“The Apocalypse as a Cosmotheandric Communion: A Hindu-Christian Dialogue” – An Interview with Shruti Dixit

As part of interfaith week, we are interviewing a number of people connected with Practical Theology Hub about their work on interfaith dialogue. In this interview we ask former member of our editorial team, Shruti Dixit, about Hindu-Christian dialogue and her recently published paper, “The Apocalypse as a Cosmotheandric Communion: A Hindu-Christian Dialogue.“

Tell us about yourself.

I am currently a second-year doctoral researcher at the Centre for the Study of Religion and Politics, School of Divinity, University of St Andrews, researching the plausibility of a Hindu-Christian dialogue based on the notion of end times. Due to my strong belief in impactful research, I am involved in multiple interfaith projects. Along with being the Interfaith Representative of the St Andrews Sikh Society, I am a part of Interfaith Scotland National Youth Advisory Board, and coordinator of ‘Network of Hinduism in Dialogue,’ an upcoming network of scholars affiliated with the Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies. I am the podcast host of Indian Religions at the New Books Network, fellow of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland (FRAS) and have also acted as the Topic Editor for Hinduism for Practical Theology Hub. Moreover, being a fellow of the Royal Society for Arts (FRSA), I am planning a series of interfaith change making initiatives in India.

At the heart of your recent paper is the topic of Hindu-Christian dialogue. For those among our readership who are unfamiliar with the topic, could you tell us a little about the history and current state of Hindu-Christian relations?

Christianity can be traced back in India to around 3^rd century even though it is often associated with the arrival of missions and colonialism. If we look at the history of Hindu-Christian relations specifically in India, there has been a rich amalgamation of cultures and mutual enrichment of both Hindus and Christians by sharing the same space. The tensions between them can only be attributed to the missionary efforts of conversion, resulting in violence against Christians, that Hindus usually deemed as an act of self-defense. One of the other major reasons that led to the strained relationship was the link that was drawn between Christianity and globalization. In the present times, there still exists a dual nature of relationship between the two. For instance during the pandemic, while on the one hand acts of charity and care overpowered any differences in society, on the other hand, minority Christians in small villages did face the issue of unequal access to healthcare and facilities. Furthermore, Hindu nationalism has also been perceived as a huge factor behind Hindu-Christian violence nowadays.

What is the core argument of your paper?

The paper “The Apocalypse as a Cosmotheandric Communion: A Hindu-Christian Dialogue” recently published in the MDPI journal Religions, imagines the COVID-19 pandemic as an apocalypse, a revelation. I argue that the apocalyptic event reveals the cosmotheandric nature of reality, in return highlighting the importance and possibility of an interfaith dialogue. The paper juxtaposes the apocalyptic theologies in Hinduism and Christianity in the intercultural context of India to interpret how both yearn for solidarity, hope, and communion, that can only be achieved through dialogue. I interpret Raimon Panikkar’s cosmotheandrism as an appropriate notion to understand how Hindus and Christians can have a dialogue amidst the acting apocalypse. The realization that everything that exists constitutes the cosmic, human, and divine elements, is bound to change how one perceives the reality and how one acts with respect to the other. The pandemic/apocalypse acts as this cosmotheandric communion wherein this conception of reality is uncovered.

The paper posits “Apocalypse” as a theme around which Hindus and Christians can enter dialogue. Why do you take the apocalypse as your point of departure?

One cannot deny the amount of scholarly attention that the term “apocalypse” has recently received with the advent of the pandemic. While the term is primarily associated with the Christian Book of Revelation, the general understanding of the term has been reduced to that of a cataclysmic destruction. The spread of COVID-19, the incurable disease, and the number of deaths that followed, led to many parallels been drawn between the current global scenario and the supposed final event of the world. Somewhere in these comparisons, not much consideration was given to the situation of pandemic as a revelation of something larger than what was visible. The paper tries to understand the apocalypse along those lines.

The paper situated the necessity for interfaith dialogue within the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. Why is this context so important for present and future efforts to engage in Hindu-Christian dialogue in India and the world?

If we look at the historical records, it is quite clear that all pandemics carried along with them a wave of hatred, discrimination, and multiple other conflicts. It is due to these reasons that I believe that interfaith dialogue is more essential when the world is going through a global shift. The pandemic did not affect one but all. Therefore, it is necessary to realize that only dialogue could be helpful in dealing with the presumptions and prejudices that accompany any crisis. This does not only hold true for the present scenario but also for any situation in general. Dialogue is inevitable. And thinking of peace without dialogue in conflicting situations is near to impossible. I believe it is due to the pandemic that many of us were able to reflect upon our actions and the ongoing happenings around the world. This reflection has and will prove as a change making factor in the coming years, especially when it comes to interfaith dialogue. Although this paper just deals with Hindu-Christian dialogue, the arguments it present can be extended to understand the inescapability of dialogue all over the world.

Cosmotheandrism is a central concept employed by the paper and something taken from the work of Raimon Panikkar. Could you explain the concept and its relevance to interfaith dialogue?

Cosmotheandrism was introduced by Panikkar as a non-religious term and hence I believe it is appropriate for interfaith contexts. According to Panikkar, everything is cosmotheandric in the sense that it constitutes the divine, the human, and the earthly elements. These elements together make up the reality. They cannot be said to exist without being in relation to one another. Therefore, it can be deduced that all beings are cosmotheandric in nature and hence one cannot be interpreted as being entirely unrelated to another. A divine connection exists among all. In addition to this, it is this idea of reality as a harmonious whole that can be used to facilitate a dialogue among people.

What do you expect to be the future of your research in this area?

I am currently working on my doctoral project trying to generate a metaphysical dialogue between Hindus and Christians at the end times. I believe the future of my research in this area extends further to interpret the understanding of the term “apocalypse” in Hindu tradition and juxtaposing it with the various Christian understandings. I am hopeful that my upcoming publications will be an extension of some of the arguments presented in this paper.

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© Practical Theology Hub and Shruti Dixit, 2022.

This work is licensed under Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0).

Cover Image: “Holy Week @ Santhome Basilica, Chennai (HDR)” by VinothChandar is licensed under CC BY 2.0.