8. Affectual Insight

David L. Haberman is Professor and former Chair in the Department of Religious Studies at Indiana University Bloomington. He holds a PhD in History of Religions from the University of Chicago. Although he has studied and taught a great variety of religious traditions, he specializes in Hinduism and has spent many years conducting ethnographic and textual research in India. He also teaches courses on religion, ecology, and environmentalism. His recent work focuses on the worshipful interaction with natural forms of divinity in India, such as rivers, trees, stones, and mountains. Much of Haberman's work has centered on the culture of Braj, an active pilgrimage site in northern India long associated with Krishna and known for its lively temple festivals, performative traditions, and literary creations. His publications include Acting as a Way of Salvation: A Study of Raganuga Bhakti Sadhana (1984), Journey Through the Twelve Forests: An Encounter with Krishna (1994), The Bhaktirasamritasindhu of Rupa Gosvamin (2003), River of Love in an Age of Pollution: The Yamuna River of Northern India (2006), and People Trees: Worship of Trees in Northern India (2013). He is currently working on a new book, provisionally titled 'Loving Stones: Making the Impossible Possible in the Worship of Mount Govardhan'.