Thinking about ultimate reality is becoming increasingly transreligious. This transreligious turn follows inevitably from the discovery of divine truths in multiple traditions. Global communications bring the full range of religious ideas and practices to anyone with access to the internet. Moreover, the growth of the "nones" and those who describe themselves as "spiritual but not religious" creates a pressing need for theological thinking not bound by prescribed doctrines and fixed rituals. This book responds to this vital need. The chapters in this volume each examine the claim that if the aim of theology is to know and articulate all we can about the divine reality, and if revelations, enlightenments, and insights into that reality are not limited to a single tradition, then what is called for is a theology without confessional restrictions. In other words, a Theology Without Walls. To ground the project in examples, the volume provides emerging models of transreligious inquiry. It also includes sympathetic critics who raise valid concerns that such a theology must face. This is a book that will be of urgent interest to theologians, religious studies scholars, and philosophers of religion. It will be especially suitable for those interested in comparative theology, inter-religious and interfaith understanding, new trends in constructive theology, normative religious studies, and global philosophy of religion.

Philosophy of The Bhagavad Gita: A Contemporary Introduction presents a complete philosophical guide and new translation of the most celebrated text of Hinduism. While usually treated as mystical and religious poetry, this new translation focuses on the philosophy underpinning the story of a battle between two sets of cousins of the Aryan clan. Designed for use in the classroom, this lively and readable translation: - Situates the text in its philosophical and cultural contexts - Features summaries and chapter analyses and questions at the opening and end of each of the eighteen chapters encouraging further study - Highlights points of comparison and overlap between Indian and Western philosophical concepts and themes such as just war, care ethics, integrity and authenticity - Includes a glossary allowing the reader to determine the meaning of central concepts Written with clarity and without presupposing any prior knowledge of Hinduism, Philosophy of the Bhagavad Gita: A Contemporary Introduction reveals the importance and value of reading the Gita philosophically.

THIS 48 PAGE ARTICLE WAS EXTRACTED FROM THE BOOK: Vedanta Philosophy: Lectures by the Swami Vivekananda on Raja Yoga Also Pantanjali's Yoga Aphorisms, with Commentaries, and Glossary of Sanskrit Terms, by Swami Vivekananda. To purchase the entire book, please order ISBN 1564597970.

Examining virtues that include fearlessness, reverence, freedom from anger, and compassion, this text draws on the "Bhagavad Gita" to illustrate how these virtues assist a seeker in attaining realization.

From approximately the third century BCE through the thirteenth century CE, the remote mountainous landscape around the glacial sources of the Ganga (Ganges) River in the Central Himalayas in northern India was transformed into a region encoded with deep meaning, one approached by millions of Hindus as a primary locus of pilgrimage. Nachiket Chanchani's innovative study explores scores of stone edifices and steles that were erected in this landscape. Through their forms, locations, interactions with the natural environment, and sociopolitical context, these lithic ensembles evoked legendary worlds, embedded historical memories in the topography, changed the mountain range's appearance, and shifted its semiotic effect. Mountain Temples and Temple Mountains also alters our understanding of the transmission of architectural knowledge and provides new evidence of how an enduring idea of India emerged in the subcontinent. Art History Publication Initiative. For more information, visit http://arthistorypi.org/books/mountain-temples-and-temple-mountains

This volume makes a humble attempt to be one with the essence of his ideals by trying to know what he dreamt for his nation. This book seeks to establish the relevance of the core of Swami Vivekananda's teachings in solving the present day socio-cultural, political and religious crisis both at national and global level.

An interpretive look at the stories of Hanuman, one of the most beloved gods of the Hindu pantheon
- Contains 36 of the most important Hanuman stories with commentary on spiritual lessons, yogic practices, and Vedic astrology
- Reveals how Hanuman symbolizes the human mind and the highest potential it can achieve
- Explains how Hanuman has the ability to bestow strength and devotion
Best known for his role in the "Ramayana," Hanuman's playful nature, amazing physical powers, and selfless devotion to Lord Rama have made him one of the most beloved gods in the Hindu pantheon. As a monkey, he symbolizes the ever-restless human mind. He teaches us that, though everyone is born an animal, anyone can attain the heights of spiritual evolution through perseverance and ardent discipline. Having perfected his mind through "bhakti" (selfless devotion) to obtain his powers, Hanuman embodies the highest potential we can achieve.
In this book, Vanamali recounts 36 legendary Hanuman stories--from his birth to his adventures in the "Ramayana"--and reveals the spiritual lessons, yogic practices, and Vedic astrology aspects they contain. Vanamali shows how Hanuman has the ability to bestow selfless devotion and strength to his devotees and that following his example is the surest path to attracting the blessing of Rama.

Heathen, Hindoo, Hindu is a groundbreaking analysis of American representations of religion in India before the turn of the twentieth century. In their representations of India, American writers from a variety of backgrounds described "heathens," "Hindoos," and, eventually "Hindus." Before Americans wrote about "Hinduism," they wrote about "heathenism," "the religion of the Hindoos," and "Brahmanism." Various groups interpreted the religions of India for their own purposes. Cotton Mather, Hannah Adams, and Joseph Priestley engaged the larger European Enlightenment project of classifying and comparing religion in India. Evangelical missionaries used images of "Hindoo heathenism" to raise support at home. Unitarian Protestants found a kindred spirit in the writings of Bengali reformer Rammohun Roy. Transcendentalists and Theosophists imagined the contemplative and esoteric religion of India as an alternative to materialist American Protestantism, while popular magazines and common school books used the image of dark, heathen, despotic India to buttress Protestant, white, democratic American identity. Americans used the heathen, Hindoo, and Hindu as an other against which they represented themselves. The questions of American identity, classification, representation and the definition of "religion" that animated descriptions of heathens, Hindoos, and Hindus in the past still animate American debates today.

