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Rambachan lectures at Harvard

By David Gonnerman '90
March 29, 2010

St. Olaf Professor of Religion Anantanand Rambachan recently presented “Is There a Purpose for Creation? Rethinking the Meaning of Not-Two,” a lecture that was part of Harvard University's Hindu Studies Colloquium Series.

In the lecture, Rambachan highlighted several texts from the Vedas that speak of desire or intention on the part of God in bringing forth the "manyness" of the created world. "These texts are either ignored or commented upon minimally by Advaita (non-dual) commentators," he explains. "Indifference to these texts results, in part, from the problem of admitting any desire on the part of God, since desire is associated with lack and want, and God is a full and infinite being. This has also led to a disposition to minimize, dismiss, or not to consider the significance of creation in the non-dual tradition. With this dilemma in mind, is it possible to speak of a purpose of creation in the Hindu tradition, and do the Vedic texts provide a basis for doing so? If so, what might such a purpose be? How does speaking about purpose enrich the meaning of creation and the value of life in the world?"

Contact David Gonnerman at 507-786-3315 or gonnermd@stolaf.edu.