Aleksander Majewski (1955– 2003). A Polish businessman and a long time supporter of the OCHS, Aleksander Majewski passed away in September 2003. He provided inestimable support for the Center by investing in the beginning of its development, and displayed much faith in the overall vision of the future of the Center. By sharing this broad-minded vision of how the Center could be expanded, he has provided us with a great impetus for future developments. In recognition of his service to the Centre, the Board of Governors has decided to establish ‘The Majewski Lectures’, to be held annually in Oxford. We hope this offering will continue to mark his dedication and enthusiasm for the academic study of Hinduism.

2017 Majewski lecture was:
‘The Colloquy between Muhammad and Saytān: The 18th century Bangla Iblichnāmā of Garībullā’
by Professor Tony Stewart.
The Lecture was held in conjunction with the Asian Studies Centre, St. Antony’s College, and the Department of History.

2016 Majewski lecture was:
‘To Die or Not to Die: Yogi’s Choice at the Moment of Death’
by Lubomír Ondračka.

2015 Majewski lectures were:
‘Asceticism for All: the Yoga of the Householder’
by Dr James Mallinson.

‘Ritual and hierarchy at the Kumbh Mela’
by Prof. Sondra Hausner.

‘Vexing and vexatious topic of conversion in India’
by Dr Ankur Barua.

2014 Majewski lectures were:
‘Madhyamaka philosophy’
by Prof. Jan Westerhoff.

‘Renunciation and service: the Ramakrishna Math and Mission, the Vivekananda Kendra, and Swami Vivekananda’s legacy’
by Dr. Gwlym Beckerlegge.

‘Pāṇini’s grammar and the destiny of Sanskrit around the beginning of the Common Era’
by Dr Vergiani.

‘Politics in Action: Gandhi, the Gita, and Modern Times’
by Dr Faisal Devji.

2013 Majewski lectures were:
‘The snān-yātrā of Salkia: Contrasting voices on possession and animal sacrifice in contemporary Bengal’
by Professor Fabrizio Ferrari.

‘The Roots of Early Hindi Literary Culture’
by Dr Imre Bangha.

2012 Majewski lectures were:
‘How japa changed between the Vedas and the bhakti traditions: the evidence of the Jāpakopākhyāna(Mbh 12.189–93)’
by Prof. John Brockington.

‘Comparative theology’
by Prof. Chakravarthi Ram-Prasad.

2007 Majewski lectures were:
‘The Subhasita as a Social Artefact: Notes Toward the History of Ethics in Medieval India’
by Dr Daud Ali.

‘Icon and Murti’
by Dr Ken Valpey and Matthew Steenberg.

‘What did Ramakantha Contribute to the Buddhist-Brahmanical Atman Debate?’
by Dr Alex Watson.

‘It’s a Kind of Magic: The Powers of Yoga and Their Interpretation’
by Dr Angelika Malinar.

‘Making Room for the Goddess: A Theology of Sri in Fourteenth Century South India’
by Prof. Francis Clooney.

‘The Power of Divine Beauty: A Study of the Saundaryalahari’
by Dr Nilima Chitgopekar.

2006 Majewski lectures were:
‘Rationalism, atheism, and Hinduism in ‘Dravidian’ India, c.1920–90′
by Dr David Washbrook.

‘The adequacy of language: Re-evaluating Shankara’s understanding of the Veda’
by Dr J. S. Hirst.

‘Playing around with Sakuntala: Translating Sanskrit drama for performance’
by Dr W. Johnson.

2005 Majewski lectures were:
‘Hinduism and women: Uses and abuses of religious freedom’
by Ursula King.

‘Rationalism, atheism, and Hinduism in ‘Dravidian’ India, c.1920–90’
by Dr David Washbrook.

2004 Majewski lectures were:
‘On Defining Hinduism’
by Prof. Julius Lipner.

‘What Do We Learn From the Iconography of the Goddess’
by Dr. Sanjukta Gupta.

2003 Majewski lectures were:
‘The Hindu Imagination and Imaginary Hinduisms’
by Dr David Smith.

‘What Makes a Temple Unique? The Construction of Spatial Particularity’
by Prof. Friedhelm Hardy.

‘Body as Text: Experience and Tradition in Hindu Tantra’
by Prof. Gavin Flood.