Hinduism Books

Book SynopsisIn recent years maṇḍalas have attracted much interest among a wider public. The main focus of such interest has been directed toward Tibetan maṇḍalas, specimens of which have been included in numerous publications. But maṇḍalas are found across a wide spectrum of South Asian religious traditions, including those of the Hindus and Jains. Hindu maṇḍalas and yantras have hardly been researched. This book attempts to fill this gap by clarifying important aspects of maṇḍalas and yantras in specific Hindu traditions through investigations by renowned specialists in the field. Its chapters explore maṇḍalas and yantras in the Smārta, Pāñcarātra, Śaiva and Śākta traditions. An essay on the vāstupuruṣamaṇḍala and its relationship to architecture is also included. With 13 colour plates.Trade Review"This ecxellent volume presents in depth articles on maṇḍalas and yantras by several leading scholars on this topic…" – Frederick M. Smith, in: Religious Studies Review, 2004 "An outstanding sholarly work." – Georg Feuerstein, in: Traditional Yoga Studies Interactive, 2005 "Un ouvrage à la fois érudit, technique et accessible…" – Jérôme Rousse-Lacordaire, in: Revue des Sciences Philosophiques et Théologiques, 2005

Read more less

Book SynopsisThis book studies the early development of Skanda-Kārttikeya’s Hindu cult from its earliest textual and material sources to the end of the Gupta Empire in the north of India. The text argues that Skanda’s early ‘popular’ cult is found in Graha and Mātṛ traditions oriented towards appeasing potentially dangerous spirits. Once propitiated, however, Skanda and his Grahas/ Mātṛs could become fierce protectors of their followers. During the Kuṣāṇa and Gupta empires, this tradition gains the attention of rulers, who transform the deity’s protective cult into one focused on the ruler’s military prowess and right to rule. Once detached from his former popular traditions the deity’s cult begins to falter in the north as it becomes increasingly focused on elite agendas.

Read more less

Book SynopsisIn Hindu Gods in West Africa, Wuaku offers an account of the histories, beliefs and practices of the Hindu Monastery of Africa and the Radha Govinda Temple, two Hindu Temples in Ghana. Using historical material and data from his field work in southern Ghana, Wuaku shows how these two Hindu Temples build their traditions on popular Ghanaian religious notions about the powerful magicality of India's Hindu gods. He explores how Ghanaian soldiers who served in the colonial armies in India, Sri Lanka, and Burma during World War II, Bollywood films, and local magicians, have contributed to the production and the spreading of these cultural ideas. He argues that while Ghanaian worshippers appropriated and deployed the alien Hindu religious world through their own cultural ideas,as they engage Hindu beliefs and rituals in negotiating challenges their own worldviews would change considerably.Trade Review"Wuaku provides fresh insight into the intellectual debates at work in Ghanaian religious activities...This highly original study deserves a wide audience and will surely influence ongoing debates and new research about Africa’s dynamic religious landscape and African-Asian interactions." Shobana Shankar, Stony Brook University, USA, Journal of Religion in Africa 45 (2015)

Read more less

Book SynopsisIn Herrschergenealogie und religiöses Patronat, Annette Schmiedchen analyses some 250 inscriptions from the time of the early medieval royal dynasties of the Rāṣṭrakūṭas, Śilāhāras, and Yādavas, who reigned in central India from the 8th to the 13th centuries. The information derived from copper-plate charters and stone inscriptions primarily consists of genealogies of the ruling kings as well as of data regarding their religious foundations and endowments and the donations of other members of society. Annette Schmiedchen shows how genealogical accounts were modified to legitimize individual claims to power, and she convincingly proves that the 10th and 11th centuries were a period of religious change, which witnessed a shift in patronage patterns and a closer link between Vedic Brahmanism and Hindu temple worship.

