STLS2154

STLS

2154

Yoga of Sacred Love in Hindu Theology

This course focuses on the Yoga of Love known as bhakti or â?oreligion of the heart.â? By this we mean the specific poetic expressions, the scriptural narratives or the theological explications of love as the way of uniting (yoga) with God, or uniting with the divine or ultimate reality as embraced by the religious traditions more broadly identified as â?oHinduism.â? This seminar will first trace the development of the practice of the offering the heart to the divine as described or expressed in the hymns of the Vedas, then in key Upanishads, then in the epics, such as the Ramayana and Mahabharata, especially in the Bhagavad Gita, and then in the Pura?as, especially in the Bhagavata Pura?a. The relationship of bhakti to Vedanta and Yoga and to the various forms of yogic practice will be examined. An exploration of bhakti across Hindu traditions will be conducted, looking at Shiva bhakti, Devi bhakti, and especially Vaishnava or Krishna bhakti traditions where it has thrived and developed into sophisticated theologies of love. Format, lecture and seminar, evaluation, reflection papers and presentations, class, MA, MDiv, MTS, and PhD students welcome. PhD students will be required to do doctoral level research.

Graduate

Institutional