Sacred sound becomes sacred scripture: the Veda Mandir in Nashik, Maharashtra more

Sacred sound becomes sacred scripture: the Veda Mandir in Naśik, Mahārāṣṭra. “If there is one thing the Vedas are not, it is books […]” Frits Staal 1 The efficiency of Vedic mantras has traditionally been correlated with its proper articulation by the worthy Brahmin male. It has been the ritual use of the vedas in their sound form, rather than its contents or their later written form which have been the main preoccupation for Vedic practitioners. In this paper, I intent to show with a concrete example from contemporary Mahārāṣṭra, how a recent shift in perception of the nature of the vedas has taken place through the influence of elements originally alien to the Brahmanical tradition namely so-called “reform movements” from the 19th century onwards and Sikh attitudes towards sacred scripture. Across the millennia it was the sonic form of the vedic corpus which was most carefully preserved by tradition. Writing, a form of material culture that became available in approximately the fourth century B.C.E. in India, was not used as a medium for the transmission of the vedas: moreover it was often explicitly condemned.2 Examples of this rejection of writing as an “unfit” medium of expression are found in several texts and perhaps most strongly in the Mahābhārata, in which it is stated that one will “go to hell if one writes the veda down” 3. Further passages that discourage the use of writing have already been briefly discussed by other colleagues in this panel and further references can be found in Kane’s “History of Dharmaśāstra”.4 Other scholars in this panel have dealt with the notion that the proper recitation of the vedas irrespective of their meaning has been paramount at least among larger STAAL, Frits, Discovering the Vedas. Origins, Mantras, Rituals, Insights. (London: Penguin, 2007). p. XV 2 FALK, H, “Foreign terms in Sanskrit pertaining to writing” in The Idea of Writing: Play and Complexity DE VOOGT and FINKEL (Eds.) (Leiden: Brill, 2010) pp. 215-216 1 3 4 MhB XIII, 24.70 [वदविक्रयणसवक्रयणस्चैव वे व वद नां चैव व दूषकाः।वेदा ।वद नां चैव लखकाः।वेदा व त व विक्रयणसनां चैव रय विक्रयणस नां चैव ॥] KANE, P.V. History of Dharmaśāstra (Poona: Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, 1974), Vol. II, part, I p. 348-349. 1 circles of Brahmins throughout many centuries. Moreover, today we can still observe the meticulous preservation of the vedas in their sound form in Vedic schools across India in which the strict recitation and memorization of the Vedic texts is still being perpetuated; the two learned Brahmins that are participating in this symposium are a living example of this. In this paper I intend to present a contemporary example in which the traditional emphasis on the sound form of the veda is challenged: a temple situated in Mahārāṣṭra in which the veda is represented as a book bound in contemporary style and crafted in white Italian marble to be worshipped by anyone irrespective of cast, gender or nationality. This veda temple, called Shri Guru Gangeshwar Ved Mandir (sic), will help me to elucidate a shift in perception from the veda as the spoken word to the veda as “Holy Scripture”. The Shri Guru Gangeshwar Ved Mandir is found in the outskirts of Naśik City, in the present state of Mahārāṣṭra, India. This temple was built in the early seventies of the last century through the inspiration of Guru Gangeshwaranand Maharaj, a popular saint who became widely known across India and beyond. According to hagiographic accounts, Guru Gangeshwaranand Maharaj was born in a Brahmin family in Punjab in 1881. When he was five years old he became blind through chicken pox and was left by his family under the care of a saint, Swami Ramanand. According to the website maintained by one of the trusts founded by him, after many years under Swami Ramanand’s tutelage he succeeded his guru as the 17th head of the udāsin sect, which claims that the “lineage [was handed down] from Sant Kumar, son of Lord Brahma, the creator.” 