The Challenges of Researching Digital Hinduism: Guru Authority and a New Theology of the Internet
The lecture focuses on selected areas of digital Hinduism as seen through the activities of guru-godman Swami Nithyananda, a self-proclaimed “Pontiff of Hinduism,” miracle worker, and alleged incarnation of the god Śiva. A fugitive from Indian law, hiding since 2019 in an undisclosed location, Nithyananda has become an internet guru par excellence with a powerful and enduring presence in all digital social media. Although active only on the web, he still manages to maintain an ever growing following and continues to successfully style himself as a universal guru and leader of the global “Hindu nation” named Kailasa. Using the activities of the Swami as a case in point, the lecture delves into selected areas of digital religion studies, tackling philosophical, methodological, and case specific questions. It starts by establishing an ontological perspective by analyzing the historical relationship between the online and offline using contrasting theories of the theology and materiality of the internet. Then, it tackles the methodology of researching digital Hinduism using the popular paradigm of “third space” which allows us to grasp the interconnectedness of online and offline. The media strategies for building religious authority are scrutinized next, with Nithyananda and his community providing many examples of aggressive campaigns to legitimize the authority of the guru through online darśan, seva, hagiographic discourse, systems of yoga and spiritual coaching based on pseudoscientific claims, etc. The lecture is concluded by envisioning a future of digital Hinduism with some of Nityananda’s innovations as prospective templates for other gurus. Will an intimate guru–śiṣya (disciple) relationship still be possible with the physical absence of a guru? Is AI software trained in the sacred scriptures the future of Hinduism? Will it make physical gurus obsolete or, contrarily, provide them with digital immortality, thus initiating a new theology of the internet?
Dr Jarosław Zapart – Assistant Professor at the Institute of Comparative Studies of Civilisations, Jagiellonian University, Kraków. Working in the field of Indian and Buddhist studies, with current research efforts focused on the Hindi Sants and North Indian Bhakti, Hinduism in digital media, and early thought and history of Mahāyāna Buddhism.
