About the Podcast:
- If God is everywhere, why can’t God be in an image?
- How permeable have the boundaries between Hindu philosophy and Islamic thought truly been? What was lost when we hardened them?
- Can the language of religion answer questions that the language of science cannot even ask?
In this episode, we explore the dynamic intersections between Hindu and Islamic thought with Dr Ankur Barua of Cambridge University. Drawing from his acclaimed book The Hindu Self and Its Muslim Neighbours, Dr Barua navigates us through the shared devotional languages of Bhakti and Sufi traditions, revealing how figures like Kabir, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, and Mirabai inhabited spaces of “creative ambiguity” that transcended rigid religious boundaries.
We begin with Dr Barua’s journey from quantum physics to metaphysics, with a transition sparked not just by intellectual curiosity, but also by a deep sensitivity towards suffering. From there, we examine how revelation functions in Hindu traditions compared to Abrahamic faiths, challenge the stereotype of polytheism by exploring monotheism in Hindu philosophical thought, and unpack the theology behind what is often dismissed as “idol worship.” We also trace the colonial constructions that hardened Hindu-Muslim divisions into the rigid categories we inherit today.
As we delve deeper into the concept of religious humanism, a third space between demonisation and romanticisation of Hindu-Muslim relations, Dr Barua, who describes himself as “a philosopher among theologians,” shares his ongoing struggle with a question that has shaped his life: can we ever find an answer to suffering that satisfies both the heart and the mind? This episode invites us to think beyond stereotypes and uncover the profound resonances and honest tensions between two of the world’s great spiritual traditions.
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Learn More About Our Guest:
Dr Ankur Barua is a Senior Lecturer in Hindu Studies at the Faculty of Divinity, University of Cambridge. His research explores Vedāntic Hindu philosophical theology, Indo-Islamic sociality, and comparative philosophy of religion. In recent years, his focus has shifted to the intersections among bhakti, yoga, tawḥīd, and taṣawwuf across South Asian landscapes. Barua’s work is distinguished by its philosophical rigour and its sensitivity to the lived experiences of religious communities navigating questions of identity, belonging, and transcendence.
Read More of His Insights:
- Barua, A. (2022) The Hindu Self and Its Muslim Neighbors. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/hindu-self-and-its-muslim-neighbors-9781793642592/
- Barua, A. (2021) ‘Images of the Unimaginable God’, Renovatio: The Journal of Zaytuna College. Available at: https://renovatio.zaytuna.edu/article/images-of-the-unimaginable-god
- Barua, A. and Khalid, H. (2020) ‘The Feminization of Love and the Indwelling of God: Theological Investigations Across Indic Contexts’, Religions, 11(8), 414. Available at: https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/11/8/414
