Justice, Sexuality, Gender and Dharma: A Conversation with Dr. Ruth Vanita

Join Mukunda as he speaks with Dr. Ruth Vanita. Dr. Vanita taught at Delhi University for 20 years and is now a Professor at the University of Montana. She was the founding volunteer co-editor of Manushi, India’s first nationwide feminist magazine, and an activist in the Indian women’s and civil liberties movements from 1978 to 1991. The author of many books, including Sappho and the Virgin Mary: Same-Sex Love and the English Literary Imagination; A Play of Light: Selected Poems; Love’s Rite: Same-Sex Marriage in India (new edition 2020), she has published over 70 scholarly articles and translated several works of fiction and poetry from Hindi and Urdu. She co-edited the pioneering Same-Sex Love in India: A Literary History. Her first novel, Memory of Light, appeared from Penguin in 2020. She just released her newest book The Dharma of Justice in the Sanskrit Epics. In this episode, we discuss a host of topics including:

00:01:16 Introduction to Dr. Ruth Vanita and her background and educational history

00:05:30 Dr. Vanita’s work on same-sex issues and ideas within the Hindu tradition and practices

00:14:50 Does Hindu Literature reflect actual practices/social mores of the time or are they creative fiction?

00:18:40 How sexual mores and practices became more conservative and fixed in India; The deep impact of the loss of the Battle of 1857 and how it shattered culture and civilizational identity

00:24:00 Did religion in India affect how people view sexuality? What role did women play in literature doing the pre-modern Indian world?

00:32:20 Discussion on Devadasis and Courtesans through Indian history and literature; Popular modern misconceptions and what the literature and primary sources actually say/describe this community

00:40:10 What does Dharma mean? Understanding the nature of the Self, the World, and Action.

00:52:00 Brief discussion on free will and deterministic action

00:54:30 Saulabha and Janaka’s debate in the Mahabharata

01:02:25 The variety of topics on Dharma in the book: celibacy, parenting, vegetarianism, compassion, and the Bhakti movement.

01:13:00 Concluding Discussions and Thoughts

You can find Dr. Ruth Vanita at:

https://www.umt.edu/south-southeast-asian-studies/faculty.php?ID=642

https://www.amazon.com/stores/author/B001HCXUMK

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About Author

Mukunda

Mukunda Raghavan: Mukunda is a jack of all trades but master of none. His educational background is a mix of political science, criminology, psychological and philosophy. He received his Juris Doctorate in Law from Boston University and was simultaneously working on his Masters in Philosophy focusing on continental philosophy (not completed). He has practiced as a prosecutor in New York City, General Counsel and Operating Officer of a healthcare company in Southern California, Head of Business and Operations for a legal tech company in India and is now in Strategy and Development. Much like his career, Mukunda’s intellectual interests and knowledge is varied, he is interested in Indian and Western philosophy, world mythology, Quantum Physics, Consciousness Studies, Psychology and variety of other fields.

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