Abstract
This article studies the interplay between Siddha medicine and Santhigiri, a Hindu guru organization in South India. Based on insights gained through ethnographic research in Kerala and Tamil Nadu, it analyzes how Santhigiri fashions itself as an indispensable actor in the restoration of Siddha medicine and valorizes its current Siddha medical activities. The article examines the dynamics that facilitate Santhigiri’s patronage of Siddha medicine and contribute to its continuing participation in the Siddha medical system. This social formation is conceptualized through the Bourdieusian framework of capital, arguing that Santhigiri’s appropriation of Siddha medicine bestows symbolic capital upon the organization, enabling it to secure and maintain a favorable position in the field of Hindu guru organizations. Furthermore, the article shows how, by adopting Siddha medicine, a religious organization such as Santhigiri with the necessary structural and financial means and a reputation for transcending economic interests extends the distribution of Siddha medicine beyond the Tamil community. Thus, the article emphasizes the reciprocal relationship between a religious organization and a medical system, arguing for the explanatory potential of conceiving of medicine as effective capital for religious organizations and, vice versa, of religious organizations as actors shaping the realm of medicine in India.
Rageth, Nina