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<p>This article draws upon recent ethnographic research with the Vishnu Sahasranam Prayer Group UK (VSPG) in West London. It argues that despite the potential negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on post-lockdown in-person gathering, devotional participation has far exceeded expectations of a return to face-to-face communal religious activity for the VSPG. Key to this is the experience of the presence of the deities Lakṣmī-Nārāyaṇa as they negotiate and move freely though physical and digital realms during the recitation of the thousand names of Viṣṇu known as the <i>Viṣṇusahasranām.</i> The article locates its contention in recent scholarly discussions framed by Veronica della Dora, Nicole Karapanagiotis, Robert. A. Orsi, and Heinz Scheifinger. It focuses upon three key aspects: the creation of multiple “infrasecular” spaces; innovative use of digital media; and the direct experience of the presence of Lakṣmī-Nārāyaṇa before, during, and after lockdown. These three aspects converge to illustrate how one Hindu community in the UK has maintained a sense of identity and coherence during periods of extreme social anxiety and, in the process, transformed itself from a localized prayer group into a diasporic religious phenomenon.</p>

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Govind-19: Presence, Innovation, and Continuity among UK Gujarati Hindus during and after COVID-19 Lockdown

  • 期刊论文

  • 发表日期：

    2025年10月13日

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  • Martin Wood

摘要

This article draws upon recent ethnographic research with the Vishnu Sahasranam Prayer Group UK (VSPG) in West London. It argues that despite the potential negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on post-lockdown in-person gathering, devotional participation has far exceeded expectations of a return to face-to-face communal religious activity for the VSPG. Key to this is the experience of the presence of the deities Lakṣmī-Nārāyaṇa as they negotiate and move freely though physical and digital realms during the recitation of the thousand names of Viṣṇu known as the Viṣṇusahasranām. The article locates its contention in recent scholarly discussions framed by Veronica della Dora, Nicole Karapanagiotis, Robert. A. Orsi, and Heinz Scheifinger. It focuses upon three key aspects: the creation of multiple “infrasecular” spaces; innovative use of digital media; and the direct experience of the presence of Lakṣmī-Nārāyaṇa before, during, and after lockdown. These three aspects converge to illustrate how one Hindu community in the UK has maintained a sense of identity and coherence during periods of extreme social anxiety and, in the process, transformed itself from a localized prayer group into a diasporic religious phenomenon.