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Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies Lectures (202417 subscribers)
by OCHS www.ochs.org.uk (41 shows)

Lectures and Seminars from the Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies, a Recognised Independent Centre of Oxford University

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Tantric traditions of Kerala This lecture presents an account of tantric traditions in Kerala and places these in their historical and social context. Of particular interest is the way in which these traditions respond and adapt to modernity as we see in the school which trains priests – the Tantra Vidya Peetham. 0
Sanskrit metrics and recitation Part 3 0
Sanskrit metrics and recitation Part 2 Prof. G. C. Tripathi: Students of Sanskrit may have little knowledge of how a Sanskrit Shloka should be read and correctly recited, often reading the verse as prose, breaking the Sandhis and spoiling the character of the verse. All the metres of classical Sanskrit have a fixed structure with rules for pauses in the middle or at the end of a foot. Some metres are recited slowly and some have a fast cadence. The metre in Sanskrit plays an important role in expressing its subject and the emotions connected with it. Correct recitation of a verse also leads to correct pronunciation of Sanskrit. 0
Methods of chanting Vedic texts Prof. Gaya Charan Tripathi: The four main Vedic Samhitas are sub-divided into a number of differing branches. The names of these branches or Shakhas are available in ancient texts and Anukramanies but at present not all Shakhas are available. The branching of one Veda into many Shakhas has taken place for many reasons – geographical, phonetic, and ritualistic. Every Shakha has a different mode of chanting and recitation, although they belong to one and the same Veda. At present two Shakhas of Rigveda, three Shakhas of Samaveda, four Shakhas of Yajurveda, and two Shakhas of Atharvaveda are available in India with their reciters who know the text of these Samhitas by heart. It is interesting to note the differences in the accent system and the way of chanting of these Shakhas. This lecture aims to help students understand the Vedic texts and their mode of accentuation more clearly. 0
Pancartha and Pasupata Dr Peter Bisschop - This lecture will reflect upon some of the teachers and doctrines associated with the Pasupatas in Sanskrit literature. Specific attention will be paid to the meaning of the term Pancartha in the Pancarthabhasya – Kaundinya's commentary on the Pasupatasutra – to uncover a pre-Kaundinyan form of Pasupata doctrine. Evidence from the Puranas, in particular the original Skanda-purana, will be used to throw light on the subsequent spread and development of the Pasupata movement. 0
Surrender to God: Discussion Dr Yahya Michot, Prof. Keith Ward, and Prof. Julius Lipner - This afternoon conference examines the idea of surrender to God in Christianity, Islam, and Hinduism and provides the opportunity to address comparative theological concerns. In all three traditions there is the idea of human surrender to God. The conference will explore what this means in the different traditions and looks towards a theological dialogue between them. 0
Surrender to God in Islam Dr Yahya Michot - This afternoon conference examines the idea of surrender to God in three religions and provides the opportunity to address comparative theological concerns. In all three traditions there is the idea of human surrender to God. The conference will explore what this means in the different traditions and looks towards a theological dialogue between them. 0
Surrender to God in Christianity Prof. Keith Ward - This afternoon conference examines the idea of surrender to God in three religions and provides the opportunity to address comparative theological concerns. In all three traditions there is the idea of human surrender to God. The conference will explore what this means in the different traditions and looks towards a theological dialogue between them. 0
Surrender to God in Hinduism Prof. Julius Lipner - This afternoon conference examines the idea of surrender to God in three religions and provides the opportunity to address comparative theological concerns. In all three traditions there is the idea of human surrender to God. The conference will explore what this means in the different traditions and looks towards a theological dialogue between them. 0
Key thinkers in the study of religion 8 Religious truths and cultural perspectives: Stepping outside the ‘west’ 0
Key thinkers in the study of religion 7 Dr Jessica Frazier - Phenomenology as the ‘new hope’: The methodological turn in study of religion 0
Key thinkers in the study of religion 5 Dr Jessica Frazier - Religious structures and symbol: The grammar of myth and meaning 0
Key thinkers in the study of religion 4 The religious imagination: The heirs of Freud and Jung 0
Key thinkers in the study of religion 3 The perennial faith: Comparative religion and religious pluralism 0
Key thinkers in the study of religion 2 Dr Jessica Frazier - Experiential approaches: Mysticism and the category of the sacred 0
Key thinkers in the study of religion 1 This lecture series addresses major questions in the contemporary study of religion through the ideas of key twentieth-century thinkers such as Evans-Pritchard, Gellner, Geertz, Turner, Eliade, Said, McCutcheon, Neville, Van der Leeuw, Ricoeur, Flood, and Hick. It will explore their background and motivations, their insights and pitfalls, and attempt to assess them in the light of the world’s religious traditions. It will ask what religion is, how we can best understand the experiences, discourses, actions, and communities of which it consists, and what it has to tell us about human life itself. 0
