[INDOLOGY] Johannes Bronkhorst gone

[Ghanshyam Sharma]

Dear Colleagues,



Most of the obituary remarks shared on the Indology list have been composed
by scholars who have known Prof. Bronkhorst personally over the years. As
someone who never had the opportunity to meet him in person but was
nonetheless tremendously impacted by his kind advice, I would like to tell
my story.



I arrived at the University of Bologna in Italy a few decades ago as a
postdoctoral scholar at Umberto Eco's invitation. I was asked by Eco to
work on Ānandavardhana's Dhvanyāloka. Given my limited proficiency in
Italian *at the time* and Eco's inexperience with Sanskrit poetics, we
decided to put off our project until later, ideally with the assistance of
a Sanskrit poetics expert.



I thus sent Prof. Bronkhorst an email asking if he would be interested in
being involved in our study or if he could at least offer me some guidance.
About two weeks later, I was astonished to receive a two-page letter that
was exquisitely penned (I guess he was allergic to emails). Maybe since he
was getting close to retirement age, he suggested that I relocate to the US
or Canada instead, naming a few locations that I don't want to reveal now.
His kind guidance had a big impact on me, really!



The most unexpected act of his generosity, however, was his second letter,
which was exquisitely calligraphed and arrived two months later. In it, he
inquisitively asked how I was doing thus far. No matter what you do, you'll
agree that such actions have a lasting effect on one’s life.



Regretfully, the city of Doges, the Italian dolce vita, the adjacent
magnificent Italian Alps, and my Italian family members, all stood in the
way of my future scholastic endeavors across the Atlantic. Furthermore, I
would rather not leave the certainty of my life in Europe for the
uncertainty of starting a new life across the Atlantic, which has kept me
in Europe for many decades.



Bronkhorst was a lovely soul, really!



Ghanshyam Sharma

INALCO, Paris, France

On Sun, 18 May 2025 at 00:59, Sarbacker, Stuart via INDOLOGY <
indology at list.indology.info> wrote:

> Dear Colleagues,
>
> Thanks for sharing these many stories and reflections. My own academic
> journey was profoundly impacted when, early in graduate school, I was
> introduced to Bronkhorst’s *Two Traditions of Meditation in Ancient India*
>  and *Two Sources of Indian Asceticism.* These two works were critical
> factors in the determination of my academic trajectory and I’m profoundly
> grateful that they found their way to me at such an important turning point
> in my academic career. Johannes was always gracious in responding to
> emails—even from an aspiring graduate student--and I appreciated having the
> opportunity to engage with him periodically at the World Sanskrit
> Conference. His deep intellectual curiosity and willingness to forward big
> ideas has been, and will continue to be, an inspiration to me. Strangely
> enough, just before hearing the news of his passing the other day, I had
> been contemplating his work and legacy, and how I might more fully express
> my appreciation...
>
> Best Wishes,
> Stuart
> ___
> Stuart Ray Sarbacker
> Professor of Comparative Religion and Indian Philosophy
> School of History, Philosophy, and Religion
> Oregon State University
> http://liberalarts.oregonstate.edu/users/stuart-ray-sarbacker
> https://www.shin-ibs.edu/luce/sarbacker/
> https://oregonstate.academia.edu/StuartSarbacker
> http://www.sunypress.edu/p-6988-tracing-the-path-of-yoga.aspx
>
>
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>
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