Archives: Lectures
Modernity and Madhva Vedanta: The beginning or the end of an esoteric tradition?
The Madhva school of Vedanta is an orthodox tradition that is being forced to rise to the challenges of modernity, and in particular, recent technological advances. Are these changes minor ones or do they strike at the very heart of Madhva doctrine? Do they point towards its end or are they a chance to flourish? Dr Sarma’s talk addresses these and other related issues that would face any esoteric tradition.
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Hindus in the diaspora: Their histories and traditions (six lectures)
This lecture series includes a general survey of the histories of Hindu communities outside India. The series will focus on the development and the maintenance of their traditions. More specifically the series will unpack issues related to the contemporary understanding of Hinduism and the implications that the developments of Diaspora Hinduism have on how we conceptualise Hinduism. The discourse will look at the orientalist constructions through classical texts and the predominantly oral traditions that have influenced the diaspora Hinduism. It will raise methodological and theoretical issues in conceptualising Hinduism.
Transnational religion: Hindu traditions in Cambodia, 5th-12th centuries
Professor Vasudha Narayanan (University of Florida, USA and Tamal Krishna Visiting Fellow, President of the American Academy of Religion [2001-2])
A poet and a philosopher: Two women in the Sri Vaishnava tradition
Professor Vasudha Narayanan (University of Florida, USA and Tamal Krishna Visiting Fellow, President of the American Academy of Religion [2001])
Consulting God through boards and gaming pieces
The turf, the tennis court, the chess board, and pavement hopscotch cannot formally be distinguished from the temple or the magic circle. Game diagrams were built into roofing slabs or the floor of temples in ancient India, sometimes carved into the cloister seats. Professor Rangachar explores how the devotee, the deity, and the game met.
In Hindu tradition is gaming and gambling fun or a sin?
Any discussion of the motivation of gambling usually starts with the natural comparison to life. Life is a gamble. Everyday, people are faced with situations which involve risk and chance. Professor Rangachar looks at the religious antecedents of gaming and the reaction to its development.