VIDYĀ PUSHPAM

Dr. Pravina Rodrigues holds a PhD in Theology and Ethics from the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, California, USA. Dr. Rodrigues is initiated in a Shakta Bhakti tradition called Shuddha Vidya Tattva. She is Adjunct Faculty at Starr King School for the Ministry, Oakland, CA, and postdoctoral fellow at the Jesuit School of Theology of Santa Clara University, Berkeley, CA (2021, 2022). She is Newhall Teaching Fellow (2017, 2018, 2020) and Interreligious Collaborative Research Fellow (2019). She is Assistant Editor for the Journal of Dharma Studies (Springer) and Associate Editor of a thirty four-chapter volume at the intersection of ecology and religion titled Religion & Sustainability: Interreligious Resources, Interdisciplinary Responses (Springer 2022). Her publication A Śākta Method for Comparative Theology: Upside Down, Inside Out (Lexington Press, 2023), offers a Hindu perspective on comparative theology, theology of religions, and interreligious dialogue. Dr. Rodrigues has received her Masters in Comparative Theology from the Jesuit School of Theology of Santa Clara University, BA in Sociology from SNDT Women’s University, Mumbai, and Bachelors of Theology from St. Pius X College, Mumbai. Her research interests include postcolonial and decolonial studies, Hindu-Christian comparative theology, interfaith theology, comparative mysticism. Her journey and initiation into Shakta beliefs and practices inspired her to create Vidya Pushpam.