Programme



“Dharma: Interface of Secular and Sacred”

A Conference Investigating the Interface of Religion
on Literature, Media, Ethics, Law, Economics, Politics, Science and Philosophy
Dharmaram Vidya Kshetram, Bangalore, India
3-7 January 2015
“I cannot help seeing every problem from a religious point of view” Ludwig Wittgenstein
Programme
Sunday, 4 January 2015:
7.00 a.m. Holy Qurbana, Syro-Malabar Rite, Catholic (Optional)
8.00 a.m. Breakfast
9.00 a.m. Fellowship in Religious Experience (FIRE) at Mahabodhi Society (Budhhist), Gruduwara (Sikh), Vidyavanam (Christian), Art of Living Centre (Hindu), Brahmakumari (Hindu), Fireflies (Interreligious and Environmental).
Monday, 5 January 2015:
08.00 a.m.       Breakfast
08.45 a.m.       Registration
09.15 a.m.       Inaugural Session
Inaugural Address: Prof Dr Saju Chackalackal CMI, President DVK
Plenary Address 1: Peter Tyler – “Rabindranath Tagore and Ludwig
Wittgenstein: Two Sentinels on the Borderlands of Modernity”
Plenary Address 2: Purushottama Bilimoria – “Grief and Dharma:
Secularization of a Sacred Emotion”
11.00 a.m.       Tea Break
11.15 a.m.       Parallel Session I:
Paper 1: Etienne Rassendren – “Religion and Literature: Of Cultural
Hegemonies and Discursive Resistances”
Paper 2: Chae Young Kim – “Granville Stanley Hall and Carl Gustav
Jung on Religious Experience”
                        Paper 3: Anupama Nayar – “Joycean Novels: A Broad Secularizing
Project”
Paper 4: Davis Vithayathil – “Interface between Sacred and Secular: A Call within Metaxological Mindfulness”
Parallel Session II:
Paper 5: Vincent Kundukulam – “Two Identity Builders in Amity and Enmity: Religion and Politics”
Paper 6: Ismath Ramzy – “Managing Domestic Violence: Religious
Perspective with Special Reference to Islam”
Paper 7: Lawrence Fernandes – "Mircea Eliade’s Philosophy of
                        Religion: The Reality and its Relevance Today"
Paper 8: Ajit Kumar Behura and Sarita Kar – “Dharma in Purva-Mimamsa: Secular and Sacred”
01.00 p.m.      Lunch
02.00 p.m.      Parallel Session III
Paper 9: Liju Porathur – “Ecology vis- à-vis Human Ecology after Pope Benedict XVI”
            Paper 10: Leena Kaitharath – Religious Significance of the Literary
Genre of Autobiography: A Study based on Confessions of St
Augustine
Paper 11: Biju K. Chacko – “Kolam Practice among Christians: an Art Cuts across Religious Boundaries”
Paper 12: Sushma V Murthy – “Littoral Drift: Intertidal Corporeal and Spiritual Selves in Akka Mahadevi”

Parallel Session IV:
Paper 13: Joshy Paramthottu – "Evolution of Secularism and Its Impact on the Conditions of Religion: A Taylorean Perspective"
Paper 14: Robert Pen – “Understanding the Role of Religion in a Media-Centric Society”
Paper 15: Aparna Vincent – “The Sacredness of Secular Symbols: A Reading from the Indian Experience”
Paper 16: Davis Panadan – “Constitutionality of Personal Laws and Uniform Civil Code in India"
04.00 p.m.      Tea Break
06.00 p.m.      Plenary Address 3: Paul Poovathinkal – Karnatic Music and Christianity: An Ethnomusicological Approach
06.30 p.m.      Kacheri: Classical Religious Music Performance by Paul Poovathinkal and Team
08.15 p.m.      Dinner

