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.
