The Jayakhya-samhita is one of the three gems of the Pancaratra or tantric Vaishnavism. This early medieval text contains material on cosmology, ritual, and the construction of mantras. The seminar will focus on selected chapters. BibliographyGupta, S. The Laskmi Tantra (Delhi: MLBD, 2000 [1972]). Krishnamacharya, Embar (ed) The Jayakhyasamhita of the Pancaratra Agama (Baroda: Gaekwad Oriental Series, 1967).Matsubara, M. Pancaratra Samhitas and Early Vaisnava Theology (Delhi; MLBD, 1994).Shrader, Otto Introduction to the Pancaratra and the Ahirbudhnya Samhita (Adyar: Adyar Library, 1916).Smith, H.D. A Descriptive Bibliography of the printed Texts of the Pancaratragama 2 vols. (Baroda: Gawkwad Oriental Series, 1975 and 1980).
Archives: Lectures
Hinduism II: Hindu ideas of liberation Lecture 4: Bhakti and Yoga in the Bhagavad-gita and its interpreters
These lectures will examine conceptions of liberation and paths leading to liberation in the history of ‘Hindu’ traditions. After an introductory lecture that raises some of the theological questions about the relation of path to goal and the importance of ritual and asceticism in the history of Indian religions, we will begin with an examination of Samkhya, the philosophical backdrop of Yoga, and move on to the opening Yoga-sutras, their ideal of liberation as isolation (kaivalya), and the means of achieving that goal. We will trace the development of devotion (bhakti) and examine bhakti and yoga in the Bhagavad Gita before moving into the medieval period. Here the lectures will describe some developments of bhakti in vernacular literatures, focusing on both texts that advocate devotion to iconic forms and the later texts that advocate devotion to an absolute without qualities. Here we will also examine the importance of ritual texts and the relation between ritual, devotion and yoga. Lastly we will trace the themes of liberation and path with examples from selected tantric traditions within Vaisnavism and Saivism. While the lectures will place texts in their historical contexts, the course will not examine texts in a strictly chronological sequence, the stress being on theme. Throughout we will raise critical theological questions through engaging with texts in translation and raise the question about the extent to which liberation is a rhetoric that overlays other cultural forces. By the end of the course the student should have an understanding of soteriology in Hindu traditions, an understanding of some the main literatures associated with this, and an awareness of the philosophical and theological problems entailed. These lectures are aimed at students of theology and religious studies.
Readings in phenomenology 3
This seminar series continues. This term we will focus on reading Paul Ricoeur’s Tme and Narrative. This three volume work covers a great deal and raises questions about the nature of text, action, history, fiction, memory and the very nature of existence itself. These volumes provide a critical engagement with issues in historiography and theories of the text. Bibliography Ricoeur, Paul Time and Narrative vols 1‚-2. Trans by Kathleen McLaughlin and David Pellauer, University of Chicago Press, 1984-88.
Hindu understandings of God 2: The theology of Ramanuja
We find the idea of God in different religions and it is theologically interesting that semantic analogues of the category appear across the boundaries of traditions. This series of lectures explores Hindu ideas of God and raises questions about the meaning of God in human traditions and the idea of comparative theology.
Religious experience in psychology, anthropology and sociology Lecture 1: Anthropology of religion and the religious imagination
Many of the canonical names in anthropology have been criticised for their literary style and their tendency towards evocative narrative. Here we argue that this is not a methodological weakness, but the autonomous development of a conception of understanding in terms of imaginative empathy and inter-subjectivity, which parallels hermeneutic philosophy. Religious experiences are literally recreated in the reader, forming an intimate bond between the scholar and his or her subject.
Bovine slaughter, media representations, and the construction of Hindu identity in Britain
This paper examines the series of events that took place in July 2007 leading to the slaughter of Shambo, a ‘temple’ bull belonging to a community of monks at Skanda Vale in rural West Wales. The main focus in this paper is the transformation of Skanda Vale from a quiet ‘multi-faith’ devotional community in a remote part of the country, to a politically engaged ‘Hindu’ organisation at the centre of an international media storm surrounding the killing of Shambo. By examining the meanings and symbols brought into play by the contesting groups, as well as the different levels of conflict, this paper will examine the constructions of Hindu identity that emerged in media representations as a result of this controversy.
Maya Warrier is lecturer in Religious Studies at the University of Wales, Lampeter. Her publications include Hindu Selves in the Modern World: Guru Faith in the Mata Amritanandamayi Mission and Theology and Religious Studies: An Exploration of Disciplinary Boundaries, as well as book chapters and journal articles. She researches transnational Hinduism with a focus on transnational guru movements, Yoga and Ayurveda in the West, and the Hindu diaspora in Britain. She is currently working on a research project funded by the Wellcome Trust which explores the development of Ayurveda in Britain.
Readings in the Jayakhya-samhita 4
The Jayakhya-samhita is one of the three gems of the Pancaratra or tantric Vaishnavism. This early medieval text contains material on cosmology, ritual, and the construction of mantras. The seminar will focus on selected chapters. BibliographyGupta, S. The Laskmi Tantra (Delhi: MLBD, 2000 [1972]). Krishnamacharya, Embar (ed) The Jayakhyasamhita of the Pancaratra Agama (Baroda: Gaekwad Oriental Series, 1967).Matsubara, M. Pancaratra Samhitas and Early Vaisnava Theology (Delhi; MLBD, 1994).Shrader, Otto Introduction to the Pancaratra and the Ahirbudhnya Samhita (Adyar: Adyar Library, 1916).Smith, H.D. A Descriptive Bibliography of the printed Texts of the Pancaratragama 2 vols. (Baroda: Gawkwad Oriental Series, 1975 and 1980).
Bovine slaughter
Majewski Lecture
Hinduism II: Hindu ideas of liberation Lecture 5: Bhakti literatures and ritual texts
These lectures will examine conceptions of liberation and paths leading to liberation in the history of ‘Hindu’ traditions. After an introductory lecture that raises some of the theological questions about the relation of path to goal and the importance of ritual and asceticism in the history of Indian religions, we will begin with an examination of Samkhya, the philosophical backdrop of Yoga, and move on to the opening Yoga-sutras, their ideal of liberation as isolation (kaivalya), and the means of achieving that goal. We will trace the development of devotion (bhakti) and examine bhakti and yoga in the Bhagavad Gita before moving into the medieval period. Here the lectures will describe some developments of bhakti in vernacular literatures, focusing on both texts that advocate devotion to iconic forms and the later texts that advocate devotion to an absolute without qualities. Here we will also examine the importance of ritual texts and the relation between ritual, devotion and yoga. Lastly we will trace the themes of liberation and path with examples from selected tantric traditions within Vaisnavism and Saivism. While the lectures will place texts in their historical contexts, the course will not examine texts in a strictly chronological sequence, the stress being on theme. Throughout we will raise critical theological questions through engaging with texts in translation and raise the question about the extent to which liberation is a rhetoric that overlays other cultural forces. By the end of the course the student should have an understanding of soteriology in Hindu traditions, an understanding of some the main literatures associated with this, and an awareness of the philosophical and theological problems entailed. These lectures are aimed at students of theology and religious studies.
Readings in phenomenology 4
This seminar series continues. This term we will focus on reading Paul Ricoeur’s Tme and Narrative. This three volume work covers a great deal and raises questions about the nature of text, action, history, fiction, memory and the very nature of existence itself. These volumes provide a critical engagement with issues in historiography and theories of the text. Bibliography Ricoeur, Paul Time and Narrative vols 1-2. Trans by Kathleen McLaughlin and David Pellauer, University of Chicago Press, 1984-88.