Abstract
In this paper, I examine the circulation and transformation of religious knowledge and practices in India. In doing so, I seek to clarify questions of knowledge and power in religious practices and to explain the contingencies of places, languages, cultural level and action. Human beings are active agents in the production of knowledge and they know how to transform their practices to adapt them to their situations. Religious knowledge must therefore become “local” in order to function and be recognized as knowledge. In Hinduism, only priests can read sacred texts written in Sanskrit. Thus, the transmission of religion to the most remote villages is essentially done orally. In this paper, I discuss the multiplicity and diversity of teachings and practices of Hinduism due to the mode of circulation of knowledge. My assertion is that as knowledge, interpretations and practices are propagated and migrate, they also change, and in turn modify the societies and devotees. To be viable, religious knowledge must become “local knowledge” and adapt to local needs. So, study the circulation of religious knowledge in India opens the way to understanding the cultural and religious diversities of Hinduism. The journey of knowledge of Hinduism in India most often results in a two-way exchange, thus leading not to homogeneity but to a the heterogeneity and hybridization of knowledge, interpretations and religious practices.
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
KEYWORDS
HINDUISM, TRANSMISSION, RELIGION, KNOWLEDGE, CULTURE
