Devotional Hindu Dance

“Dr. Sabrina D. MisirHiralall is a rare combination of academically based religious studies, education, and philosophy scholar who is an accomplished practitioner of Kuchipudi Hindu dance with a faith-based approach to Hinduism. She brings these qualities to bear on the topic of restoring Hindu dance from a corruption by colonialism to a postcolonial religious and devotional experience that more closely relates to the origins of Hindu dance. Through historical recounting and self- study, Dr. MisirHiralall makes a case for restoring the sacred in Hindu dance. All who read this text will beneft from understanding the need for a postcolonial awareness that comprehends the complexities of religion and culture.” —Michael D. Waggoner, Professor of Postsecondary Education, University of Northern Iowa, and Editor of Religion & Education

“Through a postcolonial self-study, Dr. Sabrina D. MisirHiralall challenges con- ceptions of Hindu dance as “culture” as she reclaims Hindu dance as a form of sacred devotional practice, with ontological rather than just epistemological impli- cations. In this book, Devotional Hindu Dance: A Return to the Sacred, Dr. MisirHiralall also challenges Cartesian assumptions of the split between mental and physical realms. She illustrates how embodied knowledge and movement can illuminate important distinctions between religion and culture.” —Vanessa de Oliveira Andreotti, Professor and Canada Research Chair in Race, Inequalities and Global Change, The University of British Columbia, Canada

“Devotional Hindu Dance: A Return to the Sacred stands at the cutting-edge of numerous directions in the study of religion and with our work as public intellectuals to cultivate the common good. Within her creative matrix, Dr. Sabrina D. MisirHiralall is part of the energy of de-colonialism which deepens and unveils the ocean of wisdom from the study of Hinduism. Indeed, she is doing something urgent and necessary: providing a pathway for all of us to follow into the work of constructive and regenerative engagement with and within the traditions of Hinduism. As a Hindu scholar/practitioner, Dr. MisirHiralall grounds this trail- blazing work within her ancestral rooting as a scholar and practitioner of Hindu sacred dance. Drawing upon the theopoetics of sacred embodiment and the devotional rhythms of dancing for the Divine, in combination with a dynamic decolo- nial approach, Dr. MisirHiralall provides us with a text which allows the reader to encounter Hinduism in an unexpected and original fashion.” —Christopher Fici, Instructor, Religious Studies Department, Iona College, and Co-Director of Sacred Ecology Forum, USA Sabrina D. MisirHiralall Devotional Hindu Dance

A Return to the Sacred Sabrina D. MisirHiralall Montclair State University Montclair, NJ, USA

ISBN 978-3-030-70618-0 ISBN 978-3-030-70619-7 (eBook) https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-70619-7

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This Palgrave Macmillan imprint is published by the registered company Springer Nature Switzerland AG. The registered company address is: Gewerbestrasse 11, 6330 Cham, Switzerland Om Satchitananda Rupaaya I dedicate this text to the feet of Satchitanand (Supreme Being). My accomplishments are only through the blessings of Satchitanand. Matridevo Bhava I offer salutations to the feet of my mother. Pitridevo Bhava I offer salutations to the feet of my father. Acharyadevo Bhava I offer salutations to the feet of my Guru. Atithidevo Bhava I offer salutations to the feet of Guests, who are the readers of this text. —Taittiriya Upanishad I especially dedicate this text to my mother, Choondai “Sonadai” Misir Hoobraj. Mommy, may your soul always have the blessings of Satchitanand. Thank you for all of the sacrifces you made for me throughout my entire life. Please forgive me for my faws and bless me always. I love you, mommy. Preface

Every morning when my mother awakens, she prays to the Supreme Being. I remember being a little girl and sitting on my mother’s lap as she prayed in the morning. My mother took me to mandir (temple) every Sunday morning during my childhood. Furthermore, my mother drove from New Jersey to New York weekly to take me to and from dance classes when I began my formal Hindu dance education as a young girl. I am beyond grateful for all of the sacrifces my mother made to ensure that I know and love the Supreme Being. Overall, I grew up in a devotional home with an atmosphere of love. I remember a plaque that hung in my mother’s kitchen in my childhood home. The plaque stated, “A house is made of brick and stone but a home is made of love alone.” This best describes my home. I have always lived in a place sanctifed with love for family who unite to worship the Supreme Being. The COVID-19 pandemic of 2020 caused many mandirs (temples) to close their doors to the public for the safety of devotees. Several mandirs began to hold satsanghs (religious gatherings) through a virtual platform. My brother, Pt.1 Bhisham Malcolm “Jito” Misir, held a weekly Sunday morning satsangh on YouTube. I decided to create a Facebook account, which granted me access to attend many virtual satsanghs. I soon began to attend the Dharma Vani satsanghs of the Radha Krishna Mandir in

