Reimagining Theological Education in an Interreligious Setting: A Hindu Perspective

Hindu sacred scriptures are a rich interweave of cosmological revelation that is embedded in melopoeia (melodic poetry) and sung in designated meters during rituals, liturgical services, festivals, and personal prayers. Revelation is conveyed through enigmatic dialogues, debates, parables, anecdotes, legends, and narratives. These occur between mendicants and saints, kings and mystics, and sometimes fables that include the natural world. These narrative accounts appeal to the young and the old and influence the body–mind–sense complex. A growing body of evidence attests to the positive effects of music and storytelling in the classroom setting. Drawing from these data and Hindu understandings of sacred mantric sound and storytelling, I discuss my experiments with musical frameworks and storytelling in my classes at the Graduate Theological Union, the Jesuit School of Theology of Santa Clara University, and Starr King School for the Ministry in California. I contend that the incorporation of parables, tales, legends, and narratives within a musical melodic framework, as is used in Hindu texts, is an effective means of imparting Hindu–Christian theological education.