Knut Axel Jacobsen is a Norwegian scholar of the history of religions and professor at the

University of Bergen The University of Bergen () is a public university, public research university in Bergen, Norway. As of 2021, the university had over 4,000 employees and 19,000 students. It was established by an act of parliament in 1946 consolidating several sci ...

. He is a member of the

Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters The Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters (, DNVA) is a learned society based in Oslo, Norway. Its purpose is to support the advancement of science and scholarship in Norway. History The Royal Frederick University in Christiania was establis ...

Career

He has a PhD from the

University of California, Santa Barbara The University of California, Santa Barbara (UC Santa Barbara or UCSB) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Santa Barbara County, California, United States. Tracing its roots back to 1891 as an ...

(1994), and has been professor at the University of Bergen since 1996. Jacobsen's areas of teaching include

Hindu Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...

traditions,

Sikhism Sikhism is an Indian religion and Indian philosophy, philosophy that originated in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent around the end of the 15th century CE. It is one of the most recently founded major religious groups, major religio ...

Jainism Jainism ( ), also known as Jain Dharma, is an Indian religions, Indian religion whose three main pillars are nonviolence (), asceticism (), and a rejection of all simplistic and one-sided views of truth and reality (). Jainism traces its s ...

Indian Buddhism Buddhism is an ancient Indian religion, which arose in and around the ancient Kingdom of Magadha (now Bihar, India). It is based on the teachings of Gautama Buddha, who lived in the 6th or 5th century BCE and was deemed a "Buddha" or an ...

and

Indian philosophy Indian philosophy consists of philosophical traditions of the Indian subcontinent. The philosophies are often called darśana meaning, "to see" or "looking at." Ānvīkṣikī means “critical inquiry” or “investigation." Unlike darśan ...

Research

Jacobsen's main areas of research include

Sāṃkhya Samkhya or Sankhya (; ) is a Dualism (Indian philosophy), dualistic Āstika and nāstika, orthodox school of Hindu philosophy. It views reality as composed of two independent principles, ''purusha, Puruṣa'' ('consciousness' or spirit) and ''P ...

Yoga Yoga (UK: , US: ; 'yoga' ; ) is a group of physical, mental, and spiritual practices or disciplines that originated with its own philosophy in ancient India, aimed at controlling body and mind to attain various salvation goals, as pra ...

, Pilgrimage in South Asia, and South Asian religions and migration. He is the founding editor and editor-in-chief of the six volume Brill's Encyclopedia of Hinduism (2009–2015) and editor-in-chief of the Brill's Encyclopedia of Hinduism Online. He is the author or editor of more than 30 books, in Norwegian and English.

Writings

Selected Writings in English include: *1999 ''Prakṛti in Sāṃkhya-Yoga: Material Principle, Religious Experience, Ethical Implications''. New York: Peter Lang *2004 ''South Asians in the diaspora: histories and religious traditions''. (with P. Pratap Kumar). Leiden: Brill. *2005 ''Theory and Practice of Yoga: Essays in Honour of Gerald James Larson''. Leiden: Brill. *2008 '' Kapila: Founder of Sāṃkhya and Avatāra of Viṣṇu''. New Delhi: Munshiram Manoharlal. *2008 ''South Asian Religions on Display: Religious Processions in South Asia and in the Diaspora''. London: Routledge. *2008 ''South Asian Christian Diaspora: Invisible Diaspora in Europe and North America''. (with Selva J. Raj). Farnham: Ashgate. *2009 ''Modern Indian Culture and Society''. 4 vols. London: Routledge. *2009 ''Brill's Encyclopedia of Hinduism. Volume One: Regions, Pilgrimage, Deities''. Leiden: Brill 2009. *2010 ''Brill's Encyclopedia of Hinduism. Volume Two: Sacred Languages, Ritual Traditions, Arts, Concepts''. Leiden: Brill. *2011 ''Sikhs in Europe: Migration, Identity and Transnational Practices''. (with Kristina Myrvold). Farnham: Ashgate. *2011 ''Brill's Encyclopedia of Hinduism. Volume Three: Society, Religious Professionals, Religious Communities, Philosophies''. Leiden: Brill. *2012 ''Yoga Powers: Extraordinary Capacities Attained Through Meditation and Concentration''. Leiden: Brill. *2012 ''Brill's Encyclopedia of Hinduism. Volume Four. Historical Perspectives, Poets/Teachers/Saints, Relation to Other Religions and Traditions, Hinduism and Contemporary Issues''. Leiden: Brill. *2012 ''Sikhs Across Borders''. (with Kristina Myrvold). London: Bloomsbury. *2013 ''Pilgrimage in the Hindu Tradition: Salvific Space''. Abingdon: Routledge. *2013 ''Brill's Encyclopedia of Hinduism. Volume Five: Symbolism, Diaspora, Modern Groups and Teachers''. Leiden: Brill. *2015 ''Brill's Encyclopedia of Hinduism. Volume Six: Indices''. Leiden: Brill. *2015 ''Objects of Worship in South Asian Religions'' (co-edited with Mikael Aktor og Kristina Myrvold). Abingdon: Routledge. *2015 ''Young Sikhs in a Global World''. (with Kristina Myrvold). Farnham: Ashgate. *2016 ''Routledge Handbook of Contemporary India''. Abingdon: Routledge.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jacobsen, Knut Living people Religion academics Indologists Academic staff of the University of Bergen Members of the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters Year of birth missing (living people)