Below You will find some of my presentations, classes and interviews as audio or video. I hope You will find them interesting.
Video
Audio
On the road in India (February-March, 2020)
These last few weeks have seen a busy me in a more-than-busy India. From Mayapur (in West Bengal, where I met and spoke with Dr. Vallabhbhai Kathiria—see previous Latest News post), next stop was Delhi, for a week of presenting ‘Cow Care in Hindu Animal Ethics’ at various ISKCON temples and to a few significant folks. Among the latter, Dr. Bibek Debroy kindly gave time to receive a copy of the book. He was keen to give suggestions who else to meet and where I might give presentations. Aside from his high central Indian government advisory position, Dr. Debroy is an accomplished translator of Sanskrit literature to English, so we also discussed his translating work.
A six-hour drive to Chandigarh brought me to a last-minute-arranged but very hospitable group of scholars at Punjab University, for a small but quite formal (Indian-style!) book launch. The upshot of this event was that the University officials have recommended that all of its circa 190 subsidiary colleges purchase a copy of ‘Cow Care’.
Next stop: Pune, in the highlands of Maharashtra, where I was happy to meet our friend Prof. Shrikant Bahulkar at the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute. Upon handing my book to Prof. Bahulkar, he showed his scholarly nature by immediately going to the book’s index where, he explained to me, he was checking to see whether I had included discussion about the controversy over whether cows were sacrificed and their meat was eaten in ancient India. Yes, this is discussed in Chapter 3. As it turns out, Prof. Bahulkar has done extensive research on this subject, so it will be interesting to see whether he considers that I treat the subject properly, in the book review he has promised for the Journal of Hindu Studies.
Interview with Dr. Vallabhbhai Kathiria, Chairman of the Rashtriya Kamdhenu Aayog, Government of India
The interview was conducted in Sri Mayapura, West Bengal, by Dr Kenneth R. Valpey on February 10, 2020
Pioneering Book on Cow Care in India
OXFORD, UK, February 6, 2020 by: EINPresswire.com
Dr Keneth Valpey publishes a pioneering book on the history, philosophy, and ethical status of the cow in India.This is a path-breaking book that deserves to be widely read … Original and thought-provoking, this book will open up new venues for discussion and reflection regarding cow care.”— Mary Evelyn Tucker, Yale University, USA
Factory farming – specifically the beef industry – is considered one of the main contributors to climate change, prompting many activists and conscientious citizens to rethink their consumption of beef and dairy entirely. But what if there was a more considerate way to interact with cows – one that met the needs of both humans and the planet? Kenneth Valpey’s Cow Care in Hindu Animal Ethics examines how the welfare of human civilization is inextricably linked to the care and protection of the cow.
The book begins with a fascinating journey through India’s oldest texts in search of early references to the cow and its relation to human society – from the Rigveda to the Bhagavata Purana to medieval bhakti poetry. From there, Valpey reviews ideas of prominent modern Indian thinkers, providing a penetrating glimpse into the country’s current cow care practices.
In the book’s most philosophical chapter, Valpey proposes an animal ethic that combines Western ethics-of-care and environmental thinking with India’s traditions of: dharma (the sense of duty toward all living beings), yoga (the fostering of virtues such as non-violence, culminating in liberation), and bhakti (the channelling of one’s devotion toward the supreme, leading to a deep sense of relationality with all creatures).
Drawing upon a rich blend of cultural studies, intellectual history, and original fieldwork, Valpey suggests the need for practical action to develop models of sustainable cow care communities – action energized by knowledge, inspiration, and the vision of a future society in which cows are protected, not slain.
“This is a path-breaking book that deserves to be widely read. Valpey expands our understanding of animal ethics and complexifies our notion of devotion. Original and thought-provoking, this book will open up new venues for discussion and reflection regarding cow care.”
—Mary Evelyn Tucker, Yale Forum on Religion and Ecology, Yale University, USA
Dr Kenneth R. Valpey is a research fellow of the Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies and a fellow of the Oxford Centre for Animal Ethics, UK. Besides Hindu animal ethics, he has published on Vaishnava Hindu temple worship traditions and on India’s enduring favourite of bhakti literature, the Bhāgavata Purāṇa.
To purchase a hard copy or download the book for free through Open Access, see here. Also available at other online book outlets.
