News

OCHS alumnus wins prestigious research position

10 January 2011

OCHS alumnus, Dr Kiyokazu Okita, has been offered a three-year post-doctoral research position at Kyoto University, Japan.

His research will focus on the medieval Vaishnava scholars, Rupa Goswami and Jiva Goswami, particulalry Rupa Goswami's Ujjvala-nilamani.

Bhumi Project: Hindu groups address climate change

6 January 2011

The Bhumi Project, which helps to co-ordinate Hindu responses to ecological change, launched its India phase with a meeting in New Delhi on 4 January 2011.

 
The aim of the Bhumi Project in India is to facilitate Hindu groups in addressing environmental damage through activities such as endorsing ethically sourced food, waste recycling, and promotion of good environmental practice to their members.
 
Sudhir Garg, of Patanjali Yogpeeth Trust, explained “Indian tradition and culture is rich in good environmental practice.

OCHS Director appointed university Chaplain

28 December 2010

Director of the Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies Shaunaka Rishi Das has recently been appointed Hindu Chaplain to Oxford University, the first Hindu chaplain in the University’s history.

 
“It’s a sign of the times,” says Shaunaka Rishi, “There are no official Hindu Chaplains for the University, yet there are thirty-six college chaplains, attached to Oxford’s thirty-eight colleges,” he explains. “I was asked by the Hindu Students’ Society of Oxford University to become their chaplain.

Lecture list for Hilary 2011 now available

9 December 2010

Lectures for the first term of 2011 are now online at www.ochs.org.uk/lectures/coming-lectures. The Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies commitment to Sanskrit teaching at Oxford has grown with two weekly Elementary Sanskrit classes and Readings in the Jayakhya Samhita, both by Prof. Gavin Flood and Readings in the Sanskrit Commentaries by OCHS Librarian and recently awarded D.Phil., Dr Rembert Lutjeharms.

 
We have two Seminar series on offer: God Across Cultures, and the Interdisciplinary Seminar in the Study of Religions/Mysticism Seminar.

Faith and Food in Hindu Traditions

Leicester Friends Event
Saturday, 18 December 2010 - 7:00pm to 9:00pm

A Talk by Anuradha Dooney of the OCHS Continuing Education Department

"From food are made all bodies, which become food again for others after their death. Food is the most important of all things for the body; therefore it is the best medicine for all the body’s ailments. Those who look upon food as the Lord’s gift shall never lack life’s physical comforts." Taittirya Upanisad 2.1.1
 
From the earliest expressions of Hindu thought to the Ayurvedic remedies, tiffin wallas, and temples of today, food, fasting and feasting have been at the heart of Hindu ideology and practice.

Friends Event: "Ours is this Self, and it is our World": Asceticism and spiritual practice in the Upanisads

Birmingham Friends Event
Saturday, 4 December 2010 - 7:00pm to 9:00pm

Dr Rembert Lutjeharms of the Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies.

For over two thousand years the Upanisads have been revered as the culmination of all Vedic thought. Spiritual practitioners of various persuasions have studied these works, looking for answers, guidance, or intellectual stimulation. But what do the Upanisads teach, and what type of guidance do these texts offer? This talk will explore the importance of discipline and work in the Upanisads, and examine the role of asceticism and insight as spiritual practice.

Friends Event: Putting faith back into faith schools

Leicester Friends Event
Saturday, 20 November 2010 - 7:00pm to 9:00pm

This month our speaker is Pradip Gajjar, the project director of the IFoundation, the organisation behind the Krishna Avanti school, the first Hindu School in Leicester. Pradip's talk is titled "Putting Faith Back into Faith Schools". Leicester is set to have its first state funded Hindu School. With this comes choice for parents, excitement for community leaders and a potential social debate on the contribution and value of faith schools. This talk will argue the value of faith schools.

Friends Event: Leadership in Hindu Thought

Leicester Friends Event
Saturday, 23 October 2010 - 7:00pm to 9:00pm

Talk given by Shaunaka Rishi Das of the Oxford Centre For Hindu Studies.

The work and qualities of a leader have been discussed in many places in Indian literature. From these writings we can discern clear guidelines for the practice of leadership in our personal, family, and community roles in life. We will ask if leadership is different from management, and if leaders are trained or born, among other things.

Friends Event: Orientalists and their 'Hinduisms'

Leicester Friends Event
Friday, 3 September 2010 - 7:00pm to 9:00pm

A talk by Sharada Sugirtharajah, Senior Lecturer in Religious Studies at the University of Birmingham

 
There is much discussion among scholars about how we can define the term ‘Hinduism’. My concern is not so much about who invented the term ‘Hinduism’, but rather to look at the thinking behind European representations of Hinduism. The aim is to show that although European Orientalist conceptions of Hinduism are varied and complex they display certain common identifiable features, which we will explore.

Friends Event: Yudhishthira and Dharma: Understanding the Mahabharata

Birmingham Friends Event
Friday, 3 September 2010 - 7:00pm to 9:00pm

Talk given by Dr Nick Sutton Ph.D., B.A. (Hons) of the Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies.

In this talk we will consider the different ways in which the Mahabharata explores the subtleties of dharma and exposes the tensions that can appear between the dharma of virtue, the dharma of duty, and the dharma of moksha. Here the character of Yudhishthira is central to Mahabharata's teaching as he is shown to be a man of inherent virtue whose duty forces him to take courses of action that conflict with his highest ideals.

A day of leadership

8 August 2010

In partnership with the City Of London Friends group, we held a one-day course at the OCHS on 7 August. The course, ‘A Day of Leadership from Indian Sources’ addresses the needs of city professionals in understanding Hindu culture and identity.

 
India’s rise in global economic and political importance is paralleled by a rising interest in Indian civilisation and what makes India tick.

Friends Event: Bhagavan, Brahman and Paramatma

Leicester Friends Event
Saturday, 21 August 2010 - 7:00pm to 9:00pm

Talk given by Dr Nick Sutton Ph.D., B.A. (Hons) of the Oxford Centre For Hindu Studies

 
In this presentation Nick Sutton will consider the different ways in which the Hindu tradition provides insights into the nature of God, looking at both the teachings of the Vedas and the ideas of some of the major acharyas. After looking at the principal doctrines, we will consider whether there is a consistent Hindu theology and what implications are to be drawn from the apparent diversity of doctrines found within the extensive purview of Hindu Dharma.