Podcast appearances and mentions of Wendy Doniger

Wendy Doniger's An American Girl in India: Letters and Recollections, 1963–64 (2022) is a memoir-style collection of letters and reflections from her first trip to India as a young scholar. It offers a rare glimpse into the formative experiences that shaped her future career in Indology. The personal letters of her younger self are in conversation with reflections of her older self. Using this work as a launchpad, this interview broaches Doniger's personal and professional life learning through the course of her prominent career, spanning over five decades. This conversation commemorates Dr. Raj's 400th New Books Network podcast interview. As it is laden with life wisdom and live learning for both participants, it is reposted here for your enjoyment. The Indian Wisdom Podcast is hosted by Dr. Raj Balkaran, a Sanskrit scholar, seasoned storyteller and spiritual lineage holder. He teaches at the Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies and at The Indian Wisdom School. He is also the author of "The Stories Behind the Poses: The Indian Mythology that Inspired 50 Yoga Postures” and runs a thriving one-on-one spiritual guidance practice. Personal Website: https://rajbalkaran.com Courses: https://indianwisdomschool.com Podcast: https://indianwisdompodcast.com

Wendy Doniger's An American Girl in India: Letters and Recollections, 1963–64 (SUNY Press, 2023) is a memoir-style collection of letters and reflections from her first trip to India as a young scholar. It offers a rare glimpse into the formative experiences that shaped her future career in Indology. The personal letters of her younger self are in conversation with reflections of her older self. Using this work as a launchpad, this interview broaches Doniger's personal and professional life learning through the course of her prominent career, spanning over five decades. This conversation commemorates Raj Balkaran's 400th New Books Network interview.  Wendy Doniger is Mircea Eliade Distinguished Service Professor of the History of Religions in the Divinity School, University of Chicago. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/indian-religions

Wendy Doniger's An American Girl in India: Letters and Recollections, 1963–64 (SUNY Press, 2023) is a memoir-style collection of letters and reflections from her first trip to India as a young scholar. It offers a rare glimpse into the formative experiences that shaped her future career in Indology. The personal letters of her younger self are in conversation with reflections of her older self. Using this work as a launchpad, this interview broaches Doniger's personal and professional life learning through the course of her prominent career, spanning over five decades. This conversation commemorates Raj Balkaran's 400th New Books Network interview.  Wendy Doniger is Mircea Eliade Distinguished Service Professor of the History of Religions in the Divinity School, University of Chicago. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/book-of-the-day

Send us a textDescription: An immersive reading of A Prayer to the Asvins by Ghosha translated by H. D. Griswold with reflection on physician gods, Gosha, leprosy, praise and gift exchange. Website:https://anauscultation.wordpress.com/ Work: A Prayer to the AsvinsGhosha translated by H. D. GriswoldYour car, the swiftly-rolling:, circumambient,To be saluted day and night by worshippers,Asvins, that car of yours we here invoke,Just as the name of father, easy to entreat.Arouse the lovely hymns and make our thoughts to swell,Stir up abundant riches, — that is our desire ;Make glorious our heritage, ye Asvin pair ;Yea, make us for our princes like the Soma dear.Ye are good luck for her who groweth old at home ; The slow — yea even the slowest one — ye help him on ; Ye two are called physicians, healers of the blind,Yea of the feeble and the one with broken limbs.I call to you, O Asvins, listen to my cry,And give your help to me as parents to a son ; Friendless am I, bereft of relative, and poor,Save me, O save me from the curse which rests on me.Upon your chariot ye did bring to Vimada,To be his consort, Purumitra's lovely maid ;Came to the weakling's wife in answer to her call.And to Puramdhi gave the boon of motherhood.Unto the singer Kali, who had reached old age,Ye gave anew the boon of fresh and youthful strength ; 'Twas you that lifted Vandana from out the pit ;Ye gave to Vispala the power at once to walk.[...]Come on that chariot which is speedier than thought. That chariot, Asvins, which the Ribhus built for you; On yoking which the daughter of the sky is born.And from Vivasvat the auspicious day and night.This praise-song have we made for you, O Asvins, Have fashioned it as Bhrigus build a wagon ;Have decked it as the bride is for the bridegroom, Presenting it to you as our own offspring.References:Poem: https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.110065/page/n49/mode/2up Wendy Doniger. Hindu Myths Penguin Classics 1975https://chs.harvard.edu/douglas-frame-the-myth-of-return-in-early-greek-epic-6-evidence-for-the-meaning-of-the-indo-european-root-nes/ Cartwright, M. (2016, June 30). Ashvins. World History Encyclopedia. Retrieved from https://www.worldhistory.org/Ashvins/  Rig Veda: http://ancientvoice.wikidot.com/src-rvs:rv10-h30 Hyde, L. (2007). The gift: Creativity and the Artist in the Modern World. Vintage.

In this episode, we grapple with the limitations of translation and the ethics of Western examination of other people's religions. Covering controversies involving the Indologists Max Müller (1823-1900) and Wendy Doniger (b. 1940), Rose explores the how the Sanskrit word Aryan became linked to the worst kind of racists, learns that fringe reactionary groups filing lawsuits to ban books aren't just an American thing, and squeezes in a reference to Miller's Crossing (Coen Brothers, 1990),Want to read our transcript? In addition to providing an accessible version of the show for people with hearing impairments, it also includes links and the list of references used to create this episode—ideal if you want to learn more about the issues we talk about or find our social media links. Click here to head to our website and read the transcript now.Don't forget to leave a rating and review, and share us with your friends! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Most people would assume that the Kamasutra is a book of hundreds of fantastical sex positions.They would partly be right, but mostly wrong!Sex is a small part of this ancient text, which includes fascinating insights into 3rd century Indian culture. It also includes some extremely modern-sounding advice on how to dump a boring husband.What happened in the Victorian era that made us think it was a catalogue of sex positions? What are some of the more feminist-leanings it features? And how has it survived all these years?Taking us through the Kamasutra today is the legendary Wendy Doniger, author of Redeeming the Kamasutra.This episode was edited and produced by Stuart Beckwith. The senior producer was Charlotte Long.Don't miss out on the best offer in history! Enjoy unlimited access to award-winning original documentaries that are released weekly and AD-FREE podcasts.Get a subscription for £1 for 3 months with code BETWIXTTHESHEETS1 sign up now for your 14-day free trial https://historyhit/subscription/

Oggi ci immergeremo nel ricco mondo della mitologia hindu, focalizzandoci su uno degli dei più affascinanti e complessi: Shiva, l'asceta erotico. Shiva, il cui nome significa “gentile” o “benevolo”, è il distruttore e rigeneratore dell'universo. Si tratta di una delle figure centrali nella trimurti hindu. Lui è stato ribattezzato dall'indologa Wendy Doniger come l'asceta erotico, simboleggiando l'unione della sua opposta natura: quella del Mahayogin, del grande yogin dedito alla pratica Yoga e meditativa e dell'amante ideale ricordato nei suoi appassionati amplessi con la sua sposa Parvati. Ti racconterò i suoi simboli, alcuni dei suoi aspetti e, soprattutto dei miti a lui legati che racchiudono un potente significato psicologico. Al termine dell'episodio ti proporrò di meditare con me cercando, nel tuo mondo interiore, l'energia di Shiva per affrontare i cambiamenti della vita. Che aspetti quindi: buon ascolto!

The American Indologist Wendy Doniger, whose academic activity has spanned over forty years with several tomes in different genres, including interpretive works on religion, translations and edited volumes, forms the subject of Dr. H.R. Meera's essay in the book 'Ten Heads of Ravana.' The author, through a metaanalysis of Doniger's methods and frameworks of study, shows how Doniger's understanding of Indian chronology leads to several wrong interpretations of the historical timelines of important texts of the Sanskrit canon, while highlighting her derision for Indian thinkers such as Manu, Kauṭalya and Vātsyāyana. Kannan shows the various mistranslations of Sanskrit words in Doniger's works and how this is an important tool in the latter's work for propaganda writing and building misinterpretations of several important Dharma texts. The desacralization project of scholars such as Doniger is also analyzed by Kannan, especially how the former uses psychoanalytic techniques on dhārmic vidyā-s, as seen in the case of studies on Tantra, which forms the core of Tibetan Buddhism as well as Hinduism. Kannan highlights how while the former is left alone, the Tantra related to Hinduism is targeted by Doniger. Snakes in the Ganga - http://www.snakesintheganga.com Varna Jati Caste - http://www.varnajaticaste.com The Battle For IIT's - http://www.battleforiits.com Power of future Machines - http://www.poweroffuturemachines.com 10 heads of Ravana - http://www.tenheadsofravana.com To support Infinity Foundation's projects including the continuation of such episodes and the research we do: इनफिनिटी फ़ौंडेशन की परियोजनाओं को अनुदान देने के लिए व इस प्रकार के एपिसोड और हमारे द्वारा किये जाने वाले शोध को जारी रखने के लिए: http://infinityfoundation.com/donate-2/ --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/rajivmalhotrapodcast/support

Ten Heads of Ravana' by the Infinity Foundation India team was released in Feb 2023. The book is a collection of essays on the work of famous contemporary Hinduphobic scholars such as Sheldon Pollock, Romila Thapar, Wendy Doniger, Shashi Tharoor, Devdutt Pattanaik, Ramachandra Guha, Kancha Ilaiah, Michael Witzel, Irfan Habib, & Audrey Truschke. The authors - Manogna Sastry, Subhodeep Mukhopadhyay, Divya Reddy, Anurag Sharma, TN Sudarshan, Dr. HR Meera, Dr. Kannan & Dr. Sharda Narayanan factually deconstruct the numerous errors in their work. Snakes in the Ganga - http://www.snakesintheganga.com Varna Jati Caste - http://www.varnajaticaste.com The Battle For IIT's - http://www.battleforiits.com Power of future Machines - http://www.poweroffuturemachines.com 10 heads of Ravana - http://www.tenheadsofravana.com To support Infinity Foundation's projects including the continuation of such episodes and the research we do: इनफिनिटी फ़ौंडेशन की परियोजनाओं को अनुदान देने के लिए व इस प्रकार के एपिसोड और हमारे द्वारा किये जाने वाले शोध को जारी रखने के लिए: http://infinityfoundation.com/donate-2/ --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/rajivmalhotrapodcast/support

The Ramayana is not one book, but a living text with countless versions across languages, each reflecting the values of its time and place. Arshia Sattar joins Amit Varma to share her insights from decades of study. Also discussed: the art of translation -- and our search for dharma. (FOR FULL LINKED SHOW NOTES, GO TO SEENUNSEEN.IN.) Also check out 1. Arshia Sattar on Amazon, Open and Wikipedia. 2. Valmiki's Ramayana -- Translated by Arshia Sattar. 3. Maryada: Searching for Dharma in the Ramayana -- Arshia Sattar. 4. Lost Loves: Exploring Rama's Anguish -- Arshia Sattar. 5. AK Ramanujan on Amazon and Wikipedia. 6. Wendy Doniger on Amazon and Wikipedia. 7. Alf Hiltebeitel on Amazon and Wikipedia. 8. 300 Ramayanas — AK Ramanujan. 9. On Hinduism and The Hindus — Wendy Doniger. 10. Yuganta — Irawati Karve. 11. The Loneliness of the Indian Woman — Episode 259 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Shrayana Bhattacharya). 12. The Loneliness of the Indian Man — Episode 303 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Nikhil Taneja). 13. 'I Have a Dream' (video) (transcript) -- Martin Luther King. 14. Whatever happened To Ehsan Jafri on February 28, 2002? — Harsh Mander. 15. The Gita Press and Hindu Nationalism — Episode 139 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Akshaya Mukul). 14. Gita Press and the Making of Hindu India — Akshaya Mukul. 15. The Shah Bano case, the Sati at Deorala and the banning of Satanic Verses. 16. 1968: The Year that Rocked the World -- Mark Kurlanksy. 17. The Rooted Cosmopolitanism of Sugata Srinivasaraju — Episode 277 of The Seen and the Unseen. 18. Girish Karnad on Amazon and Wikipedia. 19. Understanding India Through Its Languages — Episode 232 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Peggy Mohan). 20. Wanderers, Kings, Merchants: The Story of India through Its Languages — Peggy Mohan. 21. Early Indians — Episode 112 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Tony Joseph). 22. Early Indians — Tony Joseph. 23. Who We Are and How We Got Here — David Reich. 24. Nissim Ezekiel on Amazon, Wikipedia and All Poetry. 25. The Seven Basic Plots — Christopher Booker. 26. The Long Road From Neeyat to Neeti -- Episode 313 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Pranay Kotasthane and Raghu S Jaitley). 27. Sansar Se Bhage Phirte Ho — Song from Chitralekha with lyrics by Sahir Ludhianvi. 28. Episodes of the Seen and the Unseen on Mughal history with Ira Mukhoty, Parvati Sharma, Rana Safvi and Manimugdha Sharma. 29. Tales from the Kathasaritsagara -- Somadeva (translated by Arshia Sattar). 30. The Second Game of Dice -- Amit Varma. 31. Range Rover -- The archives of Amit Varma's column on poker for the Economic Times. 32. Critical Theory and Structuralism. 33. The Missing Queen -- Samhita Arni. 34. Ramcharitmanas (Hindi) (English) (Wikipedia) -- Tulsidas. 35. Krittivasi Ramayan (Bengali) (Wikipedia) -- Krittibas Ojha. 36. The Kamba Ramayana -- Translated by PS Sundaram. 37. The Odyssey and The Iliad by Homer. 38. David Shulman on Amazon and Wikipedia. 39. Narendra Modi takes a Great Leap Backwards — Amit Varma (on demonetisation). 40. Bimal Krishna Matilal on Amazon and Wikipedia. 41. Dharma: Dimensions of Asian Spirituality -- Alf Hiltebeitel. 42. Understanding Gandhi. Part 1: Mohandas — Episode 104 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Ram Guha). 43. Understanding Gandhi. Part 2: Mahatma — Episode 105 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Ram Guha). 44. The Origins of Evil in Hindu Mythology -- Wendy Doniger. 45. Raja Ravi Varma. 46. Shoodhra Tapasvi -- Kuvempu. 47. Ludwig Wittgenstein on Amazon, Wikipedia, Britannica and Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. 48. The Art of Translation — Episode 168 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Arunava Sinha). 49. The Life and Times of Shanta Gokhale — Episode 311 of The Seen and the Unseen. 50. The Life and Times of Jerry Pinto -- Episode 314 of The Seen and the Unseen. 51. RRR -- SS Rajamouli. 52. The Girish Karnad Podcasts: The Rover Has No Fear of Memories -- An oral history enabled by Arshia Sattar and Anmol Tikoo. 53. This Life At Play: Memoirs -- Girish Karnad. 54. Kind of Blue -- Miles Davis. 55. Elena Ferrante on Amazon. 56. The Door -- Magda Szabó. 57. The Mahabaharata -- Peter Brook. 58. The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie, The Phantom of Liberty, That Obscure Object of Desire — Luis Buñuel. 59. The Unbearable Lightness of Being — Philip Kaufman. 60. The Line -- An Apple Original podcast. This episode is sponsored by CTQ Compounds. Check out The Daily Reader and FutureStack. Use the code UNSEEN for Rs 2500 off. Check out Amit's online course, The Art of Clear Writing. And subscribe to The India Uncut Newsletter. It's free! Episode art: ‘Searching for Dharma' by Simahina.

