Bettina Bäumer

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Bettina Bäumer
Indologist
AwardsAustrian Decoration for Science and Art (2012)
Padma Shri (2015)
Ulrich Winkler Award (2023)
Main interests
Kashmir Shaivism
Websitewww.utpaladeva.in

Bettina Sharada Bäumer (born 12 April 1940) is an Austrian-born Indian

Kashmir Saivism and a well-known figure in the field of inter-religious dialogue".[3] She was awarded the Austrian Decoration for Science and Art by Government of Austria in 2012 and Padma Shri by Government of India in 2015 for her contribution to Literature and Education.[4] She was awarded the Ulrich Winkler Award for Comparative Theology and Study of Religions in 2023.[5]

Early life and education

She was born in

Zurich, Rome and Munich between 1959 and 1967. Her Ph.D. thesis Creation as Play: The concept of Lila in Hinduism, its Philosophical and Theological Significance was presented the University of Munich where she secured her doctorate of philosophy in 1967.[6] Bäumer took the Indian name "Sharada" while applying for citizenship,[1] and became an Indian citizen in 2011.[7]

Career

She was appointed a professor at the Institute for the Study of Religions, University of Vienna in 1997 and in 2002 gained a doctorate

honoris causa from the University of Salzburg, the first to do so from the university's Faculty of Theology.[6]

She has lived in India for over four decades, having found "belonging in Hinduism" and is quoted as emphasising that; "getting to know another religion does not permit using it as a quarry to be mined"[8] She conducted post-doctoral research in Indian philosophy and Sanskrit at Banaras Hindu University (Varanasi),where she worked as an assistant and lecturer, under a reciprocal scholarship from the government of India.[9] She has done field work in Odisha.[10]

She worked in the

University of Berne.[9] She has been honorary co-ordinator of the Kalatattvakosa programme, and editor of Kalatattvakosa: a Lexicon of Fundamental Concepts of the Indian Arts, respectively conducted and published by the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts.[11] She has been a fellow at the Harvard University[12] and at the Indian Institute of Advanced Study, Shimla. In 2009 she was director of Samvidalaya at the Abhinavagupta Research Library, Varanasi. She was the co-chairperson of the fifteenth World Sanskrit Conference, held in New Delhi in 2012.[13]
: 24 

Abhinavagupta's hermeneutics

Surekha Dhaleta, in an article in the

Times of India, described her as passionate about Kashmir Shaivism, as manifest in the commentaries of its leading commentator Abhinavagupta. She quotes Dr. Bäumer thus; "There is a lot of misrepresentation and misunderstanding about tantra, which forms the core of Kashmir Shaivism and has been generally misunderstood as black magic or witchcraft. Tantra is fascinating and is very rich and beautiful and related to practical life. It speaks about cosmic energies. The book Abhinavagupta's Hermeneutics of the Absolute: Annutraprakriya, an interpretation of his Paratrisika Vivarana aims to present tantra and its interpretation in a scholarly way. I would appeal to youngsters to not see Hindu philosophy with dry speculation as it is very rich in knowledge and a great repository of traditions". The book provides extensive translations, commentary and in-depth interpretation of Abhinavgupta's theories.[14]

References

  1. ^ a b Navigante, Adrián (2017). "Bettina Bäumer at the Labyrinth". FIND (India-Europe Foundation for New Dialogues). Retrieved 16 August 2022.
  2. ^ "Bettina Sharada Bäumer". utpaladeva.com. Retrieved 16 August 2022.
  3. ^ Parthasarathy, Vanamala (8 August 2006). "Themes in art and mysticism". The Hindu. Chennai. Retrieved 9 April 2012.
  4. ^ "Three Padma awards bring laurels to city". The Times of India. 28 January 2015.
  5. ^ "Salzburg: "Ulrich Winkler Awards" für interreligiösen Dialog verliehen". salzburger-hochschulwochen.at (in German). Salzburger Hochschulwochen. 5 August 2023.
  6. ^ a b "Frau Prof. Dr.h.c. Bettina Bäumer, Curriculum Vitae" (PDF). Salzburg, Austria: Universitat Salzburg. Retrieved 3 April 2012.[permanent dead link]
  7. ^ "Neelmatam Vol 1 Issue No 1". Nityanand Shastri Kashmir Research Institute. March 2011. p. 19.
  8. ISBN 978-90-420-3337-5
    . Retrieved 3 April 2012.
  9. ^
    ISBN 978-3-205-78561-3
    . Retrieved 10 April 2012.
  10. ^ "October Retreat with Bettina Bäumer". ahymsin.org. October 2017. Retrieved 20 March 2023.
  11. ISBN 978-81-208-0584-2
    . Retrieved 10 April 2012.
  12. ^ "Past Affiliates A-C". cswr.hds.harvard.edu. Retrieved 20 March 2023.
  13. ^ Brockington, John (2012). "NEWSLETTER OF THE INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF SANSKRIT STUDIES" (PDF). New Delhi: IASS. Archived from the original (PDF) on 1 May 2012. Retrieved 13 April 2012.
  14. ^ Dhaleta, Surekha (27 March 2011). "Exploring Kashmiri Shaivism". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 3 January 2013. Retrieved 3 April 2012.

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Bettina_Bäumer&oldid=1210996279"