WENDY DONIGER Ancient Indian Philosophy & Narrative NEW Dates: Sat, May 10 & Sun, May 18, 2008 Time: 3-5:30pm Each session: $30 Both sessions: $50 ($25 each) Location: Moksha Riverwest Printable Flyer

NEW DATE Sat, May 10, 3-5:30 pm
Mythology of Dreams

The ancient Indian texts respect dreams as an early stage on the path to a deeper consciousness of reality. They tell us about shared dreams, predictive dreams, transformative dreams. This rich mythology gives a narrative basis to the philosophy of illusion and opens up a world that bursts the constraints of normal Indian social life. We will explore these stories together and test them against our own dreams.

NEW DATE Sun, May 18, 3-5:30 pm
Karma – What is it, how does it work, how do we temper it?
Karma has many meanings--action, ritual action, action that clings to the transmigrating soul. Some Hindus believe that one should try to amass as much good karma [and as little bad karma] as possible; other Hindus believe that there is no such thing as good karma, that one should live in such a way as to amass no karma at all. What can we learn from these ideas for our own lives?

Wendy Doniger (O'Flaherty) graduated from Radcliffe College, June 1962 (summa cum laude) in Sanskrit and Indian Studies. She received her Ph.D. in Sanskrit and Indian Studies from Harvard University in June 1968, and her D.Phil. in Oriental Studies from Oxford University in February 1973. Having taught at the School of Oriental and African Studies at the University of London and at the University of California at Berkeley, she has been a full professor in the Divinity School at the University of Chicago since 1978 and, since 1986, the Mircea Eliade Distinguished Service Professor of the History of Religions. She has published many translations of Sanskrit texts as well as books about Hindu mythology and cross-cultural mythology, particularly about illusion, animals, gender, and sex.