti) and tantric traditions. The paper examines the development of Śaiva, Śākta, and Vaiṣṇava traditions along with ideas about liberation, ritual, asceticism, yoga and devotion. There will be some exploration of Hinduism and Modernity and there may also be reference to major schools of Hindu philosophy such as Vedānta.
An Introduction to Vedantic Hermeneutics: Vedānta Deśika’s commentary on the Īśā Upaniṣad (Session Eight) (HT 14)
Hindu theology, and particularly Vedānta, is grounded in the reading of sacred texts and has been largely developed in commentaries on those texts. This Sanskrit reading class will explore the way Vaiṣṇava Vedānta develops its theology through a careful reading of the Upaniṣads. We will read the commentary on the Īśā Upaniṣad by Vedānta Deśika (1269–1370), the most prominent Viśiṣṭādvaita theologian after Rāmānuja, paying particular attention to the way he formulates his theology and develops his hermeneutics. This reading class aims to introduce students with an intermediate knowledge of Sanskrit to the style and reasoning of Sanskrit commentaries as well as the fundamentals of Vaiṣṇava Vedānta.
Hinduism 2: Hindu Traditions (Paper 21): Week Seven (HT 14)
Beginning with the early medieval period, this paper traces the development of Hinduism in devotional (bhakti) and tantric traditions. The paper examines the development of Śaiva, Śākta, and Vaiṣṇava traditions along with ideas about liberation, ritual, asceticism, yoga and devotion. There will be some exploration of Hinduism and Modernity and there may also be reference to major schools of Hindu philosophy such as Vedānta.
Hindu Arts and Literatures – Four Theories (HT 14)
Drawing on Clifford Geertz’s understanding of religion as a ‘worldview’, the seminar series explore key themes in Hinduism and looks at the way in which crucial conceptual ‘translations’ are needed to understand Hindu culture properly from without, and asks whether it is possible to derive critical and hermeneutic ‘theory’ in religious studies from Indic material. One of the goals will be to challenge the hegemony of Western-derived ‘theories’ of religion, culture, and human nature.
Comparative Religion: Its Failures and Its Challenges (HT 14)
This is an analysis of the success and limitations of comparative religion. The presentation will propose the need for new academic categories, and will discuss the relevance of the Gandhian experience to the study of religions.
Professor Sushil Mittal is a fellow philosophical traveler with Mahatma Gandhi, Sushil Mittal is (full) Professor of Religion in the Department of Philosophy and Religion and Founding Director of the Mahatma Gandhi Center for Global Nonviolence at James Madison University, a post he held for five years (2005–2010). Dr. Mittal joined JMU in Fall 2004.
He earned his B.A. from McGill University in Montreal, M.A. from Carleton University in Ottawa, and Ph.D. from University of Montreal. He has served on the faculties of the University of Florida in Gainesville and Millikin University in Decatur, Illinois.
His discipline by training is cultural anthropology, but he is located in a department of religion where he teaches Hinduism and Gandhian thought. He has conducted archival and field research in Canada, India, South Africa, and the United States at intervals during the last two decades. The recipient of numerous grants and fellowships, his book publications include Development and Change in India (1993), Surprising Bedfellows: Hindus and Muslims in Medieval and Early Modern India (2003), The Hindu World (2004), Religions of South Asia: An Introduction (2006), and Studying Hinduism: Key Concepts and Methods (2008).
His current work-in-progress includes The Living Hindu World, Encyclopedia of Hindu Studies, and The Gandhi Reader.
He is the (Founding) Editor of the International Journal of Hindu Studies (1997- ) and the International Journal of Gandhi Studies (2012- ).
Professor Mittal was born in Canada (his “janma-bhumi”) buthas now dedicated himself to working in the United States(his “karma-bhumi”) and he looks to India as the mainsource of his spiritual inspiration (his “dharma-bhumi”).
An Introduction to Vedantic Hermeneutics: Vedānta Deśika’s commentary on the Īśā Upaniṣad (Session Seven) (HT 14)
Hindu theology, and particularly Vedānta, is grounded in the reading of sacred texts and has been largely developed in commentaries on those texts. This Sanskrit reading class will explore the way Vaiṣṇava Vedānta develops its theology through a careful reading of the Upaniṣads. We will read the commentary on the Īśā Upaniṣad by Vedānta Deśika (1269–1370), the most prominent Viśiṣṭādvaita theologian after Rāmānuja, paying particular attention to the way he formulates his theology and develops his hermeneutics. This reading class aims to introduce students with an intermediate knowledge of Sanskrit to the style and reasoning of Sanskrit commentaries as well as the fundamentals of Vaiṣṇava Vedānta.
Hindu Ritual and Practice – Four Theories (HT 14)
Drawing on Clifford Geertz’s understanding of religion as a ‘worldview’, the seminar series explore key themes in Hinduism and looks at the way in which crucial conceptual ‘translations’ are needed to understand Hindu culture properly from without, and asks whether it is possible to derive critical and hermeneutic ‘theory’ in religious studies from Indic material. One of the goals will be to challenge the hegemony of Western-derived ‘theories’ of religion, culture, and human nature.
Readings in Phenomenology and Religion (Session Six) (HT 14)
Phenomenology is one of the most important developments in philosophy in the twentieth century that has had a deep impact on Theology and Religious Studies. This reading group seeks to engage with developments in Phenomenology as they pertain to theology and religion. It is a continuation of the reading project begun several years ago. The overall concern is a reconceptualisation of phenomenology in the wake of both deconstruction and cognitivsm. This reconceptualisation has been inspired partly by the publication of the English translation of Heidegger’s Phenomenology of the Religious Life a few years ago, which reflected the philosopher’s earlier views. A second inspiration is the imperative for the academy to engage with other civilizations and the apparent proximity of some Indian philosophical thinking to Phenomenology. The overall theme of this reading group will be human practices. The particular texts that we read are fluid but we will begin with Peter Sloterdijk’s Your Must Change Your Life (Du musst dein Leben ändern) (2009).
Hinduism 2: Hindu Traditions (Paper 21): Week Six (HT 14)
Beginning with the early medieval period, this paper traces the development of Hinduism in devotional (bhakti) and tantric traditions. The paper examines the development of Śaiva, Śākta, and Vaiṣṇava traditions along with ideas about liberation, ritual, asceticism, yoga and devotion. There will be some exploration of Hinduism and Modernity and there may also be reference to major schools of Hindu philosophy such as Vedānta.