Read more less

Book SynopsisThis book explores historical and cultural aspects of modern and contemporary Bengal through the performance-centred study of a particular repertoire: the songs of the saint-composer Bhaba Pagla (1902-1984), who is particularly revered among Baul and Fakir singers. The author shows how songs, if examined as 'sacred scriptures', represent multi-dimensional texts for the study of South Asian religions. Revealing how previous studies about Bauls mirror the history of folkloristics in Bengal, this book presents sacred songs as a precious symbolic capital for a marginalized community of dislocated and unorthodox Hindus, who consider the practice of singing in itself an integral part of the path towards self-realization.Trade Review“Lorea’s research provides some interesting new perspectives to approach the bāul-sphere. Her extensive knowledge of relevant critical theoretical concepts and her frequent dialogue with those is as applaudable as her honest confusions regarding Bhaba’s religious identity and his probable association with different religious groups.” Ratul Ghosh, Cooch Behar, Folklore, Religion and the Songs of a Bengali Madman 116(2), 2021

Read more less

Book SynopsisIn Clothing as Devotion in Contemporary Hinduism, Urmila Mohan explores the materiality and visuality of cloth and clothing as devotional media in contemporary Hinduism. Drawing upon ethnographic research into the global missionizing group “International Society for Krishna Consciousness” (ISKCON), she studies translocal spaces of worship, service, education, and daily life in the group’s headquarters in Mayapur and other parts of India. Focusing on the actions and values of deity dressmaking, devotee clothing and paraphernalia, Mohan shows how activities, such as embroidery and chanting, can be understood as techniques of spirituality, reverence, allegiance—and she proposes the new term “efficacious intimacy” to help understand these complex processes. The monograph brings theoretical advances in Anglo-European material culture and material religion studies into a conversation with South Asian anthropology, sociology, art history, and religion. Ultimately, it demonstrates how embodied interactions as well as representations shape ISKCON’s practitioners as devout subjects, while connecting them with the divine and the wider community.Table of ContentsClothing as Devotion in Contemporary Hinduism  Urmila Mohan  Abstract  Keywords  1 Introduction: Why Cloth and Clothing?  2 Deity Worship and Darshan  3 ISKCON as Translocal Hindu Group  4 Multi-sensorial Worship Experience  5 Clothing the Deities: Toward an ISKCON Style  6 Embroidery as Devotional Practice  7 Values in the Classroom and Beyond  8 Circulation of Images and Imagery  9 Dressing for the Deities  10 Chanting as Devotional Technique  11 Conclusion: Clothing as Efficacious Intimacy  References

Read more less

Book SynopsisThis Reader aims to help students start reading original Sanskrit literature. When we study ancient languages, there often is quite a gap between introductory, grammar-based classes and independent reading of original texts. This Reader bridges that gap by offering complete grammar and vocabulary notes for 40 entertaining, thought-provoking or simply beautiful passages from Sanskrit narrative and epic, as well as over 130 subhāṣitas (epigrams). These readings are complemented by review sections on syntax, word formation and compounding, a 900-word study vocabulary, complete transliterations and literal translations of all readings, as well as supplementary online resources. The Reader can be used for self-study and in a classroom, both to accompany introductory Sanskrit courses and to succeed them.Table of ContentsAcknowledgements Read Me! A Brief Introduction You Won’t Want to Miss How to Do More With Words: Building Up Your Sanskrit Vocabulary Beginning to Read Sanskrit: Some Practical Tips for English Speakers Annotations and Abbreviations The Readings 1 Hitopadeśa, or Supportive Advice  a The Dog, the Donkey and the Thief (2.2)  b The Lion, Mouse and Cat (2.3)  c The Clever Woman and the Bell (2.4)  d The Clever Woman with Two Lovers (2.6)  e The Lion and the Old Hare (2.8)  f The Elephant, the Hares and the Moon (3.3)  g The Blue Jackal (3.7)  h The Sage and the Mouse (4.5)  i The Old Crane and the Crab (4.6)  j The Brahmin and the Pots (4.7)  k The Two Demons (4.8)  l The Brahmin and the Three Crooks (4.9) 2 Vikramacarita, or Vikrama’s Deeds  a I Volunteer as Tribute (Story 8)  b Eight Jewels from Eight Goddesses (Story 21)  c King Vikrama in His Element (Story 22)  d Don’t Believe Everything You See (Story 30) 3 Rāmāyaṇa, or Rāma’s Journey  a The Beauty of the Night (1. 33.14–18)  b A Perfect Leader (2.1.15–28)  c A Land Without Leadership (2.61.8–23)  d Jābāli the Materialist on the Meaning of Life (2.100.1–17)  e Sītā Cautions Rāma on the Handling of Weapons (3.8.1–12, 20–29)  f Rāma Asks Nature If It Has Seen Sītā (3.58.1–22, 31–34)  g The Ascetic Śabarī (3.70.4–27)  h The Hermitage of the Seven Sages (4.13.12–27)  i Tārā Counsels Her Husband Vālin (4.15.7–23)  j Tārā Laments Her Husband Vālin (4. 20.12–17)  k The Rainy Season (4.27.2–46)  l Svayaṃprabhā’s Cave (4.49.12–52.13)  m Hanumān Learns about His Immaculate Conception (4.65.8–28)  n How Should I Address Sītā? (5.28.3–44) 4 Kathāsaritsāgara, or Ocean of Rivers of Stories  a Śiva Explains the Significance of Skulls (1.2.10–15)  b Brahmadatta and the Golden Swans (1.3.27–34)  c Pāṇini (1.4.20–25)  d Hand with Five Fingers, Hand with Two Fingers (1.5.8–12)  e Why the Fish Laughed (1.5.14–25)  f King Śibi Sacrifices Himself (1.7.88–97)  g How the Bṛhatkathā Came to Earth (1.8.1–38)  h Ahalyā: Bilingual and Clever (3.3.137–147)  i Buddhist Merchant, Hindu Son (6.1.11–54)  j The Brahmin and the Outcaste (6.1.123–133)  k The Seven Princesses: King Kaliṅgadatta Is Told a Story within a Story within a Story (6.2.9–45)  l Tapodatta Tries to Replace Study with Penance (7.6.13–24)  m Should You Turn a Mouse into a Girl? (10.6.125–135)  n Once You’ve Tasted the Good Stuff … (10.6.178–185)  o Guard the Door! (10.6.209–211) 5 Bṛhatkathāślokasaṃgraha, or Verse Summary of the Great Story 6 Subhāṣitas, or Epigrams Appendix 1: Roman Transliteration of All Texts Appendix 2: Literal Translations of All Texts Appendix 3: Study Vocabulary

