Embodied Philosophy

The tradition of the Divine Feminine offers a vast vision and wide-ranging potential application for critical, contemporary, eco-social challenges.

We will explore the traditions, texts, and teachings of this rare theological path of the Divine Feminine, which still remains globally extant as a major branch of Hindu spiritual life.

The tradition of Shakti/Mahādevī offers a multidimensional theological ethos that integrates transcendence and immanence, the masculine and feminine, life and liberation, dynamic creativity and contemplative tranquility, and the intuitive and empirical dimensions of experience.

Demonstrate a sound understanding of the identifiable characteristics of the Philosophical Theology of the Great Goddess.
Recognize the foundational doctrines that flow through all of Shakta theology.
Analyze the ways in which a psychology of emotions is used to evoke devotional love in the mysticism of Shakta Bhakti (devotional theology).
Describe how the autumn festival of the Great Goddess known as Durga Puja presents the Divine Feminine through beauty, arts, and sacred sound.
Discuss the unusual genre of “Narrative Theology” of her most famous canonical text, and how it uses both exciting mythology & sophisticated philosophy to both experience and understand the Divine Feminine.
Apply acquired knowledge, ideas, insights, and principles to contemporary concerns— ecological, ethical, and relational.

"I have studied through many established and well renowned yoga platforms, both academic and traditional based ones! This was one of the best workshops I ever attended not least because it was a praxis based one! Rameshji got the balance between scholarly analysis and traditionally based transmission just right and therefore was very engaging! This is the way forward for yoga platforms! We don’t necessarily just want to absorb knowledge but to know how to implement it in our everyday lives through practice! Rameshji was able to deliver this splendidly and I hope he is invited back to do more!" – Vishal Nehra

Dr. Rita D. Sherma is Founding Director and Associate Professor at the Graduate Theological Union’s Center for Dharma Studies in Berkeley, California. She is Core Doctoral Faculty; and Co-Chair of Sustainability 360 at GTU. She holds an MA in Religion, and a PhD in Theology & Ethics from Claremont Graduate University, CA. She is the founding Vice President of DANAM (Dharma Academy of North America)—an eminent scholarly society for research on Hindu, Jain, and Buddhist religion, philosophy, and culture. Dr. Sherma has published eight books including Contemplative Studies and Hinduism: Meditation, Devotion, Prayer & Worship (2020), Swami Vivekananda: His Life, Legacy, & Liberative Ethics; Woman & Goddess in Hinduism; and numerous academic articles. Her forthcoming book (2023) is Radical Divine Immanence: A Hindu Ecological, Liberation Theology of the Goddess, Mahadevi.