Conference on Shaivism

Kamalesh Datta Tripathi is presently Professor Emeritus in the Faculty of Sanskrit Learning & Theology and Centenary Chair Professor at Bharat Adhyayan Kendra, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi. He has transformed the intellectual psyche of the Indologists and performing artists alike, by infusing them with a justifiable sense of pride in all things classical and traditional. Following the footsteps of the towering colossus of the Indian Aesthetics, Acharya Abhinavagupta, he has painstakingly collected, collated and edited all the manuscripts availed from Nepal and brought out Nepal Version of the Nātyaśāstra devoting over the past four decades.

Prof. Sadashiv Kr Dwivedi is a leading specialist of Sanskrit Literature and Poetics at one of the premier seats of · Sanskrit learning in the world. Over 27 years of teaching and research experience at two central universities viz. Aligarh Muslim University and Banaras Hindu University, with over two thousand students taught at graduate and postgraduate levels, 14 Ph.D. research scholars awarded degree and 5 under guidance. A multilingual author and editor of 20 major publications covering Kalidas Lexicon- Word-Index of Kalidas Literature, anthology of Sanskrit Poetics, criticism of poetry, critical edition of Sringaraprakash, Bhavaprakashan and series of works on Sanskrit Poetics in 11 Volumes under the title Sahityashastrasamucchaya and Hindi translations, winning public and academic acclaim; 70 research papers, articles and book chapters; and 90 national and international seminar presentations. Leader of three major research projects in Sanskrit literature at BHU & Kalidasa Sansthan, Varanasi. A versatile academic with first hand experience in administration of departmental and university affairs. An award-winning, multi-gold medalist, first-class-first student of literary fundamentals under leading scholars of modem times, including his father Mahamahopadhyay Prof. Rewa Prasad Dwivedi 'Sanatana. '

Dr Nagaraj Paturi trained in Sanskrit and Advaita Vedanta by his hyper-polyglot, polymath and spiritually accomplished sakala-shaastra-paarangata father, late Sri Paturi Sitaramanjaneyulu garu, he is seriously committed to the transmission of Vedic sciences to the present generation. He designed a very big number of courses of contemporary applications of Vedic Sciences and has been successfully teaching them and getting them taught. Presently he is Presently he is Director, Indic Academy And Distinguished Professor, Curriculum Designer, Executive Committee Member and Member, Board of Studies, MIT School of Vedic Sciences, Pune. Member, Board of Studies for Chinmaya Vishwavidyapeeth, Kavikulaguru Kalidasa Sanskrit University, Veda Vijnana Gurukula. Formerly Senior Professor of Cultural Studies FLAME School of Communication and FLAME School of Liberal Education Former Visiting Professor, University of Chicago, US) In his PhD (1998, UoH) Developed Indic Model of Myth Criticism of Literature. MPhil (1987, UoH) Brought out Vakyapadiyam as theoretical foundation of Ashtaadhyaayee Around 50 publications, around 60 conference /seminar/ workshop papers. Consultancy to numerous culture research and theater and dance innovation projects. Scores of creative writing works for Classical Dance, Modern Theater and magazines. Several series of talks and other programs on Radio and Television channels.

Malini Awasthi is an Indian folk singer. She sings in Hindi and Awadhi, She also presents in Thumri and Kajri. The Government of India awarded her the civilian honour of the Padma Shri in 2016. Malini Awasthi is a regular performer at the popular classical music festival, Jahan-e-Khusrau. She has a high pitch voice and is popular for rendition of Thumari, Thaare Raho Baanke Shyam.

