Indian Culture I

The teaching program will offer an introduction to the four religions that originated, at different times, in India, emphasizing, first, how their birth and development over the centuries responded to precise needs of both a spiritual and socio-cultural nature. Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism will be presented in their fundamental doctrinal, philosophical, devotional, and theological specificities and will be historically framed both concerning their origin and their most significant phases of development, analyzed in the light of the unfolding of Indian history. The examination of the four spiritual orientations will be the instrument to explore and deepen both the knowledge of Indian society and its main precipitates, including, first and foremost, the caste and family institute, and the logic and prerequisites of the rituals that mark the existence of individuals and attest to their belonging to the social consortium (birth, imposition of a name, first haircut, marriage, funeral rites, etc.). Furthermore, the introduction to the doctrines that shape the relationship between the individual, the material universe within which his or her existence is situated, and the impalpable metaphysical reality identified or not, depending on the spiritual orientations, with a divine principle, will make it possible to reflect on the reasons for and paths of the transnational movements of ideas and people that have moved from India both eastwards and westwards. It will therefore reflect on the composite nature of the Indian diaspora, which, far from indifferently involving all the country's communities, has been embraced with varying degrees of conviction and enthusiasm by members of India's different religious communities. In addition to the displacements of people, we will dwell on those concepts and doctrines that, deeply rooted in the Indian religious-philosophical universe, have been adopted by the most diverse cultures. We will observe how the appropriation of practices and ideas founding the different Indian religious-philosophical orientations has gone through phenomena of alteration, adaptation, and even theoretical disruption. The spread and extent of such movements of transnational exportation of ideas founding the Indian philosophical-spiritual framework are, moreover, largely witnessed by the migration of Indian philosophical vocabulary and its casual adoption by European languages.
We will observe, however, the existence of an appreciable gap between the original meaning of terms in the Indian religious-philosophical lexicon, such as 'karman', 'cakra', 'nirvāṇa', 'yoga', 'maṇḍala' etc., and the one implicitly attributed to them in Italian usage. Finally, the course program will be completed with an analysis of the legal protections and guarantees that the Indian Union reserves for this multi-religious social system. Through precise reference to the constitutional dictate, the prerogatives of Indian secularism and its practical implications will be illustrated.
The first module will introduce the complex religious-philosophical phenomenon known as Hinduism, whose status as a religion and the appropriateness of the term Hinduism itself, whose origin will be made explicit, as there is no equivalent in Indian languages. After explaining the definition of orthopraxis, its intimately plural character and stages of historical development will be described. Among the founding concepts, the concepts of karman, saṃsāra, mokṣa, Brahman, and dharma will be emphasized, and the relevant sacred literature will be introduced. Particular attention will be paid to examining the caste institution, analyzed from a diachronic and synchronic perspective. As a conclusion and completion of the first module, an overview of Jainism will be offered, whose historical origin, aims and means to achieve them, characteristics, ethos, and application of the fundamental virtues by the lay component, the structure of the ascetic community and the full adherence to the precepts of Jainism by its members, albeit with the differences deriving from belonging to one or other of the monastic orders, will be outlined.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
- G. Filoramo (a cura di), Hinduismo, Laterza, Roma-Bari, 2002 (II edizione).
- W. Halbfass, Karma e rinascita nel pensiero indiano, Einaudi, Torino, 2021. (I capitolo, III capitolo, VII capitolo, VIII capitolo, IX capitolo)
- M. Joseph, Il gioco di Ayyan, Edizioni Dedalo, 2011 (ROMANZO).
- W. Dalrymple, Nove vite, Adelphi, 2020 (ROMANZO).
- R. Pace, Educazione indiana, Giunti, 2023 (ROMANZO).

UNIT II: In the second module, Buddhism's historical and social origin will be analyzed; the life of the historical Buddha will be traced in detail and the core of his teachings will be explored. It will then trace the successive stages of development of Indian Buddhism until its abrupt disappearance from India. In outlining the doctrinal developments of Buddhism, one will also observe the changes that took place in the iconographic framework and the fundamental shift to the anthropomorphic representation of the Buddha. Finally, the historical phases and trajectories along which Buddhism spread from India to the neighbouring eastern regions and then westwards will be covered. Meditation, re-proposed as mindfulness by the biologist Jon Kabat-Zin, who has used it in clinical pathways, has received great interest. Spread outside the medical sphere, its techniques are used today for enhancing mental control and improving psychophysical well-being. Students will be offered a short meditation experience to increase awareness in everyday life. The module will conclude with an introduction to the most recent of the religions born in India: the Sikh panth or Sikhism. In addition to the historical origins, the doctrinal framework, and the orders of which the Sikh panth is composed, some aspects of the Sikh diaspora in Italy will be explored, which will also be taken up in the third module.
BIBLIOGRAPHY:
- G. Filoramo (a cura di), Hinduismo, Laterza, Roma-Bari, 2002 (II edizione).
- G.R. Franci, Il buddhismo, il Mulino, Bologna, 2004.
- S. Sahuta, L'anno dei fuggiaschi, Chiarelettere, 2018 (ROMANZO).
- P. Mishra, La fine della sofferenza. Il Buddha nel mondo, Guanda, 2006 (ROMANZO).
UNIT III: In the third unit, the legal tradition of ancient India and its evolution will be touched upon. In particular, the method of dispute resolution followed by the courts established during colonial rule, which referred to dharma treaties and Islamic law, will be discussed. The imposition of the Common Law and the related cultural milieu will be illustrated. Following a historical excursus, the legal system of post-independence India will be analyzed. The genesis of the Indian Constitution and the federal system of the Union will be discussed. Fundamental rights will be outlined, with particular attention to freedom in matters of religion and the right not to be discriminated against on account of professed beliefs. The focus will be on personal statutes concerning family law and inheritance law, institutions for which different regulations are envisaged based on religion or rather on the community the person belongs to; the application of these regulations within the Italian legal system will also be mentioned. Other aspects of contemporary Indian law, such as commercial law, intellectual property protection and labour law, will be briefly illustrated, also concerning issues related to possible discrimination based on religion and with some hint of comparison with the Italian system. Practical cases will also be dealt with through in-class simulations.
BIBLIOGRAPHY:
- Lorenza Acquarone, Tra Dharma Common Law e WTO. Un'introduzione al sistema giuridico dell'India, Unicopli, 2016.
- Lorenza Acquarone, Voci audaci. La stand-up comedy in India sfida tabù e censura, Le Lucerne, 2023.