5 Guru Gangeshwar Maharaj lived presumably for 111 years and passed away in 1992. He wrote a book called “Bhagavān Ved” which compiles the mantras from all the 5 Taken from http://gurugangeshwaranandjimaharaj.org/experiences2.htm 2 four Vedic saṁhitās supposedly “for the first time in a single book.”6 His book was widely distributed in India and abroad. The temple which is topic of this paper was sponsored by the rich businessman Shriman Seth Kisanlalji Sarda and his wife Akhand Saubhagyavatee Kiran Sarda in memory of Kisanlal’s father, Shriman Bastiramji Sarda. They established a trust in the name of his mother that maintains the temple and provides a number of charitable works and religious services. The trust is called: “Matoshri Rampyaribai Sarda Dharmik Pratisthan”. The Sarda Group, a family enterprise established in 1922, is one of the largest bidi companies in western India. The temple was inaugurated on the 25 th of January 1977. The construction has three spacious vaults. The left chamber enshrines lord Rāma accompanied by Sitā and Lakṣmaṇa guarded by Hanumān. The right chamber is dedicated to Tryambakeśvara one of the twelve famous jyotirliṅga-s of India.7 Here the śivaliṅga is guarded by Gaṇeśa and a black Nandi. The shrine also includes a smaller image of Pārvatī, Śiva’s consort. In the main vault at the centre of the building we find the sanctum sanctorum which enshrines the idol of what it is called “Bhagavān Ved”, a two meter-tall representation of the vedas bound in contemporary style and crafted in white Italian marble. Opened in the middle one can see in big golden devanāgarī characters the words: bhagavān vedaḥ engraved on the book. Under this title one can see in a slightly smaller font the gāyatrī mantra8 carved also in golden characters into its pages: , ॐ भभ !व स्वः तत् तत्सविक्रयणसवतव!रण्यं । भय । भ % दवस्य धीमहि । ( विक्रयणस) । विक्रयणसधीमहि । य* य* नां चैव प्र *दय त ॥ “OM. May we receive this excellent splendor of the God Savitā, which should inspire our thoughts”9 10 See http://gurugangeshwaranandjimaharaj.org The original Tryambakeśvara temple is located only around 30 km from the Ved Mandir. 8 Ṛgveda III.62.10 9 STAAL, F, Discovering the Vedas. Origins, Mantras, Rituals, Insights. (London, Penguin, 2007) p.220 10 More on the implications of displaying the Gāyatrī and this ṛgvedic mantra will be addressed below. 6 7 3 On the right page it reads verse I.1.9 from the Ṛgveda: स नां चैव विक्रयणस/तव सनां चैव व ऽग स/ यनां चैव * भव। स स्वः तत् नां चैव स्वः तत्स्तय॥ “Be easy for us to reach, like father to his son. Abide with us, Agni, for our happiness”11 In front of the monumental marble book a two meters tall bronze statue of Guru Gangeshwaranand Maharaj holding a staff has been enshrined. Like in any other Hindu temple, the idols are worshipped daily in the temple with traditional Hindu pūja elements. Bhagavān ved is often decorated with fresh flower garlands. On festivities, such as gurupūrṇimā, Gangeshwaranand’s birthday, mahāśivarātri, etc. the idols are worshipped accordingly with more pomp and the temple attendance substantially increases. From the official website of the above mentioned trust, we can read: “[…] vedmandir is a unique gift to humanity.” “[…]Vedmandir is a modern presentation of the eternal truths of Indian Culture.” “[…] Above all, visit to Vedmandir is a pilgrimage.” “[…] Vedmandir is a cultural nucleus dedicated to Guru Gangeshwaranandji Maharaj, the torch bearer of Ved in modern times.”12 The temple, as we can read from the passage above, shows elements that differ from the traditional view on the sonic nature and the oral transmission of the vedas. Here we can observe a shift in emphasis and perception of what the vedas are and how they are to be “used”, from the primarily oral form of the vedas to be used in the Vedic ritual, to the worship of the vedas as a scripture containing soteriological teachings for the individual and society. A “scripture” that not only contains meaning, but the contents are considered meaningful for the modern man. Claims that the vedas contain all eternal truths, including all the discoveries of modern science are constantly made by many Hindus, Nationalists or not. 13 Here the vedas are not just 11 12 DONIGER O’FLAHERTY, Wendy. The Rig Veda (London: Penguin, 1981) http://www.vedpradip.com/vedtemple.php?linkid=15 On the construction of the vedas as books of science see NANDA Meera “Postmodernism, Hindu Nationalism and ‘Vedic Science’” in Scientific values and civic virtues KOERTGE Noretta (Ed.) 13 4 meant to be praises of the ancient Vedic gods and an inseparable element of Vedic ritual, but they have evolved to a sort of mystical codex containing truths to be used as a guide in one’s daily life once they have been correctly explained to us by the knowledgeable guru. In our example, Guru Gangeshwar Maharaj is perceived by his devotees as “[someone who] dedicated all his life to bhagavān Ved. The very objective of his life is to propagate Vedic