T. Ganesan, with Ph.D. in Sanskrit worked as Director of Research at the prestigious French Institute, Pondicherry (IFP) since 1985 and now he is a Research Associate there. He is now working on the projects A Comprehensive History of Śaivasiddhānta in Tamilnadu surveying the contents of the entire gamut of Śaivasiddhānta literature (published and unpublished) that spans more than a millennium as well as on the project Critical Edition of the Śaivāgama-s. He is one of the editors the Sukshmagama (3 volumes, 4th volume under preparation) published by the French Institute of Pondicherry. The first two volumes of the Paushkaragama along with the two unpublished commentaries of Umapati and Jnanaprakasa critically edited by him for the first time has been published by the National Mission for the Manuscripts (NMM), New Delhi in 2014 and 2020. Śivajñānabodhasūtra with the Laghuṭīkā of Śivāgrayogī, Siddhāntaprakāśikā of Sarvātmaśambhu with Tamil and English translations (published by the Saivabharati Shodha Pratishthan, Varanasi in 2009) Śivajñānabodhasūtra with the hitherto unpublished commentary of Nigamajñānadeśika (published by the Rashtriya Samskrit Samsthan, New Delhi, 2009) and a few other Śaivasiddhānta texts are some of the important Saiva texts critically edited by him. His monograph Two Śaiva Teachers of the 16th century: Nigamajñāna I and Nigamajñāna II was published by the French Institute of Pondicherry in 2009. He has presented more than 30 seminar papers and research articles concerning Saivism and Saivasiddhanta many of which have been published. He had delivered special lectures concerning various aspects of Saivasiddhānta at The Tamil University, Thanjavur, Pondicherry University, Pondicherry, University of Madras as well as at the Université de Paris III-Nouvelle Sorbonne, Paris and at the University of Marbourg, Germany. T. Ganesan had been honoured with the title Viśvārādhya Viśvabhāratī by the Jangamawadi Matha, Varanasi in the year 2016.

Giriratna Mishra is Gṛhastha Sādhaka who practices under the guidance of his able masters the famous Siddhas of World Avadhūta Bhagvāna Rama Jī and Śrī Svāmī Jī Mahārāja of Datia. He has also written books in the field of Tantra and those which are published are: Yoga Mañjūṣā – Haṭharattnāvalī, Śrī Tantrāloka, Śābara Mantra Kośa (Encyclopaedia of Śābara Mantra), Śrī Tantrāloka, Śrī Bagalātattva Prakāśikā, Śrī Mātr̥kācakra Viveka , Śrī Bhūtaḍāmara Tantra, Śrī Kālī Tantra and Śrī Rudra Caṇḍī: and Śrī Uḍḍīśa Tantra. He has given various discourses and lectures, Presented papers and has given talks.

Rajshekar Krishnan has worked in the corporate sector in the function for Learning & Development for over 3 decades with organisations like NIIT, IBM, & Flipkart. He has been a lifelong student of the Vedic heritage of India. He is a devotee and practitioner of the teachings of Ramana Maharshi.

Swastik Banerjee is currently pursuing his Doctoral in Philosophy form the Department of Philosophy, University of Calcutta. His proposed thesis is titled “The Problem of Self in the Anuttara Trika philosophy of Kashmir with special reference to Kṣemarāja: an exegetical and critical study”. He is a recipient of the prestigious University Research Fellowship from the University of Calcutta, and also the Ishwar ashram Trust Fellowship. He secured first rank in MA Philosophy from University of Madras. While pursing his masters he had the opportunity to study and interact with scholars like Mahamahopadhyay Mani Dravid Shastri, Swami Paramananda Bharati, Prof. John Grimes and several others. He has studied Trika under scholars like (Late) Prof. Debabrata Sen Sharma, Prof. Navjivan Rastogi, Pundit Pran Nath Kaul to name a few. He also holds interests in sādhanā and is a follower of Kaula Tantric path, to which he is initiated in. He holds interest in western esoteric which he had the opportunity to study and interact with practitioners like Sorita De’este, Raphael Simons, and others. He had an offer to pursue his D.Phil in Theology from the prestigious University of Oxford. He has presented papers in state, national and international conferences. He has also written scripts for dance productions, among which “Cidānandavilāsa: recognition of the divinity within” has been awarded production grant from the Ministry of Culture, Government of India. His major academic pursuits involve enquiry into the question of ‘Self’, which branches into fields of ― philosophy of mind, religion, theology, mysticism, existentialism, esoteric, psychoanalysis, and so on.

