Research

I received my Ph.D. from the University of Cambridge in 2023. My research specialization is Vedānta, one of the most influential schools of Hindu thought. I am particularly interested in putting Vedānta into dialogue with important contemporary scholarly debates, and thus, my research has a heavy comparative focus.

My biggest research project thus far has been my doctoral dissertation. I have revised this dissertation into a monograph titled A Hindu Response to the Problem of Evil: A Caitanya Vaiṣṇava Theodicy. This monograph presents the most comprehensive scholarly response to the problem of evil from a Hindu perspective in recent years and addresses a wide variety of issues found within the literature on the problem of evil. I submitted this monograph to Oxford University Press and have received favorable reviewer reports. I am currently revising this monograph in light of reviewer suggestions.

I have also written papers on other topics pertaining to Vedānta and my dissertation research. Some notable papers are as follows.

1. "A Cross-Cultural Perspective on God's Personhood." Religious Studies 61: 37-54. 2025. Download.

In this paper, I discuss the topic of God's personhood and present an argument for personal theism that is applicable across various religious traditions.

2. "A Close Examination of Beginningless Karman and Vedāntic First Causes." Sophia 63 (Special Edition on Indian Traditions): 497-512. 2024. Download.

In this paper, I argue for various interpretations of the concept of beginningless karman, including those that do not entail an actual infinite or an infinite regress. I also examine the extent to which these various interpretations are compatible with different formulations of the cosmological argument for God's existence.

3. "Caste and Devotion: A Casteless Framework for (Some) Forms of Hindu Devotionalism." Journal of Religious Ethics 50: 623-644. 2023. Link.

In this paper, I argue that there is there is a societal framework that does not maintain the caste system but which is consistent with the soteriological vision of important Hindu devotional texts and can be implemented in lieu of such a system.

4. "The Alchemy of Suffering in the Laboratory of the World: Vedāntic Hindu Engagements with the Affliction of Animals." (With Ankur Barua) Religious Studies 59: S82-S95. 2023. Link.

In this paper, we examine Vedāntic perspectives on why animals suffer and draw on these to respond to the problem of animal suffering, a variant of the problem of evil.

5. "The Bhāgavata Purāṇa and the Problem of Evil." Philosophy East and West 73: 66-81. 2023. Download.

In this paper, I draw on the insights of the Bhāgavata Purāṇa, a highly influential Hindu text, in order to respond to the problem of evil.

6. "Are There De Jure Objections to Mādhvic Belief." Religious Studies 58: 732-744. Link.

In this paper, I bring the religious epistemology of the Vedāntic thinker Madhva into dialogue with the religious epistemology of the Christian philosopher Alvin Plantinga.

For a full list of my publications, or to request specific publications, you can email me: akshayg95(at)yahoo.com