Archives: Team Members

Layne teaches Hinduism, Buddhism, Esoterism, and Religion and Popular Culture at U.C. Berkeley and at California State University: Sacramento. He wrote the “Hinduism” and “Buddhism” chapters in Oxford University Press’ newest world religions textbook, Invitation to World Religions. He is co-author of OUP’s Invitation to Western Religions and Invitation to Asian Religions. In addition, he has published numerous articles on Śaiva Siddhānta, Tamiḻ Literature, and Siddha Tantrism.

Guy L. Beck is a scholar, author, musician, educator, historian of religions, and musicologist. A Fulbright-Nehru Senior Research Fellow and Visiting Fellow at the Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies (Oxford University, UK), he is Lecturer in Philosophy, Religious Studies and Asian Studies at Tulane University, and Adjunct Professor of Religious Studies at Loyola University New Orleans. Guy Beck is the first to publish a comprehensive study of the nature and function of sacred sound (Nada-Brahman) in the Hindu religion. He has created the first college textbook on music in the major world religions and is the first American to perform vocal music in an all-India conference of Hindustani classical music. Prof. Beck has produced the first and most complete collection of field recordings, translations, and annotations of the hymns and religious songs of the Radhavallabha Sampradaya, a Vaishnava or Krishna sect based in Vrindavan in northern India. His most recent publication is Musicology of Religion: Theories, Methods, and Directions (SUNY Press, 2023).

Nick is the Director – and the heart and soul – of the OCHS Continuing Education Department. He is a dedicated teacher with decades of experience in making sometimes-confusing traditions relevant. He has created over a dozen online courses and is working on many more. He has written translations and commentary on Bhagavad Gītā and the Yoga Sūtra. Nick received his Phd from Lancaster University (1995). His thesis was on the religious teachings of the Mahabharata.

Gitte has a Masters in Religious Studies from Aarhus University, Denmark but has completed most of her studies in Varanasi, India, and as a visiting student at the Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies. Gitte’s focus is on Yoga, Tantra, and Sanskrit. She is also a dedicated practitioner of āsana and prāṇāyāma. She manages the OCHS Kathmandu Office where she oversees the daily operation and focuses on Nepali and Newari language as well as Śākta traditions among the Newar community of The Kathmandu Valley.