By IANS,
Brussels : Arguing that India is still inspired by Bhakti or devotional songs, a renowned Belgian professor has appealed for more work in the field.
“We cannot overestimate the impact of Bhakti songs on modern India,” Winand Callewaert said while speaking at a ceremony at the Indian embassy here Friday evening. The event was organised to launch his “Dictionary of Bhakti”.
The dictionary in three large volumes is a translation of North-Indian Bhakti (Religious and Devotional) texts into Hindi (Khari Boli) and English, EuAsiaNews reported Saturday.
Callewaert, who holds degrees in Hindi and Sanskrit literature from Ranchi University and a Ph.D. from Leuven University (Belgium), currently teaches Sanskrit and Hinduism at the Catholic University of Leuven.
The professor has been studying and working in India since 1965.
The practice of Bhakti (devotion) emphasises devotion above ritual. Bhakti movement in medieval India is responsible for the many rites and rituals associated with the worship of God by Hindus, Muslims and Sikhs.
Jemini Bhagwati, Indian envoy to Belgium, hailed the work by Callewaert and said the dictionary was “a truly exceptional work by a person who grew up in the West and spent so many years in India to learn Sanskrit and complete the work”.
Willy Vande Walle, professor of Japanese studies at the university, in his speech noted that the largest number of students of Sanskrit outside India is in Japan.
Tillo Detige who has just graduated from the Indology department of Ghent University explained that there were two main motives which attracted students in Belgium to Indian studies.
One is the academic motive related with Indian politics, culture, language etc., and the second is the spiritual motive linked to the rich culture of philosophy and religion in India.