Paper short abstract:

This paper studies the mediating of the tradition in transnational space. It focuses upon the use of new media and examines the new developments pertaining to ritual and sacred space in the Radhasoami movement in the USA.

Paper long abstract:

The Radhasoami is a reform movement that originates in India at the end of the nineteenth-century. It challenges and transcends orthodox Hinduism by rejecting the caste system and endorsing women's education. This paper studies the mediating of the tradition in transnational space, specifically in the USA. It focuses upon the use of new media and examines the new developments pertaining to ritual and sacred space in the Radhasoami movement in the USA. In my discussion, I consider several aspects of the globalization of the Radhasoami movement in North America and its complex links with South Asian religion. I inquire whether the new ritual space and practice provide an alternate "modernity" to that shaped by the West and whether this contributes to the building of new structures and spaces of thinking, being and believing. I first discuss the major teachings of Radhasoami and then proceed to discuss modifications of the ritual practice in North America. My methodology pertains to both textual analysis of religious texts in Hindi and qualitative approach based on participant research and unstructured interviews with members of the community.