Dr. Gharo Devi has completed her Ph.D in December, 2021. Her research areas are cultural studies and literary heritage of the Dogras. She has published 5 research papers in UGC referred journals and presented 14 research papers in different state, national and international conferences. She has also attended around 10 workshops and several webinars on research methodology. She has contributed 3 book chapters. She has also written a reference book “Teaching of English” for B.Ed students. She has around 10 years of experience in teaching. She is also a translator and a short story writer. Currently, she is working on a project of translating Shashi Tharoor’s book “An Era of Darkness” in Dogri, assigned by Sahitya Akademi, New Delhi. She is also pursuing a Diploma in Shaivism from Central University, Jammu. Presently, she is also empaneled as an Academic Counselor in IGNOU.

Sushant Bharti is a Conservation Architect who graduated from the School of Planning & Architecture, New Delhi. He has a keen interest in understanding the cultural aspect of India along with the architectural diversity. His main area of research is 'Cultural Heritage of Braj' and 'Indian Temple Architecture. He has also worked as a Research Assistant at National Museum Institute, National Museum, Janpath, New Delhi.

Prof. Dr. Rana P.B. Singh (b. 1950--), was Professor of Cultural Landscapes & Heritage Studies at Institute of Science, Banaras Hindu University, and correctly is a Visiting Professor at Centre of South Asian Studies, Gifu Women's University, Japan. He is serving as President- ACLA Asian Cultural Landscape Association, and President RWYC (Asia) Reconnecting With Your Culture. Alone on Kashi/ Banaras, he has published 11 books, and 142 research papers. He has delivered seminars and special addresses 79 times in 25 countries. Mob.-WhtsAp: 9838119474. See, https://bhu-in.academia.edu/RanaPBSINGH/Papers

Projit Kumar Palit, M.A& Ph.D., is a Professor & Director at the Centre for Indo-logical Studies, Department of History, Jadunath Sarkar School of Social Sciences, Assam University. His areas of research are Religion, Manuscript and Cultural History of North East India, Tourism , Heritage and Museum Management of North East India, and Art, Coin and Inscription of North East India. He has about 84 research papers and book reviews to his credit.

Dhurjjati Sarma is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Modern Indian Languages and Literary Studies, Gauhati University, Assam. He was earlier a Production Editor at SAGE Publications, New Delhi, and, before that, a Research Fellow in North East India Studies at the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA), New Delhi. He is presently engaged in studying the early and modern literatures of Assamese, Bengali, Hindi, and Urdu from a comparative-cultural perspective. As a student and teacher of comparative literature, he is also trying to develop new insights and perspectives on the composite area of comparative literary history. His writings have been published under Sahitya Akademi, Routledge, and Palgrave Macmillan and in journals like “Space and Culture, India” and “Margins: A Journal of Literature and Culture.” He is presently working on a critical history of Assamese literature.

Dr. Arghya Dipta Kar holds a PhD degree on the Shakta Tantras of Bengal, obtained from the Centre for the Study of Comparative Religions and Civilizations, Jamia Millia Islamia (under the supervision of Prof. Madhu Khanna). He is also the coordinator of the Centre for Indic and Agamic Studies in Asia, an initiative of Tantra Foundation. He has published many academic articles and has presented papers in seminars and webinars both in India and abroad. Dr. Kar is also an artist specialising in traditional Tantric Art. Currently, he teaches English at Sonarpur Mahavidyalaya, Kolkata.

Dr. Kanagaraj Easwaran is a professor and teaches social work and community development in Mizoram Central University since 2004. Apart from social sciences and social work, he is interested in Indian philosophy and spirituality. He is a devotee of Lord Shiva since his childhood and initiated to Veerashaivism. He is one of the advocates of Bharatiyakaran of Social Work with integration of Indian Knowledge systems and Spiritual traditions.