1 This term is diffcult to translate. Essentially, a pandit is a religious leader who offciates pujas (religious worship) and provides spiritual counsel to devotees. Pandits are similar to priests, ministers, and pastors, but yet these terms do not adequately defne the term “pandit.”

vii viii PREFACE

Georgetown, Guyana, where Pt. Rudranauth Sharma, my Raksha Bandhan2 brother, serves as the pandit. Also, I started to witness the live virtual satsanghs of the Hindu Dharmic Sabha Mandir, Inc. of the United States, where my mamoo3 Seetaram “Sonny” Ganesh along with my Raksha Bandhan brother Shakey Deo Sukhai sing bhajans. On Tuesday evenings, I would sing the Shri Hanuman Chalisa virtually with members of the Shaanti Bhavan Mandir, where Pt. Manoj Deokarran Jadubans, Pt. Dipak Rambharose, and Pt. Ravi Rattan serve as pandits. Pt. Hardat Ashwar shared 150 Days of Shanti Satsangh virtually from the Bhavani Shankar Mandir of Brampton, Ontario in Canada. I always had a desire to dance at satsanghs when I hear devotional music, particularly when the pandits chant mantras and sing with hearts of devotion. However, dance no longer occurs regularly at satsanghs, even though dance once had a crucial role. Being a virtual attendee at the satsanghs granted me the chance to dance to my heart’s content in the privacy of my own home. During the virtual satsanghs, I would dance and dance and dance. I soon began to think about the problems with dance that I encountered throughout my lifetime within a Hindu community. I danced at several religious and cultural events, where I often felt reduced to a cultural object of entertainment. It is evident to me that viewers of the dance need to develop a basic understanding of the origin and purpose of Hindu dance. Viewers ought to view Hindu dances with a sacred gaze (Morgan, 2005). Moreover, Hindu dancers must develop a framework of Hindu dance based on Hindu scriptures. I frequently see Hindu dances by dancers that habitually betray the sacredness of Hinduism, which disturbs me signifcantly. I acknowledge that my role as an educator is to shed light on the sacredness of Hindu dance and help individuals develop religious literacy of Hinduism. I focus primarily on teaching non-Hindus in my frst text Confronting Orientalism: A Self-Study of Educating Through Hindu Dance (MisirHiralall, 2017), which develops directly from my larger dissertation research. In this current text, Devotional Hindu Dance: A Return to the Sacred, I place attention on teaching primarily Hindus about Hinduism

2 Hindus frequently celebrate a special day called Raksha Bandhan. On this day, a sister may adopt a brother by tying a symbolic thread known as a rakhi around the brother’s wrist. A rakhi is similar to a friendship bracelet. The sister honors the brother in many ways. The brother promises to protect the sister always. 3 “Mamoo” is the term used to describe an individual’s mother’s brother. This term essentially means uncle. PREFACE ix through Hindu dance. I do not mean to create a dichotomy between non- Hindus and Hindus. In fact, I urge non-Hindus to read this text because they will learn about Hinduism. Hindus ought to read my abovemen- tioned text, since it provides foundational insight on Hinduism. The rea- son I developed these undeniably intertwining projects as separate texts is because each text has a distinct pedagogical goal. Non-Hindus do not approach the text with a theological perspective based on Hinduism. Thus, I focus on teaching Hinduism academically in Confronting Orientalism: A Self-Study of Educating Through Hindu Dance (MisirHiralall, 2017) as I shed light on the problems that I encountered when dancing primarily among non-Hindus. Hindus maintain a faith- based theological stance that stems from Hinduism. Therefore, my goal in this current project is to enrich the education and worship of faith-based Hindus while simultaneously teaching non-Hindus about Hinduism. Moreover, I focus on addressing the current problems with Hindu dance education in this text. As I wrote this text, I developed more insight into who I am, where I come from, and where I am going. These are philosophical questions that I will always ponder throughout my life’s journey. I am frst and foremost a child of the Supreme Being. In my frst text, I state,

