Although the content of the Vedas focuses mainly on the celebration of
sacrifice,
nowadays we witness a proliferation of texts and discourses which put
references to the Vedas into play
in the most diverse areas.
The attribution of the term “Vedic” is now used to legitimate all sorts of
knowledge
and practices. Thus, we hear of “Vedic architecture”, “Vedic astrology”, “Vedic
ecology”, “Vedic mathematics”, “Ayur-Veda” (Vedic medicine), “Vedic
socialism and communism”, and even “Vedic management”. The visibility of
these phenomena increased with recent attempts by Hindu nationalists, when
they were in power, to introduce these new fields into school and university
systems, both in India and abroad. This political operation raised significant
ideological issues and led to a huge controversy about the legitimacy of these
different fields.
Despite their visibility, both in India and Anglo-Saxon countries, and despite
the controversies that they generated, these discourses and practices have
received only marginal attention from the social sciences, and have moreover
never been the topic of a study where they are considered jointly.
This international conference aims to bridge this gap by bringing together
ethnologists who have observed the birth and dissemination of these
phenomena in their field studies.
The participation of historians and Sanskrit
scholars will help us to put the historical dimension of these events into
perspective, while specialists of other cultural arenas, who face similar
phenomena of appeal to texts, will shed light on the regional specificity of
these observed social facts.
During the conference, the primary task will be to understand the scope of
these phenomena, by examining the social identity of the actors involved:
which groups or individuals contribute to the production of these new forms of
knowledge? To whom are they addressed? Who are the intermediaries
involved in the propagation of these ideas? Which groups contest the
legitimacy of these discourses? In particular, we shall attempt to understand
how these groups organize themselves institutionally (sects, associations,
university); their political, religious and associative networks; as well as
their
relationship with figures in the Hindu nationalist movement. The sociological
investigation of these figures shall necessarily take into consideration the
role
of Indian diaspora and its transnational networks.
Central to our investigation is a focus on the content of these “new” forms of
knowledge, and the legitimation strategies that go along with them. Although it
takes particular forms in the modern world, referencing the Vedas is actually
an ancient way to affirm the validity of knowledge . How are contemporary
ways of referring to the Vedas as a legitimating authority different from
ancient
ways? In what ways does the attribution “Vedic” help to legitimate particular
ways of knowing?
This will lead us to question the role of textual authority in
contemporary Hinduism and its uses as a way of forging new religious
identities. If modern science as epistemological authority was amply used by
Hindu reformers during colonial times to prove the universal value of
Hinduism, how are the “Vedic” and the “scientific” articulated in contemporary
discourses and practices?
Participants will also be asked to investigate
whether the attribution “Vedic” is always used in a “Hindu” context or whether
it can be a purely commercial term used to sell the “exotic” and the “ancient”
within India— as in the case of the Vedic City under construction by the Shri
Infratech group in Greater Noida.
Similarly, the conference will deal with the economy that is generated as these
ideas spread. Besides the ideological dimension, commercial concerns seem
to be at the heart of these new phenomena.
“The attribution “Vedic” has
important commercial implications that should be attentively examined. The
Vedas are nowadays sold as a commercial item, in the form of printed texts,
recorded mantras (CD, DVD), or as a packaged tourist destination (Vedic
schools, Vedic meditations centres). “Vedic” forms of knowledge are also
extensively commercialized: countless services (consultations, courses,
stages) and products (Vedic horoscopes, Vedic remedies, Vedic ritual items,
etc.) are sold through the web. Participants will then be asked to explore the
social networks, the marketing strategies and the material supports used in
this “Vedic economy”.
A Lifestyle inspired by the Golden age of the Indian Civilization.
Chandragupta Maurya ! Ashoka ! Reminiscent of the Golden Age is now a realty.
Vedic City will be an Epic beginning to a new life.
An Epic beginning to a new life, today we invite you to become a part of that
mystical grandeur in a Vedic City near you.
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Om Sh
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