Read more less

Book SynopsisReading Śiva is an illustrated bibliography on the Hindu god Śiva in the arts, crafts, coins, seals and inscriptions from South and Southeast Asia. It results from a century of ABIA bibliographic work and covers over 1500 academic publications since 1672. This scholarly and multi-disciplinary volume offers keyword-indexed annotations. The detailed indices on authors, geographic terms and subjects enable an easy search through the data. Links with the entries to resource repositories (such as JSTOR, Persée, Project MUSE, Academia.edu, ResearchGate and the Internet Archive) and links added to the sumptuous illustrations immediately take you to these resource sites.Table of ContentsList of Illustrations Introduction Bibliographical Records Part 1: Archaeology The Liṅgam Illustrations ‘The Liṅgam’ Part 2: Arts Śiva Benign and Wrathful Illustrations ‘Śiva Benign and Wrathful’ Part 2: Arts (continued) Śiva and His Family Illustrations ‘Śiva and His family’ Part 2: Arts (continued) Śiva Dancing Illustrations ‘Śiva Dancing’ Part 3: Inscriptions, Coins and Seals Around Śiva Illustrations ‘Around Śiva’ Index of Authors Index of Geography Index of Subjects

Read more less

Book SynopsisSanātana Gosvāmin’s Haribhaktivilāsa (ca. 1540) describes the normative ritual life of a Vaiṣṇava devotee. As it is one of the first Sanskrit texts of Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava tradition begun by Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya (1486–1533) it presents a fascinating meeting between this ecstatic new religious movement and older, Brahminical tradition. On the basis of eleven manuscripts, this important text has now been for the first time been critically edited. In his extensive introduction, Måns Broo engages with many of the questions that have vexed earlier scholars of this text (such as who really was the author?) by exploring its extensive intertextualities.Table of ContentsPreface Introduction  1 Introduction to the Text  2 Who Wrote the Haribhaktivilāsa?  3 Summary of Contents  4 Style and Method of the Text and Commentary  5 Historical Context of the Haribhaktivilāsa  6 The Theology of the Haribhaktivilāsa  7 Intertextualities  8 The Haribhaktivilāsa in Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava History  9 Sources for the Critical Edition  10 Conventions in the Critical Apparatus and Translation Critically Edited Text and Translation 1 On the Guru  Declaration of Contents  The Reason for Approaching a Guru  Approaching a Guru  The Mandatoriness of Approaching a Guru  Specific Characteristics of a Guru  Characteristics of a Non-guru  Characteristics of a Disciple  Those to Be Rejected  Observation  Specific Rules for Serving the Guru  The Great Sin That Otherwise Will Befall Both  The Disciple’s Prayer  The Greatness of the Lord  The Greatness of Vaiṣṇava Mantras  There, the Greatness of the Twelve-Syllable and the Eight-Syllable Mantras  There Also, That Of The Twelve-Syllable Mantra  Of the Eight-syllable Mantra  That of the King of Mantras, the Anuṣṭubh of Śrī Narasiṃha  The Greatness of Mantras of Rama  The Greatness of Mantras of Lord Gopāla  The Greatness of the Eighteen-Syllable Mantra  Deliberation on Eligibility  The Determination of Siddha, Sādhya and so on  Mantras That Are an Exception to This  Purification of Mantras 2 On Initiation  Rules for Initiation  The Mandatoriness of Initiation  The Greatness of Initiation  The Time for Initiation  Consideration