Indian Religions

Edited by

Anna S. King [+–]

University of Winchester

Anna S. King is Convenor of the Spalding Symposium and Senior Lecturer in Theology and Religious Studies at the University of Winchester. She trained as a social anthropologist at the Institute of Social and Cultural Anthropology in Oxford and studied Hindi at the Oriental Faculty, Cambridge University. After initial research on Mircea Eliade, she carried out her first period of fieldwork on the pilgrimage priests of Hardwar, North India. She has since published research on the Dalits of India and on ISKCON’s Caitanya Vaisnava tradition. She is editor with John Brockington (2005) of The Intimate Other: Love Divine in Indic Religions (Orient Longman).

Indian Religions: Renaissance and Renewal, the latest collection of Spalding papers, celebrates the work of Ninian Smart in bringing together papers by some of the most eminent scholars within this field. The papers are concerned with cultural, religious, political or textual exchange and encounter, and therefore in concepts of rupture, revival, restoration, reformation and reformulation. The title of this book comes directly from Professor Klaus Klostermaier’s paper which argues that the real Hindu Renaissance is happening now. However, the title also embraces the contemporary problematic of the study of Indian religions. There cannot ever have been a time when the scholarly study of Indic religions has been under such scrutiny or more politically, culturally and religiously sensitive.

The papers in section one urge a major rethinking of academic paradigms. The papers in the second section focus on texts, contexts and ways of understanding. Vastly different in style, period and approach, they nevertheless cumulatively develop sensitivity to textual continuities, to the purposes of commentators and the contemporary creative reinterpretation of texts and their application to real life. The third section is concerned with cultural and religious encounter and exchange, transformation, restoration, revival and reformation. The fourth section is concerned with the performative, experiential and expressive. There are papers on the Hindu imagination and imaginary Hinduisms; religion, the media and a multi-modal future; ritual performance and gender; art and the aesthetic imagination.

Prelims

Preface [+–] ix-x

Karel Werner FREE

Indian Religions: Renaissance and Renewal , the latest collection of Spalding papers, celebrates the work of Ninian Smart in bringing together papers by some of the most eminent scholars within this field. The papers are concerned with cultural, religious, political or textual exchange and encounter, and therefore in concepts of rupture, revival, restoration, reformation and reformulation. The title of this book comes directly from Professor Klaus Klostermaier’s paper which argues that the real Hindu Renaissance is happening now. However, the title also embraces the contemporary problematic of the study of Indian religions. There cannot ever have been a time when the scholarly study of Indic religions has been under such scrutiny or more politically, culturally and religiously sensitive. The papers in section one urge a major rethinking of academic paradigms. The papers in the second section focus on texts, contexts and ways of understanding. Vastly different in style, period and approach, they nevertheless cumulatively develop sensitivity to textual continuities, to the purposes of commentators and the contemporary creative reinterpretation of texts and their application to real life. The third section is concerned with cultural and religious encounter and exchange, transformation, restoration, revival and reformation. The fourth section is concerned with the performative, experiential and expressive. There are papers on the Hindu imagination and imaginary Hinduisms; religion, the media and a multi-modal future; ritual performance and gender; art and the aesthetic imagination.

Introduction [+–] xi-xviii

Anna S. King FREE

University of Winchester

Acknowledgments [+–] xix

Anna S. King FREE

University of Winchester

SECTION 1: Challenging Paradigms

Hinduism—Hindutva—Hindu Dharma [+–] 3-27

Klaus Klostermaier £17.50

This chapter explains the three terms, Hinduism, Hindutva and Hindu Dharma, which, while linguistically identical, evoke different reactions among academics and other people. They imply different definitions of being a Hindu.

The Hindu Religion and War [+–] 28-40

Hans Bakker £17.50

This chapter discusses the principle of ahimsâ, ‘not killing,’ which had originally little or nothing to do with how warfare was conducted and conceived in Hindu society. War was endemic in South Asia and seen as the right and duty of the Hindu king. Warfare was regulated by some rules, which were humane in some respects. Battle was sometimes conceived of as a form of ritual, in which the soldiers were the sacrificial victims.

Is Hinduism an Offshoot of Buddhism? [+–] 41-53

Knut A. Jacobsen,Ninian Smart £17.50

This chapter highlights the fact that some Buddhist influence on the process of arising of the Hindu religious tradition is usually accepted. However, the magnitude of the Buddhist impact often goes unnoticed. The purpose of this chapter is to call attention to this magnitude.

