Sri Vaishnava Dharma, Modernity and an Upanyasaka: A Conversation with Dushyanth Sridhar

Join Mukunda Raghavan and Krishna Parthasarathy as they speak with Dushyanth Sridhar, a Pauranika scholar, public lecturer on Sanatana Dharma and Upanyasakar. He has spoken extensively on Vedanta, Sri Vaishnavism, Puranas, Itihasas, Philosophy, Indic Civilization and a host of other topics. He has lectured in English, Tamil, and Hindi. He is the founder of www.desikadaya.org and has written, produced and starred in a movie about the 13th century poet, logician, philosopher and mystic Vedanta Desika. In this episode, we discuss a host of topics including:

00:01:15 Introduction and Background of Dushyanth Sridhar
00:07:20 What drove Dushyanth to become an Upanyasaka
00:10:50 Dushyanth’s Gurus and Influences (using Carnatic Music as an example)
00:17:00 Belief and Doubts in Understanding (using Varna Ashrama Dharma as an example)
00:21:40 Discussion on Varna in Mahabharata, Ramayana and other texts 00:29:52 Dushyanth’s connection to Carnatic Music
00:30:45 Modernity and the Tradition of Upanyasa (the Harry Potter connection) 00:39:20 Media and Hindu Literature
00:42:40 Philosophy in General and Advaita and Visisthadvaita in particular 00:54:00 Ramanujacharya and Alvars and their Impact throughout India 00:59:00 Caste, Varna and Ramanujacharya
01:16:45 Colonialism and Indian Civilization: Power vs Philosophy
01:21:25 Sri Vaishnavism the Relationship between Lakshmi and Vishnu 01:24:06 Where the other Devas and Devis fit into Sri Vaishnavism
01:40:25 What is impact of wearing a naman, vibhuti or other insignia with the modern world
01:46:10 Dushyanth’s near future projects and goals
01:49:10 Final Thoughts: what we can take from Ramanuja’s philosophy and improve our world

You can find Dushyanth Sridhar at:
Twitter:@dushyanthsridar
www.desikadaya.org

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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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