of Days  Consideration of Lunar Mansions  Consideration of Lunar Days  Exceptions  Rules for Constructing the Pavilion  Rules for Fashioning the Pit  Rules for the Initiatory Maṇḍala  The Worship That Is a Part of Initiation  First, the Procedure for Establishing the Waterpot  Rules for Establishing the Conch  Rules for Worshipping the Lord in the Waterpot  Rules for the Initiatory Fire Sacrifice  The Divinities of the Limbs  The Eight Forms  Measures for the Ingredients of the Fire Offerings  Rules for Guru and Disciple  These Were the Duties of the Preceding Day. Now the Duties of the Day of Initiation  Rules for the Anointment  The Mantra of Ceremonial Bathing  Rules for Imparting the Mantra  The Regulations  The Procedure for Initiation in the Blessed Varāha Purāṇa  Simplified Initiation  Instruction  The Greatness of Bestowing the Mantra 3 On Purification  The Mandatoriness of Worship for the Initiated  Sadācāra  The Mandatoriness of Sadācāra  The Greatness of Sadācāra  Daily Duties  The Morning Glorification and Remembrance  First: The Mandatoriness of Remembrance  The Greatness of Remembrance  It Surpasses Bathing at All Tīrthas  It Is Supremely Purifying  It Uproots Sins  It Liberates One from All Misfortune  It Uproots Bad Habits  It Causes All Auspiciousness  It Bestows the Fruits of All Holy Observances  It Causes the Excellence of Rituals  It Surpasses All Rituals  It Removes All Fears  It Awards Liberation  It Propitiates the Lord  It Leads One to the Vaikuṇṭha World  It Leads to Sameness of Form  It Subdues the Blessed Lord  It Is the Highest Fruit in Itself  Morning Obeisances  The Prayer  Words of Obeisance  The Morning Meditation  The Greatness of Meditation  It Destroys Sins  It Removes the Faults of the Kali Age  It Gives One Eligibility for All Rituals  It Affords One Liberation  It Brings One to Vaikuṇtha  It Leads to Sameness of Form  It Awards the Highest Fruit on Its Own Accord  Waking the Blessed Lord  Removing Nirmālya  Cleansing the Blessed Mouth  The Greatness of Offering the Blessed Tooth-Twig  The Auspicious Nīrājana  The Preliminaries of the Morning Bath  Rules for Attending to the Call of Nature  Rules for Cleansing  When Only Passing Urine  Rules for Ācamana  Vaiṣṇava Ācamana  Rules for Brushing the Teeth  The Mandatoriness of Brushing the Teeth  Days When the Tooth-Twig Is Forbidden  The Substitute for These Days  The Exception to This  Tooth-Twigs  Arranging the Hair and so Forth  Bathing  The Mandatoriness of Bathing  The Greatness of Bathing  Rules for Bathing  A Detail  Further Details  The Mantra for Taking the Lord’s Foot-Water on the Head  The Greatness of Sprinkling Oneself with the Lord’s Foot-Water  And Its Mandatoriness  The General Libation to the Gods and Others  Vedic Sandhyā  Tantric Sandhyā  Its Rules  The Kāma Gāyatrī  Another Opinion on the Rules for Tantric Sandhyā  Rules for Worship of the Lord in Water  Specific Libations to the Gods and Others  Considering the Proper Attitude at Bathing and so on 4 On the Ornaments of the Vaiṣṇava  Cleaning the Lord’s Temple  The Greatness of Cleaning the Temple  The Greatness of Plastering  The Greatness of Sprinkling  The Greatness of Maṇḍalas  Characteristics of a Svastika  Hoisting Flags, Banners and so on  The Greatness of Hoisting Flags  The Greatness of Hoisting Banners  The Greatness of Raising Festoons of Leaves and Trunks of Banana Trees  Cleaning the Seat, Vessels, Clothes and so on  The Seat  Metal Vessels  Clothes and so on  