Sharda Narayanan completed Doctorate in Sanskrit Studies from Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, after M.Sc. (Physics), M.A. (Sanskrit) from Bangalore University and Samskrita Sahitya Exams from Sri Chamarajendra Wodeyar Samskrita College, Bengaluru. She currently teaches Indian Philosophy, Natya Sastra and Literary Theory. With a number of seminar presentations and published papers to her credit, in national and international forums such as World Sanskrit Conferences in Edinburgh, Bangkok and Vancouver, she has been active in Sanskrit drama and extra-curricular activities. She has authored books on Vakyapadiya, Sastradipika: Tarka Pada collaborated with Mahamahopadhyaya Dr R. Mani Dravid Sastri, Gitagovinda of Jayadeva with Dr Sujatha Mohan and TIRUMURAI with Madhangi Rathnavel. She has also assisted in editing proceedings of Swadeshi Indology Conference 3 in "Studies in Tamil Civilization: Land of Dharma" and "Fount of Culture."

Nrithya Jagannathan is a senior yoga therapist from the Krishnamacharya tradition. With over 19 years of teaching experience, she is currently the Director of the KYM Institute of Yoga Studies, Krishnamacharya Yoga Mandiram, Chennai India. This is the training and certification wing of the Krishnamacharya Yoga Mandiram. She has traveled extensively around the world to teach Yoga and Vedic Chanting. Nrithya is a life member of the Indian Yoga Association and one of the experts on the Standing Academic Accreditation Committee of IYA. She is also one of the experts appointed to develop course content for Yoga Courses under the Healthcare Sector Skill Council of India. A classical bharathanatyam dancer and choreographer as well, Nrithya is passionate about Indian culture and yoga philosophy. She is also the Editor in Chief of Darsanam, the Quarterly Journal on Yoga and Yoga Cikitsa of the Krishnamacharya Yoga Mandiram.

Jataayu has been writing and speaking on cultural and social themes and Hindutva since 2005, both in Tamil and English. The range of his topics include Hindu philosophy, Hindu history, scriptures, literature and arts. He is active on social media and regularly expresses his opinions on contemporary Hindu issues and controversies, often indulging in constructive debates. He is a scholar of Tamil literature, especially Kamba Ramayanam and Bhakti poetry and delivers traditional literary discourses on these subjects. A collection of his Tamil essays has been published as a book Kaalamthorum Narasingam (2015). He is among the founders and editors of the website tamilhindu.com and the Tamil monthly magazine Valam. An Electronics Technology professional by vocation, he is currently a resident of Bengaluru. His real name is Sankara Narayanan.

Sambhavi Shanmugam is pursuing her Master’s degree in Sanskrit at the Madras Sanskrit College, Chennai. She has a Bachelor’s degree in Sanskrit from Queen Marys College, Chennai. Hailing from the Adisaiva tradition, Sambhavi has studied various aspects of Temple Art, Architecture and Management under illustrious experts like Padma Vibhushan Dr. R. Nagaswamy and Smt. Dr. Deepa Duraiswamy.

Arvind V Iyer has a research background in Computational Neuroscience and Biomedical Engineering in areas ranging from decoding of single-neuron responses to analysis of autonomic measures in immersive virtual reality settings. His interests as an independent researcher include Indian languages, appreciation of classical performing arts, and contemplative practices.

Dr.S.RAMARATNAM (Mail ID – drsramaratnam@gmail.com) is the Vice Chancellor of Jagadguru Kripalu University, Odisha. He has been awarded titles such as Samskrta Ratna, Sahitya Vallabha, Kala Sastra Parangata and Bharata Kala Nipuna. Dr.Ramaratnam has presented papers in conferences held in several parts of the world. He has authored a number of books and over 50 articles in leading Journals (website: ratnam.weebly.com). His latest books are Management Mantras, Sanskrit Drama, The Ritual Traditions of India and the Yogasūtra of Patañjali.

