Programme
Katherine Young
Professor
Faculty of Religious Studies
McGill University
E/ katherine.young@mcgill.ca
Changing Views of Tamil Religious Personhood: The Intertwined Lives of Three Srivaisnavas
Srivaisnavism, a religious sect of Tamil Nadu, has long had a caste-inclusive theology. Its real effect on sociology has been challenged, however, by scholars such as Patricia Mumme and Frank Clooney. Even in the Tenkalai sub-tradition, they claim, Srivaisnava theology has served rhetorical purposes, not sociological ones. In this paper, I will revisit the question in connection with personhood by examining some contemporary developments. I will focus on my interviews during 2007 with three informants: a brahmin acarya (a former officer in the Indian Airforce but now a sanyasin) in Sriperumbedur; an (Adidravida) Srivaisnava in Ekangipuram (a suburb of Chennai which had once been a colony of Srivaisnava “harijans” and was influenced by Mahatma Gandhi); and a non-brahmin ascetic (who heads a family-established Srivaisnava temple and Siddha health center) in the outskirts of Chennai. The intertwining of these three lives provides not only insights into changing religious views of Tamil personhood but also challenges to both religious (Srivaisnava) and secular (via the Justice Party and DMK) versions of the recent past in Tamil Nadu.
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Prof. Young's research interests are Hinduism, religions of Tamil Nadu, Hindu
ethics, and gender and religion. Her major publications include, "The Image-
incarnation: Religion, Philosophy, and Sectarian Politics in the Evolution of
Srivaisnavism" Studies in Hinduism, vol. 4 (forthcoming), "Om, the
Vedas, and the Status of Women with Special Reference to Srivaisnavism" in
Jewels of Authority: Women and Textual Tradition in Hindu India (2002),
"The Spirit and the Bride say Come: Continuing a Hindu-Christian Dialogue,"
Journal of Vaisnava Studies 6:5 (1998), "Theology Does Help Women's
Liberation: Srivaisnavism, a Case Study," Journal of Vaisnava Studies 3
(1995), and "The Meeting of Two Great Traditions: Migration into Tamil Nadu
(500-900 C.E.)," in Ethnicity, Identity, Migration: The South Asian Context
(1993).