If asked who am I, I would answer frst by saying that I am a child of a Supreme Being. For me, as I think of a Cosmic Father and a Cosmic Mother who are both Ardhanarishvar (One), I would say that I am a child of Shivaji (The Siva-purá ̄ṇa, 1969), the Supreme Being in Hinduism who is the Cosmic Father and Durga Devi Ma (Vijnanananda, 1986) who is the Cosmic Mother. This means that everything else beyond being a cosmic human daughter is temporary for this life span. I do not aim to say that I am a celes- tial being but rather what I am saying is that foremost, I acknowledge that I come from a Supreme Being and hope to merge back to a Supreme Being upon death. I strongly believe that my life has a meaningful purpose that is tied to my ancestry, which is why I was born into the home chosen for me by the Supreme Being. (MisirHiralall, 2017, p. 1)

I come from the Supreme Being and hope to attain moksha (liberation) as I merge back to the Supreme Being upon death. This text is my attempt to serve as a representative of the Supreme Being. I humbly ask the Supreme Being to please bless me throughout my life. The Supreme Being guides me through the journey of life. I seek the blessings of my parents, in-laws, and my deceased father. My father’s soul always spiritually blesses x PREFACE me. I request the blessings of my brother, who is a Brahman-born pandit, and my bouji (sister-in-law). I ask for the blessings of my husband. I appeal to my ancestors and my family members to bless me. I seek the blessings of my Diksha Guru and my Gurumaa. I began to write this manuscript when I was pregnant with my frst child Devin D. Hiralall. I worked on several drafts of this text during my pregnancy and also while caring for my newborn baby. I am incredibly blessed that I was able to place attention on my scholarship while being a new mommy. My son was a wonderful baby, who allowed me to pursue this text. I also had the help of my supportive husband, Dinesh R. Hiralall, who provided me with quiet time to engage in my research. I am very thankful to my husband for supporting me with my life goals. In addition, I must acknowledge my professors and colleagues who provide endless support for my scholarship. Tyson Lewis is a lifelong mentor of mine who inspires me to pursue my goals as a scholar. Even though I graduated from the doctoral program with my degree, Tyson still advises me, teaches me, and helps me to navigate academia. David Benfeld, professor emeritus of the once-joint Department of Philosophy and Religion, read this manuscript in draft form. His feedback helped me signifcantly. David is a lifelong mentor who always asks me critical questions that help me to gain clarity on my scholarship. Krishna Kishore Dasa (Christopher Fici) conversed with me about Diksha Gurus and Siksha Gurus as we dis- cussed the Guru-shishya educational system. I am grateful to all of my students, who endlessly encourage me to pursue my scholarship. It is rare that educators meet students who do not leave them upon graduation. I am very privileged to be a student who has lifelong mentors and also fortunate to be a lifelong mentor to many students who have not left my side. My professors display genuine care for me and I too sincerely care for my students. Life has taught me that there is a need to move past the “us” versus “them” mentality that divisions of religion and culture frequently cause. Social harmony is possible if all of humanity focuses on caring for the well-being of one another with love. Interreligious and intercultural relations play a crucial role in uniting humanity. With this in mind, I ask that you please read this text critically with a philosophical lens that aims to understand Hinduism and move beyond the illusionary boundaries of Hindus and non-Hindus plus the East and the West. I offer this text as a guide to understand Hinduism through Hindu dance in a manner that unites humanity. My hope is that this text PREFACE xi will enrich the faith-based practices of Hindus and also non-Hindus will consider how they may participate in Hinduism among Hindus with sen- sitivity to Hinduism in mind while maintaining fdelity to their own religious and/or philosophical identity. On this note, I humbly present Devotional Hindu Dance: A Return to the Sacred with a heart flled with love and devotion.

Colonia, NJ Sabrina D. MisirHiralall

References MisirHiralall, S. D. (2017). Confronting Orientalism: A self-study of educating through Hindu dance. Rotterdam: Sense Publishers. Morgan, D. (2005). The Sacred Gaze: Religious Visual Culture in Theory and Practice. Berkeley: University of California Press. The Siva-Purá ̄ṇa. (1969). Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass. Vijnanananda. (1986). The Srimad Devi Bhagawatam. New Delhi: Oriental Books Reprint Corp. Contents

