There has been a pronounced tendency among those seeking to explore the nature of transformation ... more There has been a pronounced tendency among those seeking to explore the nature of transformation within the modern Hindu religious sphere to direct their attention to religious thinkers and institutions bearing the distinct marks of an Enlightenment-inflected rationality and its reformative impulses. One of the upshots of this historiographical propensity has been the occlusion of Hindu currents associated with colonially shaped notions of the so-called ‘irrational’ – and, by implication, ‘non-modern’ – from the rubric of modern Hinduism. Of particular note in this regard are traditions (sampradāya) of Hindu practice and belief rooted in the Purāṇas and Tantras that pre-existed the advent of British colonial presence in the subcontinent. The focus of this paper is the significant yet oft-overlooked contribution to Hindu modernity of one such sampradāyic current – namely, Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇavism, or the Hindu devotional tradition that finds its tangible origins in the sixteenth-century ecstatic Bengali Kṛṣṇa bhakta Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya (1486–1533).
This chapter provides an outline of both Vaiṣṇavism in the region of Bengal and the present state... more This chapter provides an outline of both Vaiṣṇavism in the region of Bengal and the present state of the field of Bengali Vaiṣṇava studies. It then proceeds to highlight the value of a focused examination of the Bengali Vaiṣṇava tradition in its manifold forms during the period of British colonialism. It argues that such an undertaking promises to not only enrich our understanding of the history and development of Bengali Vaiṣṇavism, but also to shed valuable new light on the texture and dynamics of colonial Hinduism beyond the discursive and social-historical parameters of an entrenched Hindu “Renaissance” paradigm.
This article argues that colonial Hindu attempts to universalise strategies of ‘inclusivism’ to n... more This article argues that colonial Hindu attempts to universalise strategies of ‘inclusivism’ to negotiate religious diversity are, at times, marked by tensions and ambiguities that are indicative of the forceful persistence of restrictive concerns associated with pre-colonial Hindu inclusivist modalities. It does so by way of an examination of the writings of Kedarnath Datta Bhaktivinod (1838–1914), a prominent Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava theologian and leader in late nineteenth century Bengal. The article demonstrates that, while Bhaktivinod’s early model of Vaiṣṇava inclusivism may instantiate the pervasive universalising impulse of modern Hindu discourse, close reading of his corpus reveals a significant transition in his strategy for dealing with diversity that is undergirded by an implicit shift in his experience-oriented epistemology. In sum, this transition problematises the notion that his inclusivist practice can be taken as a definitive index of rupture from pre-colonial Gauḍīya theology.
This article sets out to problematise the notion that late nineteenth and early twentieth century... more This article sets out to problematise the notion that late nineteenth and early twentieth century Vaiṣṇava anti-sahajiyā polemics can be taken as a definitive index of colonial wrought rupture within Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇavism. It proceeds by (1) drawing attention to oblique, yet unmistakably polemical, forms of response to sahajiyā currents in pre-colonial Gauḍīya literature that are indicative of a movement towards a brāhmaṇically-aligned Vaiṣṇava normativity; and (2) highlighting how this movement towards normativity was further fostered in colonial times by Gauḍīya gosvāmī types, who were often extensively involved in bhadralok Vaiṣṇava domains.
Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇavism, which traces its origins to the ecstatic Bengali Kṛṣṇa devotee, Kṛṣṇa Caitany... more Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇavism, which traces its origins to the ecstatic Bengali Kṛṣṇa devotee, Kṛṣṇa Caitanya (1486–1533), has indelibly shaped the socio-religious landscape of Bengal and significantly impacted other regions of the Indian subcontinent, such as Orissa, Bihar, Assam, Manipur, Uttar Pradesh, and Rajasthan. The present article provides a current map of the field of the study of the Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava tradition, from its inception to the early twentieth century, based largely on recent critical English-language scholarship. Adopting a thematic historical approach, it highlights the contextual specificity of recent scholarship and provides a heuristic framework for understanding the tradition and its historical dynamics.
This article explores the relationship between historical consciousness and colonial Bengali reli... more This article explores the relationship between historical consciousness and colonial Bengali religious thought, arguing that though critical historical consciousness may be considered unique to the colonial period, it did not seize Bengali bhadraloka religious thought as comprehensively as it is often believed to have done. It does so by examining the thought of Kedarnath Datta Bhaktivinod, a prominent Bengali bhadraloka Vaiṣṇava leader of the period. In his earliest major Vaiṣṇava work, the Kṛṣṇa-saṁhitā, we find Bhaktivinod addressing the modern concern for history and its relation to the mythical narratives of purānic texts. By highlighting (i) evident tensions within the text, and (ii) significant revisions made to a later edition of the text, the article attempts to problematise the notion that critical historical consciousness is a definitive marker of rupture between pre-colonial and colonial religious thought in Bengal.