In this episode, Professor Wendy Doniger, who is one of the world's foremost scholars on Hinduism and Sanskrit, speaks to the Indian Express about what drew her to study Sanskrit and Hinduism, and the backlash over her most successful book “The Hindus: An Alternative History” which was published in 2014. She also talks about why, at its core, Hinduism has always been diverse.(Cover image illustration: Shyam Kumar Prasad)

The Summer 2022 issue of Social Research, Books That Matter II, invited notable scholars to select one book that had a deep and lasting influence on their thinking and life. Joining us this episode is Dr. Wendy Doniger. Dr. Doniger is the Mircea Eliade Distinguished Service Professor of the History of Religions at the University of Chicago, Emerita. She is the author of over forty books, including The Hindus: An Alternative History [2010], Hinduism in the Norton Anthology of World Religions [2014]. Dr. Doniger's essay for Books that Matter II, "My Life in Wonderland", explores the many ways the work of Lewis Carroll has held a special place in her heart. She joined us to discuss her essay and how Carroll's work has threaded through her scholarly work, as well.

Wendy Doniger's After the War: The Last Books of the Mahabharata (Oxford UP, 2022) is a new translation of the final part of the Mahabharata, the great Sanskrit Epic poem about a devastating fraternal war. In this aftermath of the great war, the surviving heroes find various deaths, ranging from a drunken debacle in which they kill many of their own comrades to suicide through meditation and, finally, magical transportation to both heaven and hell. Bereaved mothers and widows on earth are comforted when their dead sons and husbands are magically conjured up from heaven and emerge from a river to spend one glorious night on earth with their loved ones. Ultimately, the bitterly opposed heroes of both sides are reconciled in heaven, but only when they finally let go of the vindictive masculine pride that has made each episode of violence give rise to another. Throughout the text, issues of truth and reconciliation, of the competing beliefs in various afterlives, and of the ultimate purpose of human life are debated. This last part of the Mahabharata has much to tell us both about the deep wisdom of Indian poets during the centuries from 300 BCE to 300 CE (the dates of the recension of this enormous text) and about the problems that we ourselves confront in the aftermath of our own genocidal and internecine wars. The author, a distinguished translator of Sanskrit texts (including the Rig Veda, the Laws of Manu, and the Kamasutra), puts the text into clear, flowing, contemporary prose, with a comprehensive but unintrusive critical apparatus. This book will delight general readers and enlighten students of Indian civilization and of great world literature. Ujaan Ghosh is a graduate student at the Department of Art History at University of Wisconsin, Madison Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

Wendy Doniger's After the War: The Last Books of the Mahabharata (Oxford UP, 2022) is a new translation of the final part of the Mahabharata, the great Sanskrit Epic poem about a devastating fraternal war. In this aftermath of the great war, the surviving heroes find various deaths, ranging from a drunken debacle in which they kill many of their own comrades to suicide through meditation and, finally, magical transportation to both heaven and hell. Bereaved mothers and widows on earth are comforted when their dead sons and husbands are magically conjured up from heaven and emerge from a river to spend one glorious night on earth with their loved ones. Ultimately, the bitterly opposed heroes of both sides are reconciled in heaven, but only when they finally let go of the vindictive masculine pride that has made each episode of violence give rise to another. Throughout the text, issues of truth and reconciliation, of the competing beliefs in various afterlives, and of the ultimate purpose of human life are debated. This last part of the Mahabharata has much to tell us both about the deep wisdom of Indian poets during the centuries from 300 BCE to 300 CE (the dates of the recension of this enormous text) and about the problems that we ourselves confront in the aftermath of our own genocidal and internecine wars. The author, a distinguished translator of Sanskrit texts (including the Rig Veda, the Laws of Manu, and the Kamasutra), puts the text into clear, flowing, contemporary prose, with a comprehensive but unintrusive critical apparatus. This book will delight general readers and enlighten students of Indian civilization and of great world literature. Ujaan Ghosh is a graduate student at the Department of Art History at University of Wisconsin, Madison Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/history

Wendy Doniger's After the War: The Last Books of the Mahabharata (Oxford UP, 2022) is a new translation of the final part of the Mahabharata, the great Sanskrit Epic poem about a devastating fraternal war. In this aftermath of the great war, the surviving heroes find various deaths, ranging from a drunken debacle in which they kill many of their own comrades to suicide through meditation and, finally, magical transportation to both heaven and hell. Bereaved mothers and widows on earth are comforted when their dead sons and husbands are magically conjured up from heaven and emerge from a river to spend one glorious night on earth with their loved ones. Ultimately, the bitterly opposed heroes of both sides are reconciled in heaven, but only when they finally let go of the vindictive masculine pride that has made each episode of violence give rise to another. Throughout the text, issues of truth and reconciliation, of the competing beliefs in various afterlives, and of the ultimate purpose of human life are debated. This last part of the Mahabharata has much to tell us both about the deep wisdom of Indian poets during the centuries from 300 BCE to 300 CE (the dates of the recension of this enormous text) and about the problems that we ourselves confront in the aftermath of our own genocidal and internecine wars. The author, a distinguished translator of Sanskrit texts (including the Rig Veda, the Laws of Manu, and the Kamasutra), puts the text into clear, flowing, contemporary prose, with a comprehensive but unintrusive critical apparatus. This book will delight general readers and enlighten students of Indian civilization and of great world literature. Ujaan Ghosh is a graduate student at the Department of Art History at University of Wisconsin, Madison Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/literary-studies

Wendy Doniger's After the War: The Last Books of the Mahabharata (Oxford UP, 2022) is a new translation of the final part of the Mahabharata, the great Sanskrit Epic poem about a devastating fraternal war. In this aftermath of the great war, the surviving heroes find various deaths, ranging from a drunken debacle in which they kill many of their own comrades to suicide through meditation and, finally, magical transportation to both heaven and hell. Bereaved mothers and widows on earth are comforted when their dead sons and husbands are magically conjured up from heaven and emerge from a river to spend one glorious night on earth with their loved ones. Ultimately, the bitterly opposed heroes of both sides are reconciled in heaven, but only when they finally let go of the vindictive masculine pride that has made each episode of violence give rise to another. Throughout the text, issues of truth and reconciliation, of the competing beliefs in various afterlives, and of the ultimate purpose of human life are debated. This last part of the Mahabharata has much to tell us both about the deep wisdom of Indian poets during the centuries from 300 BCE to 300 CE (the dates of the recension of this enormous text) and about the problems that we ourselves confront in the aftermath of our own genocidal and internecine wars. The author, a distinguished translator of Sanskrit texts (including the Rig Veda, the Laws of Manu, and the Kamasutra), puts the text into clear, flowing, contemporary prose, with a comprehensive but unintrusive critical apparatus. This book will delight general readers and enlighten students of Indian civilization and of great world literature. Ujaan Ghosh is a graduate student at the Department of Art History at University of Wisconsin, Madison Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Wendy Doniger's After the War: The Last Books of the Mahabharata (Oxford UP, 2022) is a new translation of the final part of the Mahabharata, the great Sanskrit Epic poem about a devastating fraternal war. In this aftermath of the great war, the surviving heroes find various deaths, ranging from a drunken debacle in which they kill many of their own comrades to suicide through meditation and, finally, magical transportation to both heaven and hell. Bereaved mothers and widows on earth are comforted when their dead sons and husbands are magically conjured up from heaven and emerge from a river to spend one glorious night on earth with their loved ones. Ultimately, the bitterly opposed heroes of both sides are reconciled in heaven, but only when they finally let go of the vindictive masculine pride that has made each episode of violence give rise to another. Throughout the text, issues of truth and reconciliation, of the competing beliefs in various afterlives, and of the ultimate purpose of human life are debated. This last part of the Mahabharata has much to tell us both about the deep wisdom of Indian poets during the centuries from 300 BCE to 300 CE (the dates of the recension of this enormous text) and about the problems that we ourselves confront in the aftermath of our own genocidal and internecine wars. The author, a distinguished translator of Sanskrit texts (including the Rig Veda, the Laws of Manu, and the Kamasutra), puts the text into clear, flowing, contemporary prose, with a comprehensive but unintrusive critical apparatus. This book will delight general readers and enlighten students of Indian civilization and of great world literature. Ujaan Ghosh is a graduate student at the Department of Art History at University of Wisconsin, Madison Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/south-asian-studies

Wendy Doniger's After the War: The Last Books of the Mahabharata (Oxford UP, 2022) is a new translation of the final part of the Mahabharata, the great Sanskrit Epic poem about a devastating fraternal war. In this aftermath of the great war, the surviving heroes find various deaths, ranging from a drunken debacle in which they kill many of their own comrades to suicide through meditation and, finally, magical transportation to both heaven and hell. Bereaved mothers and widows on earth are comforted when their dead sons and husbands are magically conjured up from heaven and emerge from a river to spend one glorious night on earth with their loved ones. Ultimately, the bitterly opposed heroes of both sides are reconciled in heaven, but only when they finally let go of the vindictive masculine pride that has made each episode of violence give rise to another. Throughout the text, issues of truth and reconciliation, of the competing beliefs in various afterlives, and of the ultimate purpose of human life are debated. This last part of the Mahabharata has much to tell us both about the deep wisdom of Indian poets during the centuries from 300 BCE to 300 CE (the dates of the recension of this enormous text) and about the problems that we ourselves confront in the aftermath of our own genocidal and internecine wars. The author, a distinguished translator of Sanskrit texts (including the Rig Veda, the Laws of Manu, and the Kamasutra), puts the text into clear, flowing, contemporary prose, with a comprehensive but unintrusive critical apparatus. This book will delight general readers and enlighten students of Indian civilization and of great world literature. Ujaan Ghosh is a graduate student at the Department of Art History at University of Wisconsin, Madison Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/indian-religions

Wendy Doniger's After the War: The Last Books of the Mahabharata (Oxford UP, 2022) is a new translation of the final part of the Mahabharata, the great Sanskrit Epic poem about a devastating fraternal war. In this aftermath of the great war, the surviving heroes find various deaths, ranging from a drunken debacle in which they kill many of their own comrades to suicide through meditation and, finally, magical transportation to both heaven and hell. Bereaved mothers and widows on earth are comforted when their dead sons and husbands are magically conjured up from heaven and emerge from a river to spend one glorious night on earth with their loved ones. Ultimately, the bitterly opposed heroes of both sides are reconciled in heaven, but only when they finally let go of the vindictive masculine pride that has made each episode of violence give rise to another. Throughout the text, issues of truth and reconciliation, of the competing beliefs in various afterlives, and of the ultimate purpose of human life are debated. This last part of the Mahabharata has much to tell us both about the deep wisdom of Indian poets during the centuries from 300 BCE to 300 CE (the dates of the recension of this enormous text) and about the problems that we ourselves confront in the aftermath of our own genocidal and internecine wars. The author, a distinguished translator of Sanskrit texts (including the Rig Veda, the Laws of Manu, and the Kamasutra), puts the text into clear, flowing, contemporary prose, with a comprehensive but unintrusive critical apparatus. This book will delight general readers and enlighten students of Indian civilization and of great world literature. Ujaan Ghosh is a graduate student at the Department of Art History at University of Wisconsin, Madison

This week on The Wire Talks listen to our host Sidharth Bhatia in conversation with American Indologist Wendy Doniger. The episode unfolds her keen interest in the Indian tradition and the motto behind her book, An American Girl in India: Letters and Recollections 1963–64. During the interaction, Wendy Doniger shares that her mother gave her a book, A passage to India by E. M. Forster when she was 10-11 years old, which led to her developing interest in India and its tradition.In the chapters of her book, she has penned an incident when she fainted while she attended an animal sacrifice event, thus giving up on the thought of being an anthropologist, witnessing of Indo-Pak war in 1965 and more. Recalling her days in India and why she decided to drape saree, she said, "When I first came to India, I wore my European clothes, I wore dresses and short skirts, and when men started staring at my legs because they weren't used to seeing women's legs at that time, so I started wearing saree and they are more comfortable."She further added adoring Ali Akbar more than Ravi Shankar. Through her books, she debunked myths in terms of politics and gave the readers a different perspective on it. Tune into this brand new episode now.Follow Sidharth Bhatia on Twitter and Instagram @bombaywallah andhttps://instagram.com/bombaywallahYou can listen to this show on The Wire's website, the IVM Podcasts website, app on Android: https://ivm.today/android or iOS: https://ivm.today/ios, or any other podcast app.