knowledge in the various countries all over the world and make human life meaningful.”14 It is also worth noting, that the carving of the gāyatrī mantra on the marble idol in representation of the whole veda is a powerful statement for itself. To have this mantra on display to any visitor who comes to the temple does not go without saying. The gāyatrī mantra traditionally has been used in the initiation ceremony (upanayana) of the higher class of the brahmanical society, during which the mantra is secretly whispered into the young male’s ear by his father or guru under a blanket or shawl veiled from the public 15. The gāyatrī mantra which has been praised in many authoritative texts as the condensation of the vedas16 and as MICHAELS has said denotes a “symbolic identification with the veda 17” is here made widely available, and in doing so, following 19th century Hindu reform movements which extended the chanting of the gāyatrī mantra beyond caste and gender limitations. In 1898, Swami Vivekananda began initiating non-Brahmins with the sacred thread ceremony and the gāyatrī mantra18 on the basis that the vedas and the Bhagavadgītā proclaim that Brahmin status is earned and not inherited. 19 The Arya Samaj notably (Oxford: OUP, 2005) 14 Translated from a brochure in Hindi published by “Matoshri Rampyaribai Sarda Dharmik Pratisthan”. […गुररुदेव सम्व सम्पूर्ण र्ण जीवन जीवन वेद वन वदेव सम् भगुरव न को समर्प समर्पित है त है। उनके। उनको समर्प जीवन वेद वन को समर्प उदेव सम्देव सम् र्पित हैहै। उनके वर्पित हैदेव सम्को समर्प न को समर्प देव सम्श-र्पित हैवदेव सम्श म! प्रस र को समर्पर म नव म त को समर्प स %को समर्प बन न है। उनके।] 15 See MICHAELS, A. Der Hinduismus. (Munich: C. H. Beck, 1998) p.107-114 Illustration of this act p.110;. The Manusmṛti II, 83 states that "there is nothing greater than the Sāvitrī (gāyatrī mantra)." The Harivamśa calls it the "mother of the vedas". In the Bhagavadgītā X,35, Kṛṣṇa says: "Of the songs in the Sāmaveda I am the Brhat-sāma, and of poetry (chandas) I am the Gāyatrī. […]". 17 MICHAELS, A. Der Hinduismus (Munich: C. H. Beck p.109 The original reads “aus der Sicht der übrigen Zweimalgeborenen ist es eine symbolische Identifikation mit dem Veda, [...]” 18 See VIVEKANANDA, S. The Complete Works if Swami Vivekananda. Vol. VII, (Calcutta: Advaita Ashrama , 1969) p.108-110 ; . 19 MITTRA S.S. Bengal’s Renaissance. (Kolkata: Academic Publishers, 2001) p.71 16 5 spread the teaching that recitation of the mantra was not limited to males, but that women could rightfully be taught both the vedas and the gāyatrī mantra.20 The most orthodox (or orthoprax as STAAL would call them) Brahmins left in India would most likely not adhere to this universalistic and open religiosity. I suggest, as mentioned above, that this is an example of the discourse which, at least partly, crystallized out of the 19th century Neo Hindu nationalists who presented us with a “scientific” and “rational” religion found in advaita-vedānta.21 Ram Mohan Roy, Vivekananda, Dayananda Saraswati, Aurobindo and many other gurus that followed, like Gangeshwar Maharaj, found a friendly echo from their western counterparts and particularly amongst western educated Indians by presenting their spirituality through the lens of “science” and “rationality”. In Guru Gangeshwar’s writings and “Vedic speeches” (veda-pravacana-s) one can perceive a very particular interpretation of the Vedic hymns coloured with ideas from a Neo Hindu discourse drawing from various sources 22. In his book “Vedas a way of life from yadnya (sacrifice) to yoga (union)” [sic] one repeatedly encounters the terms “scientific”, “motherland”, “modern age” etc. A few titles of the chapters of this book read: “Family planning in Vedas”, “Sages who opened new vistas in science”, “Devotion for Motherland”, “Great men live for others” and “Make your Motherland rich” to mention a few. The first missionary efforts and later the colonial powers in South Asia introduced print technology and culture, the Western ideas of modernization, industrialization, globalization as well as what some now term the Orientalist world-view which brought about a frontal confrontation with people from all social and cultural backgrounds. The confrontation included of course the brahmanical class who had BAKHLE, J. Two men and music: nationalism in the making of an Indian classical tradition. (Oxford: OUP, 2005) p.293; 21 Vivekananda claimed in the World Parlament of Religions in Chicago in 1893 that only the spiritual monism taught by the advaita-vedānta could fulfill the ultimate goal of natural science and it was Hinduism the fulfillment of all other religions (see NANDA Meera “Postmodernism, Hindu Nationalism and ‘Vedic Science’” p. 226; in Scientific values and civic virtues KOERTGE Noretta. (Ed.) (Oxford: OUP, 2005) 22 Although he mainly quoted from Vedic literature, the Bhagavadgītā, the poet saints from Mahārāṣṭra, and the Purāṇas were also part of his repertoire. 