| Fellowships
& Scholarships
Muktabodha Indological Research
Institute has been actively encouraging the development of
the next generation of scholars of the Hindu Tantra in India and
the West through fellowship grants and scholarships.
History
Muktabodha's scholarship program began
in 1998 by sponsoring three US graduate students to study in India
under the guidance of internationally recognized scholar Dr. B.
N. Pandit, a traditional expert on the philosophy of Kashmir Shaivism.
This well known senior traditional scholar steeped in Indian methods
of study and interpretation worked rigorously on a daily basis with
these dedicated Western students. They were deeply impacted by his
engagement with Sanskrit as a living language, and his penetrating
insight into the text they studied with him, Utpaladeva’s
Isvarpratyabhijna Karika. A book was
published based on their recorded lessons with Dr. Pandit, and the
students subsequently completed their dissertations and are now
sharing their knowledge through their own teaching and writing.
Recognizing that such students play a key role in
defining the next generation of scholarship, Muktabodha began offering
three levels of scholarships.
Dissertation Research Fellowships in Hindu
Tantra
This annual grant enabled outstanding Ph.D.
candidates to undertake field research in India in preparation for
writing their dissertations specifically on the Hindu Tantra. International
in scope, these grants have been awarded to students from Russia,
Austria, England and the United States. These younger scholars have
studied with various traditional Indian pandits, as well as conducting
their own research.
*Please note that Muktabodha is currently in
a process of refining and recasting our Dissertation Fellowship
program. Since this is an ongoing discussion, we will not be offering
the Dissertation Fellowship grant for 2007.
Graduate Scholarship Program in India
This program began in 2003 to support Masters’
level students of Kashmir Shaivism and Sanskrit in India.
International Masters’ Scholarship in Hindu
Tantra
This scholarship has been awarded from time
to time to help exceptional students complete their Masters degree
with leading scholars in the field.
Fellowship Recipients:
Alberta Ferrario for
her project titled:
“The Descent of the Power of Grace (Saktipata)
in Tantric Saivism.” Ferrario is a Ph.D. candidate in Religious
Studies (Hindu Studies) at the University of Pennsylvania.
Carlos Pomeda
for his project titled:
“The Mahanayaprakasa and the Krama System.”
Pomeda is a Ph.D. candidate in South Asian Studies (Sanskrit) at
the University of California, Berkeley.
Alexandra Wenta
for her project titled:
“Samvit Cakra – The Wheel of Consciousness:
Dynamism of the Ultimate Principle in the Krama System of Kashmir
Shaivism.” Wenta is a Ph.D. candidate at Banaras Hindu University.
Ernst Fuerlinger
for textual research in Trika philosophy towards his project:
“Sparsa/Touch – Towards a ‘Spiritual
Hermeneutics’ of Kashmir Shaivism.” Fuerlinger was a Ph.D. candidate
in Religious Studies at the University of Vienna.
Shaman Hatley
for his project titled:
“The Cult of Yoginis in Early Tantric Shaivism.”
Hatley is a Ph.D. candidate in Religious Studies at the University
of Pennsylvania.
Travis Smith for
his project titled:
"Secrets of the Sacred City: Tantra in
the Puranic Mahatmya Literature on Varanasi." Smith is a Ph.D.
candidate at Columbia University.
Mark Elmore
for his project titled:
"Picturing Death: Photographic Mediations
of Death and their Tantric Heritage", a study of visual imagery
in a classical Tantric text. Elmore was a Ph.D candidate in religious
studies at the University of California at Santa Barbara.
Deven Patel for
his project titled:
"Commentary and Consciousness: Studying
Critical Hindu Intellectual Traditions". Patel was a Ph.D candidate
in South Asian Studies (Sanskrit) at the University of California
at Berkeley.
Maxim Voroshilov for
his project titled:
"Paramarthasara as an Example
of Medieval Sanskrit Religious Literature." Voroshilov is a
post-graduate student in the Faculty of Oriental Studies at St.
Petersberg State University, in St. Petersberg, Russia.
Alex Watson
for his project titled:
"Ramakantha's Views on the Self.” Watson was a 5th year doctorate
student at Balliol College, the University of Oxford, United Kingdom.
Marcy Braverman, Jeffrey Lidke, and John
Nemec for a six-month research and study
program with Dr. B. N. Pandit (esteemed scholar of Kashmir Shaivism)
focused on Utpaladeva's Ishvarapratyabhijnakarika. Braverman
and Jeffrey Lidke subsequently each earned their Ph.D at University
of California at Santa Barbara. John Nemec completed his Ph.D in
religion at the University of Pennsylvania.
A
Sacred Debate: A graduate student recounts his study experience
in India.
Masters’ Scholarship Recipients:
Nihar Purohit,
student of Dharmagama at Benaras Hindu University, Varanasi, India.
Purohit’s scholarship has also enabled him to take additional private
classes and read Sanskrit texts with senior pandits living in Varanasi.
Christopher Wallis,
for his Masters of Philosophy in Classical Indian Religions at the
University of Oxford. Wallis wrote his thesis on Saktipaata, and
graduated with honors.
Mrinal Kaul,
for his Master of Studies, Oriental Studies at the University of
Oxford. The focus of his studies is on Kashmir Saivism, the history
of the Tantric systems in Kashmir, and the science of textual criticism
in Sanskrit.
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