My guest this month is Wendy Doniger. Read more about her and her many wonderful books here and here. She was educated at Radcliffe, the only part of Harvard then to admit women, and at Oxford. She has taught at SOAS, but has spent most of her career at the University of Chicago's Divinity School, on the Committee on Social Thought, and in South Asian Languages and Civilizations.Among her teachers, she lists Daniel Ingalls at Harvard, Robert Zaehner at Oxford, and in India, Ali Akbar Khan, from whom she learnt to play the Sarod, and the Purāṇic scholar Rajendra Chandra Hazra.Among the many texts that find mention today are the Kāmasūtra,  Kālidāsa's Kumārasaṃbhava (and that same story as it appears e.g. in the Śivapurāṇa), the story of Nala from the Mahābhārata, and among Professor Doniger's own books, The Origins of Evil in Hindu Mythology, Dreams, Illusion and Other Realities, The Donigers of Great Neck and An American Girl in India, which she talks about here. Read more about Mircea Eliade,  Santiniketan,  the mā niṣāda śloka,  and see the hotel from Gentlemen's Agreement.Among the books Wendy Doniger recommends for kindling our interest in India are The Wonder That Was India, Midnight's Children, A Passage to India, Village India, The Inner Life of Dust, the works of A. K. Ramanujan.Her review of the Goldman translation of The Rāmāyaṇa can be found here.  

My guest this month is the scholar, translator and author Arshia Sattar. You can find her books here and here, and some of her many articles in may places (such as  with Open, the Times of India,  Scroll,  Mint,  and Words Without Borders. Much of her work has been focussing on the Rāmāyaṇa and also the Kathāsaritsāgara.Among her teachers were A.K. Ramanujan, Alf Hiltebeitel and Wendy Doniger. She also mentions Martha Selby, as well as Phil Lutgendorf and his work on the Ramcaritmanas.You can find further interviews with Arshia Sattar here and here, and a conversation between her and Ananya Vajpeyi (our guest last month!)  here.

My guest this month is Ananya Vajpeyi (read more about her and her main publications here). Her current academic home is the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies (CSDS) in Delhi. As you will hear, I did not have a lot of work this time: Ananya only required minimal prompting to tell me the story of her life so far, which spans several countries in three continents and many fascinating encounters in and around academia. Ananya's many teachers include Arindam Chakrabarti, Madhu Khanna, Robert Young, Alexis Sanderson, Jim Benson, Matthew Kapstein, Patrick Olivelle, David Shulman,  Sheldon Pollock, Gayatri Spivak and Wendy Doniger. She has worked closely with Pratap Bhanu Mehta, Ashis Nandy and Rajeev Bhargava.She studied and did research at Lady Shri Ram College, the School of Languages at JNU, the University of Oxford, the University of Chicago, the University of Pune, Deccan College and the Bhandarkar Institute.Read more about Ferdinand de Saussure and his Course in General Linguistics, the volume resulting from the 'Ideology and Status of Sanskrit conference; about shudras, Shivaji, Ambedkar and Jim Laine; the Murty Library and the controversy around its editor; and about the fellowships at the Kluge Center and at CRASSH. 

In this episode we will attempt to understand what makes Indian food so distinct and why Hindus follow certain restrictions when it comes to food, such as the common practice of vegetarianism and the prohibition of cow meat. Furthermore, we will explore why and when Hindus fast and explain the significance of prasad. Tune in to find out more!Learn more here: Minority Nurse, 3-30-2013, "Hindu Dietary Practices: Feeding the Body, Mind and Soul,"https://minoritynurse.com/hindu-dietary-practices-feeding-the-body-mind-and-soul/Wendy Doniger, 7-16-2017, "Hinduism and its complicated history with cows (and people who eat them)," Conversation, https://theconversation.com/hinduism-and-its-complicated-history-with-cows-and-people-who-eat-them-80586https://www.gyanunlimited.com/health/yoga-food-sattvic-rajasic-and-tamasic-diet/11018/https://www.yogiapproved.com/eating-dosha/http://www.wholesomeayurveda.com/2017/10/21/sattvic-rajasic-tamasic-ayurveda-food-mind-body/https://faithinfood.wordpress.com/spirituality-food/hinduism/

What's The Chakkar? In Episode 12, we will be joined by Saurabh Sharma, Prateek Santram, and Ady Manral to discuss books by Wendy Doniger and Sophia Naz, celebrate the 20th year of the film Lagaan, and listen to a groovy track by the artist Dot. Hosted by Karan Madhok.

Raj Balkaran speaks with Wendy Doniger about her new book Winged Stallions and Wicked Mares: Horses in Indian Myth and History (University of Virginia Press, 2021), along with her translation of the final four books of the Mahābhārata's Critical Edition translation project, the power of the purāṇas, cultural appropriation, and more! Raj Balkaran is a scholar, educator, consultant, and life coach. For information see rajbalkaran.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

Raj Balkaran speaks with Wendy Doniger about her new book Winged Stallions and Wicked Mares: Horses in Indian Myth and History (University of Virginia Press, 2021), along with her translation of the final four books of the Mahābhārata's Critical Edition translation project, the power of the purāṇas, cultural appropriation, and more! Raj Balkaran is a scholar, educator, consultant, and life coach. For information see rajbalkaran.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/indian-religions

Raj Balkaran speaks with Wendy Doniger about her new book Winged Stallions and Wicked Mares: Horses in Indian Myth and History (University of Virginia Press, 2021), along with her translation of the final four books of the Mahābhārata's Critical Edition translation project, the power of the purāṇas, cultural appropriation, and more! Raj Balkaran is a scholar, educator, consultant, and life coach. For information see rajbalkaran.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/folkore

Raj Balkaran speaks with Wendy Doniger about her new book Winged Stallions and Wicked Mares: Horses in Indian Myth and History (University of Virginia Press, 2021), along with her translation of the final four books of the Mahābhārata's Critical Edition translation project, the power of the purāṇas, cultural appropriation, and more! Raj Balkaran is a scholar, educator, consultant, and life coach. For information see rajbalkaran.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/history

Raj Balkaran speaks with Wendy Doniger about her new book Winged Stallions and Wicked Mares: Horses in Indian Myth and History (University of Virginia Press, 2021), along with her translation of the final four books of the Mahābhārata's Critical Edition translation project, the power of the purāṇas, cultural appropriation, and more! Raj Balkaran is a scholar, educator, consultant, and life coach. For information see rajbalkaran.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/animal-studies

Raj Balkaran speaks with Wendy Doniger about her new book Winged Stallions and Wicked Mares: Horses in Indian Myth and History (University of Virginia Press, 2021), along with her translation of the final four books of the Mahābhārata's Critical Edition translation project, the power of the purāṇas, cultural appropriation, and more! Raj Balkaran is a scholar, educator, consultant, and life coach. For information see rajbalkaran.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/south-asian-studies