Grains and so on  Picking Flowers, Tulasī and so on for the Sake of Worship  Rules for Bathing at Home  Bathing with Warm Water  The Forbidden Days  Bathing with Myrobalan  Bathing with Sesame  Bathing with Oil  The Greatness of Anointing with Tulasī Water  Rules for Wearing Clothes  The Seat  Rules for the Seat  The Rules for the Twelve Tilakas  The Crown Mantra  The Mandatoriness of the Vertical Marks  The Greatness of the Vertical Mark  Rules for Drawing the Vertical Mark  The Mandatoriness of the Empty Middle Portion of the Vertical Mark  Therefore, the Statement on the Characteristics of Hari’s Temple  Regarding the Rules for Which Fingers to Use When Applying Tilaka  The Types of Clay for the Vertical Mark  There, the Greatness of Gopīcandana  The Greatness of the Vertical Mark Made with Gopīcandana  The Greatness of Marks Made with Mud from the Roots of Tulasī  The Mandatoriness of Wearing the Mudrās  The Greatness of Wearing the Mudrās  Rules for Wearing the Mudrās  Characteristics of the Disc and so on  Wearing Mālās and so on  Rules for Wearing Mālās  The Mandatoriness of Wearing Mālās  The Greatness of Wearing Mālās  Rules for Performing Sandhyā at Home  Worship of the Blessed Guru  The Greatness of the Blessed Guru  The Exception to This  The Result of Not Devoting Oneself to the Guru 5 On the Objects  Worship at the Gate  Worship Inside the House  The Seat for Worship  The Seat Mantra  Seats  Specific Faults and Merits of Seats  Placing the Vessels  The Vessels and Their Greatness  Establishing the Auspicious Pitcher  The Ingredients for Arghya and so on  The Auspicious Peace  Removal of Obstacles  Bowing to the Blessed Gurus  Bhūtaśuddhi  And This is the Procedure  Prāṇāyāma  The Greatness of Prāṇāyāma  First, Mātṛkā Nyāsa  The Inner Mātṛkā Nyāsa  Keśavādi Nyāsa  The Meditation  The Blessed Forms  The Śaktis  Tattva Nyāsa  A Further Special Form of Prāṇāyāma  The Times, Numbers and so on  Pīṭha Nyāsa  The Pīṭha Mantra  Remembering the Sage and so on  Aṅga Nyāsa  Akṣara Nyāsa  Pada Nyāsa  Rṣyādi Nyāsa  The Five Mudrās  Procedure for Meditating on the Blessed Lord  The Inner Sacrifice  The Procedure for Prayer  Establishing the Conch  Worship of the Seat in One’s Own Body  Mantra Aṅga Nyāsa, Etc., on the Limbs of the Lord  Internal Worship with External Items  The Greatness of the Internal Sacrifice  The External Worship  The Objects of Worship  The Blessed Forms  Characteristics of the Blessed Forms  The Twenty-Four Forms of the Siddhārta Saṃhitā  The Śālagrāma Stones  Their Merits and Faults Connected with Colour and so on  And These Faults Relate to Worshipping with Desires  Their Different Names Depending on Their Different Characteristics  The Greatness of the Śālagrāma Stone  The Special Result of Worshipping Many  The Prohibition against Buying or Selling Them  The Prohibition against Installation  The Best of All Objects  The Mandatoriness of Worshipping the Śālagrāma Stone  The Greatness of Uniting the Śālagrāma Stone with the Stone Marked with the Discs of Dvārakā  The Characteristics of the Stone Marked with the Discs of Dvārakā  The Greatness of the Stone Marked with the Discs of Dvārakā  Their Different Fruits according to Their Different Number of Discs  Faults and Merits and Whether to Worship or Not Depending on Colour and so on Appendix 1: The Greatness of the Ten-Syllable Mantra Appendix 2: The Meditation on Kṛṣṇa in Gautamīya Tantra 10.142cd–159ab Appendix 3: Maṇḍalas in the Text Bibliography Index

