Binita Mehta

I am a doctoral student focusing on Advaita Vedanta, Kashmiri non-dual Shaiva thought and Madhyamika Buddhism. My interests are in the intersection of science and religion, and the study of religion from an existential-phenomenological perspective. My research project consists of analyzing religion, in particular mystical experiences, in terms of the structure of human consciousness, where I shall draw upon the findings stemming from fields like psychlogy, cognitive science, physics and philosophy of mind. The fundamental question that I raise is whether mystical states tap into a fundamental human psycho-physiological structure. My previous degrees are a master's in physics and mathmatics (Moscow State University, Russia) and a master's in linguistics (Yale University). Extensive coursework in philosophy has instilled in me a desire to bring Indian philosophy into conversation with Plato, Neo-Platonism and other strands of Western mystical thought, and possibly Continental thinkers of Heideggerian legacy.