Developing Study of Comparative Theology Prof. Keith Ward - Seminar focusing on the developing field of comparative theology and its possibilities, directions and relevence. 0
Twentieth-century Sanskrit commentaries Twentieth-century Sanskrit commentaries on the Vaisesikasutras: Dr Shashiprabha Kumar - This lecture highlights five Sanskrit commentaries on the Vaisesikasutras that have been written and published in the last century. 0
The concept of Hindu philosophy Dr Sangeetha Menon: This seminar will discuss the concept of ‘philosophy’ in the Hindu context and will examine foundational concepts as well as explore their psychological and spiritual import. 0
A Theology of Sri Prof. Francis Clooney: While Vedanta Desika (fourteenth century, South India), as a Srivaisnava Hindu, was a member of a tradition with the greatest respect for the Goddess Sri, in his era there was still lively debate about her precise status in relationship to the supreme deity, Narayana. In his Srimad Rahasyatrayasara, Desika pushes for a complete acceptance of Sri as the eternal consort of Narayana, an indispensable equal participant in the divine work of enabling human salvation. Though in many ways a theological conservative and defender of traditional orthodoxy, Desika here shows himself to be radical and innovative in his defense of Sri. Comparison and contrast with debates over the identity of Jesus in early Christian theology and over the role of Mary, mother of Jesus, as co-mediatrix of redemption, clarify Desika's theological method and contribution to the theology of Sri. 0
Comparative theology Prof. F.X. Clooney, SJ: The study of great religious texts demands much of the scholar, in part because such texts require professional linguistic and historical expertise, familiarity with the tradition in which the text arose, and a sense of the wider and often unstated context. But such religious texts also make demands on the reader, drawing him or her into thinking and feeling in specific ways about the topics discussed in the text. The reader then has to make choices about where, if anywhere, to draw a line between scholarly detachment and engaged participation. If the reader comes from a religious tradition, then he or she also brings the expectations of that tradition to the reading process, complicating even the initial scholarly learning practice. Prof. Clooney will illustrate the complexities of this learning with respect to his current study of the Srimad Rahasyatrayasara of Vedanta Desika (fourteenth century, South India). Professor Frank Clooney, SJ, is Parkman Professor of Divinity and Professor of Comparative Theology at Harvard. Prof. Clooney is the author of numerous articles and books in the area of Hindu Studies and comparative theology, including Fr. Bouchet's India: An 18th-Century Jesuit's Encounter With Hinduism (2005), Divine Mother, Blessed Mother (2005), and Hindu God, Christian God (2001). 0
Tantrism 4: Kerala Tantrism Prof. Gavin Flood: In Kerala tantric Hinduism is normative and Nambudri Brahman families have been the holders of tantric ritual knowledge for generations. Kerala Tantrism is a synthetic tradition which develops in the late middle ages and is formed in two traditions based on the Tantrasamuccaya and the Ishanashivagurudevapaddhati. 0
Tantrism 3: Vaishnava traditions Prof. Gavin Flood: Tantric Vaishnavism or the Pancaratra developed alongside the Shaiva and Shakta traditions with its own texts regarded as revelation. This tradition was a major influence on Sri Vaishnavism, both in theology and ritual procedures. Later Vaishnava traditions such as the Sahajiyas are also tantric in orientation in their emphasis on the male-female polarity as a structuring principle in the cosmos and systems of soteriology. 0
Tantrism 2: Shaiva and Shakta traditions Traditions focused on Shiva and the Goddess in what can be called the mantramarga are prototypically tantric. The Shaiva Siddhanta provides the normative, orthodox tradition in the context of which the more extreme cults of the Kula and Krama need to be understood. The later Sri Vidya develops out of these earlier traditions and illustrates a process in which marginal cults become absorbed by the mainstream, brahmanical tradition. 0
Tantrism 1: What is tantrism? Prof. Gavin Flood: While the term ‘tantrism’ can be unhelpful in understanding medieval religion in India there are nevertheless texts and traditions for which ‘tantra’ is part of their self description. Indeed, tantric traditions might be defined by the mantra system that they use. In this introductory seminar we will examine the broad parameters of tantric traditions and look at ritual and ideas they commonly share. 0
Monistic Saivism Hindu studies series. Lecture sixteen of sixteen. 0
The Pancaratra Hindu studies series. Lecture fifteen of sixteen. 0
The Sant tradition Hindu studies series. Lecture Fourteen of sixteen. 0
Bhakti literatures and Ritual texts Hindu studies series. Lecture thirteen of sixteen. 0
Bhakti and Yoga in the Gita Hindu studies series. Lecture twelve of sixteen. 0
Yoga-sutras of Patanjali Hindu studies series. Lecture eleven of sixteen. 0
Sankhya and Yoga Hindu studies series. Lecture nine of sixteen. 0
Soteriology in India Hindu studies series. Lecture nine of sixteen. 0
Hinduism and Modernity Hindu studies series. Lecture seven of sixteen. 0
Local Traditions: Kerala Hindu studies series. Lecture seven of sixteen. 0
Theistic Traditions, Part Two Hindu studies series. Lecture six of sixteen. 0
Theistic Traditions, Part One Hindu studies series. Lecture five of sixteen. 0
Hindu Studies, lecture four Lecture four of sixteen 0
Chandogya and Svetashvatara Upanishads Lecture two of sixteen 0