Tuesday, 6 January 2015: Epiphany
08.00 a.m.       Breakfast
09.15 a.m.       Plenary Session
Message: Dr Anil Pinto, Registrar, Christ University
Plenary Address 4: Patrice Haynes – “Religious Diversity and the Feminist Subject: A Perspective from Feminist Philosophy of Religion”
Plenary Address 5: Ashok Sajjanhar – ''Peace and Development - The Indian Experience''
11.00 a.m.       Tea Break
11.15. a.m.      Parallel Session V:
Paper 17: George Karuvelil – Philosophy and Religious Diversity: Epistemological Explorations
Paper 18: Paul Moyaert – “Praying with Icons Is Touching God in His Image
Paper 19: Edwin George – “The Philosophical Challenges of Secularism: An Interpretation with Panikkarian Vision and Dallmayrian Concerns”
Paper 20: Sebastian Alackapally – “Harmony of Theos and Cosmos in Tribal Life”
Parallel Session VI:
Paper 21: James Pampara – “Mercy as Hermeneutical Principle in Catholic Canon Law: A Critical Analysis of Walter Casper's Thinking in the Light of Aequitas Canonica, Epikeia and Oikonomia”
Paper 22: Wai Luen Kwok – “Public Theology(ies) or Theologised by Public”
Paper 23: Paul T Louis – “Digital Awakening: Notion of Religious
Communication in a Virtual World”
Paper 24: Divya Pradeep and Mamta Bhardwaj – “Economic Underpinnings of Religious Giving”
            Parallel Session VII:
Paper 25: Thomas Kollamparampil – “History, Religion and Human Development in St. Ephrem the Syrian”
Paper 26: Shaji Kochuthara – “The Meaning of Sexuality: Can the Christian and Secular Approaches Meet?”
Paper 27: P. Krishnaswami – “Tamil Society’s Engagement with Secular and Sacred: An Overview of Multiple Traditions”
Paper 28: Orla O’Reilly Hazra “Cosmogenesis: Healing our Disparity of Cult through Prophetic Speech”
01.00 p.m.      Lunch
02.00 p.m.      Parallel Session VIII:
Paper 29: Francis Arackal – “Media - the All Pervasive Being/Entity of
Our Times”

Paper 30: Vinoy Paikkattu“Dismantling the Human Construct of Dichotomy between Secular and Sacred – A Wittgenstenian Way”

Paper 31: Davis Varayilan – “Theological Education in the Living Context: A Samanvaya Model”

Paper 32: Anto Amarnad – “Does God Have a Future? A Philosophico-theological Appraisal”

Paper 33: Jose Nandhikkara – “Religion – Private vis- à-vis Public Philosophical Investigations after Wittgenstein”
Parallel Session IX:
Paper 34: Renu Paul – “Towards a Dharmic Vision for Religion and Ethics”
Paper 35: Peter Vallabadoss – “Dharmartha Marga: Path of Management Gurus with Success Mantras
Paper 36: S. P. Vaghiswari – “Dharma as a Binary Identity”
Paper 37: KC Adaina and G. Rassendran – “Do Notions of the Sacred Guide the Ethic of Reciprocity? A Case of Rongmei Indigenous Environmental Practices and Economic Behaviour”
Paper 38: Paulachan Kochappilly – “Celebration of the Holy Qurbana as a Comingling of Earth and Heaven”
04.00 p.m.      Tea Break
06.00 p.m.      Plenary Address 6: C. F. John – “Body. Art. Spirituality - A Reflection Rooted in Earth and Life"
06.30 p.m.      Dance Recital: Artists from Christ ICSE School, Christ Academy and Christ University at PU College Auditorium
08.15 p.m.      Dinner

Wednesday, 7 January 2015:
08.00 a.m.       Breakfast
Symposium: Philosophy of Religion in a Global Context

09.00 a. m.
Paper 39: Sugathananda – “Buddhist Monastic Education: The Living Legacy of Dhamma’
Paper 40:  Peter Tyler – “The Philosopher as Therapist: Learning from Wittgenstein?”
10.30 a. m. Tea Break
10.45 a. m.
Paper 41: David Lewin – “Heidegger East and West: Philosophy as Educative Contemplation”
Paper 42: Duane Williams – “The Why and What of Philosophy of Religion: Towards a New Methodology for Pedagogical Practice”
12.15 p. m. Workshop
Sharing reflections on teaching comparative religion and/ or philosophy of religion led by Patrice Haynes
1.00 p. m. Lunch
02.00 p. m.
Paper 43: Prof Dr Augustine Thottakara – “The Process of Vidyā-dāna: The Discipline Proposed by the Upanisads
Paper 44: Patrice Haynes – “‘The Familiar Witches’ Brew’: On the Possibility of African Philosophy of Religion”
3.15 p. m.  Plenary Address 7: Erik Meganck – "Secularisation and Violence"        
Concluding Message: Prof Dr Thomas Aykara, Rector, Dharmaram College

4.00 p. m.       Departure