I attended the recently concluded AAR (American Academy of
Religion) Annual Conference at Chicago, Nov 16-20, 2012, as a scholar of
Hinduism. 'What is Hinduism?" asked the hotel clerk who helped me check in
as I tried to explain to her about the purpose of my visit to Chicago. I was
confounded with the same or similar question, which continued to repeat
itself continually for the next three days, more than once a day sometimes
during my stay in Chicago. There were a variety of presentations on Hinduism,
Yoga and comparative studies on Hinduism, which would be discussed below, but
traditional Hinduism is missing from AAR. It seemed AAR itself is wresting with
the idea of Hinduism, and coming to grips with the definition and finding
balance between different aspects of Hinduism.
While AAR (American Academy of Religion) panel presentations
on Hinduism focused on understanding contemporary practices of Hinduism,
especially that of Hinduism abroad, DANAM (Dharma Academy of North America)
panels focused on philosophical and ethical aspects of Hinduism, and
interaction of Hinduism with other Indian and international religions. However,
what seemed to be presented about Hinduism at this year's conference overall is
that it showed a dedicated focus to current events, and modern ethics with
emphasis on current events. It is not clear if this was intentional or merely
coincidental, that some of the panels' titles read like newspaper headlines and
address issues from recent news coverage. For example, "Its the End of the
World as We Know it," or "My Kundalini
Made Me do It," sound as catchy as news headlines or movies titles. The Hinduism
Group's panel presentations address texts, deities (major or minor), or ritual
Hinduism indirectly, since contemporary understandings of Hinduism organized
around thematic subjects predominate this year's panels. For example, the
following panel presentations including, "Is There a Tradition of
Change in Hinduism?" or "Authority, Tradition and Innovation in Hindu
Traditions," focuses not on original themes from any religious texts, but
transmission, while "Modern Social Interpretation of Bhakti
Traditions," examines modern adaptations of Bhakti practices rather than theological or ritual questions of Bhakti in relation to Hinduism. Another
panel, "Religion, Toleration, Progress: "Liberalism In and Against Hindu
Thought," jointly organized by Hinduism Group with Liberal Theologies
Group is an examination of Hinduism through the understandings of Liberal
Theology. Anyone attending panel presentations of Hinduism at this year's
conference would not be mistaken to think that Hinduism as a modern religion is
an independent phenomenon, barely related to its textual, philosophical and
theological strands.
Religion
in South Asia Section panels address general
issues from Indian Religions, and also focus on modern and contemporary themes.
The panels, "Re-figuring Bodies That Matter: Sex, Gender, and Alternative
Bodily Identities in South Asian Tradition," "Indian Religions and
the Limits of Royal Patronage," "In Good Taste: Aesthetics and South
Asian Religion," show this partisan approach to modern culture of India.
While the joint panel organized by Religion in South Asia Section with Science,
Technology and Religion Group, addresses "Religion and Science in South
Asia," which is another approach to understanding modern cultural
approaches of India.
A number of panels also included panel presentations on
Yoga, which also included some panels addressing contemporary concerns:
"My Kundalini Made Me Do It: The Intersection of Yoga, Psychology,
and Medicine," and "The Commodification of Yoga," and
"Innovation and Transformation in North American Yoga". The film,
"Yoga Inc.," goes well with the presentation panels on Yoga. Anyone
attending these panels, having watched the film would leave with a sense of
clear understanding of Yoga as it transformed itself in modern day America.
Other panels address the relationship of Hinduism with
other religions as Hindu-Christian, Hindu-Judaic Studies Groups. Society
for Hindu Christian Studies panel, “Interreligious Ritual Participation:
Reverence, Flippancy and Betrayal," brings together papers not only from
different religious traditions, but also from across different time, space and
political traditions.
The DANAM panels also included comparative studies
such as: "Hindu Dharma, Yoga, and the East-West Transmission,"
"InterDharma, IntraDharma, and Interfaith Dialogue as Forms of
Transmitting Dharma," and "Kundalini Yoga Movement of
Yogi Bhajan".
While the conference is productive and successful in
showcasing the contemporary research strides made in recent years on the
subject of Hinduism through its thematic panels, it would have been helpful to
include panels on primary sources of Hinduism and global Hinduism.
