This title contributes both to expert discussion of important religious and cultural issues and to on-going debates about improved methods of research. The inclusion of examples of indigenous ideological, legal and fiction writing further enhances the volume's engagement with indigenous and scholarly perspectives, experiences and interests. In addition to expert descriptions of aspects of particular indigenous religious lifeways and worldviews, the readings also encourage a reconsideration of academic approaches to the study of indigenous religions. New dialogical and conversational methods of engagement promise to reconnect academia in building more equitable relationships and a healthier world.

Though a directive principle of the constitution, a uniform civil code of law has never been written or instituted in India. As a result, in matters of personal law the segment of law concerning marriage, dowry, divorce, parentage, legitimacy, wills, and inheritance individuals of different backgrounds must appeal to their respective religious laws for guidance or rulings. But balancing the claims of religious communities with those of a modern secular state has caused some intractable problems for India as a nation. Religion and Personal Law in Secular India provides a comprehensive look into the issues and challenges that India faces as it tries to put a uniform civil code into practice.

Contributors include Granville Austin, Robert D. Baird, Srimati Basu, Kevin Brown, Paul Courtright, Rajeev Dhavan, Marc Galanter, Namita Goswami, Laura Dudley Jenkins, Jayanth Krishnan, Gerald James Larson, John H. Mansfield, Ruma Pal, Kunal M. Parker, William D. Popkin, Lloyd I. Rudolph, Susanne Hoeber Rudolph, Sylvia Vatuk, and Arvind Verma."

This book is the republication of the original twenty-one journal volumes entitled Disturbing Delights, (written between 1992-1994). The additional essay, Quantum Kamakala: Seeking the Mysterious in Hidden Tantric Superstructures and Quantum Superstring Theory, is contemporary, written in 2000.

"The Best Guide to Eastern Philosophy & Religion "provides a thorough discussion of the most widely practices belief systems of the East. Author Diane Morgan understands how to direct the materialistic, linear way of Western thinking toward a comprehension of the cyclical, metaphysical essence of Eastern philosophy. With an emphasis on the tenets and customs that Wester seekers find most compelling, this text is accessible to the novice yet sophisticated enough for the experienced reader.
Inside, you'll find complete coverage of Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism, and Taoism, as well as the less-widely practiced faiths of Shintoism, Jainism, Sikhism, and Zoroastrainism. Learn the fundamentals of the tantric path to liberation and the relationship between sex and seeking. Discover the true meaning of Feng Shui, the philosophical underpinnings of Hatha Yoga and Taoist connection to the martial art of Tai chi chuan. And if you've ever wondered: what "is" the sound of one hand clapping?. this book will get you started on finding that answer.
The Eastern traditions, with their emphasis on harmony and oneness, have much to offer us in our hectic, demanding lives. For a comprehensive, entertaining exploration of the beliefs of Asia, "The Best Guide to Eastern Philosophy & Religion" is the essential manual for the seeker in all of us.

Society and the Supernatural in Song China is at once a meticulous examination of spirit possession and exorcism in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries and a social history of the full panoply of China's religious practices and practitioners at the moment when she was poised to dominate the world economy. Although the Song dynasty (960-1276) is often identified with the establishment of Confucian orthodoxy, Edward Davis demonstrates the renewed vitality of the dynasty's Taoist, Buddhist, and local religious traditions. He charts the rise of hundreds of new temple-cults and the lineages of clerical exorcists and vernacular priests; the increasingly competitive interaction among all practitioners of therapeutic ritual; and the wide social range of their patrons and clients.

David-Neel illustrates the point that there is much more to life than is found on the surface. Readers are initiated into powerful meditations, breathing exercises, the control of body heat, visions, shamanic magic and past life recollection.

"Mystics have groped for words in which to account for the supreme reality of this experience... All this is said in classic and unforgettable pages by The Cloud of Unknowing, the work of an anonymous fourteenth-century English writer. . . Johnston [provides] the first extended and coherent theological treatment .... a most welcome and valuable contribution."-Thomas Merton

Pierce Brosnan was first offered the part of Bond in 1986, only to be prevented from taking it by contractual obligations to the television series Remington Steele. It wasn't until 1995 that he burst onto the big screen as the legendary James Bond in Goldeneye. To many, it was a part he was born to play. Brosnan decided to become an actor after seeing Goldfinger when he was ten, he married an ex-Bond girl and seems to have just the right combination of good looks, charm and single-mindedness for which James Bond was famed.

There are four things to study in a religion; it's founder, whose life and character will be impressed on it; the exoteric religion, for the masses of the people; the philosophy, necessary for the learned and the cultured; the mysticism, expressing the universal yearning of the human spirit for union with its source.

This third volume of the catalogue contains descriptive entries for over five hundred manuscripts of Sanskrit hymnic and devotional poems, running to nearly seven hundred separate compositions in manuscripts running from the sixteenth to the nineteenth century. This important genre of classical Indian literature is valuable not only for its intrinsic poetic and aesthetic merits but also as a vital source of information for the history of Indian religion and its numerous traditions and affiliations. The collection includes works of famous devotional poets and philosophers as well as nearly two hundred compositions whose authors are unknown including some for which there are no other known available manuscripts in any other libraries. Professor Aithal is an internationally renowned expert in the field, and his descriptions include details of scribal and palaeographic features; his useful introduction outlines the literary genre and the principles of its classification.

'Dread Jesus' explores the black, dreadlocked Jesus taken from Christianity by the teachings of Rastafari. Is Rastafari simply a bizarre Christian cult, destined to fade if the Emperor Haile Selassie never reappears? Or could it become a vibrant two-thirds world reform movement, recalling Christianity to its original, non-oppressing gospel for all people? Rigorously researched, William David Spencer's unique and compelling study - which includes exclusive interviews with major Rastafarian thinkers and close analysis of the lyrics of many reggae songs - will prove genuinely accessible to anyone who wishes to learn more about Rastafari and its significance for global Christianity.

A treatise Written for the Personal Use of Those Who are Ignorant of the Eastern Wisdom, and Who Desire to Enter Within its Influence. Introduction by C. Jinarajadasa. (see also our book, "Our Glorious Future" by the same author which is a continuation of this book.)

"To the reader who is able to pierce the outer covering, this grand poem will reveal the deepest of esoteric teachings. Compiled and adapted from numerous old and new translations of the original Sanscrit text.

In this book the author explores Kalee Bhava, the Goddess, and her moods that were born out of torment and love crashing together to ignite life into existence.