Jean Varenne (12 June 1926 – 12 July 1997) was a French Indologist and a prominent figure of the Nouvelle Droite. He taught Sanskrit at the Aix-Marseille University, then at Jean Moulin University Lyon 3, where he was eventually nominated professor emeritus. Varenne has also been a visiting professor at the University of Chicago, and at other universities in India, Cambodia and Mexico.[1]
Jean Varenne | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | 12 June 1926 Marseille, France |
| Died | 12 July 1997 (aged 71) Paris, France |
| Nationality | French |
| Occupation | Indologist |
Biography
editEarly life and education
editJean Varenne was born on 12 June 1926 in Marseille, Provence.[2][1] He attended Lycée Thiers, then Aix-Marseille University and the University of Paris, earning a PhD in Sanskrit studies at the École des Hautes Études. Varenne was a member of the French School of the Far East, and taught in India and Cambodia.[1]
In 1962, he received a teaching position at Aix-Marseille,[1] where he founded the Department of Indian Studies in the early 1960s.[3] Varenne also worked as a visiting professor at El Colegio de México and at the University of Chicago in the second part of the 1960s.[4][1]
Indology and political activism
editIn 1974, Varenne joined the patronage committee of Nouvelle École, a review published by GRECE, an ethno-nationalist think tank led by Alain de Benoist.[3] He quit his teaching position at Aix-Marseille in 1980,[1] and co-founded with Jean Haudry and Jean-Paul Allard the "Institute of Indo-European Studies" (IEIE) at the Jean Moulin University Lyon 3 the same year.[5] He was appointed professor of Sanskrit philology, Indian civilization and history of religions at Lyon 3 in 1981.[1][3] Varenne was also involved with the neo-fascist magazine Défense de l'Occident, led by Maurice Bardèche.[6]
During the 1980s, Varenne directed the series "Le Monde Indien" in the prestigious publishing house Les Belles Lettres, and he founded the Belles Lettres collection "Études Indo-Européennes" in 1987.[7] He served as the president of GRECE from 1984 to 1987,[3][8] and was also a member of the Institute of Formation of the Front National (FN) of Jean-Marie Le Pen.[9] In 1990, he was nominated to the "Scientific Council" of the FN.[10]
Later life and death
editAt the end of his life, Varenne was working on an Encyclopedic Dictionary of Religions; only articles on Hinduism were published at the time of his death on 12 July 1997.[1][2]
Works
edit- Mahâ-Nârâyana Upanisad, 2 vol., Paris, Éditions de Boccard (PICI), 1960.
- Mantra védiques dans le « Raurava-âgama », JA 250/2, pp 185–1987, 1962.
- Zarathushtra et la tradition mazdéenne, Paris, Seuil, 1962 [reed. 1977].
- Le Véda, ed. Planète, 1967, [reed. Les Deux Océans, 2003].
- Mythes et légendes, extraits des Brâhmanas, Paris, Gallimard, 1968.
- Grammaire du sanskrit, Paris, Presses Universitaires de France, 1971.
- Upanisads du Yoga, traduits du sanskrit et annotés, Paris, Gallimard, 1971.
- Le Yoga et la tradition hindoue, Paris, Denoël, 1971.
- Célébration de la Grande Déesse (Dévî-mâhâtmya), Paris, Les Belles Lettres, 1975.
- Sept Upanishads, Paris, Seuil, 227 p., 1981, ISBN 9782020058728.
- Cosmogonies Védiques, Milan, Archè Milano, 1981 [reed. Les Belles Lettres, 1982].
- (Dir. with Jean Herbert) Vocabulaire de l'hindouisme, Dervy, 1985.
- Aux Sources du Yoga, J. Renard, 1989.
- La Gîta- Govinda, Le Rocher, 1991.
- L'Enseignement secret de la divine Shakti, Grasset, 1995.
- Le Tantrisme : mythes, rites, métaphysique, Albin Michel, 1997.
- Zoroastre, le prophète de l'Iran, Dervy, 1996.
- (Dir. with Michel Delahoutre) Dictionnaire de l'hindouisme, Le Rocher, 2002.
References
edit- ^ a b c d e f g h Varenne, Hervé (4 April 1996). "Jean Varenne". Columbia University.
- ^ a b Varenne, Jean (1926-1997). Bibliothèque Nationale de France.
- ^ a b c d Rousso 2004, p. 61.
- ^ Muñoz, Adrián; Martino, Gabriel (2020). Historia mínima del Yoga. El Colegio de Mexico AC. ISBN 978-607-564-161-4.
- ^ Rousso 2004, p. 7.
- ^ Bertrand, Olivier (14 December 2000). "Les antinégationnistes frappent à Lyon-III". Libération.
- ^ Wieviorka, Michel (2013). Racisme et modernité. La Découverte. ISBN 978-2-7071-7608-0.
- ^ de Boissieu, Laurent (3 March 2019). "Groupement de Recherche et d'Études pour la Civilisation Européenne (GRECE)". France-Politique.
- ^ François 2005, p. 56.
- ^ Staff (30 March 1990). "La " force intellectuelle " du conseil scientifique". Le Monde.
Bibliography
edit- François, Stéphane (2008). Les néo-paganismes et la Nouvelle droite, 1980-2006: pour une autre approche (in French). Archè. ISBN 978-88-7252-287-5. (adapted from François (2005). Les paganismes de la Nouvelle Droite (1980-2004) (PhD thesis). Université du Droit et de la Santé - Lille II.)
- Rousso, Henry (2004). Rapport sur le racisme et le négationnisme à Lyon III (PDF) (Report). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2021-10-18. Retrieved 2020-06-26.