Matsyanyaaya #1: What Does Pakistan’s Cadmean Victory in Afghanistan Mean for IndiaBig fish eating small fish = Foreign Policy in action— Pranay Kotasthane(This is a draft of my article which appeared first in Times of India’s Tuesday, August 23rd edition.)Taliban's takeover of Kabul is forcing India to reassess its aims and objectives concerning Afghanistan. Of primary interest is the impact of this development on Pakistan. On this question, two views have come to light over the last few days.The first view cautions against the increase in terrorism from Pakistan. The recommendation arising from this view is that India needs to coalesce anti-Pakistan factions in Afghanistan. The counter-view focuses on the inevitability of a split between the Taliban and Pakistan. The assumption being that once the Taliban assumes political control over Afghanistan, it is bound to take some stances that will go against the interests of its sponsor. The recommendation arising from this view is that India should sit back. It should let things unfold because Pakistan's victory is a Cadmean one — it comes with massive costs for Pakistan's economy, society, and politics.Which of these two divergent views is likely to play out?  To understand what the Taliban's victory means for Pakistan — and hence India — it is useful to model Pakistan as two geopolitical entities, not one. The first entity is a seemingly normal Pakistani state, presumably concerned first and foremost with the peace and prosperity of its citizens. The second entity is what my colleague Nitin Pai has named the Pakistani military-jihadi complex (MJC). Comprising the military, militant, radical Islamist and political-economic nodes, the MJC pursues domestic and foreign policies to ensure its survival and dominance. For the MJC, positioning and defeating the existential enemy — India — is key to ensure its hold over the other Pakistan.Taliban's takeover of Afghanistan will be perceived differently by these two Pakistani entities. The non-MJC Pakistan would be worried about the Taliban's march to power. It would fear the spillover of terrorism inside its borders, orchestrated by groups such as the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan. Politically, a powerful Taliban would pose the threat of breathing new life in the Durand Line question. On the economic front, the prospect of a dependent Taliban government further draining Pakistan's dwindling resources would be another cause of concern. In short, if this entity were in charge of Pakistan's foreign policy, it wouldn't have doggedly invested in the Taliban.That's quite clearly not the case. Taliban's takeover, on the other hand, is a strategic victory for the MJC. Over the last two decades, it has played a risky game sheltering and guiding the Taliban's actions while also supporting the US in its Afghanistan campaign. When things went wrong, the MJC was able to pass the blame to the other, weaker Pakistan. Recently, it played a role in steering the Afghan Taliban to sign the Doha agreement. It worked over the last two decades to reduce the Indian economic and political footprint in Afghanistan. Given the efforts it has put in, the MJC is sure to perceive the Taliban's comeback as an indisputable victory. This success would bolster the MJC's strategy of long-term commitment to terrorist groups. More importantly, it consolidates its relative dominance over the other Pakistan.  How does this affect India?As the MJC's domestic position strengthens, its anti-India aims will grow stronger. There is a possibility of the MJC moving its terror outfits to Loya Paktika in eastern Afghanistan, a hotbed of anti-India activities in the past. This scenario would allow the MJC to use terrorism against India while claiming it has no control over these elements.Many commentators have argued that the world in 2021 will not let off perpetrators of terrorism easily. But they seem to forget that the return of the Taliban illustrates that the opposite is true. As long as terrorism is portrayed as an instrument of a domestic insurgency, the world will continue to look away. For instance, the Taliban continued terrorist attacks inside Afghanistan even as it was negotiating with the US at Doha. And yet, the US, UK, Russia, and China chose to bring the group back in power.  Second, to see the MJC threat from the issue of terrorism alone is to miss the bigger picture. By demonstrating the success of its policies in Afghanistan, the MJC would be energised to use other methods of asymmetric warfare against India. More than the means, the Taliban's victory is the reaffirmation of its objectives.    What should India do?First and foremost, India must prepare for a reduced economic and diplomatic footprint in Afghanistan. Given the positive role India has played there over the last two decades, a sunk cost fallacy might drive India to make overtures to the Taliban. Such a policy is unlikely to pay dividends. The MJC will ensure that India's presence is severely restricted. In Afghanistan, it would be better to wait for the tide to change.  Second, India would need to raise its guard on the Pakistan border. With the perceived threat of Indian presence close to Balochistan going away, the MJC is likely to be more adventurous in using conventional and non-conventional warfare against India. Domestically, it means returning Jammu & Kashmir to near-normalcy becomes all the more urgent. More the discontent there, the easier it would be for the MJC to exploit the situation.  Third, strengthen the partnership with the US. The MJC has always been dependent on external benefactors for its survival. While China is playing that role today, it alone is insufficient to bear the burden. The MJC will be desperate to get the US to finance its ambitions based on its credentials to influence outcomes in Afghanistan. Hence, it's vital that India's relationship with the US must remain stronger than the relationship that MJC has with the US. Finally, amidst the current focus on US failures in Afghanistan, it shouldn't be forgotten that both India and the US need each other to confront the bigger strategic challenge: China.Regardless of the turn that Taliban-Pakistan relations take, an ideological victory for the MJC is bound to have repercussions in India. India must prepare to face the renewed challenge. (This is a draft of my article which appeared first in Times of India’s Tuesday, August 23rd edition.)India Policy Watch: Our Past, Our FutureInsights on burning policy issues in India- RSJA topic we often like to explore here is the history of thought. We cover a fair amount of western philosophy and we have tried gamely to include Indic thought while writing about current issues. In fact, a recurring section on international relations in this newsletter is called ‘matsyanyaya’. I’m no expert but I suspect writing here has helped me with a point of view on the Indian state and its relation to the history of Indian thought. Broadly, I have made three points on this over multiple editions:A nation is an imagined community and any newly independent State had to work on constructing this imagination. This meant they had to make three moves. One, they had to have a modern conception of themselves which was distinct from their past. Two, to make this ‘modernity’ acceptable, they had to present this conception as a ‘reawakening’ of their community. This gave them a link to their past. This past was a living truth for the members of this community and it couldn’t simply be erased. Three, historians were then called in to rewrite the past which served this narrative. This is the classic Benedict Anderson recipe and India is a fine example of using it in 1947. (Edition # 62)The Indian state formed post-independence was based on a radical act of forgetting the past. The Indian constitution wasn’t merely a legal framework to run the state. It was also a tool for social revolution. Society wasn’t trusted to reform itself with the speed that was necessary for India to modernise. It had to be induced from the outside by the state. (Edition #28)The hope was the liberal state would change the society before it could catch up. This hasn’t turned out to be true. Now the society looks likely to change the state in its image. And what’s the society like today? Like Hazari Prasad Dwivedi, once put it: ‘jab dil bhara ho aur dimaag khali hai’. Its heart is full of emotional torment but its mind is devoid of imagination. The society has somewhat vague notions of its ancient glory and civilisational sense of superiority because of it. But it’s not sure of what to make of it in today’s world. (Edition # 118 and Edition #128)So, I was happy to pick up Pavan K. Varma’s new book The Great Hindu Civilisation: Achievement, Neglect, Bias and the Way Forwardwhich as the name suggests covers these grounds. Varma is a former civil servant and a prolific writer whose works I have found tremendously engaging. Over the years he has written on a wide range of subjects - the great Indian epics, Ghalib and Gulzar, the Indian middle class, Kamasutra, Krishna and Draupadi. His last book was a well-researched biography of Adi Shankaracharya that also doubled up as a short introduction to various schools of Hindu philosophy with a special emphasis on Vedanta. Suppressing A Great CivilisationIn The Great Hindu Civilisation (‘TGHC’), Varma makes three arguments based on his deep understanding of ancient Indian texts and his scholarship on Indian history:Argument 1: India is a civilisational state. The achievements of ancient India in philosophy, metaphysics, arts, statecraft and science are unparalleled. These have been lost to us. We must reclaim their wisdom and apply it to our lives. Varma writes:Above all, it is my premise that this Hindu civilisation has few parallels in terms of the cerebral energy invested in it…. It was sustained by the unrelenting application of mind, in every field—metaphysics, philosophy, art, creativity, polity, society, science and economics. Nothing in it was random or happenstance. … When people are ruptured from their heritage, they are essentially rootless, not always lacking proficiency in their specific area of work, but essentially deracinated, mimic people, inured to another’s culture more than their own. Hindu civilisation was based on moulik soch or original thought, where each aspect of creativity was studied, examined, interrogated, discussed and experimented upon in the search for excellence. But when this great legacy was summarily devalued and looked upon as a liability to modernity, it left an entire people adrift from their cultural moorings, lacking authenticity and becoming a derivative people.Argument 2: Marxist historians, western Hinduphobic intellectuals, deracinated Indians and a self-serving Indian elite have long played a charade that there’s hardly anything real as a Hindu civilisation. This has given us a distorted picture of our past, about the impact of Islamic invaders and British colonialism on our culture and has prevented any honest inquiry into the real achievements of our civilisation. A false fear of Hindu aggrandisement is repeatedly stoked up at any such pursuit. The usual cast of deracinated suspects is named - Macaulay, Raja Ram Mohan Roy, Amartya Sen, Romila Thapar, Irfan Habib, Wendy Doniger and, of course, Nehru. Though Varma cushions the jabs on Nehru a bit by blaming it on his associates or his naiveté. As he argues:Marxist historians devalue the civilisational tag of ancient India by analysing it exclusively in class and economic terms. Certainly, this is also one way of studying the past, but the problem is twofold. Firstly, this approach excludes all other dimensions, and insists that this is the only way to evaluate history. Secondly, the tools used are highly derivative, an almost complete transplant of Marx’s outdated, uninformed and stereotypical analytical framework in the Indian context.There is, of course, a basic irony in Hinduism’s derogation by some ‘liberals’. One would have thought that liberal opinion would be appreciative of a religion that relies less on dogma and more on debate. It would make a virtue of the fact that Hinduism enables diversity to thrive when many other faiths are prescriptive and rely on diktat. However, instead of lauding this eclecticism, they conclude that Hinduism is only about diversity ad infinitum.  Argument 3: Since the Hindu society has been systematically denied its real history, reactionary and lumpen elements have appropriated the task of peddling their version of history. This is the price to pay for distorting history instead of facing up to the truth. If we have to counter the thugs who have political and state patronage today, we have to make the ordinary Indians truly aware of their real Hindu heritage. This knowledge of the liberal, encompassing nature of Hindu philosophy is the best antidote to any fundamentalist ideology. He writes:The prescriptive element that the new, so-called evangelists of Hinduism are bringing in is anathema for most Hindus. Hinduism has always been a way of life. Hindus don’t like to be told what to do and what not to do, what to eat and what to drink, what to wear and how to behave, what to watch and what to read, who to meet and who not to, how to practise their religion and how to be good Hindus.The real danger is that we are witnessing the emergence of a lumpen leadership that believes that it has a monopoly to interpret Hinduism and Hindu civilisation. Since time immemorial, Hindus have faced many travails and setbacks but have survived them by drawing upon the great strengths of their culture: tradition and faith. Even in the greatest adversity, Hinduism have never allowed its core cerebration and idealism to be compromised. So What?My reaction while reading the book ranged from vigorous nods of approval to what is colloquially referred to as ‘abey yaar’. I will elaborate further here.Firstly, I agree with Varma about India being a civilisational state and Hinduism or sanatanadharma being a common cultural thread that runs through the length and breadth of this land. This is a lived experience for all of us and Varma quotes many examples of common rituals and practices that have been around for centuries to back this assertion. Denying this is an exercise in futility and serves no useful purpose except alienating a large section of Indians. Secondly, I’m happy to concede Varma’s contention that ancient Hindu civilisation was the pinnacle of human achievement during its time. “There was a holistic interconnectedness that informed it, and this unified vision permeated all aspects of its highly complex intellectual construct.”   Fair enough. A bit over the top but that’s fine. My question is what do we do with such an ancient but highly complex intellectual construct now? Almost every text Varma refers to was written hundreds of years before CE. Many of these are metatexts unmoored from their context or what formed the basis for such scholarship. One could read the hymns of Rig Veda on the conception of the universe today but what does that do to our understanding of science. To merely say it is similar to what quantum physics postulates today has limited meaning. It is the equivalent of saying Da Vinci designed all sorts of futuristic machines so let’s study him for scientific insights today. Even Arthashastra can be read to appreciate the philosophy of statecraft and economics of ancient India but beyond a concept or two that might be relevant today, what purpose will it serve? The problem here is there has been no reinterpretation or updates on these texts over two thousand years. I come from a town that houses one of the four mathas (seats) of Shankaracharya. I always wondered what stopped the scholars of the matha to do more to make their knowledge accessible. Resources? Scholarship? Interest? My personal experience suggests even they do not know what to do with this knowledge in the modern world. To draw a parallel, the reason a few texts of Greek philosophers are still taught selectively in western universities is because many philosophers of the renaissance and enlightenment used them to build further on their thoughts on ethics, politics and the state . Nobody reads their views on science, for instance, anymore. That’s because later philosophers falsified it. Similarly, there’s an unbroken chain of thinking from Adam Smith to a Piketty or a Sowell (choose your poison) today. So, it makes sense to selectively read Smith to get a basic understanding of how economic thought has evolved and then apply it further today. This is missing with the great ancient texts that hold Varma in raptures. How will reading texts of Aryabhatta and Bhaskara help mathematics students of today? Knowing about them could be useful to impress others about our great mathematical tradition but what beyond that? Will our rank on PISA change because of it? I suspect not. I will be keen to hear from readers on this.Varma also goes overboard at places and loses objectivity. Natya Shastra was probably a great achievement as a treatise on arts and theatre. But to imagine that western thought on aesthetics began from a series of articles on ‘The Pleasures of the Imagination’, a 1712 piece by Joseph Addison in the Spectator, as he writes, is to ignore the entire history of ancient Greek playwrights or even Shakespeare whose plays were running in London almost a hundred years before Addison’s articles. Here Varma possibly betrays the same flaws he accuses the likes of Doniger or Romila Thapar through the book. Anyway, I find no convincing answer from Varma on how a deeper understanding of these texts will help us today. Some kind of pride and a sense of identity is alluded to as the benefits through the book but I failed to appreciate its material manifestation.Thirdly, Varma talks about caste and patriarchy in Hindu civilisation but almost in passing. There are possibly 15 pages (if that) on this topic across the book. Even in them, Varma talks about the usual tropes first. That the original Hindu texts were suffused with liberal doctrine, how Shankara came across a Chandala in Kashi and placed him at par with the Brahmin or the usual list of women of ancient India - Gargi, Maitreyi or even the fictional Draupadi - to suggest how open Hinduism in its original version was. Only after this does Varma go on for a few pages on how things went bad over time. Finally, he writes:However, in spite of such high-minded protestations, there is no denying that the working of caste in actual social practice was a pervasive evil. It was—and is—an indelible blot on the civilisational legacy of India; it kept large parts of the populace institutionally cut-off from the many achievements of Hindu India, and also unleashed inhuman suffering for no other reason than the accident of birth.Yet, in spite of such unforgiveable failings, the overall achievements of this period of our history are truly remarkable, and are crying out for a much delayed recognition. What we need to realise is that across the length and breadth of Bharatvarsha, there evolved, over millennia, a civilisation that showed a profound application of mind to every aspect of organised as well as abstract human behaviour. It demonstrated the capacity of great and courageous divergent thinking, refusing to restrict itself to simplistic certitudes, and a willingness to wade deep into concepts and constructs that challenged conventional thought. Varma thinks of caste as an unforgivable failing. Is it a mere failing? Or, is it, as it has been often argued, the inevitable outcome of our civilisational construct? Who can tell? If after all these centuries, the one pervasive cultural reality that has prevailed in our society is caste, how should we think about it? The same argument holds for patriarchy and the place of women in our society. The reclaiming of the wisdom of the texts that Varma advocates - can it be done without facing up to the ‘material’ reality of caste and patriarchy that will accompany it? At abstract, Varma may be right. But the act of reclaiming won’t restrict itself to the realm of the abstract. I will come back to this at the end of the piece. Fourthly, is Varma the first scholar to question the version of our history that has been fed to us by the colonialist academia? Is he the first to lament the state of the culturally unmoored Indian elite and educated class who need to be brought home to the glory of our ancient civilisation? If not, what happened to previous such attempts? This is an area that has held my interest for a few years. And I’d like to highlight two 20th century intellectuals who spent their lifetime studying ancient Indian texts, translating them and looking to find their relevance in the modern context - Shri Aurobindo and Hazari Prasad Dwivedi. These are no ordinary names. They were first-rate intellectuals with rare felicity in both western and eastern philosophies. Varma quotes Aurobindo a few times in the book. So, what did they conclude? I’m going to stick my neck out and make some broad generalisation here. Aurobindo started this pursuit with an aim to find the modern relevance of our ancient texts and to spread it far and wide. What did he end up with? A very personal journey into the self that was mystical and detached from the material. Anything else couldn’t be transferred. That’s what he concluded. Dwivedi translated some of the great works of our past and wrote on our literary history in Hindi. But, in the end, he had to contend with the reality of the present. If we were such a great civilisation, why is our present the way it is? And he wasn’t content blaming the colonial rule or our lack of appreciation of our past. There was something else that was missing. Now you could persuade me to believe it was the ‘foreign’ invaders for over thousand years that’s responsible for our present. Maybe it is true. But that rupture is a reality and that discontinuity is so large that any attempt to bridge it through a modern reinterpretation of ancient texts can only be an academic ‘feel good’ exercise. Not a way forward to the future. Separately, it is worth pointing out here another area where I think Varma had a weak argument. How did Hinduism survive the Islamic or Turkish onslaught and the Mughal hegemony while other countries like Indonesia or Malaysia turned Muslim under the sword. This is a question that’s often asked in many debates of this kind. Varma’s answer is below:The Bhakti movement was Hinduism’s response to the violent and proselytising Islamic invasion. In this sense, it was as much about renewal as it was about self-preservation. If Hinduism had not shown the suppleness and energy to reinvent itself, and had remained brittle and fossilised as in earlier structures without the mass support enabled by the Bhakti movement, it may have suffered the same fate that befell it (and Buddhism) in Indonesia with the advent of Islam.   There are two problems with this thesis. One, the Bhakti movement in many areas of India predate the Islamic conquest of those areas. Between the 10th-12th centuries, large parts of West, South and East India where the Bhakti movement gained strength were still under Hindu (or Jain) kings. Two, what do a cursory look at the Bhakti movement and its output reveal? Women and those from the bottom of the social pyramid often led the way. Their songs spoke of their desire to be one with God without an intermediary in between. Those who opposed them were mostly upper-caste Hindu men. The Bhakti movement was indeed a rupture in Indian cultural history. But, to me, it appears it was more an internal response of the most exploited section of Hinduism to its entrenched caste establishment. Not to Islam. Fifthly, Varma is sincere in his defence of real Hinduism against what he calls the “illiterate bigotry of the self-anointed new ‘protectors’ of Hinduism.” He writes:Knowledge is a great enabler. Anyone who has studied Hinduism, or acquired even a basic familiarity about its lofty eclecticism and deep cerebration, would laugh out of the room those who seek to conflate this great faith only with violence and exclusion. Varma almost thinks the ‘lumpenisation’ of Hinduism (as he calls it) is a phenomenon in the abstract that has arisen because people don’t know real Hinduism. It might be true but empirical evidence goes against it. Any ‘nationalist’ exercise of reclaiming the past after the advent of modern nation-states runs the risk of ‘instrumentalising’ this past for political gains in the present. This holds true everywhere - in pre-WW2 Germany or Japan, in current-day Turkey and in communist China. For instance, there’s nothing that the Party in China learns from Confucius or some ancient Han dynasty view of the Middle Kingdom that it sincerely wants to apply today. It is a mere ‘instrument’ to homogenise its people, perpetuate the party supremacy or use it for diplomatic parleys with other nations. Varma believes one can ‘thread the needle’ by taking the great and the good from the past while avoiding the instrumental use of it which manifests in form of bigotry and minority persecution. But it is a difficult task. So here’s the thing. How should I think of Nehru, Ambedkar and other ‘liberals’? Those who decided to use the Constitution to rid India of the ‘deadwood of the past’. One way to think of them is as intellectuals who appreciated the glory of our ancient past but realised any kind of reclaiming of that past in the modern conception of the state will bring along with it all the baggage and the ‘deadwood’. They feared the good of that past will be buried soon under the ‘unforgivable failings’ that accompany it. So, they let it be. And decided to begin afresh. Varma is in a different reality today. He sees the hijacking of Hinduism, as he would put it, in front of his eyes. The ‘instrumental’ use of religion for narrow purposes by those who don’t understand it at all. Yet, he hopes it is possible to thread the needle between the good and the bad of the past. The likes of Nehru feared this would happen and tried to avoid it. Varma finds it around him and yet wants to go down that path. Maybe because he’s a good man and an optimist. Having read him over the years, I’d like to believe so. A Framework a Week: How to Analyse an AnalysisTools for thinking public policy— Pranay KotasthaneIf I were given the power to change one subject in school syllabi, I would introduce analytical thinking. In the Information Age, we are exposed to several opinions on any given topic. Impactful analogies and powerful metaphors can change our thinking about a topic. Sometimes, our views end up being a regurgitation of the last good opinion piece we’ve come across. Hence, wouldn’t it be great if we have a framework to analyse opinions, whether in the form of papers, articles, or books? That’s where Analytical Thinking comes in. To systematically think about how we think can help us deeply reflect on an opinion instead of being swayed by the fast brain into outrage or vehement agreement. Last week, I revisited this eightfold path for analysing the logic of a book/article/paper in the book The Thinker's Guide to Analytic Thinking by Linda Elder and Richard Paul. The framework forces us to reflect on eight dimensions:The main purpose of this article is ____. (Here you are trying to state, as accurately as possible, the author’s intent in writing the article. What was the author trying to accomplish?)The key question that the author is addressing is ____. (Your goal is to figure out the key question that was in the mind of the author when he/she wrote the article. What was the key question addressed in the article?)The most important information in this article is ____. (You want to identify the key information the author used, or presupposed, in the article to support his/her main arguments. Here you are looking for facts, experiences, and/or data the author is using to support his/her conclusions.)The main inferences in this article are ___ (You want to identify the most important conclusions the author comes to and presents in the article).The key concept(s) we need to understand in this article is (are) __. By these concepts the author means __. (To identify these ideas, ask yourself: What are the most important ideas that you would have to know to understand the author’s line of reasoning? Then briefly elaborate what the author means by these ideas.)The main assumption(s) underlying the author’s thinking is (are) _ (Ask yourself: What is the author taking for granted that might be questioned? The assumptions are generalizations that the author does not think he/she has to defend in the context of writing the article, and they are usually unstated. This is where the author’s thinking logically begins.)If we accept this line of reasoning (completely or partially), the implications are ___. (What consequences are likely to follow if people take the author’s line of reasoning seriously? Here you are to pursue the logical implications of the author’s position. You should include implications that the author states, and also those that the author does not state.) If we fail to accept this line of reasoning, the implications are __. (What consequences are likely to follow if people ignore the author’s reasoning?)The main point(s) of view presented in this article is (are) _. (The main question you are trying to answer here is: What is the author looking at, and how is he/she seeing it? For example, in this mini-guide we are looking at “analysis” and seeing it “as requiring one to understand” and routinely apply the elements of reasoning when thinking through problems, issues, subjects, etc.).[Elder, Linda; Paul, Richard. The Thinker's Guide to Analytic Thinking (Kindle Locations 353-365). Foundation for Critical Thinking. Kindle Edition]The framework is intense but is super helpful in analysing topics you want to master. It shares similarities with the Indian debating tradition called the purva paksha — representing your opponent’s view faithfully before criticising it. Matsyanyaaya #2: US Credibility and India’s OptionsBig fish eating small fish = Foreign Policy in action— Pranay KotasthaneThe humanitarian crisis triggered by a botched US withdrawal has sparked an old debate on reliability in international relations. In several countries which count themselves as US partners, the question being posed is: will the US prove to be a fickle partner, like it did in Afghanistan?For a long time, I have wondered if using terms such as reliability or reputation is a case of category error. Trust, reliability, all-weather friendship apply to human relationships. Transplanting these ideas to an amoral domain such as international relations does not make sense, is what I believed. The current debate surrounding US credibility helped me update my priors. First up, if you want to read the literature on reliability and reputation in international relations, Paul Poast has a typically useful Twitter thread compiling important works on this topic. Out of these articles, Don Casler’s post stands out in its clarity. He writes in Duck of Minerva:“One major issue in discourse about credibility is that policy and media elites often conflate a group of interrelated but distinct concepts: credibility, reputation, and resolve.Credibility is the perceived likelihood that an actor will follow through on her threats or promises. Reputation is a belief about an actor’s persistent characteristics or tendencies based on her past behavior. Resolve is the willingness to stand firm and pay costs in the face of pressure to back down.In theory, an actor’s reputation for resolve — along with her capabilities and interests — contributes to her credibility by shaping observers’ estimates whether she is likely to follow through on her commitments.However, reputation and credibility are ultimately beliefs held by others. If we want to predict how foreign governments will react to U.S. foreign policy decisions, then we need to understand their theories about how the world works.” The last line is important from the Indian perspective. The sense of being wronged by the west is a continuing strand in India’s conception of the world. Specifically, the US’ anti-India stance in the 1971 war continues to cast a long shadow over India-US relations. The cohort that already holds these views will use the US withdrawal to reaffirm its scepticism.Even so, I would argue that this perceived lack of US credibility is not the most important determinant of India-US relations for three reasons:One, the younger cohort of millennials and post-millennials perceive the US differently. Their imagination about the US is shaped by the India-US civil nuclear deal, a decline in US-Pakistan bonhomie, and perhaps most importantly, the deep connections between the markets and societies in the two countries. Two, a common strategic adversary — China — reduces the salience of the reputation question. In an amoral setting, interests trump reputational concerns. When facing a powerful common adversary, you don’t get to pick or change your partners. Seen this way, China’s aggressive and arrogant approach further cements the India-US relationship. Perhaps, this would be a good time for the Quad to make a few major announcements on trade and technology to douse the reputation question. Three, the US backing of the Pakistani military-jihadi complex is less of a problem than it was a decade ago. The US administration’s statements on Kashmir and Balakot airstrikes are vastly different from what the older cohort of policymakers in India is used to. The US would do well to continue this strategy instead of empowering the military-jihadi complex with the false hope that it would make the Taliban behave. So, what do you think? In a world with just two options, should India choose a less reliable, more powerful partner or a more reliable, less powerful partner? HomeWorkReading and listening recommendations on public policy matters[Video] Pavan K. Varma talks about his book The Great Hindu Civilisation at HLF with Advaita Kala. I might have been a tad unfair about some arguments of Varma. So, it is best to read the book or listen to him directly.[Podcast] Ghazala Wahab was on Puliyabaazi discussing Indian Islam and its variants. In times when Hindu-Muslim bayaanbaazi is far more prevalent, we believe conversations such as these can help dismantle false notions the two communities hold. [Survey] Takshashila has put out India’s Global Outlook Survey. The survey is an effort to bridge the knowledge gap around how Indian policymakers, the strategic affairs community and ordinary citizens view India’s role in the world. Do take the survey. Get on the email list at publicpolicy.substack.com

