Abstract:

This presentation surveys the wide range of social locations represented in the literature of the Varkari tradition, especially representations of so-called Untouchables’ voices, in order to reflect on the politics ofMarathi bhakti inclusivity. Modern scholars have regularly highlighted the potential within bhakti discourse for a critique of caste hierarchy and untouchability, while expressing disappointment that this potential seems to have been so imperfectly realized in Maharashtrian society. I argue for the importance of recognizing deep inter-textual connections within bhakti literature, between authors of various caste locations, whose diverse authorial registers serve to promote the impression of inclusivity and even equality, while simultaneously preserving social difference in doing so. Focusing especially on the close but overlooked relationship between the personas of the brahman saint Eknath and the Mahar saint Cokhamela, I highlight some of the complex power dynamics at work in Varkari bhakti discourse as it includes and preserves social differentiations.

About the Speaker:

Prior to joining MSU in 2015, Jon Keune was a postdoctoral fellow in the India Studies program at the University of Houston and in the Centre for Modern Indian Studies at the University of Göttingen in Germany. Hismain field of research is in west-central India, where he lived for several years, and he has comparative interests in central Europe and East Asia. Keune focuses on the development of popular, devotional (bhakti) Hindutraditions, especially the Varkari tradition and its hagiographical literature in Marathi between the sixteenth century and the present.He is working on a book manuscript, The Brahman Who Ate with Untouchables: Historicizing Religion and Caste in Western India, about the tension of bhakti traditions between observing caste boundaries and spiritualequality. Keune has published several articles in journals, edited books, and encyclopedias about Hindu devotionalism, Marathi hagiography, Hindu-Christian encounters, and German orientalism. He co-founded theRegional Bhakti Scholars Network, a platform which brings together scholars of various Indian regions and languages to explore patterns in literatures, traditions, and theologies that come under the umbrella ofdevotional Hinduism. Keune is also working on a project on new connections between Dalit (ex-Untouchable) Buddhists in India and Buddhists in Japan and Taiwan.His principal scholarly interests include devotional hinduism (bhakti), social history, caste and reform, medieval Marathi literature, modern Buddhism in India, Hindu-Christian encounter, construction of religious traditions, historiography. He obtained a Ph.D from Columbia University, after a M.Div from the Princeton Theological Seminary.