Why should they even be found? ii American Hinduism is thus defined by two different streams of discussion:
Tion That a Pandit or Acharya would be,
"nor do they have the specialized ability of an ordinary scholastic researcher of Hinduism.
"While my knowledge of American Hinduism is not complete, I am not aware of any people within this second category who have the training, the financial support, and The Dilemma of American Hinduism 19 the infrastructure or foundation—for example, a library, classroom spaces, the student base, and the like—to teach Hinduism in the systematic and comprehensive manner of which I spoke.
"While my knowledge of American Hinduism is not complete, I am not aware of any people within this second category who have the training, the financial support, and The Dilemma of American Hinduism 19 the infrastructure or foundation—for example, a library, classroom spaces, the student base, and the like—to teach Hinduism in the systematic and comprehensive manner of which I spoke.
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| Remarkably successful for at least 800 years, |
"Obviously, these two gatherings have collided with each other as of late." But it will always be hard for them to speak to one another. They talk distinctive dialects and they have diverse objectives. Perhaps the most fruitful relationships have been between Hindu pandits and acharyas, most of who live in India, and academic scholars of Hinduism. They have would in general work together on book distributing and examine. But academics and American Hindus, the rare pandit aside, have n’t ever said much to each other in the past.
I hope that changes, but I don’t think it will in the fore-
seeable future. The bridges between them aren’t easy to find. Is there even a map? Why should they even be found? American Hinduism is thus defined by two different streams of discussion: one that has all the technicalities and richness of academia, and the other that has the passion and conviction of a lived faith. Each can probably live in isolation from the other, but a different and arguably more productive future is possible too.
The historical precedents for the divide between the two groups may go back as far as pre-colonial India, wherein a particular person’s relationship with her or his Hindu tradition would have been intervened between a nearby family cleric a temple priest, and a scholarly teacher, Acharya The first two may have known very little about the finer points of history, philosophy, and theology, while the third may not have been easily accessible to the average person.
As a result, an average Hindu may not have had the ability to study, say, the works of Acharya Shankara, the great ninth-century Advaita theologian, or of Abhinavagupta, the great tenth century Shaiva theologian, even if she or he would self-identify as part of their tradition. Those structures and places for the investigation of Hinduism in India are waning as I figure numerous Hindu researchers in India would mourn The improvement of the scholastic and religious space for Hindu researchers and understudies would be new for Hinduism in America since it would need to reclassify the structure in which the education would take place, the language in which it would take place, and the types of issues it would need to incorporate so as to enable Hindus to speak meaningfully to fellow Americans. I think that the negative reactions of Hindus against academic scholars of Hinduism are, firstly, mostly symbolic because it cannot have a long-term impact on the academy, but more importantly, it arises out of a sense of disempowerment and fear.
There isn’t a quality constructive body of literature produced from within a Hindu theological community in the US to counter the technical and what many might see as incorrect or on the other hand hostile cases of American and European scholastic researchers of Hinduism There are a few books produced here and there by independent American Hindus, but not a concerted and systematic program for research and publication. As stated above, other major religions in the US have many places in which they can study their traditions theologically, that is, a context that is deeply informed by texts, histories, and languages as well as spiritual and ritual piety. Indeed the oldest and wealthiest schools in the US were created just for that purpose. I am not suggesting that American Hindus adopt the exact same model, although
I do think it is one that has been strikingly effective for something like 800 years if one were to include the European counterparts such as Oxford and Cambridge, the University of Paris, or the University of Bologna. If it is not the Euro-pean university model, then something needs to be developed. American Hindus at least need to generate a discussion about what Hindu education could look like in 5, 10, or 500 years from now.
The historical precedents for the divide between the two groups may go back as far as pre-colonial India, wherein a particular person’s relationship with her or his Hindu tradition would have been intervened between a nearby family cleric a temple priest, and a scholarly teacher, Acharya The first two may have known very little about the finer points of history, philosophy, and theology, while the third may not have been easily accessible to the average person.
As a result, an average Hindu may not have had the ability to study, say, the works of Acharya Shankara, the great ninth-century Advaita theologian, or of Abhinavagupta, the great tenth century Shaiva theologian, even if she or he would self-identify as part of their tradition. Those structures and places for the investigation of Hinduism in India are waning as I figure numerous Hindu researchers in India would mourn The improvement of the scholastic and religious space for Hindu researchers and understudies would be new for Hinduism in America since it would need to reclassify the structure in which the education would take place, the language in which it would take place, and the types of issues it would need to incorporate so as to enable Hindus to speak meaningfully to fellow Americans. I think that the negative reactions of Hindus against academic scholars of Hinduism are, firstly, mostly symbolic because it cannot have a long-term impact on the academy, but more importantly, it arises out of a sense of disempowerment and fear.
There isn’t a quality constructive body of literature produced from within a Hindu theological community in the US to counter the technical and what many might see as incorrect or on the other hand hostile cases of American and European scholastic researchers of Hinduism There are a few books produced here and there by independent American Hindus, but not a concerted and systematic program for research and publication. As stated above, other major religions in the US have many places in which they can study their traditions theologically, that is, a context that is deeply informed by texts, histories, and languages as well as spiritual and ritual piety. Indeed the oldest and wealthiest schools in the US were created just for that purpose. I am not suggesting that American Hindus adopt the exact same model, although
I do think it is one that has been strikingly effective for something like 800 years if one were to include the European counterparts such as Oxford and Cambridge, the University of Paris, or the University of Bologna. If it is not the Euro-pean university model, then something needs to be developed. American Hindus at least need to generate a discussion about what Hindu education could look like in 5, 10, or 500 years from now.
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