20 6 been for many centuries the intelligentsia par excellence and the main religious elite in South Asia. With the colonialization a “strategic mimetism”, as JAFFRELOT has called it23, has been crucial to shaping a bibliolatry centred on a single “holy book”. The Western conception that knowledge is directly linked to literacy moved the Neo Hindu nationalists of the 19th century and those who followed to mimic not only the missionary zeal of their conquerors, but also to copy institutions and practices such as conversion rituals, attempts to standardize and canonize religious knowledge and practices, systematic unification of the heterogeneous sects and religious traditions of India, as well as attempts to dogmatize their beliefs and centralize religious power 24. Not that these were completely absent from pre-colonial India, but clearly not in the modality we are addressing here. Guru Gangeshwar Maharaj draws probably much inspiration from this tradition of Neo Hindu reformers and was himself one of the most influential figures of his time regarding the Vedic revivalism along these lines. In the official web-page he is described by one of his close disciples Arjan Advani in the following way: “He had the wisdom of Aurobindo, the enthusiasm of Vivekananda, the devotion of Chaitanya Maha Prabhu, and the divine powers of Ramkrishna Paramahansa.” Nonetheless, even within these new developments in the re-appropriation and reinterpretation of sacred texts, selected elements from the brahmanical orthodoxy prevail even today. These elements interact and (re)negotiate themselves into today’s religioscape. To mention just an example of these selected elements from orthodox practices: the same trust that maintains the Ved Mandir in Naśik also runs a school for traditional learning of the vedas in which only Brahmin males are taught to recite “Strategic mimetism” is a mechanism model in which the Hindu nationalist mimic the new religious and political forces (the British and the Muslims) and reinterprets their own traditions in light of the “other” to better articulate and justify their existence. JAFFRELOT, Christophe, “La Vishva Hindu Parishad: structures et stratégies” in Puruṣārtha 17, (1994) p 184-217. 24 One is reminded here of the many examples which illustrate this mimetism i.e. in the so-called “Catholic Hindu Mandir” proposed by Shraddhananda in 1926 in which the Hindu devotees would worship the three mother spirits: Gaumata, Saraswati and Bhumimata. More examples of these mimetic strategies and the process of formation are well described in several of JAFFRELOT’s works, for example in the article: “Hindu Nationalism, Strategic Syncretism in Ideology Building.” Economic and Political Weekly Vol. 28, No. 12/13 (Mar. 20-27, 1993), pp. 517-524 23 7 the vedas from memory. The same trust also grants, every year since 1987, the “Guru Gangeshwar Ved-Vedang National Award” to three Vedic pandits “who recite the vedas in the true form and imparts knowledge of the vedas to maximum students” 25 in a monetary prize of Rs.21000/- in a public ceremony. The other two prizes are given to scholars who have contributed to the preservation and research of the vedas26 The perpetuation of the oral method of knowledge transmission and honouring the traditional Vedic reciters is a way to actively perpetuate orthodox values that were not completely transformed by the “Neo Hindu” reforms; they co-exist, although marginally, along new perceptions about the vedas and their role within the spiritual religiosity of the followers of Gangeshwar Maharaj. One can also observe an objectification and personification of Vedic sound by becoming a sacred book and a deity worthy of worship. The new god is addressed as bhagavān Ved, or “venerable Lord Ved”. With this a new god has entered the realm of devas (gods) along with Śiva, Rāma and their consorts. Moreover, bhagavān Ved is introduced as the focal point of worship by being enshrined in the sanctum sanctorum of the temple, where prayers and offerings such as flowers, fruits and incense are offered to him. Guru Gangeshwar Maharaj in his missionary zeal founded over 500 temples in India and abroad in which he installed bhagavān Ved as the main idol. Bhagavān ved was not only represented by a book, as in our case from the Ved Mandir in Naśik, but also as an anthropomorphic divinity standing on a blooming lotus flower holding four manuscripts of the vedas, one on each arm. The iconography reminds us of the marble idols of purāṇic gods found across India and in many Hindu temples across the globe. 