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Expanding the World of

Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava

Studies

A fundraising campaign for a Gauḍīya Studies lectureship endowment of £3m in Oxford

Collected so far
£ 0

Expanding the World of

Gauḍīya Studies

A fundraising campaign for a Gauḍīya Studies lectureship endowment of £3m in Oxford

Collected so far
£ 0

We are happy to announce that

for the first time in history a practising Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava has a Lectureship at the University of Oxford

And more remarkable is the fact that

he is supervising the PhD of a practising Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava student in Oxford

With this development we have established

a model for excellence in the intellectual culture of Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇavism globally

Knowledge

Every society needs intellectuals. Every community needs some people who are engaged in research and who are asking questions that are essential to the tradition.
If we don’t ask these questions then we lose the bigger picture.

Meet Our Vaiṣṇava Lecturer

Dr Rembert Lutjeharms is one of the world’s leading experts on Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava traditions and especially the Caitanya Vaiṣṇavism. His expertise is not limited to the Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava tradition alone. It is much more broad encompassing other related traditions within Hinduism. Rembert also has a profound knowledge of Sanskrit poetics. 

By investing in teaching and research we provide the publications and courses that educate teachers


These teachers will inspire their students. They will help them learn how to think rather than simply training them

Together we can nurture a generation of independently thoughtful people with a deep understanding of Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇavism

Learning

For a tradition to survive it needs to educate new generations of intellectuals. Young people are shaping our future.

Who Can Speak For Hindus?

The Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava tradition has much to offer to our contemporary world. The tradition’s age-old theology about divine love, interpersonal relationships, and the ethical principles of humility and forbearance – these truths can speak to some of the most urgent challenges of our time. Indeed, for a tradition to survive, even thrive, we must be able to articulate and apply its theology in a way that is relevant to each new generation.

When I came to Oxford at the age of seventeen, the faculty and staff of the OCHS helped me articulate a vision for my own future – an aspiration for lifelong learning and service – and provided me with the resources I needed to build on that vision, including libraries, lectures and seminars, research opportunities, housing, mentorship, and community. Ever since that formative experience, I have spent my years attempting to give back to others what I received.

I now teach Hinduism at an American university, run a large department of History and Religious Studies, write on Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava theology, and deliver public lectures around the world. In all of this, I continue to be inspired by the work of the Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies.

Prof. Ravi M. Gupta
Charles Redd Professor of Religious Studies
Utah State University, USA

Investing in student scholarships shows that we are taking Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇavism seriously

Scholarships will help us attract and support the most qualified students and will motivate future generations of scholars

Think Vaiṣṇavism

Our Graduates and Fellows Professor Måns Broo, Dr Rembert Lutjeharms, Professor Kiyokazu Okita, and Dr Lucian Wong have established a successful Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava Research Programme at the OCHS. A space for sharing ideas, for debate, and for collaboration where great ideas come to life through the power and resources of an academic community.

Research

A research programme is an umbrella category that is fostering individual projects, publications, and teaching programmes and is inspiring young students to take this field forward.

The research programme includes The Gosvāmī Era: The Founding of Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇavism in Early Modern South Asia project, the Bengali Vaiṣṇavism in the Modern Period project and a Digital Humanities project, preserving and making manuscripts accessible online.

The programme has hosted four international conferences and seminars, a variety of publications including monographs, edited volumes, journal issues, articles, PhD projects, and a world-spanning research network. Click below for more details on publications and conferences.