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe Nyāyasūtravivaraṇa, written in the first centuries of the 2nd millennium CE, provides the most accessible introduction to the core teachings of old Nyāya. Excerpting from the two earliest and most important treatises of this tradition—the Nyāyabhāṣya and Nyāyavārttika—Gambhīravaṃśaja created a comprehensive yet concise digest. The present work contains not only a critical edition of the first chapter based on all known textual sources but also a complete documentation of the variants, a comprehensive study of the parallel passages, a detailed discussion of the preparation and processing of the text-critical data, and a detailed documentation of the Grantha Tamil, Telugu and Kannada scripts.

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe small town of Vṛndāvana is today one of the most vibrant places of pilgrimage in northern India. Throngs of pilgrims travel there each year to honour the sacred land of Kṛṣṇa’s youth and to visit many of its temples. The Building of Vṛndāvana explores the complex history of this town’s early modern origins. Bringing together scholars from various disciplines to examine history, architecture, art, ritual, theology, and literature in this pivotal period, the book examines how these various disciplines were used to create, develop, and map Vṛndāvana as the most prominent place of pilgrimage for devotees of Kṛṣṇa. Contributors are: Guy L. Beck, Måns Broo, David Buchta, John Stratton Hawley, Barbara A. Holdrege, Rembert Lutjeharms, Cynthia D. Packert, and Heidi Pauwels.Trade Review"This rich, well-crafted collaborative volume on one of South Asia’s most important pilgrimage sites, the temple town dedicated to Kṛṣṇa at Vṛndāvana draws upon a range of literary, historical, musical and artistic evidence to examine the communities, conceptions and construction of the region of Vraja in the 16th and early 17th centuries. Original, timely and compelling, this book will be essential reading for students and scholars of Hindu studies, Sanskrit and Hindi literature, historians of early modern South Asia, including its art and music, and anyone interested in the centrality of place, space and pilgrimage to the religious imagination." - Dr. Crispin Branfoot (Reader in the history of South Asian art and archaeology. SOAS, University of London) "This masterful book immerses the reader in the landscapes, temples, texts, and artistic traditions of early modern Vṛndāvana. A variety of sources and methods are blended seamlessly to paint a picture of this dynamic town, as it grows from a small community to a major center of Kṛṣṇa worship. The introduction provides the most engaging overview of Vṛndāvana's history and theology that I have read. This book is a joy to read, and one that you will return to over and over again." - Prof. Ravi M. Gupta (Charles Redd Chair of Religious Studies, Utah State University)Table of ContentsList of Illustrations Notes on Contributors Introduction  Rembert Lutjeharms and Kiyokazu Okita Part 1: Builders 1 A Sixteenth-Century Testimony on Vṛndāvana’s First-Generation Pioneers  Heidi Pauwels 2 The Hari-bhakti-vilāsa as a Specimen of Early Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇavism in Vṛndāvana  Måns Broo Part 2: Building 3 The Gauḍīya Reimagining of Vraja as a Bimodal Domain  Pilgrimage Place and Transcendent Space  Barbara A. Holdrege 4 Building Vṛndāvana as a Locus of Rasa  The Stotras of Rūpa Gosvāmī  David Buchta 5 Building the Spiritual Vṛndāvana  Music and the Rāsa Dance at the Centre of Kṛṣṇa Devotion  Guy L. Beck Part 3: Buildings 6 A Temple of Stone and a Temple of Love  Govindadeva in the Religious Imagination of Early Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇavas  Rembert Lutjeharms 7 Kings of the Mountains  Govardhana-līlā and Kachavāhā Patronage at the Govindadeva Temple in Vṛndāvana  Cynthia Packert 8 The Ideal Real Vṛndāvana of Jayasiṃha’s Dining Room  John Stratton Hawley Index

