New Books Network

Indian Religions May 26, 2022

Sabdanugamah

Indian Linguistic Studies in Honor of George Cardona; Volume 1: Vyakarana and Sabdabodha

Peter Scharf

Hosted by Raj Balkaran

Sabdanugamah (Sanskrit Library, 2021) is the first of two volumes of studies in honor of Professor George Cardona, the preeminent authority on Paninian grammar and the linguistic traditions of India as …

Indian Religions May 19, 2022

Constructing Kanchi

City of Infinite Temples

Emma Natalya Stein

Hosted by Raj Balkaran

Emma Natalya Stein's book Constructing Kanchi: City of Infinite Temples (Amsterdam UP, 2021) traces the emergence of the South Indian city of Kanchi as a major royal capital and multireligious pilgrimage destination …

Indian Religions May 12, 2022

Holy Science

The Biopolitics of Hindu Nationalism

Banu Subramaniam

Hosted by Raj Balkaran

In Holy Science: The Biopolitics of Hindu Nationalism (University of Washington Press, 2019), Banu Subramaniam examines how science and religion have come together to propel a vision of the modern Indian nation …

On Religion May 5, 2022

On Interfaith Activism, Sikhism, and Hinduism

A Discussion with Tahil Sharma

Tahil Sharma

Hosted by Gregory Soden

Tahil Sharma grew up in an interfaith family and practices Sikhism and Hinduism. He is a Program Manager for Faith Outreach at Brave New Films and an Interfaith Minister in …

Indian Religions May 5, 2022

South Asian Studies in Canada

Julie Vig and Andrea Pinkney

Hosted by Raj Balkaran

Raj Balkaran speaks with Julie Vig (York University) and Andrea Pinkney (McGill University) about the Canadian South Asian Studies Association, a new development in association with the Canadian Federation for …

Indian Religions May 4, 2022

The Importance of Pali

The Language of Ancient Buddhism

Aleix Ruiz-Falqués

Hosted by Raj Balkaran

Core Buddhist teachings are preserved in the ancient Indian language Pali. Listen in as Aleix Ruiz-Falqués speaks about its structure, its significance, and opportunities to study it with him online …

South Asian Studies May 3, 2022

Kings, Spirits and Memory in Central India

Enchanting the State

Aditya Pratap Deo

Hosted by Tiatemsu Longkumer

Part anthropological history and part memoir, this book is a study of the polity of the colonial-princely state of Kanker in central India. Aditya Pratap Deo's book Kings, Spirits and Memory …

Indian Religions May 2, 2022

Jain Rāmāyaṇa Narratives

Moral Vision and Literary Innovation

Gregory M. Clines

Hosted by Raj Balkaran

Gregory M. Clines' book Jain Rāmāyaṇa Narratives: Moral Vision and Literary Innovation (Routledge, 2022) traces how and why Jain authors at different points in history rewrote the story of Rāma and …

Indian Religions April 28, 2022

The Practice of Texts

Education and Healing in South India

Anthony Cerulli

Hosted by Raj Balkaran

In this interdisciplinary study, Anthony Cerulli probes late- and postcolonial reforms in ayurvedic education, the development of the ayurvedic college, and the impacts of the college curriculum on ways that …

On Religion April 28, 2022

On Sikhism

A Discussion with Harbaksh Sangha, Jasmine Sangha, Chetan Hans, and Ranjana Hans

Harbaksh Sangha, Jasmine Sangha, Chetan Hans, and Ranjana Hans

Hosted by Gregory Soden

This episode introduces Sikhism, including an overview of the basic beliefs, practices, important people, and specific goals of the Sikh religion, practiced by around 25 million people worldwide, with its …

Indian Religions April 21, 2022

Spiritual Empires in Europe and India

Cosmopolitan Religious Movements from 1875 to the Interwar Era

Perry Myers

Hosted by Raj Balkaran

Spiritual Empires in Europe and India: Cosmopolitan Religious Movements from 1875 to the Interwar Era (Palgrave MacMillan, 2021) provides a comparative analysis of cosmopolitan (esoteric) religious movements, such as Theosophy …

On Religion April 18, 2022

On Sita's Ramayana

A Discussion with Samhita Arni

Samhita Arni

Hosted by Gregory Soden

Samhita Arni is the author of the NYT Bestselling graphic novel, Sita's Ramayana, (collaboration with Patua artist Moyna Chitrakar) available from Tara Books. She is also the author of The …

Indian Religions April 14, 2022

Grhastha

The Householder in Ancient Indian Religious Culture

Patrick Olivelle

Hosted by Raj Balkaran

Today I talked to Patrick Olivelle about his book Grhastha: The Householder in Ancient Indian Religious Culture (Oxford UP, 2019). For scholars of ancient Indian religions, the wandering mendicants who left home …

Indian Religions April 11, 2022

The Spalding Symposium on Indian Religions

Karen O'Brien-Kop, Brian Black, Avni Chag, and Kush Depala

Hosted by Raj Balkaran

What is the Spalding Symposium on Indian Religions all about? Who is it for? What is it’s past, present, and future? Find out as Raj Balkaran speaks with Symposium organizers …

South Asian Studies April 11, 2022

The Truths and Lies of Nationalism

As Narrated by Charvak

Partha Chatterjee

Hosted by Ujaan Ghosh

Written in the voice of the mythical atheist, naysayer, and general all-purpose heretic of Indian philosophy, The Truths and Lies of Nationalism: As Narrated by Charvak (SUNY Press, 2021) presents …

Indian Religions April 7, 2022

The Hindu Nation

A Reconciliation with Modernity

M. K. Raghvendra

Hosted by Raj Balkaran

In The Hindu Nation: A Reconciliation with Modernity (Bloomsbury, 2021), M. K. Raghavendra examines what being a Hindu means and asks whether its practices are reconcilable with global modernity and compatible …

On Religion April 1, 2022

On Ashram Life, the Bhagavad Gita, and Teaching Yoga

A Discussion with Raghunath

Raghunath

Hosted by Gregory Soden

Raghunath tours the world, leading yoga workshops, yoga teacher trainings, kirtans, and the practical applications of yogic philosophy. He annually takes a group on pilgrimage through holy places of India …

Indian Religions March 31, 2022

Swami Vivekananda's Vedantic Cosmopolitanism

Swami Medhananda

Hosted by Raj Balkaran

Vivekananda, Swami Vivekananda's Vedantic Cosmopolitanism (Oxford UP, 2022) argues, is best understood as a cosmopolitan Vedantin who developed novel philosophical positions through creative dialectical engagement with both Indian and Western …

Indian Religions March 24, 2022

Baba Padmanji

Vernacular Christianity in Colonial India

Deepra Dandekar

Hosted by Raj Balkaran

Baba Padmanji: Vernacular Christianity in Colonial India (Routledge, 2020) is a critical biography of Baba Padmanji (1831-1906), a firebrand native Christian missionary, ideologue, and litterateur from 19th-century Bombay Presidency. This …

On Religion March 21, 2022

On Punk, Meditation, and Yoga

A Discussion with Miguel Chen

Miguel Chen

Hosted by Gregory Soden

Miguel Chen is the bass player for long-running Fat Wreck Chords punk rock band Teenage Bottlerocket. He is the author of I Wanna Be Well (Wisdom Publications). He is a …