The Sabarimala Temple in Kerala, India has been recently thrown into the news. It has made world news due to the two centuries long tradition of denying females from the age of 10-50 entrance into the Temple. As of September… Read More ›
Hinduism
Human Elements in Plants: Wisdom and Botanical Lore by Nazia Islam
My paternal side of the family comes from an extensive line of farmers. They were notable for growing eggplants, but they held all sorts of agricultural knowledge. My maternal side of the family has a hushed history of female kobiraj/ natural medicine practitioners…. Read More ›
Spirit of Bali by Jassy Watson
Over the past year I have travelled to Bali on a number of occasions for both pleasure and work, and with each visit a little more of my heart and soul stays behind on this green tropical island paradise waiting… Read More ›
My Connection to Bengali Vaishnavism by Nazia Islam
Last summer I began a deep inquiry of Gaudiya/Bengali Vaishnava culture. That inquiry had its origins in a dream I had two years prior where Radha and Krishna appeared in the form of miniature clay figurines. Krishna went missing and… Read More ›
Earth Liturgies for Healing and Hope by Lache S.
In the times of our environmental crisis, I long for rituals, literature, music that can help me navigate the challenge of figuring out how to help, that can inspire me, keep this reality in my mind. I would love to… Read More ›
A Mother’s Gifts by Dawn Morais Webster
Parvati is a gentle mother goddess. But as Kali, she also wields enormous power. The daughter of Himavan, the king of the Himalayas, consort of Lord Shiva, and mother of Ganesha, the Elephant-Headed Lord, Parvati is the embodiment of all… Read More ›
Leadership in the Kali Yuga by Lache S.
Since the U.S. has elected a reality TV show billionaire to represent our nation, we should be no longer be able to shy away from the ignorance, violence, and frivolity that is within us. Happiness and peace in humanity… Read More ›
Honoring the Earth in our Rituals of Well-Being by Lache S.
Much of our lives lack the rich culture of ritual that I think would help us repair the relationships we have with our own bodies and with the earth. The Rg Veda is one of the oldest collection of hymns… Read More ›
The Chandravati Ramayana: A Story of Two Women by Vibha Shetiya
Although “the” Ramayana is a fluid narrative, scholarship has traditionally recognized the Sanskrit Valmiki Ramayana as the most authoritative of Ramayanas. But recent studies have brought to light the hundreds of regional stories of Rama and Sita which are more… Read More ›
Sex, Death and the Gods (Part II) by Vibha Shetiya
This continues my reflections on the Devidasis in Part 1. The overall picture that emerged from the documentary “Sex, Death and the Gods” was that, in its current form, there were many layers to the Devadasi system. For one, the… Read More ›
Sex, Death and the Gods (Part I) by Vibha Shetiya
I recently re-watched a BBC documentary my students and I had discussed in class last Fall. “Sex, Death and the Gods,” directed by Beeban Kidron, takes a close and rather intimate look at the Devadasi system as currently practiced in… Read More ›
Naked and Unafraid: Mahasveta Devi (1926-2016) by Vibha Shetiya
Mahasveta Devi died last month at the age of 90 in Kolkata, India. A widely acclaimed Bengali writer, she identified as an activist first, clearly evident in her meticulously researched “fiction.” Most of her stories champion the cause of those… Read More ›
The Self is Not the Territory by Vibha Shetiya
As a teenager, I grew up wondering where exactly I belonged. Aside from the confusion resulting from straddling two entirely different, perhaps even opposing, cultures, my main concern seemed to center on which country was I from – India or… Read More ›
Fair and (Therefore) Lovely by Vibha Shetiya
According to the Great Indian Cultural Lexicon, being light-skinned or “fair” translates to being “lovely.” A look at commercials that promise a make-over, courtesy of Fair and Lovely skin lightening cream will attest to this. [1] The definition, of course,… Read More ›
I Am Queen by Vibha Shetiya
I started this post just after getting back from an India trip, always very challenging because of memories that haunt me not only through their high negative recall value, but also in that I often find myself reverting to the… Read More ›
Wifehood Redefined: The Twentieth Century Sita by Vibha Shetiya
In 2003, I picked up a collection of essays on little known Ramayanas. Buried within was a poem by Pathabhi Rama Reddy. Pathabhi, a rebel of Telugu literature, defied not just conventional rules of grammar but also those of popular… Read More ›
