European Encounter with Hinduism in India

Dr. Jan Peter Schouten (1949) studied theology and sociology in Amsterdam and Utrecht. He is a retired minister of the Protestant Church in the Netherlands. He has published monographs and articles on Hinduism, including Jesus as Guru(Brill/Rodopi, 2008).

The European Encounter with Hinduism in India is a masterful reflection on Western visitors to India from Marco Polo on, and then too on the colonial era missionary encounters with Hindu texts, practices, and believers. Sensitive to political as well as religious issues, Schouten introduces a wide range of materials very ably, and at every point offers insights into the views and strategies of missionary scholars and educated colonial officials. Readers are prompted to take a new and long view on how the West discovered India, and inevitably to reassess our current political, cultural and religious reactions to the great traditions of Hindu India. - Francis X. Clooney, SJ, Professor of Comparative Theology, Harvard University.In the history of European contact with India, Roberto de Nobili takes pride of place. This Jesuit was a towering figure; he learned Sanskrit, studied the Veda’s, and wore Brahmin dress (described in rich detail in this book). By doing so, he tried to reach the highest caste in India and started telling the story of the ‘fifth Veda’, the gospel. He created a dilemma for the Christian churches by accepting the caste system (that still exists until today, even though it is perhaps less influential than several centuries ago). The Christian churches in India struggled to integrate Indian culture into their Christian liturgy. They rightly argued that in the guise of Christian mission, colonialism dictated Western habits and should therefore not be seen as universally binding. The Protestant missionaries in India, were convinced of the idolatrous nature of Hinduism. But even they were forced to acknowledge Indian culture as a valid incentive for the Churches in India. As an expert in Hinduism and Christian theology, Jan Peter Schouten is the perfect author to write about the confrontation between Europe and India. - Marcel Poorthuis, Professor of Interreligious Dialogue, Tilburg University.

• Acknowledgements IXList of Illustrations XIIntroduction 1A Functioning Temple 2A Long History of Encounter 3The Prehistory of Dialogue 4Terminological Relativisation 1The First Visitors: Marco Polo and the Franciscan Friars 1Beyond Byzantium2The Mongol Advance3Marco Polo4People with Dog’s Heads5A Strange Culture6A Separate Caste7The Friars Speak8Odoric9Another Civilisation in View2Knowledge is Power: Nicolò de’ Conti and Jan Huygen van Linschoten 1Traders Make their Way to India2A Penitent Apostate3A Corporate Spy in Action4A Humanistic Work5Feasts6Shocking Religious Phenomena7A Dutchman in a Portuguese City8Caste Hierarchy9Religious Customs and Religious Faith10Monotheism11An Unknown World3A Foreign Culture Baptised: The Jesuits Roberto de Nobili and Thomas Stephens 1Travels to Asia2Jesuits in Mission3A Promising Young Man4In the Capital5A Christian Sannyāsī6De Nobili’s Appeal for Brahmins7Opposition from the Church8Local Customs9Conversion and Accomodatio10Affinity with Hinduism?11Caste as a Stumbling Block12De Nobili as an Example?13Thomas Stephens in Goa14The Purāṇa4Dutch Ministers in the VOC: Rogerius and Baldaeus 1The Oldest Manual2Pastor and Missionary3Rogerius’ Career in the East4Study on Hinduism5Sources6An Honest Report7The Structure of the Book8An Appealing Book9Baldaeus and Mythology10Sources11Refutation12Other Ministers5A Pietistic Preacher in Danish Territory: Bartholomäus Ziegenbalg 1A Danish Undertaking2Pietistic Germans3Preaching in Tamil4Sources of Language and Religion5The “Malabar Correspondence”6On the Path to Salvation?7Systematic Work6A Disappointed Missionary: Abbé Dubois 1Reading for the Curious2A Costly Manuscript3Missionaries in Turbulent Times4A Hindu among the Hindus5Mission Impossible?6A Manual7Inclusion of the Lower Castes8Contamination9Reincarnation7British Government Officials: John Muir and Nascent Indology 1The East Indian Company2An Influential Translation3A Learned Society4The Serampore Trio5‘Little Britain’ in a Foreign Society6The Christian Faith Disseminated7Writing in Sanskrit8Divine Properties9Hindus Respond to the Challenge10Other Research into Hinduism8The Image of the East in the West: Nineteenth- century British India in Fiction and Travel Reports 1Romantic Orientalism2The First Detective Novel3Emily Eden: A Lady Travelling in a Strange Land4Mary Carpenter: A Visitor in Search of Renewal5D.C. Steyn Parvé: Fear of Rebellion in the Colonies6Willam Urwick: A Reflective Tour7A Princely Picture of India: Prince Bojidar9Missionaries from Switzerland: The Basel Mission in South India 1A Minister Honoured2On the Road in a Mission Field3A New Beginning4Church in India—An Indian Church?5Mapping a Language6Examining the Liṅgāyats7In Search of a Point of Contact8An Exceptional French Swiss9Back in Europe10To America11The Brahmanical Culture12Pantheism and the Vedas10Reflections 1A Fascinating Country2Wondrous Phenomena3A Major Stumbling Block4Minor Stumbling Blocks5Languages6A Broad Interest7Another Religious Structure and Culture8Idols and Monotheism9Plurality and Colourfulness10Nascent DialogueBibliography Glossary Index of Names