1 Introduction 1

2 Religion and Culture in the History of Hindu Dance Education 29

3 Defining Devotional Hindu Dance 61

4 Basics of Learning Devotional Hindu Dance 95

5 Conclusion 117

Index 133

xiii About the Author

Sabrina D. MisirHiralall defend ed her dissertation in the Pedagogy and Philosophy program at Montclair State University. Dr. MisirHiralall published a book entitled Confronting Orientalism: A Self- Study of Educating Through Hindu Dance. In the text, Dr. MisirHiralall focuses on how she uses Kuchipudi Indian classical Hindu dance to edu- cate primarily non-Hindus about Hinduism with postcolonial realities in mind. Dr. MisirHiralall aims to develop a de-Orientalized postcolonial pedagogy to confront Orientalism and the long legacy of colonization. Together with Dr. Christopher Fici and Dr. Gerald Vigna, she edited Religious Studies Scholars as Public Intellectuals for the Routledge in Religion Series. In addition, Dr. MisirHiralall published several journal articles in peer-reviewed journals. The RangPravesam marked the start of her dance career. She had the lead role in Krishnarpanam and holds the title of Natya Tilakam, which was given to her by dance guru, Smt. Sadhana Paranji. She was the solo fea- tured performer in Contemplative Kuchipudi Dance at Montclair State University in April 2013. Dr. MisirHiralall taught in elementary schools and also worked as a literacy consultant. At New Jersey City University, she taught

xv xvi ABOUT THE AUTHOR undergraduate and graduate students in the Elementary and Secondary Education Department. She also taught for the Philosophy and Religion Department. In addition, she taught philosophy courses and student suc- cess courses part time at Middlesex County College (MCC). Dr. MisirHiralall received the Adjunct Faculty Excellence in Teaching Award in 2015 from MCC. In the past, she has taught at several institutions, including Rutgers University, Bergen County Community College, and the University of South Carolina Aiken. She teaches as an online adjunct professor in the Educational Foundations Department and the Religion Department at Montclair State University. She also teaches philosophy and religion courses online for Three Rivers Community College and St. John’s University. She serves as an associate editor for the blog of the American Philosophical Association. Dr. MisirHiralall is frequently invited to lecture and dance in higher education, as she presents on Hinduism with postcolonialism in mind. She is a member of the American Education Research Association, the American Academy of Religion, and the American Philosophical Association.

Books 2018 Editors, MisirHiralall, S., Fici. C., Vigna. J. Religious Studies Scholars as Public Intellectuals. New York: Routledge Studies in Religion Series. 2017 Confronting Orientalism: A Self-Study of Educating Through Hindu Dance. Rotterdam, The Netherlands: Sense Publishers.

Peer-Reviewed Journal Articles 2018 Dillard-Wright, D. and MisirHiralall, S. Too Much and Too Little: Understanding the Water Crisis in the Indian Subcontinent. Environment, Space, Place, 10/2: 128–146. 2018 (Un)Dressing to Unveil a Spiritual Self. Journal of Aesthetic Education, 52/3: 23–42 2017 The Theological Misappropriation of Christianity as a Civilizing Force. Journal of Research on Christian Education, 26/2: 79–104. 2017 The Postcolonial Pedagogical Challenge of Creativity. Religion and Education, 44/2: 1–18. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/1550739 4.2017.1335561 ABOUT THE AUTHOR xvii

2016 Re-Envisioning Contemplative Pedagogy Through Self-Study. Teacher Learning and Professional Development, 1/2: 84–96. 2015 Mindfulness as a Pedagogical Tool: Kuchipudi Indian Classical Hindu Dance. The Arts in Religious and Theological Studies (ARTS) Journal, 27/1: 33–39. 2014 The Postcolonial Reality of Using the Term ‘Liturgical’ to Describe Hindu Dance. Journal of Research on Christian Education, 23/2: 154–175. 2013 Dance as Portrayed in the Media. Journal of Aesthetic Education, 47/3: 72–95. List of Figures

Fig. 1.1 Here, I offer devotional mantras (prayers) before engaging in Kuchipudi dance during my RangaPravesam 9 Fig. 1.2 Here, I stand in a dance pose at Bayonne High School before my RangaPravesam after engaging in the contemplative dressing process for the event. Even before I began to dance on that day, I felt that I experienced a heavenly realm. It was as if a profound sense of peace flled my entire being as I prepared for the dances 11 Fig. 3.1 My dance posture portrays my sacred Ghungaroos, which I dance with 80 Fig. 4.1 Here are a few of my dedicated philosophy students at the lecture and dance presentation at Middlesex County College in New Jersey. From left to right: Miles Firestine, Rigo Gutierrez, myself, Ben Lander, Elyse Gabel, and Shenne Dugtong 105

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