Was Mother Kalawati a Feminist? (Part 2) by Vibha Shetiya
Continued from Part 1. After leaving her home and her children in order to take refuge with her guru, in no time, Rukmabai won over hearts. Her guru, Siddharood Swami “with his divine sight” discerned that Rukmabai was no ordinary… Read More ›
Was Mother Kalawati a Feminist? (Part 1) by Vibha Shetiya
I recently assigned my students an article by Kathleen Erndl – “Is Shakti Empowering for Women? Reflections on Feminism and the Hindu Goddess.”[1] I’m sure, like Erndl, many have been fascinated by this question, especially within the Indian context. Does… Read More ›
Sita Sings the Blues. Literally. by Vibha Shetiya
One of the most exciting times of the semester occurs when we watch “Sita Sings the Blues” in class. This film by Nina Paley – one she has made available to the public by withholding copyright – is a wonderful… Read More ›
And Then There Was Sita by Vibha Shetiya
We have been hearing a lot about Kali and Durga lately, manifestations of the great goddess (“Kali Ma,” by Jassy Watson, July 3; “What Would Durga Do?” by Barbara Ardinger, August 2). Nancy Vedder-Shults’ three-part series on Kali (August-October, 2014)… Read More ›
What Would Durga Do? by Barbara Ardinger
It’s one of my favorite T-shirts. Every time I wear it, people who know who Durga is comment. So do some people who don’t know who the Hindu goddess is. “What would Durga do?” is of course an echo… Read More ›
Kali Ma (Part 3 of 3) by Nancy Vedder-Shults
In contrast to the linearity of our time concept in the West, Indians view life as infinite and cyclical. Although Hindus, like ancient Greeks, believe in four ages of humanity (the so-called yugas), these occur not just once, but repeat… Read More ›
Ramakrishna Devotion to Kali-Ma (Part 2 of 3) by Nancy Vedder-Shults
Ramakrishna was one of the major poets who popularized Kali’s worship in Bengal, the northeasternmost province of India. Born in the early part of the 19th century, he was a Hindu saint in a tradition known as bhakti, where devotees… Read More ›
Kali Ma, The Dark Creator and Destroyer by Nancy Vedder-Shults
In contrast to our dualistic thinking here in the West — thinking that separates light from dark, life from death, and chaos from order –there are a number of Eastern philosophies and religions that have retained a more holistic approach… Read More ›
Painting Saraswati By Angela Yarber
Saraswati reminds me that the divisions between fields are our construction; that academics can be creative, art can be holy, and preaching can engage the mind. I was precariously perched atop a file cabinet tacking a giant cloth to the… Read More ›
Through Body and Space: A Glimpse into Women Worshippers of Aadhi Parashakthi by Amy Levin
Once what happened was after people started believing someone around also started believing in this temple and one person kept a statue on their steps. Her Aunty she believed and she is very much interested in small things. So she… Read More ›
Deepa Mehta’s “Water” and Homegrown Indian Feminism by Amy Levin
In the first scene of the Deepa Mehta’s 2005 Indian film Water, a father tells his eight year old daughter, Chuyia, “Child. Do you remember getting married? Your husband is dead. You’re a widow now.” These are some of the… Read More ›
Well-Behaved Women Seldom Make History, But Obedient Ones are Rewarded in Heaven: An Examination of the Re-Invention of the Bengali Tradition of Sati By Michele Stopera Freyhauf
Well-Behaved Women Seldom Make History is a book authored by Laurel Thatcher Ulrich. This has become a well-known phrase used by most feminists to imply a meaning of disobedience or stance against the patriarchal structure of society. Often in error, the… Read More ›
ADI SHAKTI! : A MEDITATION ON A MANTRA BY Sara Frykenberg, Ph.D.
Aaadee shaktee, namo, namo: I bow to the primal power (which is female and divine). My Kundalini yoga teacher training required that each student complete a 30 minute daily meditation for forty days straight at some point during our course. … Read More ›
Birthing God at the Edges of Life, Death, and Beyond: Reflections on Mary, Motherhood, and Kali Part III By Tracy Sayuki Tiemeier
Tracy Sayuki Tiemeier, Ph.D., is Assistant Professor of Theological Studies at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, CA. She teaches and researches in the areas of women and religion, interreligious dialogue, comparative theology, Asian and Asian American theology, and Hindu-Christian studies. Tracy also co-chairs the Los Angeles Hindu-Catholic Dialogue. When… Read More ›