25 26 http://www.vedpradip.com/vedvidyalaya.php idem 8 The materialization of the vedas into a written text and even their deification per se is not a new development of Guru Gangeshwaranand alone. We already have found examples of this personification in descriptions of the Vedic goddess Vāc and later in Sarasvatī, as the goddess of Speech and the mother of the vedas, or in Brahmā himself. These deities are often represented holding one or several manuscripts in their hands. Later examples of the vedas as scripture are found in the purāṇas in which Hayagrīva or Matsya, avatāras of Viṣṇu, save the stolen manuscripts of the vedas from the bottom of the ocean after killing the demon Madhu and Kaiṭabha or Hayagrīva accordingly. Other purāṇic examples in which the vedas themselves become personified as anthropomorphic creatures are found in several purāṇas. For a detailed account on these mūrtis, see Stefano PIANO’s article: “A proposito delle mūrti dei Veda.”27 Nonetheless, a large scale sculpture representing the vedas as a printed book (rather than a manuscript) is to my knowledge, unique to Guru Gangeshwaranand. The new anthropomorphic deity presented by him in the mūrtis he installed in India and abroad is also unique. As mentioned at the beginning, Guru Gangeshwar Maharaj is the heir of the udāsin sect. Historically the ascetic udāsin sect is said to point back either to Guru Shri Chand or Baba Gurditta28. The former was, the eldest son of Guru Nanak, the founder of the Sikh religion, and the later was the eldest son of the sixth Sikh guru, Hargobind. The udāsin sect and their followers are sometimes referred as nānakputras or the “sons of Nanak”. According to OBEROI the early Sikh history records ten udāsin orders29 some of which have survived up to the present day. The udāsin tradition was nonetheless excluded from the Sikh community when the khalsa order took over the religious power of the previously heterogeneous non-exclusive Sikh groups in the 18th and 19th centuries. This process took a decisive turn, particularly PIANO Stefano, “A proposito delle mūrti dei Veda”, in Bandhu: Scritti in onore di Carlo Della Casa Vol. I, ARENA, Renato et al. p.329-359 28 OBEROI, H. The Construction of Religious Boundaries. (Delhi: Oxford University Press, 1994) p 78, 29 Almast, Balu Hasne, Phūl Goinde, Suthure, Śāhī Bhagat Bhagvānīe, Sangat Sāhibīe, Mīhān Śāhīe, Bakht Malīe and Jīt Malīe. (See OBEROI ibid p.78-80.) 27 9 under the singh sabha’s project of “purging Sikhism from all its diversity” 30 which included ascetic branches such as the udāsins. The udāsin sect is still active nowadays and their members can be seen at each kumbha mela and although many of its members still adhere to their Sikh heritage, they currently function as independent organizations 31. Guru Gangeshwar Maharaj is seen as the successor of Swami Ramanand and the 17 th head of the udāsins of the southern dhūnī32 which goes back to Balu Hasne, one of the four main disciples of Shri Chand. In our particular case, in the figure of this guru one finds predominantly Hindu 33 rather than Sikh traits. In fact, references to their Sikh heritage are rarely mentioned in their congregations and the emphasis is clearly put on the vedas as well as other Hindu scriptures and practices. The name bhagavān ved, I would argue, also mirrors or at least alludes to the “Guru Granth Sahib”. Both carry the epithets “sāhib” and “bhagavān” which are usually employed to address respectable humans, gods and demi-gods and partucularly gurus, and therefore by addressing the texts with these terms reinforces their personification and their role as teachers (guru). 