Editors: Ferdinando Sardella and Lucian Wong. Bringing together scholars from across the discipli... more Editors: Ferdinando Sardella and Lucian Wong. Bringing together scholars from across the disciplines of social and intellectual history, philology, theology, and anthropology to systematically investigate Vaiṣṇavism in colonial Bengal, this book highlights the significant roles—religious, social, and cultural—that a prominent Hindu devotional current played in the lives of wide and diverse sections of colonial Bengali society.
Bringing together scholars from across the disciplines of social and intellectual history, philol... more Bringing together scholars from across the disciplines of social and intellectual history, philology, theology, and anthropology to systematically investigate Vaiṣṇavism in colonial Bengal, the book highlights the significant roles—religious, social, and cultural—that a prominent Hindu devotional current played in the lives of wide and diverse sections of colonial Bengali society.
This special issue of the Journal of Hindu Studies explores Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava engagement with key ... more This special issue of the Journal of Hindu Studies explores Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava engagement with key facets of colonial modernity and its role in shaping modern Hindu discourse. The issue's publication, it is hoped, will serve to both nurture the growing sub-field of Modern Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava Studies and, more broadly, encourage greater attention to the important contributions of other such sampradāyic Hindu currents to the texture and dynamics of modern Hinduism.
Introduction to the book: Sardella, Ferdinando and Lucian Wong (eds.), The Legacy of Vaiṣṇavism ... more Introduction to the book: Sardella, Ferdinando and Lucian Wong (eds.), The Legacy of Vaiṣṇavism in Colonial Bengal, Routledge, 2019.
There has been a pronounced tendency among those seeking to explore the nature of transformation ... more There has been a pronounced tendency among those seeking to explore the nature of transformation within the modern Hindu religious sphere to direct their attention to religious thinkers and institutions bearing the distinct marks of an Enlightenment-inflected rationality and its reformative impulses. One of the upshots of this historiographical propensity has been the occlusion of Hindu currents associated with colonially shaped notions of the so-called ‘irrational’ – and, by implication, ‘non-modern’ – from the rubric of modern Hinduism. Of particular note in this regard are traditions (sampradāya) of Hindu practice and belief rooted in the Purāṇas and Tantras that pre-existed the advent of British colonial presence in the subcontinent. The focus of this paper is the significant yet oft-overlooked contribution to Hindu modernity of one such sampradāyic current – namely, Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇavism, or the Hindu devotional tradition that finds its tangible origins in the sixteenth-century ecstatic Bengali Kṛṣṇa bhakta Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya (1486–1533).
This chapter provides an outline of both Vaiṣṇavism in the region of Bengal and the present state... more This chapter provides an outline of both Vaiṣṇavism in the region of Bengal and the present state of the field of Bengali Vaiṣṇava studies. It then proceeds to highlight the value of a focused examination of the Bengali Vaiṣṇava tradition in its manifold forms during the period of British colonialism. It argues that such an undertaking promises to not only enrich our understanding of the history and development of Bengali Vaiṣṇavism, but also to shed valuable new light on the texture and dynamics of colonial Hinduism beyond the discursive and social-historical parameters of an entrenched Hindu “Renaissance” paradigm.
This article argues that colonial Hindu attempts to universalise strategies of ‘inclusivism’ to n... more This article argues that colonial Hindu attempts to universalise strategies of ‘inclusivism’ to negotiate religious diversity are, at times, marked by tensions and ambiguities that are indicative of the forceful persistence of restrictive concerns associated with pre-colonial Hindu inclusivist modalities. It does so by way of an examination of the writings of Kedarnath Datta Bhaktivinod (1838–1914), a prominent Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava theologian and leader in late nineteenth century Bengal. The article demonstrates that, while Bhaktivinod’s early model of Vaiṣṇava inclusivism may instantiate the pervasive universalising impulse of modern Hindu discourse, close reading of his corpus reveals a significant transition in his strategy for dealing with diversity that is undergirded by an implicit shift in his experience-oriented epistemology. In sum, this transition problematises the notion that his inclusivist practice can be taken as a definitive index of rupture from pre-colonial Gauḍīya theology.
