Hindu Saints and Poets, Perspectives
and Examples
Prof. Charles S. J. White
This course will focus on the history of Hinduism as it encompasses the religious experience of its holy men and women. Very often, besides being "saints" in the Hindu sense, they were gifted philosophers and/or poets. After the historical and methodological introduction, subsequent lectures will illustrate the contributions of these thinkers and creative writers to the history of Hindu literature. Finally, from the nineteenth century onward modern history-of-religions and literary-critical approaches will be more emphasized to help our understanding of saintly phenomena which are very much alive in contemporary Hinduism.
Wednesdays 17.00-18.00
Venue: Oriental Institute, Pusey Lane, Oxford, Lecture Room 1
Lecture schedule:
Week 1: (16th Oct) God and human, the
anthropology of Indian theism.
Week 2: (23rd Oct) The early history of bhakti saints and poetry.
Week 3: (30th Oct) The golden age of Hindi literature: Part I, Sri Hit Harivams.
Week 4: (6th Nov) The golden age of Hindi literature: Part II, Sudras, Mirabai, Tulsidas.
Week 5: (13th Nov) Later medieval poets and saints: examples, Ghanand, Raskhan, Prannath.
Week 6: (20th Nov) Men and women saints of modern Hinduism.
Week 7: (27th Nov) Jay Shanker Prasad and poetry as the personal expression of Hindu values.