30 Ibid p.25 See CLARK, Mathew, The Daśanāmī-Saṁnyāsīs. The Integration of Ascetic Lineages into an Order. (Leiden: Brill, 2010) P.55-56 n.9, 32 The dhūnī or dhūān is a sacred fire and sometimes it also refers to the place in which this fire is kept. These fires are an important aspect of various ascetic groups including the Sikh-related orders: udāsin and nirmala. (For details on the udāsin Sikhs see: OBEROI 1994). Guru Ganengeshwaranand presumably belongs to the southern dhūnī “[…] saints of the respective dhoonas were ordained to go in their directions to spread the Vedic teachings. Our Guruji are from the Dakshin Dhoona.” http://gurugangeshwaranandjimaharaj.org/newsdetail.aspx?id=84 33 The udāsin sampradāya traditionally follows the worship of five main deities (pañca-deva-upasa) Gaṇeśa, Śiva, Viṣṇu, Devī and Sūrya. But references to both śaiva and vaiṣṇava religiosity and practices are predominant in the publications and activities run by the trust. The spiritual initiation and blindness of the Gangeshwar Maharaj are linked to a vision of lord Kṛṣṇa he had when he was five years old and the founder of the sampradāya, Shri Chandra, the son of Guru Nanak is regarded as an incarnation of Śaṅkara. (See http://gurugangeshwaranandjimaharaj.org/shrichandra-bhagwan.htm) 31 10 Here one can witness a fairly accomplished process of “hinduization” 34 in which the vedas, are reinterpreted and mixed with elements, such as idol worship, which historically speaking are not “Vedic” and which have caused internal dispute amongst the brahmanical orthodoxy for many centuries (see e.g. VON STIETENCRON)35. The analysis of this process is certainly an enormous task and is beyond the scope of this paper. Nonetheless, I would like to point to an important element in this particular case. The Sikh worship of the Adi-Granth and the Sikh heritage of the udāsin sect had a strong influence on the perception of the vedas as a “holy book” for Guru Gangeshwaranand. It was the later Sikh bibliolatry and missionary endeavour within the udāsin tradition that inspired him to found hundreds of veda temples in India and abroad and to compile the vedas in a single book to encourage the worship of “bhagavān ved”. He drew direct inspiration -as it is portrayed in the trust’s website- from the practice of worshipping the veda that presumably came from the founder of the udāsin sect, Shri Chand. “The book Chandra Baashya [sic] (written in the 16th century) describes the practice of worshipping Bhagwan Ved with dhoop, aarti and pooja. It says mantras are Guru and hence we should pray to them (Ved Mantras) in the same way we pray to the Guru with flowers, dhoop etc. Even if Bharat (India) wanted to follow this tradition there was no book form like the Granth Sahib to pray to. Keeping this in mind Swamiji decided to print and publish 'Bhagwan Ved'.”36 [sic] Unfortunately I have not yet been able to find the Candra Bhāṣya mentioned in this passage, but it is plausible that the practice of worshipping veda manuscripts predates Guru Gangeshwar and perhaps was a common practice among the udāsins and even other groups. Certainly not an unproblematic term, as has been shown by some scholars like VON STIETENCRON, VISHWANATHAN and others, but I’m using it in absence of a better one. 35 VON STIETENCRON, Heinrich Hindu myth, Hindu history, religion, art, and politics. (Dehli, Permanent Black, 2005) pp 52-54 36 http://gurugangeshwaranandjimaharaj.org/newsdetail.aspx?id=92 34 11 In this particular case within contemporary Mahārāṣṭra, I have tried to show how Sikh and modern attitudes towards scripture have been catalysed by Guru Gangeshwar Maharaj and his followers into new “Vedic tradition” that claims to be immemorial. I have also argued how with these new elements the emphasis has changed from the sonic form of the vedas to their scriptural interpretation and even shifting to a religious bibliolatry. One would further need to carefully examine when and how these elements have been webbed into the discourses who claim the traditional epithet “Vedic” and by which criteria we can distinguish the “Vedic” from the “non-Vedic”. Which traditions and practices have influenced the perception toward sacred scripture? How have Mahāyāna Buddhism, Jaina or Muslim practices and attitudes toward scripture, for example, changed the way the vedas have been internally perceived at different points in history? I would join the appeal of other fellow scholars for a study of the South Asian sub-continent in which the dynamic negotiations of antithetical religiosities and social processes are carefully taken into account. Borayin Larios, Heidelberg University. 12 Bibliography BAKHLE, J. Two men and music: nationalism in the making of an Indian classical tradition. (Oxford: OUP, 2005) CLARK, Mathew, The Daśanāmī-Saṁnyāsīs. The Integration of Ascetic Lineages into an Order. 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