Through her work she enjoys connecting with children, educators and parents. She trains reducators on the art of oral storytelling and story-art based learning. In her performances, trainings, and talks, she weaves in multi-cultural, mutli-lingual, and musical elements, to create a rich, inviting, and memorable experience for everyone.  She brings a special focus on development of English language, empathy, resilience and critical thinking in multi-cultural, multilingual classrooms benefiting both, learner and teacher. Deepa has reached over 75,000 educators around the globe.

Indumati Raman is an alumna of Kalakshetra, Chennai. An exponent of Bharata Natyam , she was Chairperson, Curator & Patron of Melattur Bhagavata Mela Natya Vidya Sangam for 10 years (1993-2002). She organised 5 Four-day festivals of Bhagavata Mela in Chennai and Mumbai and produced a Marathi Yakshaganam 'Sakuntalnatak' by Thanjavur Maratha Raja Ekoji II in 2002 with the Bhagavata Mela artistes. A recognised writer on arts, she published her book 'Bhagavata Mela my Tryst with Tradition' in 2017. She was awarded National Tagore Fellowship for 2018/19 for research on Marathi Yakshaganams.

She has conducted trainings for over 75,000 educators from over 80 countries. Her musical interactive storytelling presentations & workshops are inspired by Indian oral traditions. Her trainings focus on using storytelling in richly diverse environments for developing communication, English, creativity & empathetic leadership skills. She has received national & international recognition for her work such as National award for Best E-content teacher training videos, ELTReP India- British Council research grant award , EYRA Women Artist of the Year award, Best Actor - International Wolf Film Festival, Italy.

Dr. Bijoya Baruah is Retd. Associate Professor, P.G. Dept. of Assamese, Dimoria College, Gauhati University, Assam (India). His research specialization is in Assamese literature and language, Cultural studies of North-east India and Study of Indology (Bharat-Tatva) with reference to Ramayana and Mahabharata. 20 of his research papers on different topics are published in national and international journals.

Psychologist Researcher Sri Prabhav Paturi is a Psychologist, primarily working in the area of Children and Adolescents Counseling working with kids as young as 5 years old. He also focuses on many other overlapping areas within counseling such as Career counseling, Relationship Counseling and Grief Counseling but primarily focusing on children and young adults. He is a trained CBT professional combining his knowledge of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy with Vedic Psychology, an ancient, extremely effective vertical of Psychological Intervention. He conducts Vedic Immersion Therapy (VIT) Sessions, Vedic Art Therapy (VATSa) Sessions and group Vedic Psychology Sessions for Learners and Mentors (VPSLMs).

Megh Kalyanasundaram is an Indian citizen with close to nine years of lived experience in China, an alumnus of ISB, and is currently Director - Special Projects at Indica. His professional experience includes stints as a Market Leader at a Global Fortune 40 firm, as Head of Business Development at a leading Indian talent development multinational and he has served a term on the Board of a Shanghai-based not-for-profit. His academic research interests and 20+ papers span some aspects of ancient Indian chronology, Indian Knowledge Systems, Landscape in Indic texts, Ancient Indian Jurisprudence, Ideas of India, and Philosophy. For his creative contribution to the first edition of the International Day of Yoga, he was invited by the Permanent Mission of India in the United Nations to attend the inaugural event at the UN. Other professional pursuits have included building differentiated digital platforms for Indic texts targeted at specific learning and research needs and music. His research-based compositional Sanskrit music album Bhārata and her Kāśmīra was recently accepted for listing in the Government of India Ministry of Culture's music app Sangam. Earlier this year, Megh was invited by the National Museum Institute to present his research on Kashmir as part of a national seminar to generate content for a new museum on Jammu and Kashmir. Other musical compositions in Sanskrit span themes that include Indian Knowledge Systems and Yāskācārya's Nirukta.