Read more less

Book SynopsisTranslating Kali's Feast is an interdisciplinary study of the Goddess Kali bringing together ethnography and literature within the theoretical framework of translation studies. The idea for the book grew out of the experience and fieldwork of the authors, who lived with Indo-Caribbean devotees of the Hindu Goddess in Guyana. Using a variety of discursive forms including oral history and testimony, field notes, songs, stories, poems, literary essays, photographic illustrations, and personal and theoretical reflections, it explores the cultural, aesthetic and spiritual aspects of the Goddess in a diasporic and cross-cultural context. With reference to critical and cultural theorists including Walter Benjamin and Julia Kristeva, the possibilities offered by Kali (and other manifestations of the Goddess) as the site of translation are discussed in the works of such writers as Wilson Harris, V.S. Naipaul and R.K. Narayan. The book articulates perspectives on the experience of living through displacement and change while probing the processes of translation involved in literature and ethnography and postulating links between ‘rite' and ‘write,' Hindu ‘leela' and creole ‘play.'Trade Review"An excellent contribution to the series… the strength of the book lies in its documentation of a cross-cultural tradition and its detailed observations of practices of Kali worship…" – in: The Book Review 59 (January 2002) "The book is very well researched and beautifully written. Its intermingling of the sacred and the secular, its pictorial presentation of the Kali’s feast and festivities at Blairmont temple […], and its snippets of chants and songs and poems, makes the reading of the book an experience of participating in the rituals of the puja itself." – in: Interdisciplinary Literary Studies: a journal of criticism and theory 4/1 (Fall 2002) "Translating Kali’s Feast has opened out for the reader fresh and significant paths which can and will surely be further pursued." – in: The Translator 12/1 (2006)Table of ContentsAcknowledgements List of Colour Plates (In the Footsteps of the Goddess...) I Remembering and Forgetting 1 Kaly's Story 2 Madrasi Religion in Guyana II Ritual Desire in Postcolonial Fiction 3 Crossing Dark Waters: Thinking Through the Gap 4 The Devouring Mother in Wilson Harris and V.S. Naipaul 5 Naipaul's Indian Darkness, Narayan's Stone Gayatri 6 Gardens, Groves and Other Places and Spaces in Narayan's Novels 7 Is Shakti Shanti? 8 Goddesses, Ghosts and Translatability in Jonestown III The Feast and Festivities of Mother Kali 9 Prologue to the Feast 10 The Awakening of Mother 11 The Sacred Garden 12 Night Interlude 13 Feast and Festivity 14 Tribute 15 Return to Secular Life 16 Vision 17 Guyana Kali Puja Lexicon IV Translating Culture 18 Translation, Ethnography and Literature 19 Translating Kali's Feast Bibliography

Read more less

Book SynopsisPeople in India form images of Jesus Christ that link up with their own culture. Hindus have given Jesus a place among the teachers and gods of their own religion, seeing in his life something of the wisdom and mysticism that is so central to Hinduism. Christians in India also make use of the concepts provided by Hinduism when they wish to express the meaning of Christ. Thus, in any case, Jesus is—for Hindus and Christians—a guru, a teacher of wisdom who speaks with divine authority. But for many Hindu philosophers and Christian theologians there is much more that can be said about him within the Indian framework. He can be described as an avatara, a divine descent, or linked to the Brahman, the all-encompassing Reality. This study looks at both Hindu and Christian views of Christ, starting with that of the Hindu reformer Rammohan Roy at the beginning of the nineteenth century, as well as those of the first Christian theologians of India. The views of Mahatma Gandhi and the monks of the Ramakrishna Mission are discussed, and those of influential Christian schools such as the Ashram movement and dalit theology. Five intermezzos indicate how artists in India portray Jesus Christ.Table of ContentsCHAPTER 1 Introduction CHAPTER 2 The Guide to Peace and Happiness: Rammohan Roy CHAPTER 3 From False Prophet to Demonstrable Divinity: Nehemiah Goreh CHAPTER 4 The Saviour of All: Pandita Ramabai CHAPTER 5 The Yoga Master: The Ramakrishna Mission CHAPTER 6 Jesus the Avatara: Vengal Chakkarai Frank WESLEY: INTERMEZZO CHAPTER 7 The Suffering Christ as an Example: Mahatma Gandhi Nandalal BOSE: INTERMEZZO CHAPTER 8 The Eternal Christ in the Ashram Movement Alfred THOMAS: INTERMEZZO CHAPTER 9 Christ between the Religions The Great Three: Panikkar, Thomas, Samartha Jyoti SAHI: INTERMEZZO CHAPTER 10 Jesus as Liberator in the Theology of the Dalits Susheila WILLIAMS: INTERMEZZO CHAPTER 11 Postscript Bibliography Index of Names Index of Subjects

Read more less