The river becomes the theatre for a morality play on Pandemic, politics and Hinduism. Uma Bharti and Hinduism scholar Wendy Doniger weigh in.

By combining the spirit of fiction with the fabulism of Indian mythology and in-depth academic research, Vanessa R. Sasson shares the evocative story of the Buddha from the perspective of a forgotten woman: Yasodhara, the Buddha's wife. Although often marginalized, Yasodhara's narrative here comes to life. Written with a strong feminist voice, we encounter Yasodhara as a fiercely independent, passionate and resilient individual. We witness her joys and sorrows, her expectations and frustrations, her fairy-tale wedding, and her overwhelming devastation at the departure of her beloved. It is through her eyes that we witness Siddhattha's slow transformation, from a sheltered prince to a deeply sensitive young man. On the way, we see how the gods watch over the future Buddha from the clouds, how the king and his ministers try to keep the suffering of the world from him and how he eventually renounces the throne, his wife and newly-born son to seek enlightenment. Along with a foreword from Wendy Doniger, Yasodhara and the Buddha (Bloomsbury Publishing, 2020) includes a scholarly introduction to Yasodhara's narrative and offers extensive notes along with study questions, to help readers navigate the traditional literature in a new way, making this an essential book for anyone wanting to learn about Buddhist narratives. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

By combining the spirit of fiction with the fabulism of Indian mythology and in-depth academic research, Vanessa R. Sasson shares the evocative story of the Buddha from the perspective of a forgotten woman: Yasodhara, the Buddha's wife. Although often marginalized, Yasodhara's narrative here comes to life. Written with a strong feminist voice, we encounter Yasodhara as a fiercely independent, passionate and resilient individual. We witness her joys and sorrows, her expectations and frustrations, her fairy-tale wedding, and her overwhelming devastation at the departure of her beloved. It is through her eyes that we witness Siddhattha's slow transformation, from a sheltered prince to a deeply sensitive young man. On the way, we see how the gods watch over the future Buddha from the clouds, how the king and his ministers try to keep the suffering of the world from him and how he eventually renounces the throne, his wife and newly-born son to seek enlightenment. Along with a foreword from Wendy Doniger, Yasodhara and the Buddha (Bloomsbury Publishing, 2020) includes a scholarly introduction to Yasodhara's narrative and offers extensive notes along with study questions, to help readers navigate the traditional literature in a new way, making this an essential book for anyone wanting to learn about Buddhist narratives. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/indian-religions

By combining the spirit of fiction with the fabulism of Indian mythology and in-depth academic research, Vanessa R. Sasson shares the evocative story of the Buddha from the perspective of a forgotten woman: Yasodhara, the Buddha's wife. Although often marginalized, Yasodhara's narrative here comes to life. Written with a strong feminist voice, we encounter Yasodhara as a fiercely independent, passionate and resilient individual. We witness her joys and sorrows, her expectations and frustrations, her fairy-tale wedding, and her overwhelming devastation at the departure of her beloved. It is through her eyes that we witness Siddhattha's slow transformation, from a sheltered prince to a deeply sensitive young man. On the way, we see how the gods watch over the future Buddha from the clouds, how the king and his ministers try to keep the suffering of the world from him and how he eventually renounces the throne, his wife and newly-born son to seek enlightenment. Along with a foreword from Wendy Doniger, Yasodhara and the Buddha (Bloomsbury Publishing, 2020) includes a scholarly introduction to Yasodhara's narrative and offers extensive notes along with study questions, to help readers navigate the traditional literature in a new way, making this an essential book for anyone wanting to learn about Buddhist narratives. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/gender-studies

By combining the spirit of fiction with the fabulism of Indian mythology and in-depth academic research, Vanessa R. Sasson shares the evocative story of the Buddha from the perspective of a forgotten woman: Yasodhara, the Buddha's wife. Although often marginalized, Yasodhara's narrative here comes to life. Written with a strong feminist voice, we encounter Yasodhara as a fiercely independent, passionate and resilient individual. We witness her joys and sorrows, her expectations and frustrations, her fairy-tale wedding, and her overwhelming devastation at the departure of her beloved. It is through her eyes that we witness Siddhattha's slow transformation, from a sheltered prince to a deeply sensitive young man. On the way, we see how the gods watch over the future Buddha from the clouds, how the king and his ministers try to keep the suffering of the world from him and how he eventually renounces the throne, his wife and newly-born son to seek enlightenment. Along with a foreword from Wendy Doniger, Yasodhara and the Buddha (Bloomsbury Publishing, 2020) includes a scholarly introduction to Yasodhara's narrative and offers extensive notes along with study questions, to help readers navigate the traditional literature in a new way, making this an essential book for anyone wanting to learn about Buddhist narratives. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

By combining the spirit of fiction with the fabulism of Indian mythology and in-depth academic research, Vanessa R. Sasson shares the evocative story of the Buddha from the perspective of a forgotten woman: Yasodhara, the Buddha's wife. Although often marginalized, Yasodhara's narrative here comes to life. Written with a strong feminist voice, we encounter Yasodhara as a fiercely independent, passionate and resilient individual. We witness her joys and sorrows, her expectations and frustrations, her fairy-tale wedding, and her overwhelming devastation at the departure of her beloved. It is through her eyes that we witness Siddhattha's slow transformation, from a sheltered prince to a deeply sensitive young man. On the way, we see how the gods watch over the future Buddha from the clouds, how the king and his ministers try to keep the suffering of the world from him and how he eventually renounces the throne, his wife and newly-born son to seek enlightenment. Along with a foreword from Wendy Doniger, Yasodhara and the Buddha (Bloomsbury Publishing, 2020) includes a scholarly introduction to Yasodhara's narrative and offers extensive notes along with study questions, to help readers navigate the traditional literature in a new way, making this an essential book for anyone wanting to learn about Buddhist narratives. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/buddhist-studies

By combining the spirit of fiction with the fabulism of Indian mythology and in-depth academic research, Vanessa R. Sasson shares the evocative story of the Buddha from the perspective of a forgotten woman: Yasodhara, the Buddha's wife. Although often marginalized, Yasodhara's narrative here comes to life. Written with a strong feminist voice, we encounter Yasodhara as a fiercely independent, passionate and resilient individual. We witness her joys and sorrows, her expectations and frustrations, her fairy-tale wedding, and her overwhelming devastation at the departure of her beloved. It is through her eyes that we witness Siddhattha's slow transformation, from a sheltered prince to a deeply sensitive young man. On the way, we see how the gods watch over the future Buddha from the clouds, how the king and his ministers try to keep the suffering of the world from him and how he eventually renounces the throne, his wife and newly-born son to seek enlightenment. Along with a foreword from Wendy Doniger, Yasodhara and the Buddha (Bloomsbury Publishing, 2020) includes a scholarly introduction to Yasodhara's narrative and offers extensive notes along with study questions, to help readers navigate the traditional literature in a new way, making this an essential book for anyone wanting to learn about Buddhist narratives. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/literature

By combining the spirit of fiction with the fabulism of Indian mythology and in-depth academic research, Vanessa R. Sasson shares the evocative story of the Buddha from the perspective of a forgotten woman: Yasodhara, the Buddha's wife. Although often marginalized, Yasodhara's narrative here comes to life. Written with a strong feminist voice, we encounter Yasodhara as a fiercely independent, passionate and resilient individual. We witness her joys and sorrows, her expectations and frustrations, her fairy-tale wedding, and her overwhelming devastation at the departure of her beloved. It is through her eyes that we witness Siddhattha's slow transformation, from a sheltered prince to a deeply sensitive young man. On the way, we see how the gods watch over the future Buddha from the clouds, how the king and his ministers try to keep the suffering of the world from him and how he eventually renounces the throne, his wife and newly-born son to seek enlightenment. Along with a foreword from Wendy Doniger, Yasodhara and the Buddha (Bloomsbury Publishing, 2020) includes a scholarly introduction to Yasodhara's narrative and offers extensive notes along with study questions, to help readers navigate the traditional literature in a new way, making this an essential book for anyone wanting to learn about Buddhist narratives. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/historical-fiction

The Ramayana is an integral part of the Indian ethos. Every child in India knows the basic story of the Ramayana. There are hundreds of versions of the story in the country and in other parts of southeast Asia. Apart from the cultural traditions that reflect the diversity of this vast land, the Ramayana has now also become a political weapon of sorts.With Diwali right around the corner, on this episode, Sidharth Bhatia is joined by Arshia Sattar, an inspiring Indian translator, facilitator, author and director. Her book - 'Valmiki's Ramayana', is an abridged translation of the epic - an epic which is said to be written 2500 years ago. A PhD in South Asian languages and Indian civilizations from the University of Chicago, Arshia has also studied under the famous scholar, Wendy Doniger, and the scholar poet A. K. Ramanujan.On the episode, Sidharth talks to Arshia about how different people see the Ramayana, and what she feels about how it should be looked at - as a piece of literature, or an epic, or as mythology, or as tradition or history, or something else altogether? They also discuss how Arshia got interested in working in this field and what got her interested in Ramayana in particular, how every language and every subculture has its own Ramayana, how it's become the fulcrum of the 'nationalist' culture, how it has increasingly become about 'Ram Rajya' - or the idea of the ideal kingdom, how the epic actually celebrates diversity, the idea of chastity in relation to the Ramayana, how different cultures and different people put their own twists on the Ramayana, like author Anand Neelakanthan's book 'Asura', why Hanuman played a huge part in why she got interested in this and how she went about translating the text which is one of the thickest things in the game. All this and more, on this episode of Cyrus Says.Check out Arshia's book: https://www.amazon.in/dp/1538113686/ref=cm_sw_r_wa_apa_fabt1_xBtQFbSG1J7N7Follow Sidharth Bhatia on Twitter and Instagram @bombaywallah : https://twitter.com/bombaywallah and https://instagram.com/bombaywallahYou can listen to this show on The Wire's website, the IVM Podcasts website, app on Android: https://ivm.today/android or iOS: https://ivm.today/ios, or any other podcast app.

