News

Friends of the OCHS Updates

20 June 2012

Friends groups are thriving in Leicester and Birmingham, raising awareness and funds for the OCHS.

Upcoming events are listed at www.ochs.org.uk/friends-events

Leicester Friends of the OCHS

The Leicester Friends continue to host an excellent series of talks.

Friends Event: Idols, Idle Worship, and Murti Puja

Leicester Friends Event
Saturday, 30 June 2012 - 6:30pm to 9:00pm

Anuradha Dooney of the Oxford Centre For Hindu Studies

When I visit a Hindu temple and the priest asks if I want to view the idols I know he does not want to demean his Murti but, as an Irish woman, the word idol has negative connotations. Is the priest worshipping God, a symbol of God, or is it all mumbo jumbo?

Obituary: Joseph O'Connell

25 May 2012

Our friend Joe, The Sunday Statesman

William Radice remembers Joseph T O’Connell, Professor Emeritus, University of Toronto, who passed away on 6 May 2012, aged 71

“How was the Edinburgh Tagore conference?”

“Very good. I thought, after so many Tagore conferences, that it might be a bridge too far. But it turned out to be a wonderfully lively and imaginative event. It was particularly good to meet and hear so many younger scholars ~ not just old-stagers like me.”

Friends Event: Literalism, Steam Engines and the Vedas: On the Interpretation of Hindu Sacred Texts

Leicester Friends Event
Saturday, 26 May 2012 - 6:30pm to 9:00pm

A talk by Dr Rembert Lutjeharms of the Oxford Centre For Hindu Studies.

How do we understand and apply the teachings of centuries-old texts today? How do we make their teachings, grounded in a social structure that no longer exists, relevant in our modern world? How do we interpret these ideas in the light of contemporary science? In recent decades, the interpretation of sacred texts has become not just the pursuit of a few scholars and theologians in the academies and religious institutions, but have become the focus of public debate.

Prof. Joseph O'Connell passes away

10 May 2012

Former OCHS Academic Director, Prof. Joseph (Joe) O'Connell, passed away on Sunday 6 May at the age of 72, following a brain haemorrhage while in New York. He was born in Boston in 1940.

In 1999–2000 Professor O'Connell was the Academic Director at the Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies since which time he has also been a Senior Associate Fellow of the Centre. He revisited the Centre as a visiting fellow in 2001 and once more in the spring of 2011.

Nehru Centre Partnership

10 May 2012

The OCHS and the Nehru Centre are natural partners in promoting Indian thought in their respective fields. This partnership was consolidated with a series of OCHS talks at the Nehru Centre.

The OCHS talks at the Nehru Centre included three from Dr Nicholas Sutton: How to Understand the Bhagavad-gita; Indian Insights on the World’s Oldest Questions; and Vedantists, Buddhists and Jains. Anuradha Dooney spoke on Women in Hinduism; Dr Rembert Lutjeharms on Interpretation of Hindu Sacred Texts; and Shaunaka Rishi Das on Paradigms of Indian Thought in the Modern World. 

One regular attendee, Mr

Friends Event: Literalism, Steam Engines and the Vedas: On the Interpretation of Hindu Sacred Texts

Birmingham Friends Event
Saturday, 12 May 2012 - 6:00pm to 8:00pm

Talk given by Dr Rembert Lutjeharms

How do we understand and apply the teachings of centuries-old texts today? How do we make their teaching, grounded in a social structure that no longer exists, relevant in our modern world? How do we interpret these ideas in the light of contemporary science? The interpretation of sacred texts has become not just the pursuit of scholars, theologians in the academies and religious institutions in recent decades, but has become the focus of public debate.

How do Hindu sacred texts relate to this discussion?

Friends Event: Why We are Hindus

Leicester Friends Event
Saturday, 28 April 2012 - 6:30pm to 9:00pm

In this talk Nick Sutton will consider the specific reasons one might have for displaying a commitment to the Hindu religious tradition and the motivations for seeking to ensure the preservation and wider understanding of the ideals of Hinduism.  Most of those who adhere to the Hindu tradition and consider themselves Hindus were born into the religion but in this talk we will discuss whether this is enough and consider reasons why a person should seek to play an active role in the propagation of Hindu values.

Friends Event: Why We are Hindus

Leicester Friends Event
Saturday, 28 April 2012 - 6:30pm to 9:00pm

A talk by Dr Nick Sutton of the OCHS

In this talk Nick Sutton will consider the specific reasons one might have for displaying a commitment to the Hindu religious tradition and the motivations for seeking to ensure the preservation and wider understanding of the ideals of Hinduism.  Most of those who adhere to the Hindu tradition and consider themselves Hindus were born into the religion but in this talk we will discuss whether this is enough and consider reasons why a person should seek to play an active role in the propagation of Hindu values.

Hindu Forum Of Europe Meeting, 2012

30 March 2012

From 27–29 March, OCHS Director Shaunaka Rishi Das visited Belgium, speaking at the Hindu Forum of Europe on the future of Hindu education in the continent.

The two-day program was hosted by the Hindu Forum of Europe, an organisation founded in 2006 as the voice of Hindus in Europe. There were delegations from Belgium, England, France, Portugal, Holland, Hungary and Austria. The first day saw a meeting of the delegations while the second day featured a series of presentations at the European Parliament and was attended by a distinguished guest list.
 
Among the many important issues

Friends Event: Creation or Evolution: Hindu Perspectives

Leicester Friends Event
Saturday, 31 March 2012 - 6:30pm to 9:00pm

A talk by Dr Nick Sutton of the Oxford Centre For Hindu Studies

 
In recent decades religion has increasingly become involved in the debate over the extent to which scientific theories about the origins of the world and of life threaten the integrity of religious revelation. Such debates usually focus on Christianity and to a lesser extent Islam as these are religious traditions that emphasise the importance of scriptural revelation, but how do such questions affect Hindu teachings and Hindu ideas about the world?

Friends Event: Living as a Hindu in the 21st Century

Birmingham Friends Event
Saturday, 17 March 2012 - 5:00pm to 7:30pm

Living as a Hindu in the 21st Century, a talk by Shaunaka Rishi Das of the Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies

 
In this talk we will explore the Indian ideas and principles that have formed the basis of the worlds oldest existing religion and examine why it still exists today. For centuries Hindu culture has proven to be very adaptable but can it survive the challenges of modern times. How do Hindus in Birmingham negotiate their lives in a multimedia age. Essentially, how cool is Hindu.