Contact: Divya Alter, +1 313-909-2800
Contact@kennthvalpey.com
Series: The Palgrave Macmillan Animal Ethics Series
Src: https://www.einnews.com/pr_news/509071305/pioneering-book-on-cow-care-in-india
On the road in India (February-March, 2020)
/in Cow care project, Projects and activities, UncategorizedThese last few weeks have seen a busy me in a more-than-busy India. From Mayapur (in West Bengal, where I met and spoke with Dr. Vallabhbhai Kathiria—see previous Latest News post), next stop was Delhi, for a week of presenting ‘Cow Care in Hindu Animal Ethics’ at various ISKCON temples and to a few significant folks. Among the latter, Dr. Bibek Debroy kindly gave time to receive a copy of the book. He was keen to give suggestions who else to meet and where I might give presentations. Aside from his high central Indian government advisory position, Dr. Debroy is an accomplished translator of Sanskrit literature to English, so we also discussed his translating work.
A six-hour drive to Chandigarh brought me to a last-minute-arranged but very hospitable group of scholars at Punjab University, for a small but quite formal (Indian-style!) book launch. The upshot of this event was that the University officials have recommended that all of its circa 190 subsidiary colleges purchase a copy of ‘Cow Care’.
Next stop: Pune, in the highlands of Maharashtra, where I was happy to meet our friend Prof. Shrikant Bahulkar at the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute. Upon handing my book to Prof. Bahulkar, he showed his scholarly nature by immediately going to the book’s index where, he explained to me, he was checking to see whether I had included discussion about the controversy over whether cows were sacrificed and their meat was eaten in ancient India. Yes, this is discussed in Chapter 3. As it turns out, Prof. Bahulkar has done extensive research on this subject, so it will be interesting to see whether he considers that I treat the subject properly, in the book review he has promised for the Journal of Hindu Studies.
Interview with Dr. Vallabhbhai Kathiria, Chairman of the Rashtriya Kamdhenu Aayog, Government of India
/in Cow care project, Press, VideoThe interview was conducted in Sri Mayapura, West Bengal, by Dr Kenneth R. Valpey on February 10, 2020
Pioneering Book on Cow Care in India
/in Cow care project, PressOXFORD, UK, February 6, 2020 by: EINPresswire.com
Dr Keneth Valpey publishes a pioneering book on the history, philosophy, and ethical status of the cow in India.This is a path-breaking book that deserves to be widely read … Original and thought-provoking, this book will open up new venues for discussion and reflection regarding cow care.”— Mary Evelyn Tucker, Yale University, USA
Factory farming – specifically the beef industry – is considered one of the main contributors to climate change, prompting many activists and conscientious citizens to rethink their consumption of beef and dairy entirely. But what if there was a more considerate way to interact with cows – one that met the needs of both humans and the planet? Kenneth Valpey’s Cow Care in Hindu Animal Ethics examines how the welfare of human civilization is inextricably linked to the care and protection of the cow.
The book begins with a fascinating journey through India’s oldest texts in search of early references to the cow and its relation to human society – from the Rigveda to the Bhagavata Purana to medieval bhakti poetry. From there, Valpey reviews ideas of prominent modern Indian thinkers, providing a penetrating glimpse into the country’s current cow care practices.
In the book’s most philosophical chapter, Valpey proposes an animal ethic that combines Western ethics-of-care and environmental thinking with India’s traditions of: dharma (the sense of duty toward all living beings), yoga (the fostering of virtues such as non-violence, culminating in liberation), and bhakti (the channelling of one’s devotion toward the supreme, leading to a deep sense of relationality with all creatures).
Drawing upon a rich blend of cultural studies, intellectual history, and original fieldwork, Valpey suggests the need for practical action to develop models of sustainable cow care communities – action energized by knowledge, inspiration, and the vision of a future society in which cows are protected, not slain.
Dr Kenneth R. Valpey is a research fellow of the Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies and a fellow of the Oxford Centre for Animal Ethics, UK. Besides Hindu animal ethics, he has published on Vaishnava Hindu temple worship traditions and on India’s enduring favourite of bhakti literature, the Bhāgavata Purāṇa.
To purchase a hard copy or download the book for free through Open Access, see here. Also available at other online book outlets.
Contact: Divya Alter, +1 313-909-2800
Contact@kennthvalpey.com
Series: The Palgrave Macmillan Animal Ethics Series
Src: https://www.einnews.com/pr_news/509071305/pioneering-book-on-cow-care-in-india