In this episode, our guest is Wendy Doniger, the Mircea Eliade Distinguished Service Professor Emerita of the History of Religions at the University of Chicago Divinity School. We speak with her about her current project, a translation of portions of the ancient Sanskrit poem the Mahabharata. We discuss its themes—including love, death, survivor's guilt, and more—and their enduring relevance in the present moment. We also explore the practice of translation—what can be translated, what can't be, and why—and how Professor Doniger's Mahabharata translation fits into her larger research and writing interests. The conversation offers insight into both an ancient literary masterpiece and the practice and accomplishment of one of the most important scholar of religion of our time.

We sat down with the lovely and brilliant Deborah A. Macey, a communications scholar currently teaching at the University of Portland, to talk about her paper, Ancient Archetypes in Modern Media: A Comparative Analysis of Golden Girls, Living Single, and Sex & The City. In this interview, our new pal Debbie regales us with how she came up with her dissertation topic and how she went about assigning each of the girls to their designated archetype, a challenge considering how much "slippage" there is between the fab four. PS. For all those cold Saturday nights when you're looking to curl up with a good book, these are the works Debbie cites in the interview: Gendered Lives: Communication, Gender, and Culture by Julia T. Wood Goddesses in Everywoman: Powerful Archetypes in Women's Lives by Jean Shinoda Bolen The Goddess: Mythological Images of the Feminine by Christine Downing The Implied Spider: Politics & Theology in Myth by Wendy Doniger

Join us for Grace Cathedral's flagship conversation program online with one of the world's foremost scholars on Hinduism. What is Hinduism, a religion practiced by over one billion people? Join us to hear from Wendy Doniger, one of the world's foremost scholars of Hinduism, in conversation with Dean Malcolm Clemens Young about one of the world's oldest major religions. Holding doctorates in Sanskrit and Indian Studies from Harvard and Oxford, Doniger is Professor Emerita of the University of Chicago and a prolific author, translator and editor, publishing almost thirty books in as many years. Recent works include Against Dharma: Dissent in the Ancient Indian Sciences of Sex and Politics, Redeeming the Kamasutra, and Pluralism and Democracy in India: Debating the Hindu Right. Her groundbreaking work The Hindus: An Alternative History elucidates the relationship between recorded history and imaginary worlds, the inner life and the social history of Hindus.

Nityanand Misra, a Sanskrit scholar and well-known author has studied Devdutt Pattanaik's book titled “My Gita”. This is an extensive interview where he gives point by point analysis of Shri Pattanaik's work. He points out numerous blunders in the works. He concludes that Shri Pattanaik: 1) does not know even the basics of Sanskrit; 2) is obsessed with looking for sexual meanings, and has praised Wendy Doniger in the past; 3) makes serious errors in translating very important Sanskrit words and gives them a completely distorted meaning; 4) has an artificially inflated brand name that cannot be justified on merit. Shri Misra decided to invest a lot of time to examine the works of Shri Pattanaik because he is misleading the public who assume that his books are widely promoted based on merit. Do check out our YouTube channel 'Rajiv Malhotra Official' and do follow us on Facebook '@RajivMalhotra.Official' and Twitter '@InfinityMessage' and '@RajivMessage'. To support this project: https://infinityfoundation.com/donate/ --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/kurukshetra/support

This episode, Banned! opens the covers of some proscribed books—works of both fiction and non-fiction that have been banned or simply taken out of circulation, in India. The episode has been put together by Hyderabad-based art historian, anthropologist and curator Sita Reddy, and features readings from A K Ramanujan's 300 Ramayanas, Wendy Doniger's The Hindus, Perumal Murugan's One Part Woman, and Anand Teltumbde's Republic of Caste, among others.

One of the reasons that I venerate the Hindu religions may be that I find Satanism present even in its earliest sacred texts, which are as well the earliest extant sacred texts that we have access to. Works Referenced Communities Still Reeling After 2 Deadly Attacks On Worshippers. (n.d.). Retrieved January 2, 2020, from https://www.wbur.org/hereandnow/2019/12/30/religious-attacks-texas-new-york Doniger, W. (2005). The Rig Veda: An anthology : one hundred and eight hymns selected, translated and annotated by : Wendy Doniger. Penguin. Muesse, M. W. (2011). The Hindu traditions: A concise introduction. Fortress Press. Roebuck, V. J. (Ed.). (2000). The Upaninṣads. Penguin Books. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/asatanistreadsthebible/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/asatanistreadsthebible/support

It’s not easy to accept the changes that come with time and age. For Strauss’s Marschallin, the trick is simply learning to let go. When the curtain comes up on Der Rosenkavalier, she is having an affair with the young Count Octavian, but she quickly comes to realize that she will one day lose him to a woman his own age. Throughout Act I, she reflects on her lost youth, her desire to stop all the clocks, and on the fleeting nature of beauty and love.   In this episode, host Rhiannon Giddens and her guests ruminate on the passage of time as the Marschallin learns to let go of her younger lover, and her younger self. At the end of the show, soprano Renée Fleming sings, “Da geht er hin” from the Metropolitan Opera stage. The Guests Soprano Renée Fleming made the Marschallin one of her signature roles. Over the years, she explored many facets of this complex character, from her youthful impetuousness to her world-weariness. In her final performance of the Marschallin at the Met in 2017, Fleming expected to feel sadness, but instead, she was overcome with joy and gratitude.  Writer Paul Thomason is currently writing a book on the music of Richard Strauss. He is in love with the music in Der Rosenkavalier, calling it “deep soul music.”  Wendy Doniger is a writer and retired professor from the University of Chicago who shared a special love of opera with her mother. In fact, opera was more or less their form of religion, and Der Rosenkavalier was a particular favorite. Dara Poznar is a life coach with her own story to tell about a relationship with a younger man, as well as her process of coming to terms with their age difference. In writing about this experience, she received an outpouring of camaraderie and support from other women who were also asking themselves the same questions about how their age would affect their relationships. 

Dr. Wendy Doniger’s On Hinduism is a sort of captstone on an epic career exploring Hindu literature, religion, and history. In this conversation we discuss a number of themes from the book, including her own religious background, common misconceptions about Hinduism, the caste system, orientalism, the so-called “Hindu Trinity,” Hindu nationalism, a controversy in India...

What about the apologetics argument that the resurrection of Jesus could not have been fabricated because of the fact that gospel writers claim that women were witnesses to the event. As women were not thought to be competent witnesses, why would the gospel author state that women saw the resurrected Jesus unless it were the truth? Is it true that the Roman empire generally had a policy of religious tolerance, provided that the religion in question makes a reasonable claim at being an ancient tradition? In Acts 17:16-34, Paul is dragged in front of the Areopagus, because some people thought he was a "babbler", while others said he was "a setter forth of strange gods." But the Areopagus lost the power to prosecute religious matters in 462 BC. Is this an anachronism? Wendy Doniger mentioned in one of her books the possibility that Jesus was raised by wild animals. What are your thoughts? Do you think it's possible that the rich young ruler was the "beloved disciple" in John's Gospel? What do you think of the family tomb of Jesus Christ? Does the Bible contain examples of utilitarian entreaty to sacred powers for no other reason but one’s own ends? I remember hearing of a theory of a hidden messiah where the messiah would come (and leave) without anyone knowing until being revealed some time later. Was this belief current before the Jesus era?

A Valentine Day's Special. Laurie Taylor explores changing attitudes to infidelity and considers a cross cultural history of rings. Wendy Doniger, Distinguished Service Professor of the History of Religions at the University of Chicago, asks why this piece of circular jewellery keeps re-occurring in myths and stories about seduction, love, sex and betrayal. What can it tell us about the shifting nature of power relations between men and women? She's joined by Adam Kuper, Visiting Professor in Anthropology at Boston University. Also, have attitudes hardened towards adultery? The visibility of non-monogamy suggests a challenge to dominant assumptions about the feasibility of lifelong sexual fidelity. However, infidelity remains the lone area of adult sexual practice that is disapproved of under any circumstances. Dr Jenny van Hooff, Senior Lecturer in Sociology at Manchester Metropolitan University, examines claims about the extent to which relationships have been de-traditionalised. Producer: Jayne Egerton.

This week myths and folktales take the stage in their basic and abstract forms. William Hansen recounts ancient Greek and Roman folktales from his collection, "The Book of Greek and Roman Folktales, Legends, and Myths." Wendy Doniger joins us in talking about cross-cultural mythologies surrounding rings and their connection to love and sex as she writes about in her recent book, "The Ring of Truth."   Open Stacks is the official podcast of the Seminary Co-operative Bookstores.

This week we explore Tamil language and literature. David Shulman and Wendy Doniger discuss his new book Tamil: A Biography. Poet Ravi Shankar reads his translations of the poet Andal. Plus, a performance of Dhrupad music, Indian classical singing.   Open Stacks is the official podcast of the Seminary Co-operative Bookstores. This episode was produced by Kit Brennen and Imani Jackson. 

The Kamasutra brings to mind (and to Google searches) erotic and exotic sexual positions. OK, it is that. But it is much more. It is about the art of living. Wendy Doniger, Mircea Eliade Distinguished Service Professor of the History of Religions at the University of Chicago, is a leading scholar in Hinduism and mythology. She has written over forty books including Hindu Myths: A Sourcebook, Translated from the Sanskrit, The Laws of Manu, and a new translation of the Kamasutra. Her latest is Redeeming the Kamasutra. We discuss this fascinating text and the controversy it ignites still today.

This week, we found many surprising twists, turns, and holds in the story of modern yoga.  The Facts Surprisingly Awesome’s Theme Music is “This is How We Do” by Nicholas Britell and our ad music is by Build Buildings. We were edited this week by Annie-Rose Strasser, and produced by Rachel Ward, Christine Driscoll and Elizabeth Kulas. Andrew Dunn mixed the episode.  Jacob Cruz, James T. Green, Emma Jacobs, Rikki Novetsky, and Benjamin Riskin provided production assistance.  Additional music in this episode is "Santoor and Tabla at Assi Ghat, Varanasi" by Samuel Corwin and "Electronica Tanpura 9" by sankalp. Learn More If you want to learn more about Wendy Doniger’s banned book, you can check out its page on Amazon here -- Christine is in the middle of reading it and highly recommends it, and we are linking through Amazon so you can check out the reviews and get a window into the controversy surrounding it.  Or if you just wanna hear more about Indra Devi (and who wouldn’t?!) you can read more about her and get a copy of Michelle Goldberg’s book here. Adam “can’t recommend it enough!”  And if you're like, "no way, take me to the science!" You can read more about the current research on the health benefits of yoga, by checking out UCLA’s longer interview with Dr. Helen Lavretsky, or a super informative article from Julia Belluz at Vox -- "I read more than 50 scientific studies about yoga. Here's what I learned." Finally... Flossgate continues! You can head to our show page at www.gimletmedia.com/surprisinglyawesome to hear an extra interview and read some of the studies we looked at while building our flossing show.

In this episode of the Oxford Comment, we sat down with Eleanor Maier, Senior Editor at the Oxford English Dictionary, Giorgio Riello, co-author of Luxury: A Rich History, Wendy Doniger, author of Redeeming the Kamasutra, Jessica Berson, author of The Naked Result: How Exotic Dance Became Big Business, and Rachel Kuo, contributing writer at everydayfeminism.com, … Continue reading Exotic – Episode 38 – The Oxford Comment →

The Kamasutra brings to mind (and to Google searches) erotic and exotic sexual positions.   OK, it is that.  But it is much more.  It is about the art of living.   Wendy Doniger, Mircea Eliade Distinguished Service Professor of the History of Religions at the University of Chicago, is a leading scholar in Hinduism and mythology.   She has written over forty books including Hindu Myths: A Sourcebook, Translated from the Sanskrit, The Laws of Manu, and a new translation of the Kamasutra.   Her latest is Redeeming the Kamasutra.  We discuss this fascinating text and the controversy it ignites still today.

If you experience any technical difficulties with this video or would like to make an accessibility-related request, please send a message to digicomm@uchicago.edu. Divinity School Professors Margaret M. Mitchell, Wendy Doniger, Richard Rosengarten, Jas Elsner, Dan Arnold, Kevin Hector, and Sarah Hammerschlag speak on “Introducing Religion.” One of the most difficult, yet most important, tasks for the scholar of religion is thinking about how to teach the college-level introductory course in Religious Studies. How should you teach it -- as a "World Religions" class? A "Theory and Methods" class? What should you teach, given that most of us don't specialize in all religions, everywhere? At this full-day colloquium, seven members of the Divinity School faculty facilitate a richly textured conversation on the introductory course in all its complexity, taking as a starting point the notion that the academic study of religion should begin with its sources, broadly construed. The Craft of Teaching (CoT) is the Divinity School's program of pedagogical development for its graduate students, dedicated to preparing a new generation of accomplished educators in the field of religious studies. We bring together Divinity School faculty, current students, and an extensive alumni network of decorated teachers to share our craft and to advance critical reflection on religious studies pedagogy.

