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President of U.S. Academy of Religion is Hindu

President of U.S. Academy of Religion is Hindu

Author: Sonia Chopra
Publication: Rediff on Net (US Edition)
Date: February 3, 2001
 
Vasudha Narayanan grew up in conservative Madras where religion, culture, tradition, history, philosophy and temples formed the backdrop of her environment.

The rich legacy of culture and religion made enough of an impact to propel her curiosity about Hinduism.

Today, her quest for learning has brought her honor and fame.

Narayanan was recently chosen as the President-elect of the American Academy of Religion. She is the first non-Jewish or non-Christian to hold the office in its 92-year history.

With 9,000 members, the Atlanta-based organization is the world's largest association of academics who research or teach topics related to religion.

"I enjoy my work and my community. I am constantly trying to learn more about my religion," Narayanan said, adding she has also been deeply interested in world religions for more than two decades.

Narayanan believes "faith cuts across many social boundaries" and "people have an inborn need to connect to religion" because it forms the base of their values.

Narayanan, 47, a professor of religion at the University of Florida at Gainesville and an author, says she is humbled but undaunted by the AAR honor.

She has held leadership positions in many organizations. In 1999, she was chosen the vice president of the AAR. Four years ago, she was the president of the Society for Hindu Christian Studies and she is currently the university's research foundation professor.

Narayanan has written several papers and articles on her subject. Some of her books are Gods of Flesh, Gods of Stone: The Embodiment of Divinity in India, The Way and the Goal: Expressions of Devotion in the Early Srivaisnava Tradition, Monastic Life in the Christian and Hindu Traditions: A Comparative Study and The Vernacular Veda: Revelation, Recitation and Ritual.

Having studied the Hindu temple movement across America but particularly in Atlanta, Michigan and Florida, Narayanan is working on a book about transplanted traditions.

After earning a bachelor's degree in psychology from the University of Madras and a diploma in mass communications media from Sophia Polytechnic in Bombay, she discovered a love for philosophy and switched to the subject, receiving an M.A. and a Ph.D. from the University of Bombay.

In 1975, while working on her dissertation on vedantas, Narayanan won a scholarship and became a graduate student at the Center for the Study of World Religions at Harvard University for two years.

At Harvard, the work of one of her teachers led her to study the issues about life and death in Hinduism.

Her teacher, a priest, had conducted "vigorous, detailed, careful analytical study of the Bible, the New Testament," Narayanan recalled.

"We (Indians) are sometimes afraid to apply such rigor to our scriptures, we have this fear our faith will crumble but it's not true," she said. "When you go through our sacred texts, you will discover beautiful, inspirational thoughts which renew your appreciation of your culture."

Narayanan also enjoys conducting research on women who have been poets, patrons of temples and philosophers in the Hindu tradition.

In 1992, she received an award from the John Simon Guggenheim Foundation to study the works of Tirukkoneri Dasyai, a female philosopher who lived in the 14th or 15th century.

Narayanan has been teaching at UF for nearly two decades, after several stints at schools such as DePaul University, Benedictine College and College of DuPage in Chicago.

She went through an arranged marriage at the insistence of her parents. Her husband, Ranga Rajan is a structural engineer.

The Indian Diaspora has a unique approach to preserving their religion, Narayanan's research has found.

"They transmit their religion to various generations through the arts, dance, music, painting and other cultural events," she said. "That's why Hindu temples are so successful in the U.S. They become centers for preserving religion and culture."

Narayanan's children Desika, 20, and Ramanujan, 15, are named after Vaishnav philosophers.

She says she has preserved some of her traditions and culture and is "rooted" but she also enjoys living and understanding other cultures and traditions.

Narayanan quotes an old African proverb: "Those who never travel, their mother is their only cook.
 


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