This supplement to the author's study of Indo-European cosmology, 'Atman' (Georg Olms, 2005) employs the cosmological insights of the ancient Indo-Europeans to illuminate the various sacrificial, theurgic and gnostic systems that were developed therefrom by the Japhetic Aryans and the Hamitic Egyptians, Sumerians and later Indians. The original yogic understanding of the full macrocosmic dimension of the human microcosm is seen to inform both the Vedic fire-rituals and the later Agamic temple-rituals since they focus equally on the solar force either as contained within the ritual fire or as embodied in divine idols and in human devotees. A consistent picture thus emerges of the apparently diverse religions of the Indo-Europeans. This work should be of interest to all students of Hinduism, the religions of the ancient Near East and the spiritual culture of the Indo-Europeans.

An inspiring in-depth look at the nineteenth-century
Godman of India and Prophet of Harmony.

Sri Ramakrishna, one of the greatest spiritual personalities of our time, is widely recognized as the Prophet of the Harmony of Religions. After perfecting the practice of several religions including Christianity, Islam and various traditions of Hinduism he declared, As many faiths, so many paths.

For the first time, two classic biographies Dhan Gopal Mukerji s The Face of Silence (1926) and Swami Nikhilananda s Sri Ramakrishna (1942) are brought together to provide a fuller understanding of the life and spiritual significance of Sri Ramakrishna as well as the systems of Indian religious thought intimately connected with him. Pairing legend with fact, memory with history, this unique volume including an Introduction to Sri Ramakrishna s God-consciousness by Swami Adiswarananda succeeds in intimately examining the teachings of Sri Ramakrishna and conveying the true story of this great mystic, whose leaping flame of spiritual realization continues to influence the modern spiritual search.

This book studies the phenomenon of altruistic suicide which was a form of political protest. The authors investigate the self-immolation of German pastor Oskar Brusewitz and compare it with other politically motivated suicides. They portray both life and pastoral activity of Brusewitz and analyse the motives of his suicide. Furthermore, they evaluate the judgement of this tragic event by confreres in faith and other witnesses. Besides the thorough analysis of Oskar Brusewitz's case, the book inspects the genesis of self-immolation and locates it in the tradition of Buddhism and Hinduism. It depicts cases of self-immolations in Vietnam, the USA, India, Tibet, China, Iran, and particularly in Middle-Eastern Europe (Czechoslovakia, Poland and Lithuania). The analysis also covers cases of self-immolations that occurred during the Arab Spring (2011-2012) and in Bulgaria in 2013.

More than ever before, we in the West are discovering the value and practicality of the teachings of the East. In this book Paul Hourihan, who was a long-time American student of Vedanta, presents the venerable Indian teachings of Vedanta with illustrations and examples that make sense of them to Westerners in particular. In his own inimitable way, he shows how the profound, yet practical, teachings of Vedanta, one of the main schools of thought in Hinduism, give meaning and understanding to our lives. This study includes an overview of the mysticism of India, and provides a summary of the Bhagavad Gita and the Yoga system of thought. Using the teachings of the Upanishads, Dr Hourihan covers the main principles of this perennial philosophy and the core concepts that flow from them. The last section demonstrates the universality of these teachings through confirmations from the masters of other spiritual traditions -- Lao Tzu, Meister Eckhart, Plotinus, and the Sufis of Islam. Over a period of 15 years Dr Hourihan gave many courses and talks on the world's mystical traditions, including the Vedanta philosophy. This book is derived from transcripts of these lectures. With a strong experiential background and lifelong interest in the field of mysticism, along with a Ph.D. in Literature, Hourihan, an American, was well qualified to introduce these ancient teachings to Western readers looking for guidance and personal transformation. As Robert Ellwood, Distinguished Emeritus Professor of Religion, University of Southern California, states "Children of Immortal Bliss is a splendid introduction to Vedanta for the average person, presenting this Indian tradition simply, and with the use of ideas and illustrations that will make sense of it to a wide audience". The practical application of this philosophy is the means for those of all faiths to realise their identity as Children of Immortal Bliss.

A vibrant example of living literature, the Bhagavata Purana is a versatile Hindu sacred text written in Sanskrit verse. Finding its present form by the tenth century C.E., the work inspired several major north Indian devotional (bhakti) traditions as well as schools of dance and drama, and continues to permeate popular Hindu art and ritual in both India and the diaspora.

Introducing the Bhagavata Purana's key themes while also examining its extensive influence on Hindu thought and practice, this collection conducts the first multidimensional reading of the entire text. Each essay focuses on a key theme of the Bhagavata Purana and its subsequent presence in Hindu theology, performing arts, ritual recitation, and commentary. The authors consider the relationship between the sacred text and the divine image, the text's metaphysical and cosmological underpinnings, its shaping of Indian culture, and its ongoing relevance to contemporary Indian concerns.

A free open access ebook is available upon publication. Learn more at www.luminosoa.org. The Emergence of Modern Hinduism argues for the importance of regional, vernacular innovation in processes of Hindu modernization. Scholars usually trace the emergence of modern Hinduism to cosmopolitan reform movements, producing accounts that overemphasize the centrality of elite religion and the influence of Western ideas and models. In this study, the author considers religious change on the margins of colonialism by looking at an important local figure, the Tamil Shaiva poet and mystic Ramalinga Swami (1823-1874). Weiss narrates a history of Hindu modernization that demonstrates the transformative role of Hindu ideas, models, and institutions, making this text essential for scholarly audiences of South Asian history, religious studies, Hindu studies, and South Asian studies.