This article sets out to problematise the notion that late nineteenth and early twentieth century... more This article sets out to problematise the notion that late nineteenth and early twentieth century Vaiṣṇava anti-sahajiyā polemics can be taken as a definitive index of colonial wrought rupture within Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇavism. It proceeds by (1) drawing attention to oblique, yet unmistakably polemical, forms of response to sahajiyā currents in pre-colonial Gauḍīya literature that are indicative of a movement towards a brāhmaṇically-aligned Vaiṣṇava normativity; and (2) highlighting how this movement towards normativity was further fostered in colonial times by Gauḍīya gosvāmī types, who were often extensively involved in bhadralok Vaiṣṇava domains.
Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇavism, which traces its origins to the ecstatic Bengali Kṛṣṇa devotee, Kṛṣṇa Caitany... more Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇavism, which traces its origins to the ecstatic Bengali Kṛṣṇa devotee, Kṛṣṇa Caitanya (1486–1533), has indelibly shaped the socio-religious landscape of Bengal and significantly impacted other regions of the Indian subcontinent, such as Orissa, Bihar, Assam, Manipur, Uttar Pradesh, and Rajasthan. The present article provides a current map of the field of the study of the Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava tradition, from its inception to the early twentieth century, based largely on recent critical English-language scholarship. Adopting a thematic historical approach, it highlights the contextual specificity of recent scholarship and provides a heuristic framework for understanding the tradition and its historical dynamics.
This article explores the relationship between historical consciousness and colonial Bengali reli... more This article explores the relationship between historical consciousness and colonial Bengali religious thought, arguing that though critical historical consciousness may be considered unique to the colonial period, it did not seize Bengali bhadraloka religious thought as comprehensively as it is often believed to have done. It does so by examining the thought of Kedarnath Datta Bhaktivinod, a prominent Bengali bhadraloka Vaiṣṇava leader of the period. In his earliest major Vaiṣṇava work, the Kṛṣṇa-saṁhitā, we find Bhaktivinod addressing the modern concern for history and its relation to the mythical narratives of purānic texts. By highlighting (i) evident tensions within the text, and (ii) significant revisions made to a later edition of the text, the article attempts to problematise the notion that critical historical consciousness is a definitive marker of rupture between pre-colonial and colonial religious thought in Bengal.
Editors: Ferdinando Sardella and Lucian Wong. Bringing together scholars from across the discipli... more Editors: Ferdinando Sardella and Lucian Wong. Bringing together scholars from across the disciplines of social and intellectual history, philology, theology, and anthropology to systematically investigate Vaiṣṇavism in colonial Bengal, this book highlights the significant roles—religious, social, and cultural—that a prominent Hindu devotional current played in the lives of wide and diverse sections of colonial Bengali society.
Bringing together scholars from across the disciplines of social and intellectual history, philol... more Bringing together scholars from across the disciplines of social and intellectual history, philology, theology, and anthropology to systematically investigate Vaiṣṇavism in colonial Bengal, the book highlights the significant roles—religious, social, and cultural—that a prominent Hindu devotional current played in the lives of wide and diverse sections of colonial Bengali society.
This special issue of the Journal of Hindu Studies explores Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava engagement with key ... more This special issue of the Journal of Hindu Studies explores Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava engagement with key facets of colonial modernity and its role in shaping modern Hindu discourse. The issue's publication, it is hoped, will serve to both nurture the growing sub-field of Modern Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava Studies and, more broadly, encourage greater attention to the important contributions of other such sampradāyic Hindu currents to the texture and dynamics of modern Hinduism.
Introduction to the book: Sardella, Ferdinando and Lucian Wong (eds.), The Legacy of Vaiṣṇavism ... more Introduction to the book: Sardella, Ferdinando and Lucian Wong (eds.), The Legacy of Vaiṣṇavism in Colonial Bengal, Routledge, 2019.
Uploads
of social and intellectual history, philology, theology,
and anthropology to systematically
investigate Vaiṣṇavism in colonial Bengal, this book
highlights the significant roles—religious, social, and
cultural—that a prominent Hindu devotional current
played in the lives of wide and diverse sections of
colonial Bengali society.
of social and intellectual history, philology, theology,
and anthropology to systematically
investigate Vaiṣṇavism in colonial Bengal, this book
highlights the significant roles—religious, social, and
cultural—that a prominent Hindu devotional current
played in the lives of wide and diverse sections of
colonial Bengali society.