Religion 132 — Essay Two                                              [Back to Rel. 132 Syllabus]

FIRST, read my Guidelines for Effective Writing.

The second essay, due Friday, March 25, should examine a specific tradition of Hindu religious practice.  You may ask such questions as: What is the connection between theological or mythological ideas about the deity and the forms that devotion takes?  What is the purpose of the rituals, and how do the participants believe they accomplish those purposes?  What is the relationship between a particular religious practice and other aspects of personal or communal experience (psychological, social, ethical, or political)?  How are social roles and relationships defined or reaffirmed in ritual practice?

You should focus on a particular cultic tradition (or one sub-tradition thereof), using class readings and films as your source material. (Remember that "cult" in religious studies usage means "a formal tradition of worship followed by a particular community.") Possible topics include:

Shaiva traditions.  Beyond the general information provided by Blurton, you may choose from:
▪ Shaiva Siddhanta ritual as practiced till the present in Tamil Nadu (ROU, by Richard Davis).
▪ Tamil legends of extreme forms of devotion practiced by the Shaiva poet-saints called the Nayanars (CR 9).
▪ the Gajan festival to Shiva (CR 4; shown in the film "Sons of Shiva").
▪ worship of the rural deity Khandoba in upland Maharashtra (esp. at Jejuri) (CR 7).

Vaishnava traditions.   Beyond the general information provided by Blurton, you may choose from:
▪ worship of Krishna and pilgrimage to Brindavan (CR 2).
▪ pilgrimage to Pandharpur to worship Vithoba, a Maharashtrian avatar of Krishna (CR 3).
▪ ecstatic devotion in the Gaudiya tradition of Chaitanya, or the devotion of the Bauls (CR 6).

Goddess traditions.  
▪ Worship of a sati (self-sacrificing  widow) as an embodiment of the goddess (CR 8).
▪ The Durga festival in Bengal, described in Ákos Östör, ch. 2 in The Play of the Gods (U. Chicago Pr., 1980).
▪ Another tradition described in Devi, Goddesses of India, edited by John S. Hawley and Donna M. Wulff (Berkeley: U. Calif. P., 1996),  from which CR 8 is drawn.

Worship of a holy man or woman, in whom a deity becomes present.  Examples:
▪ Sathya Sai Baba (CR 5).
▪ Satis (CR 8).
▪ Chaitanya or the Bauls (CR 6).

Obviously, there is some overlap here in the topics.  Other subjects are possible, though these would require outside reading.  I am happy to discuss possibilities.

Whichever topic you choose, you should be sure to focus on the specific contours of worship in specific instances.  Questions to bear in mind that may help you develop your argument:

How it is done, by whom, when, why, where? 

Does worship vary on special occasions, or depending on who is performing it (or where)? 

Can you find connections with the myths we read earlier?

Where might your topic fit in Blurton’s survey of temples and images in Hinduism? 

Feel free to make comparisons between traditions where they seem striking or important, but focus on a particular tradition.