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| Title: | Guru on the Air : Televised Hinduism in Contmeporary India |
| Authors: | Upadhyay, Surya Praksh |
| Keywords: | Hinduism
Asaram Bapu |
| Issue Date: | 2007 |
| Publisher: | Unpublished |
| Abstract: | The project proposes to look at the instrumentality of audio-visual
media in the construction and maintenance of the religio-spiritual world
in contemporary Hinduism and in the mobilization of people towards
“tele-gurus”. The project attempts to look into a recent and interesting
addition in the religious sphere, especially in present-day Hinduism,
catered to the people by cable television in the urban spaces. It looks
at a new-age guru named Asharam Bapu, and at the phenomenon of media
playing a vital part in the growth of his organization, in increasing
the numbers of followers and devotees, and in propagation as well as
spread of religiosity and spirituality among people. There are several
gurus and also several devotional channels that are highly influential
in urban spaces, transmitting their programmes through television and
providing an opportunity for people to listen and watch their favorite
guru. It is a matter of great interest and investigation to find out the
relationship between religion and media and consequently, its various
implications for society.
The media ecology, through its various inputs, compositely works for
their organizational development. Audio-visual aids such as audio
cassettes, MP3, VCDs, DVDs, websites play a major role, but print media
also plays a lasting role in such religious mobilization processes.
However, if audio aids help in making a long distance contact and visual
aids help in transcendence of physicality and facilitate darsan of these
gurus before their followers, it is print media that, through booklets
and printed material, helps in internalizing the subjects. The
visualization of gurus on television gives a sense of attachment and
shortens the spatial distance between the guru and his devotee. On the
one hand, the televised transmission of religious and spiritual
discourses gives a feeling of personal advice and guidance to the
devotee (when watching alone); on the other hand when the same thing
occurs at the ashram or at some congregation it gives a feeling of group
lecture and sense of live sermon in a congregation. This development in
the media sector has filled the gap of physical absence of guru and
communication between him and his followers.
The aim of the research is to give a ‘thick description’ of the whole
phenomenon. The proposed research is a qualitative and interpretative.
The methods that would be applied to collect data will be interviews
with the devotees of the guru. Also a questionnaire will be executed to
collect more and varied information. The literature, printed and
electronic both, will be analyzed following the content analysis method.
Also, focused group discussion would be performed through participation
in satsangs and other meetings of the group. A few interviews of the
cable networks will also be performed. |
| Description: | Call No - 297.2UPAD FS-139.
Accession No . FS - 139.
Dated - 10-04-2008 |
| URI: | http://hdl.handle.net/123456789/376 |
| Appears in Collections: | Independent Research Report (R)
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