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Klaus KlostermaierGerman-Canadian religious scholar and Indologist, Professor Emeritus
Date of Birth: 14.06.1933
Country:  Canada |
Content:
- Education and Early Life
- Theological Studies
- Indian Studies and Doctorates
- Academic Career
- Research Interests and Publications
- - A Survey of Hinduism (1996)
Education and Early Life
Klaus Klostermaier was born in Munich, Bavaria, on June 14, 1933. He graduated from Gymnasium in Freising with a gold medal in 1952 and entered the Collegium Germanicum et Hungaricum, a German-language seminary in Rome for Roman Catholic priests.
Theological Studies
From 1952 to 1955, Klostermaier studied philosophy at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome, receiving a Bachelor's degree in 1954. He also obtained a licentiate in philosophy and wrote a thesis on the Bonum as the formal object of the will and the ultimate end of man.
From 1955 to 1960, he studied theology, comparative religion, and ethnology at the Sankt Gabriel Institute of Philosophy and Theology in Mödling, Austria. He earned a Bachelor's degree in theology and comparative religion, submitting a dissertation on salvation in Buddhism and Christianity.
Indian Studies and Doctorates
In 1960, Klostermaier returned to the Pontifical Gregorian University, where he completed his doctoral thesis on modern Hinduism and the social reorganization of India, receiving a doctorate in philosophy in 1961.
In 1962, he traveled to India to study Indian philosophy at the Institute of Oriental Philosophy in Vrindavan, founded and directed by Swami Bon. During this period, he met Bhaktivedanta Swami, with whom he shared an apartment block.
From 1964 to 1969, Klostermaier pursued studies in ancient Indian history and culture at the University of Bombay. He submitted his second doctoral dissertation on Moksa: Mythologies and Philosophies of Salvation in the Theistic Traditions of India, earning a Doctor of Philosophy degree in 1969.
Academic Career
In 1970, Klostermaier relocated to Canada and became a professor in the Department of Religious Studies at the University of Manitoba. He was promoted to full professor in 1977, and from 1986 to 1997, he served as head of the department. From 1990 to 1995, he also directed the university's Centre for Asian Studies.
In 1998, Klostermaier was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, the oldest association of scholars in Canada. During 1997-1998, he served as Director of Research at the Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies. He retired from the University of Manitoba in 1999 as Emeritus Professor.
Research Interests and Publications
Klostermaier's research interests primarily focus on Indian religions, the relationship between science and religion, and interfaith dialogue. He has published 12 monographs and over 100 scholarly articles, including:
- The Nature of the Supreme Reality: Brahma in the Rig Veda and the Bhagavad Gita (1990)
- A Survey of Hinduism (1996)
- Hinduism and Nature (2007)- The Sacred and the Secular in India: A Comparative Study of Hinduism and Jainism (2009)