The Philosophy of Religion from the Perspective of Indian Religions [+–] 54-72

Karel Werner £17.50

This chapter points out the persisting inadequacy of the definitions and treatments of philosophy of religion in encyclopedias and monographs on the subject, manifested in their predominantly theistic orientation derived from the Judaeo-Christian tradition. Moreover it formulates a comprehensive picture of the tasks facing the subject of philosophy of religion and describes the ways in which Indian religions might enhance its treatment.

SECTION 2: Text and Context

Faculties, Breaths and Offices: Some Vedic and Sâ›khya Notions of the Body and Personality [+–] 73-108

Dermot Killingley £17.50

The Veda and Sâmkhya both include the analysis of personality among their concerns, and groups of five, or pentads, feature in both. The pentad of speech, breath, sight, hearing, mind is frequent in the Veda, together with many variants; sometimes these are referred to as breaths (prâša), a term which can also refer to the orifices of the body. This pentad includes two of Sâmkhya’s five sense faculties and one of its five action faculties, and some of the variants include further items from the Sâmkhya lists. This chapter gives examples of these variants, comparing them with each other and with Sâmkhya, and tracing their development.

Time and the Sarvâstivâdins [+–] 109-123

David Bastow £17.50

This chapter aims to enter into philosophical debate with early Buddhist arguments and theories about the nature of time, the interrelations between past, present and future. The basic argument analysed and assessed, concerns the metaphysical implications of the meditator’s ability to be ‘self-aware’ in his mindful ‘seeing’ of his own mental states; to see their nature; and also to see their future, their karmic consequences, and even their non-karmic potentiality of liberation.

Images of Samkara: Understanding the Other [+–] 124-148

Jacqueline Suthren Hirst £17.50

This chapter argues that a strategy of defining by negation, complementarity and mutual purification of terms, which Samkara uses in his own scriptural commentaries, can fruitfully be applied to the different methods which have been used for studying Samkara and his work. Taken individually, philosophical, traditional textual, socio-political and experiential approaches to Samkara’s work tend to present radically different images of Samkara which say more about the interests of the particular exponent than about Samkara as an Advaitin teacher. Rather than favouring one approach over the others, a series of ‘portraits’ of exponents of Samkara is presented, each emblematic of one of the four approaches.

Arthur Avalon Among the Orientalists: Sir John Woodroffe and the Re-imaging of the Tantras [+–] 149-172

Kathleen Taylor £17.50

Sir John Woodroffe has been recognized as the pseudonymous orientalist Arthur Avalon, famous for his tantric studies at the beginning of the twentieth century. Best known for ‘The Serpent Power’, the book which introduced kundalinï yoga to the western world, Avalon turned the image of Tantra around from that of a despised magical and orgiastic cult into that of a refined philosophy which greatly enhanced the prestige of Hindu thought.

SECTION 3: Encounter, Revival and Reform

Shamanic Powers, Village Religion and Esoteric Exchange: How Far is Tantra a Specifically Indian Phenomenon? [+–] 173-194

Geoffrey Samuel £17.50

This chapter reconstructs some of the social context of the development of ‘Tantra,’ and in particular asks how Buddhist monks and lay practitioners came to adopt ‘extreme’ versions of Saiva (Kaula) practice as central parts of their own religious practice between the 8th and 12th centuries. These ‘extreme’ elements included the presence of fierce and terrifying deities, cremation-ground symbolism and explicit sexual elements. A variety of approaches to the development of these practices is discussed.

Theravada Revivalism in Nepal: Reflections on the Early Years [+–] 195-213

David N. Gellner £17.50

This chapter examines the introduction of Theravada Buddhism into the Kathmandu Valley, Nepal, between the 1920s and 1940s. The broad sociological contrasts between Theravada, on the one side, and the Mahayana and Vajrayana Buddhism traditionally followed by the Newars of the Kathmandu Valley, on the other, are described, as is the social context of Newar Buddhism and the varying appeal of the new form of Buddhism to different castes.

Brahminisation of Dravidian Religions: The Case of the Muttappan Cult of North Malabar [+–] 214-230

Theodore Gabriel £17.50

University of Gloucestershire

Theodore Gabriel is Honorary Research Fellow in Theology and Religious Studies at the Department of Humanities, University of Gloucestershire and Assistant Professor in Religious Studies at the Queen’s University (Canada) Study Centre in Hailsham, East Sussex, England.