If you experience any technical difficulties with this video or would like to make an accessibility-related request, please send a message to digicomm@uchicago.edu. Divinity School Professors Margaret M. Mitchell, Wendy Doniger, Richard Rosengarten, Jas Elsner, Dan Arnold, Kevin Hector, and Sarah Hammerschlag speak on “Introducing Religion.” One of the most difficult, yet most important, tasks for the scholar of religion is thinking about how to teach the college-level introductory course in Religious Studies. How should you teach it -- as a "World Religions" class? A "Theory and Methods" class? What should you teach, given that most of us don't specialize in all religions, everywhere? At this full-day colloquium, seven members of the Divinity School faculty facilitate a richly textured conversation on the introductory course in all its complexity, taking as a starting point the notion that the academic study of religion should begin with its sources, broadly construed. The Craft of Teaching (CoT) is the Divinity School's program of pedagogical development for its graduate students, dedicated to preparing a new generation of accomplished educators in the field of religious studies. We bring together Divinity School faculty, current students, and an extensive alumni network of decorated teachers to share our craft and to advance critical reflection on religious studies pedagogy.

If you experience any technical difficulties with this video or would like to make an accessibility-related request, please send a message to digicomm@uchicago.edu. Divinity School Professors Margaret M. Mitchell, Wendy Doniger, Richard Rosengarten, Jas Elsner, Dan Arnold, Kevin Hector, and Sarah Hammerschlag speak on “Introducing Religion.” One of the most difficult, yet most important, tasks for the scholar of religion is thinking about how to teach the college-level introductory course in Religious Studies. How should you teach it -- as a "World Religions" class? A "Theory and Methods" class? What should you teach, given that most of us don't specialize in all religions, everywhere? At this full-day colloquium, seven members of the Divinity School faculty facilitate a richly textured conversation on the introductory course in all its complexity, taking as a starting point the notion that the academic study of religion should begin with its sources, broadly construed. The Craft of Teaching (CoT) is the Divinity School's program of pedagogical development for its graduate students, dedicated to preparing a new generation of accomplished educators in the field of religious studies. We bring together Divinity School faculty, current students, and an extensive alumni network of decorated teachers to share our craft and to advance critical reflection on religious studies pedagogy.

If you experience any technical difficulties with this video or would like to make an accessibility-related request, please send a message to digicomm@uchicago.edu. Divinity School Professors Margaret M. Mitchell, Wendy Doniger, Richard Rosengarten, Jas Elsner, Dan Arnold, Kevin Hector, and Sarah Hammerschlag speak on “Introducing Religion.” One of the most difficult, yet most important, tasks for the scholar of religion is thinking about how to teach the college-level introductory course in Religious Studies. How should you teach it -- as a "World Religions" class? A "Theory and Methods" class? What should you teach, given that most of us don't specialize in all religions, everywhere? At this full-day colloquium, seven members of the Divinity School faculty facilitate a richly textured conversation on the introductory course in all its complexity, taking as a starting point the notion that the academic study of religion should begin with its sources, broadly construed. The Craft of Teaching (CoT) is the Divinity School's program of pedagogical development for its graduate students, dedicated to preparing a new generation of accomplished educators in the field of religious studies. We bring together Divinity School faculty, current students, and an extensive alumni network of decorated teachers to share our craft and to advance critical reflection on religious studies pedagogy.

If you experience any technical difficulties with this video or would like to make an accessibility-related request, please send a message to digicomm@uchicago.edu. Divinity School Professors Margaret M. Mitchell, Wendy Doniger, Richard Rosengarten, Jas Elsner, Dan Arnold, Kevin Hector, and Sarah Hammerschlag speak on “Introducing Religion.” One of the most difficult, yet most important, tasks for the scholar of religion is thinking about how to teach the college-level introductory course in Religious Studies. How should you teach it -- as a "World Religions" class? A "Theory and Methods" class? What should you teach, given that most of us don't specialize in all religions, everywhere? At this full-day colloquium, seven members of the Divinity School faculty facilitate a richly textured conversation on the introductory course in all its complexity, taking as a starting point the notion that the academic study of religion should begin with its sources, broadly construed. The Craft of Teaching (CoT) is the Divinity School's program of pedagogical development for its graduate students, dedicated to preparing a new generation of accomplished educators in the field of religious studies. We bring together Divinity School faculty, current students, and an extensive alumni network of decorated teachers to share our craft and to advance critical reflection on religious studies pedagogy.

If you experience any technical difficulties with this video or would like to make an accessibility-related request, please send a message to digicomm@uchicago.edu. Divinity School Professors Margaret M. Mitchell, Wendy Doniger, Richard Rosengarten, Jas Elsner, Dan Arnold, Kevin Hector, and Sarah Hammerschlag speak on “Introducing Religion.” One of the most difficult, yet most important, tasks for the scholar of religion is thinking about how to teach the college-level introductory course in Religious Studies. How should you teach it -- as a "World Religions" class? A "Theory and Methods" class? What should you teach, given that most of us don't specialize in all religions, everywhere? At this full-day colloquium, seven members of the Divinity School faculty facilitate a richly textured conversation on the introductory course in all its complexity, taking as a starting point the notion that the academic study of religion should begin with its sources, broadly construed. The Craft of Teaching (CoT) is the Divinity School's program of pedagogical development for its graduate students, dedicated to preparing a new generation of accomplished educators in the field of religious studies. We bring together Divinity School faculty, current students, and an extensive alumni network of decorated teachers to share our craft and to advance critical reflection on religious studies pedagogy.

If you experience any technical difficulties with this video or would like to make an accessibility-related request, please send a message to digicomm@uchicago.edu. Divinity School Professors Margaret M. Mitchell, Wendy Doniger, Richard Rosengarten, Jas Elsner, Dan Arnold, Kevin Hector, and Sarah Hammerschlag speak on “Introducing Religion.” One of the most difficult, yet most important, tasks for the scholar of religion is thinking about how to teach the college-level introductory course in Religious Studies. How should you teach it -- as a "World Religions" class? A "Theory and Methods" class? What should you teach, given that most of us don't specialize in all religions, everywhere? At this full-day colloquium, seven members of the Divinity School faculty facilitate a richly textured conversation on the introductory course in all its complexity, taking as a starting point the notion that the academic study of religion should begin with its sources, broadly construed. The Craft of Teaching (CoT) is the Divinity School's program of pedagogical development for its graduate students, dedicated to preparing a new generation of accomplished educators in the field of religious studies. We bring together Divinity School faculty, current students, and an extensive alumni network of decorated teachers to share our craft and to advance critical reflection on religious studies pedagogy.

If you experience any technical difficulties with this video or would like to make an accessibility-related request, please send a message to digicomm@uchicago.edu. Divinity School Professors Margaret M. Mitchell, Wendy Doniger, Richard Rosengarten, Jas Elsner, Dan Arnold, Kevin Hector, and Sarah Hammerschlag speak on “Introducing Religion.” One of the most difficult, yet most important, tasks for the scholar of religion is thinking about how to teach the college-level introductory course in Religious Studies. How should you teach it -- as a "World Religions" class? A "Theory and Methods" class? What should you teach, given that most of us don't specialize in all religions, everywhere? At this full-day colloquium, seven members of the Divinity School faculty facilitate a richly textured conversation on the introductory course in all its complexity, taking as a starting point the notion that the academic study of religion should begin with its sources, broadly construed. The Craft of Teaching (CoT) is the Divinity School's program of pedagogical development for its graduate students, dedicated to preparing a new generation of accomplished educators in the field of religious studies. We bring together Divinity School faculty, current students, and an extensive alumni network of decorated teachers to share our craft and to advance critical reflection on religious studies pedagogy.

If you experience any technical difficulties with this video or would like to make an accessibility-related request, please send a message to digicomm@uchicago.edu. Divinity School Professors Margaret M. Mitchell, Wendy Doniger, Richard Rosengarten, Jas Elsner, Dan Arnold, Kevin Hector, and Sarah Hammerschlag speak on “Introducing Religion.” One of the most difficult, yet most important, tasks for the scholar of religion is thinking about how to teach the college-level introductory course in Religious Studies. How should you teach it -- as a "World Religions" class? A "Theory and Methods" class? What should you teach, given that most of us don't specialize in all religions, everywhere? At this full-day colloquium, seven members of the Divinity School faculty facilitate a richly textured conversation on the introductory course in all its complexity, taking as a starting point the notion that the academic study of religion should begin with its sources, broadly construed. The Craft of Teaching (CoT) is the Divinity School's program of pedagogical development for its graduate students, dedicated to preparing a new generation of accomplished educators in the field of religious studies. We bring together Divinity School faculty, current students, and an extensive alumni network of decorated teachers to share our craft and to advance critical reflection on religious studies pedagogy.

If you experience any technical difficulties with this video or would like to make an accessibility-related request, please send a message to digicomm@uchicago.edu. Divinity School Professors Margaret M. Mitchell, Wendy Doniger, Richard Rosengarten, Jas Elsner, Dan Arnold, Kevin Hector, and Sarah Hammerschlag speak on “Introducing Religion.” One of the most difficult, yet most important, tasks for the scholar of religion is thinking about how to teach the college-level introductory course in Religious Studies. How should you teach it -- as a "World Religions" class? A "Theory and Methods" class? What should you teach, given that most of us don't specialize in all religions, everywhere? At this full-day colloquium, seven members of the Divinity School faculty facilitate a richly textured conversation on the introductory course in all its complexity, taking as a starting point the notion that the academic study of religion should begin with its sources, broadly construed. The Craft of Teaching (CoT) is the Divinity School's program of pedagogical development for its graduate students, dedicated to preparing a new generation of accomplished educators in the field of religious studies. We bring together Divinity School faculty, current students, and an extensive alumni network of decorated teachers to share our craft and to advance critical reflection on religious studies pedagogy.

If you experience any technical difficulties with this video or would like to make an accessibility-related request, please send a message to digicomm@uchicago.edu. Divinity School Professors Margaret M. Mitchell, Wendy Doniger, Richard Rosengarten, Jas Elsner, Dan Arnold, Kevin Hector, and Sarah Hammerschlag speak on “Introducing Religion.” One of the most difficult, yet most important, tasks for the scholar of religion is thinking about how to teach the college-level introductory course in Religious Studies. How should you teach it -- as a "World Religions" class? A "Theory and Methods" class? What should you teach, given that most of us don't specialize in all religions, everywhere? At this full-day colloquium, seven members of the Divinity School faculty facilitate a richly textured conversation on the introductory course in all its complexity, taking as a starting point the notion that the academic study of religion should begin with its sources, broadly construed. The Craft of Teaching (CoT) is the Divinity School's program of pedagogical development for its graduate students, dedicated to preparing a new generation of accomplished educators in the field of religious studies. We bring together Divinity School faculty, current students, and an extensive alumni network of decorated teachers to share our craft and to advance critical reflection on religious studies pedagogy.

If you experience any technical difficulties with this video or would like to make an accessibility-related request, please send a message to digicomm@uchicago.edu. Divinity School Professors Margaret M. Mitchell, Wendy Doniger, Richard Rosengarten, Jas Elsner, Dan Arnold, Kevin Hector, and Sarah Hammerschlag speak on “Introducing Religion.” One of the most difficult, yet most important, tasks for the scholar of religion is thinking about how to teach the college-level introductory course in Religious Studies. How should you teach it -- as a "World Religions" class? A "Theory and Methods" class? What should you teach, given that most of us don't specialize in all religions, everywhere? At this full-day colloquium, seven members of the Divinity School faculty facilitate a richly textured conversation on the introductory course in all its complexity, taking as a starting point the notion that the academic study of religion should begin with its sources, broadly construed. The Craft of Teaching (CoT) is the Divinity School's program of pedagogical development for its graduate students, dedicated to preparing a new generation of accomplished educators in the field of religious studies. We bring together Divinity School faculty, current students, and an extensive alumni network of decorated teachers to share our craft and to advance critical reflection on religious studies pedagogy.

If you experience any technical difficulties with this video or would like to make an accessibility-related request, please send a message to digicomm@uchicago.edu. Divinity School Professors Margaret M. Mitchell, Wendy Doniger, Richard Rosengarten, Jas Elsner, Dan Arnold, Kevin Hector, and Sarah Hammerschlag speak on “Introducing Religion.” One of the most difficult, yet most important, tasks for the scholar of religion is thinking about how to teach the college-level introductory course in Religious Studies. How should you teach it -- as a "World Religions" class? A "Theory and Methods" class? What should you teach, given that most of us don't specialize in all religions, everywhere? At this full-day colloquium, seven members of the Divinity School faculty facilitate a richly textured conversation on the introductory course in all its complexity, taking as a starting point the notion that the academic study of religion should begin with its sources, broadly construed. The Craft of Teaching (CoT) is the Divinity School's program of pedagogical development for its graduate students, dedicated to preparing a new generation of accomplished educators in the field of religious studies. We bring together Divinity School faculty, current students, and an extensive alumni network of decorated teachers to share our craft and to advance critical reflection on religious studies pedagogy.

If you experience any technical difficulties with this video or would like to make an accessibility-related request, please send a message to digicomm@uchicago.edu. Divinity School Professors Margaret M. Mitchell, Wendy Doniger, Richard Rosengarten, Jas Elsner, Dan Arnold, Kevin Hector, and Sarah Hammerschlag speak on “Introducing Religion.” One of the most difficult, yet most important, tasks for the scholar of religion is thinking about how to teach the college-level introductory course in Religious Studies. How should you teach it -- as a "World Religions" class? A "Theory and Methods" class? What should you teach, given that most of us don't specialize in all religions, everywhere? At this full-day colloquium, seven members of the Divinity School faculty facilitate a richly textured conversation on the introductory course in all its complexity, taking as a starting point the notion that the academic study of religion should begin with its sources, broadly construed. The Craft of Teaching (CoT) is the Divinity School's program of pedagogical development for its graduate students, dedicated to preparing a new generation of accomplished educators in the field of religious studies. We bring together Divinity School faculty, current students, and an extensive alumni network of decorated teachers to share our craft and to advance critical reflection on religious studies pedagogy.

If you experience any technical difficulties with this video or would like to make an accessibility-related request, please send a message to digicomm@uchicago.edu. Wendy Doniger, Mircea Eliade Distinguished Service Professor of the History of Religions, discusses how different architectural styles coexist and complement one another on campus. Among these architecturally diverse buildings is the Divinity School, where her office, made famous by the film Proof, has become known as one of the most beautiful on campus.

