The Practice of Hinduism in Contemporary Life / Anantanand Rambachan

How does a Hindu life take shape across continents, monasteries, interfaith dialogue, and movements for justice?

Anantanand Rambachan traces his journey from Trinidad and Tobago—descended from indentured laborers—to three formative years in a Hindu monastery in India, and into academic theology and global interreligious engagement. Along the way, encounters with Christian social ethics, apartheid resistance, and decades-long interfaith friendships reshaped his understanding of Hinduism.

From Advaita’s theology of “not two” to Gandhi’s Satyagraha and ahimsa, this lecture explores how religion can justify injustice—or become a moral force against it. At stake is a vision of life as an “insoluble unity,” where faith, politics, economics, and ethics cannot be compartmentalized.

Highlights

“I was not born in India. I was born in the Caribbean in Trinidad and, and Tobago.”

“It was the most important experience, formative experience in my life.”

“I never… talked about religion and justice.”

“I think of myself… as a critical lover of my tradition.”

“Life is one… life also is an insoluble unity.”

Heritage, Indenture, and Hindu Formation

• Born in Trinidad and Tobago, descended from indentured laborers from India.
• Family served as Hindu ritual specialists after plantation labor.
• Raised in a “very… orthodox Hindu home.”

Monastic Life in India

• Joined a Hindu monastery in the early 1970s for three years.
• Pre-dawn worship, Sanskrit study, temple rituals, ascetic discipline.
• “It was the most important experience, formative experience in my life.”
• Insisted on freedom: “You must allow me not to make any commitment.”

Academic Study and Interreligious Learning

• Studied sociology and psychology of religion, Christian theology, Islamic mysticism.
• Asked where Hindu textual study “fit in the world of scholarship.”
• Monastic devotion and academic critique remain in “deep tension.”

Religion and Justice

• First exposure to “Religious resources for a Just society.”
• “I never… talked about religion and justice.”
• Christian social ethics raised questions about caste and hierarchy.
• Led to a systematic Hindu Theology of Liberation.

Apartheid and the Moral Voice of Faith

• Attended a secret interfaith meeting against apartheid in 1984.
• Heard Oliver Tambo’s call to use religion’s moral authority.
• Reflected on how religion can justify injustice—or resist it.

Interfaith Friendship

• Decades-long friendships across Christian, Muslim, and Buddhist traditions.
• “How much less of a human being I would be” without them.
• Describes himself as a “critical lover of my tradition.”

Advaita and Non-Dualism

• Advaita means “not two.”
• Rejects simplistic language of either “one” or “two.”
• Gandhi identified with non-dualism and the unity of Brahman.
• “Life is one… life also is an insoluble unity.”
• Politics, economics, and religion cannot be compartmentalized.

Satyagraha and Ahimsa

• Gandhi rejected the term “passive resistance.”
• Coined Satyagraha: truth-resistance.
• Truth (Satya) and nonviolence inseparable.
• To hurt another is to hurt oneself.

Jain Influence and Radical Nonviolence

• Jainism’s radical ahimsa deeply influenced Gandhi.
• Extreme care for insects, diet, and all forms of life.
• Gandhi’s nonviolence was exceptional within broader Hindu debates.

Hindu Moral Obligation and Life Stages

• Four stages of life: student, householder, forest-dweller, renunciate (sannyasa).
• Ethical duties differ by stage.
• Gandhi brought monastic ethics into public, political life.

About Anantanand Rambachan

Anantanand Rambachan is a Hindu scholar and practitioner born in Trinidad and Tobago. Descended from indentured laborers, he pursued monastic study in India before undertaking academic study in the United Kingdom. His work engages Advaita Vedanta, interreligious dialogue, Hindu ethics, and justice, including a systematic Hindu Theology of Liberation.

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