This chapter describes the Muttappan cult of North Malabar, a significant religious phenomenon of Northern Kerala, which is rapidly increasing in popularity and spreading to other regions not only of Kerala but also to other Indian states. More interestingly it displays features of Sanskritisation or Brahminisation of what is essentially a tribal or low caste religion whose origins are from the worship of a folk hero or forest deity.

The Curious History of the Dasanâmï-Samnyâsïs [+–] 231-264

Matthew Clark £17.50

The Dasanâmï-Samnyâsïs are one of the largest of the sects of renunciates in South Asia, founded, according to tradition, by the legendary ‘non-dual’ philosopher Sakarâcârya, who is also attributed with the installation of his four chief disciples at four ‘mathas’ founded in the west, north, east and south of India.This chapter outlines research conducted into the formation of the Dasanâmï-Samnyâsïs.

From Totapuri to Maharaji (Prem Rawat)? Reflections on a Lineage (Parampara) [+–] 265-290

Ron Geaves £17.50

Liverpool Hope University

Ron Geaves is Professor of Studies of Religions in the Department of Theology, Philosophy and Religious Studies at Liverpool Hope University. He is the author of several books including, most recently, Islam and the West Post 9/11 (Ashgate, 2004) and Aspects of Islam (Darton, Longman and Todd, 2005).

This chapter shows that various scholars who identify Maharaji’s roots as Sant Mat are mistaken. Moreover, it shows that a more accurate exploration of Maharaji’s historical background provides an excellent opportunity to study the complexity of the various ways of organising such lineages and can demonstrate how major strands of Hinduism can interweave with each other to create new paradigms to assert an ancient teaching capable of transcending discrete religious borders. The investigation of lineage further highlights the relationship between charisma and institutionalisation in the Indian context and allows for a revisiting of Gold’s classification of Sant tradition in particular.

SECTION 4: Renewing the World: Sacred Performance, Sacred Art

The Hindu Imagination and Imaginary Hinduisms [+–] 291-311

David Smith £17.50

This chapter discusses the Hindu imagination, principally in the form of what might be called the classical Hinduism imagination, as found in the most famous and most aesthetically satisfying texts and images.

Kumbha Melâ and the Media [+–] 312-341

Anna S. King £17.50

University of Winchester

This chapter argues that contemporary media are diverse, overlapping but fragmented and that any kind of essentialist understanding is based on ideological rather than empirical considerations. It reveals the heterogeneity of media representations of Kumbha and suggests that the culture of the newsroom and of public discourse influences media reports as much as inherited colonial stereotypes.

Walking in the Mother’s Footsteps: Dravidian Virgin Goddesses as Empowering Role Models for Women [+–] 342-358

Alleyn Diesel £17.50

This chapter presents the ancient Dravidian virgin goddess tradition, which is very popular among the Tamil majority of South African Hindus and preserves a unique and possibly prepatriarchal form of religion which places women’s interests and suffering at centre stage. An examination of some of these goddess myths reveals stories of women, usually virtuous and faithful, who have suffered because of the demands of patriarchal traditions, and sometimes died or been killed, but have eventually been vindicated by being transformed into goddesses.

The Medieval Saivite World Portrayed on the Prâkâra Wall of the Mallikârjuna Temple at Srisailam [+–] 359-392

Richard Shaw £17.50

This chapter describes the location of Srisailam and its long history, together with the pilgrim routes which approached the holy mountain from the four directions. Moreover, the prâkâra is discussed in a general way followed by a section on dating this great wall. This is followed by an examination of a selection of the panels.

Height and Size in Indian Iconography [+–] 393-402

Christopher Aslet £17.50

This chapter considers some of the principal ways in which size is manipulated in Indian Art and some of the main reasons for which it is done. Indian Art is largely unconcerned with providing an accurate visual account of the world of space and time and matter. Rather it seeks to evoke a sense of the transcendent Reality which lies behind it.

End Matter

Notes on Contributors [+–] 403-412

Anna S. King FREE

University of Winchester

Reviews

Many of the papers discuss interesting and important topics. As with other such eclectic anthologies, one is likely to pick up this volume based on the desire to read one of its essays in particular and subsequently to discover the worth of some of its other contents.
Jack C. Laughlin, University of Sudbury, Studies in Religion 39 (1), 2010

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Renaissance and Renewal

Anna S. King [+–]

University of Winchester

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