If you experience any technical difficulties with this video or would like to make an accessibility-related request, please send a message to digicomm@uchicago.edu. Wendy Doniger, Mircea Eliade Distinguished Service Professor of the History of Religions, discusses how different architectural styles coexist and complement one another on campus. Among these architecturally diverse buildings is the Divinity School, where her office, made famous by the film Proof, has become known as one of the most beautiful on campus.

In this episode of Samadhi Rush, I talk about my aim for summertime practice and what books are inspiring me right now. My goal for the next few weeks (at least), is to publish two podcasts every week. One episode will be a discussion of a certain aspect of the practice or teaching, the other episode will be a practice. I hope you enjoy this format! Please let me know what you think (this podcast is for YOU) by emailing me at sunroseyoga@gmail.com. Thank you, always, so much for being here.  All love, Kelly Here are some previous posts about seasonal shifts:  Contraction/ Yoga for All Seasons An Ayurvedic Approach to Fall/ Softening Vata Ebbing & Flowing Turning Inward: Pratyahara   The books I mention in this podcast: The Hindus: An Alternative History, by Wendy Doniger. Siva: The Erotic Ascetic, by Wendy O'Flaherty (Doniger).   The workshop I'm attending in Ojai: Studies of Light & Dark: A Yoga Immersion with James Boag.   The classes I'm taking on Yoga Anytime: Inner Workings with Kira Ryder. Freedom Style Immersion with Erich Schiffmann.   Connections// I ADORE hearing from you all. Your stories of slow, subtle, RADICAL transformation are the nectar of the universe. Thank you. To connect: leave a voice message on speakpipe twitter facebook instagram email: sunroseyoga@gmail.com   Support// This podcast is blessed with support from listeners from all over this planet. Thank you all so much for supporting the mission. To donate securely on paypal, click here. Thank you. You can also support us by sharing the podcast with all of your friends and by leaving a rating in iTunes. I am so grateful for you.   News//  If you are interested in practicing with me via VIDEO, check out my channel on Yoga Anytime.  I had an absolute ball making the videos and would love to practice with you there. If you are new to Yoga Anytime, please be my guest for 30 days of free practice by entering the code 6525YAE. To stay up-to-date on all of the news around here and for extra-special practices, be sure to sign up for my bi-monthly newsletter.  

If you experience any technical difficulties with this video or would like to make an accessibility-related request, please send a message to digicomm@uchicago.edu. Dean's Forum on the new edition (University of Chicago Press, 2014) of The Journey To The West by Anthony C. Yu, Carl Darling Buck Distinguished Service Professor Emeritus, with responses from Wendy Doniger, Mircea Eliade Distinguished Service Professor of History of Religions, and Brook A. Ziporyn, Professor of Chinese Religion, Philosophy, and Comparative Thought. Yu's translation of The Journey To the West, initially published in 1983, introduced English-speaking audiences to the classic Chinese novel in its entirety for the first time. Written in the sixteenth century, The Journey To the West tells the story of the fourteen-year pilgrimage of the monk Xuanzang, one of China's most famous religious heroes, and his three supernatural disciples, in search of Buddhist scriptures. Wednesday Lunch is a Divinity School tradition started many decades ago. At noon on Wednesdays when the quarter is in session a delicious vegetarian meal is made in the Swift Hall kitchen by our student chefs and lunch crew. Once the three-course meal has reached dessert each week there is a talk by a faculty member or student from throughout the University, a community member from the greater Chicago area, or a guest from a wider distance.

If you experience any technical difficulties with this video or would like to make an accessibility-related request, please send a message to digicomm@uchicago.edu. Dean's Forum on the new edition (University of Chicago Press, 2014) of The Journey To The West by Anthony C. Yu, Carl Darling Buck Distinguished Service Professor Emeritus, with responses from Wendy Doniger, Mircea Eliade Distinguished Service Professor of History of Religions, and Brook A. Ziporyn, Professor of Chinese Religion, Philosophy, and Comparative Thought. Yu's translation of The Journey To the West, initially published in 1983, introduced English-speaking audiences to the classic Chinese novel in its entirety for the first time. Written in the sixteenth century, The Journey To the West tells the story of the fourteen-year pilgrimage of the monk Xuanzang, one of China's most famous religious heroes, and his three supernatural disciples, in search of Buddhist scriptures. Wednesday Lunch is a Divinity School tradition started many decades ago. At noon on Wednesdays when the quarter is in session a delicious vegetarian meal is made in the Swift Hall kitchen by our student chefs and lunch crew. Once the three-course meal has reached dessert each week there is a talk by a faculty member or student from throughout the University, a community member from the greater Chicago area, or a guest from a wider distance.

Ananya Vajpeyi sits down with Justin Vogt, deputy managing editor of Foreign Affairs. They discuss the rise of India's religious right, the campaign to suppress the work of Hinduism scholar Wendy Doniger, and what the election of Narendra Modi, a Hindu nationalist, will mean for Indian politics moving forward.For more, read Vajpeyi's review essay, "The Triumph of the Hindu Right," in the September/October 2014 issue of Foreign Affairs. And to keep up with our books coverage, follow @FA_books on Twitter.Original video interview published on August 26, 2014.

If you experience any technical difficulties with this video or would like to make an accessibility-related request, please send a message to digicomm@uchicago.edu. A Dean's Forum on “On Hinduism” (Delhi: Aleph Book Company, 2013) by Wendy Doniger, the Mircea Eliade Distinguished Service Professor of the History of Religions. With responses from colleagues Bruce Lincoln, the Caroline E. Haskell Distinguished Service Professor of the History of Religions, and Steven Collins, Associate Faculty and the Chester D. Tripp Professor in the Humanities, Department of South Asian Languages and Civilizations. Wednesday Lunch is a Divinity School tradition started many decades ago. When the quarter is in session, a delicious vegetarian meal is made in the Swift Hall kitchen by our student chefs and lunch crew on Wednesday afternoons. Once the three-course meal has reached dessert each week, there is a talk by a faculty member or student from throughout the University, a community member from the greater Chicago area, or a guest from a wider distance. Many times these talks focus on various aspects of religion in public life and the academic study of religion, but not always. Sometimes there are musical performances instead of a talk. All are welcome (you do not have to be a Divinity School student or faculty or staff to come). See more at: http://divinity.uchicago.edu/wednesday-lunch-archive

If you experience any technical difficulties with this video or would like to make an accessibility-related request, please send a message to digicomm@uchicago.edu. A Dean's Forum on “On Hinduism” (Delhi: Aleph Book Company, 2013) by Wendy Doniger, the Mircea Eliade Distinguished Service Professor of the History of Religions. With responses from colleagues Bruce Lincoln, the Caroline E. Haskell Distinguished Service Professor of the History of Religions, and Steven Collins, Associate Faculty and the Chester D. Tripp Professor in the Humanities, Department of South Asian Languages and Civilizations. Wednesday Lunch is a Divinity School tradition started many decades ago. When the quarter is in session, a delicious vegetarian meal is made in the Swift Hall kitchen by our student chefs and lunch crew on Wednesday afternoons. Once the three-course meal has reached dessert each week, there is a talk by a faculty member or student from throughout the University, a community member from the greater Chicago area, or a guest from a wider distance. Many times these talks focus on various aspects of religion in public life and the academic study of religion, but not always. Sometimes there are musical performances instead of a talk. All are welcome (you do not have to be a Divinity School student or faculty or staff to come). See more at: http://divinity.uchicago.edu/wednesday-lunch-archive

If you experience any technical difficulties with this video or would like to make an accessibility-related request, please send a message to digicomm@uchicago.edu. Each year the University of Chicago hosts this legendary event, where faculty teams line up in fierce but fun-loving defense of either the latke or the hamantash, attempting to determine once and for all which is the better Jewish food. The debaters at the November 25, 2014, event are Aaron Dinner, Professor, Department of Chemistry; Wendy Doniger, the Mircea Eliade Distinguished Service Professor, Divinity School; Austan Goolsbee, the Robert P. Gwinn Professor of Economics, University of Chicago Booth School of Business; Jeffrey Harvey, the Enrico Fermi Distinguished Service Professor, Department of Physics; Diane Herrmann, Senior Lecturer, Department of Mathematics; and Malynne Sternstein, Associate Professor, Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures. Shmuel Weinberger, Professor and Chair, Department of Mathematics, moderates; and Ethan Bueno de Mesquita, Professor, University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy, is the master of ceremonies.

One of the nice things about our listeners is that they share their views and experiences with us. So it is that, after we last covered the lawsuit brought by “To Kill a Mockingbird” legend Harper Lee against a museum in her south Alabama hometown, both Donna and Peter have changed their views on the case. Thank you, Debriefists! Well, that suit has been settled now – and a very good thing, too. And while we’re speaking of past shows, here is the link Peter mentioned to our show featuring author Sherry Jones, whose trilas and tribulations with her book “The Jewel of Medina” we covered very extensively. Sadly, extremist never sleeps, and here is a similar case, this time featuring Penguin and Wendy Doniger's book “The Hindus”. Other links in this show include: Harper Collins to stop illegally collecting personal information about children Winnipeg Mayor Sam Katz sues student newspaper Books Rate More Negatively After Winning Awards Why Are Book Sales A Secret?: Court-Appointed Monitor To Stay At Apple Presented from Florida by leading lawyer Donna Ballman and from London by literary agent Peter Cox. Download the show as mp3 file Subscribe in iTunes Be a wonderful human being and support us with a donation

If you experience any technical difficulties with this video or would like to make an accessibility-related request, please send a message to digicomm@uchicago.edu. Wendy Doniger, Mircea Eliade Distinguished Service Professor of the History of Religions, on "The Censorship of Books about Religion in India Today." Prof. Doniger will talk about the rise of fundamentalism in India and its effect upon attitudes to religious diversity within Hinduism. She will focus on the censorship of books by American scholars and in particular upon the reception of her own most recent book, The Hindus: An Alternative History.

If you experience any technical difficulties with this video or would like to make an accessibility-related request, please send a message to digicomm@uchicago.edu. Wendy Doniger, Mircea Eliade Professor in the Divinity School, Department of South Asian Languages and Civilizations, Committee on Social Thought, and the College at the University of Chicago

If you experience any technical difficulties with this video or would like to make an accessibility-related request, please send a message to digicomm@uchicago.edu. Wendy Doniger, Mircea Eliade Professor in the Divinity School, Department of South Asian Languages and Civilizations, Committee on Social Thought, and the College at the University of Chicago

Wendy Doniger, University of Chicago, traced a centuries-old dispute on the symbolism of a genre of votary object representing Hindu god Shiva. James Cuno, president and director of the Art Institute of Chicago, introduced her. This podcast is brought to you by the Ancient Art Podcast. Explore more at ancientartpodcast.org.

If you experience any technical difficulties with this video or would like to make an accessibility-related request, please send a message to digicomm@uchicago.edu. Wendy Doniger speaks about Hinduism and her upcoming book as part of the UnCommon Core.

If you experience any technical difficulties with this video or would like to make an accessibility-related request, please send a message to digicomm@uchicago.edu. Wendy Doniger speaks about Hinduism and her upcoming book as part of the UnCommon Core.

If you experience any technical difficulties with this video or would like to make an accessibility-related request, please send a message to digicomm@uchicago.edu. Wendy Doniger speaks about Hinduism and her upcoming book as part of the UnCommon Core.

If you experience any technical difficulties with this video or would like to make an accessibility-related request, please send a message to digicomm@uchicago.edu. Wendy Doniger speaks about Hinduism and her upcoming book as part of the UnCommon Core.

This week’s show is top notch, grade A stuff, Jack, and you sure don’t want to miss it.  Art, religion, smurfs, Dungeons and Dragons, Duncan rattling on like an old man about how kids today just don’t understand punk rock, AND the show closes with Richard’s favorite music cue in the entire run of the program, a little pop diddy on Marx and Mao. A show with something for everyone. Duncan and Terri talk to James Elkins and David Morgan about the forthcoming roundtable… On April 17, SAIC professor and critic James Elkins reignites the discussion with the provocative Re-Enchantment Roundtable. The roundtable and associated events gather together secular and religious thinkers who rarely share discourse: artists, scholars and art critics—and religionists interested in art. Panelists will include Thierry de Duve, Gregg Bordowitz, David Morgan, Kajri Jain, Tomoko Masuzawa, and Wendy Doniger. The day long discussion is intended to span the full diversity of opinions, from those who think contemporary art is already “religious,? to those who believe art should have nothing to do with religious faith. Duncan and Edmar discuss the Lumpen Juggernaut’s new building project and HQ, the Version festival, art madness on the river and Half-Elves that are chaotic good. Hot damn.

Professor Wendy Doniger has published over twenty books about Hindu and cross-cultural religion and mythology, particularly about issues of illusion, animals, gender, and sex. Series: "Burke Lectureship on Religion and Society" [Humanities] [Show ID: 9344]

Professor Wendy Doniger has published over twenty books about Hindu and cross-cultural religion and mythology, particularly about issues of illusion, animals, gender, and sex. Series: "Burke Lectureship on Religion and Society" [Humanities] [Show ID: 9344]

Professor Wendy Doniger has published over twenty books about Hindu and cross-cultural religion and mythology, particularly about issues of illusion, animals, gender, and sex. Series: "Burke Lectureship on Religion and Society" [Humanities] [Show ID: 9344]

Wendy Doniger is a Professor of the History of Religions at the University of Chicago and one of the most important interpreters of myth. In this Fourth Annual Ninian Smart Memorial Lecture at UC Santa Barbara she explores the narrative convention in myth. Series: "Humanitas" [Humanities] [Show ID: 9410]

Wendy Doniger is a Professor of the History of Religions at the University of Chicago and one of the most important interpreters of myth. In this Fourth Annual Ninian Smart Memorial Lecture at UC Santa Barbara she explores the narrative convention in myth. Series: "Humanitas" [Humanities] [Show ID: 9410]

Wendy Doniger is a Professor of the History of Religions at the University of Chicago and one of the most important interpreters of myth. In this Fourth Annual Ninian Smart Memorial Lecture at UC Santa Barbara she explores the narrative convention in myth. Series: "Humanitas" [Humanities] [Show ID: 9410]