Ravi M. Gupta, also known as Radhika Ramana Dasa (), is a notable

Vaishnava Vaishnavism ( sa, वैष्णवसम्प्रदायः, Vaiṣṇavasampradāyaḥ) is one of the major Hindu denominations along with Shaivism, Shaktism, and Smartism. It is also called Vishnuism since it considers Vishnu as the ...

scholar, author, and editor. Gupta holds the Charles Redd Chair of Religious Studies at

Utah State University Utah State University (USU or Utah State) is a public land-grant research university in Logan, Utah. It is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities. With nearly 20,000 students living on or near campus, USU is Utah ...

, and serves as director of its Religious Studies program. He is a member of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness.

Early life and education

In Boise, Idaho, he was raised and

home-schooled Homeschooling or home schooling, also known as home education or elective home education (EHE), is the education of school-aged children at home or a variety of places other than a school. Usually conducted by a parent, tutor, or an onlin ...

along with his younger brother with a curriculum based mostly on the ''Srimad Bhagavatam'' (''

Bhagavata Purana The ''Bhagavata Purana'' ( sa, भागवतपुराण; ), also known as the ''Srimad Bhagavatam'', ''Srimad Bhagavata Mahapurana'' or simply ''Bhagavata'', is one of Hinduism's eighteen great Puranas (''Mahapuranas''). Composed in S ...

''), from which he learned English, comprehension skills, critical thinking, debate, and communication. He also took maths and science as separate subjects, as well as

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...

, which he loved. At the age of thirteen he enrolled at the

Boise State University Boise State University (BSU) is a Public university, public research university in Boise, Idaho. Founded in 1932 by the Episcopal Church (United States), Episcopal Church, it became an independent junior college in 1934 and has been awarding ...

, and in 1999 when he was seventeen he received a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four year ...

in Philosophy and a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University o ...

Applied Mathematics Applied mathematics is the application of mathematical methods by different fields such as physics, engineering, medicine, biology, finance, business, computer science, and industry. Thus, applied mathematics is a combination of mathemati ...

as well as the University's highest honor, the Silver Medallion. He recalls, He enrolled at the

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

at the age of seventeen, their youngest student ever,OCHS alumni
Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies and in 2000 he received a

Master of Studies The Master of Studies or Master in Studies (M.St. or MSt; ) is a postgraduate degree at the University of Oxford, University of Cambridge, University of St Andrews, the Australian National University, University of Dublin and the University of N ...

(MSt) in the Study of Religion. In 2004, he received a

Doctor of Philosophy A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is ...

(DPhil) in

Hinduism Hinduism () is an Indian religion or '' dharma'', a religious and universal order or way of life by which followers abide. As a religion, it is the world's third-largest, with over 1.2–1.35 billion followers, or 15–16% of the global p ...

from the

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

. At the age of twenty-two, he became the youngest-ever student to gain a doctorate at the world-famous University. His thesis focused on the early development of

Vedanta ''Vedanta'' (; sa, वेदान्त, ), also ''Uttara Mīmāṃsā'', is one of the six (''āstika'') schools of Hindu philosophy. Literally meaning "end of the Vedas", Vedanta reflects ideas that emerged from, or were aligned with, t ...

philosophy in the Chaitanya Vaishnava tradition, based on original manuscript sources.

Career

In addition to his work at Utah State, Gupta has taught at the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida, traces its origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its ...

Centre College Centre College is a private liberal arts college in Danville, Kentucky. It is an undergraduate college with an enrollment of approximately 1,400 students. Centre was officially chartered by the Kentucky General Assembly in 1819. The college is a ...

, and the

College of William & Mary The College of William & Mary (officially The College of William and Mary in Virginia, abbreviated as William & Mary, W&M) is a public research university in Williamsburg, Virginia. Founded in 1693 by letters patent issued by King William I ...

. Gupta holds the Charles Redd Chair of Religious Studies and serves as director of the Religious Studies Program at

, and was a visiting scholar at the

Maxwell Institute The Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship, or Maxwell Institute, is a research institute at Brigham Young University (BYU). Made up of faculty and visiting scholars who study religion (primarily the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter- ...

during fall 2020. He is a permanent

research fellow A research fellow is an academic research position at a university or a similar research institution, usually for academic staff or faculty members. A research fellow may act either as an independent investigator or under the supervision of a pr ...

of the

Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies The Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies, founded in 1997, is a recognised independent centre of the University of Oxford, England. It develops academic programmes of education, research and publishing in Hindu studies. It aims to encourage the Hindu ...

and a past president of the Society for Hindu-Christian Studies. His research areas are

world religions World religions is a category used in the study of religion to demarcate the five—and in some cases more—largest and most internationally widespread religious movements. Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam are always includ ...

, and religious studies (theory and method). His research interests include the '' Bhagavata Purana's''

commentaries,

bhakti traditions, interreligious dialogue, and the relationship between faith, scholarship, religion and ecology.

Selected publications

Books * * * *

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gupta, Ravi M. Boise State University alumni Alumni of the University of Oxford Fellows of Linacre College, Oxford American people of Indian descent People from Boise, Idaho College of William & Mary faculty Centre College faculty American Hare Krishnas Bhaktivedanta College Living people Hindu studies scholars Academics of the Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies Year of birth missing (living people)