The Self and the World in Indian Story
Jain Nun
RELS 3101: Do women and men practice and experience renunciation in the same way?
The Buddha Departs
Gautama Buddha leaving his wife and child behind. RELS 3101 explores the push and pull of family ties and renunciant aspiration.
RELS 3101
Instructor: Dr. Christopher Austin
Fall 2024
Fri 08:35-11:25am
Good citizen or renouncer? Shall we participate in the life of the world, invest ourselves in work, family, community and nation? Or leave it all behind to pursue liberation and personal realization in solitude? All South Asian religions are defined by their response to this basic tension between embracing and renouncing the world. RELS 3101 reflects on this fundamental religious and social dynamic in Hinduism, Indian Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism through a close reading of diverse Indian story literature both ancient and modern:
- hagiography or legendary biography
- autobiography
- epic literature
- folk tales
- myth
- 20th century and contemporary Indian fiction
Through these stories we will discover that most South Asian religion expresses itself, in complex and fascinating ways, in the middle ground between the poles of worldly engagement and renunciation.
Brahmins performing a sacrifice for the maintenance of cosmic order