Faculty Directory

Graham M. Schweig, PhD

Distinguished Teaching & Research Fellow

Other Faculty
(757) 881-9166

Dr. Schweig is Distinguished Teaching and Research Faculty at the Center for Dharma Studies. Schweig earned the master’s degree in religious studies at University of Chicago Divinity School, a master’s of theological studies in history of religions and a master’s of theology in comparative religion from Harvard University Divinity School, and earned his doctorate in comparative religion from Harvard. Schweig joined the faculty of Christopher Newport University (CNU) in the fall of 2000. Prior to coming to CNU, he was a teaching fellow at Harvard University, lecturer at University of North Carolina and Duke University, and while teaching at CNU, he was for two years, Visiting Associate Professor of Sanskrit at the University of Virginia. He has been recognized several times for excellence in teaching, including CNU's annual Alumni Faculty Award for Teaching and Mentoring (2013), and has delivered over three dozen invited lectures at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC for over fourteen years. He has also given lectures widely in the US and in Europe, and has been invited to be a consultant on doctoral dissertation committees or a doctoral dissertation examiner in the US, Europe, India, and Australia. He has conducted yoga workshops, offered seminars and given lectures around the US and Europe for well over 20 years. In addition to his academic endeavors, Dr. Schweig has been a student of many traditional teachers of yoga, and is recognized by Yoga Alliance at the highest level of E-RYT 500 and YACEP. He has travelled to India thirteen times, once for a year on a Smithsonian Institution funded grant, and has been a practitioner of traditional and heart-centered yoga for over 50 years.

Degrees and Certifications

Ph D in Comparative Religion, Harvard University

ThM in Religion, Harvard University

MTS in Religion, Harvard University

MA in Religion, University of Chicago

BA in Interdisciplinary Studies, American University

Research and Teaching Interests
  • Hinduism and the Religions of India
  • Yoga Philosophy and Sacred Sanskrit Literature
  • Love Mysticisms
  • Comparative Religion and Theology
  • Translation of classical Sanskrit poetic and Sutra texts with commentary
  • Interreligious theological connections, especially between Hindu Bhakti and Catholic mystical traditions
  • Interfaith dialogue
  • Hindu and Christian Comparative theology
  • Religious pluralism
Academic Committees and Boards

Senior Editor, Journal of Vaishnava Studies. 

 

Selected Publications
  • Bhagavad Gītā Concordance: A Comprehensive Word Reference with English and Sanskrit Indexes, Columbia University Press, 2024.
  • A Living Theology of Krishna Bhakti: Essential Teachings of A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Oxford University Press, 2012.
  • Bhagavad Gītā: The Beloved Lord's Secret Love Song, Harper Collins, 2010.
  • Dance of Divine Love: The Rāsa Līlā of Krishna from the Bhāgavata Purāṇa, India's Classic Sacred Love Story, Princeton University Press, 2005.
Research
  • Hinduism and the Religions of India
  • Yoga Philosophy and Sacred Sanskrit Literature
  • Love Mysticisms
  • Comparative Religion and Theology
  • Interfaith Dialogue
Courses Taught
  • The Gita: Secret Song of Love
  • Yoga: Psychology & Philosophy