To many outside India, Hinduism is envisioned as the foundation of an ideal, all-embracing society. Yet this is far from the truth. Though historically the practice of Hinduism does promote the idea of an inclusive and tolerant way of life, in the past decade Hindu extremists have captured the religion and perverted it to their own ideological ends. In "The Hindu Case, "Indian journalist""Salil Tripathi meticulously documents how Hindu fundamentalists have succeeded in censoring and banning many cultural works, tampered with university teaching, and prevented academics from continuing in their jobs. In addition, Tripathi shows that these extremists are in the process of rewriting the ancient Hindu scriptures. This title in the Manifestos for the 21st Century Series, published in collaboration with the "Index on Censorship," the only international magazine dedicated to promoting and protecting free expression, focuses on the rights, tolerance, censorship, and dissent within India's complex society, and it is an essential read for those interested in the struggle between religious fundamentalism and free expression.""

This is the first of seven volumes of a translation of the Valmiki Ramayana, the great Sanskrit epic of the life of Rama, ideal man and incarnation of the great god Visnu. This renowned work of ancient India has profoundly affected the literature, art, religions, and cultures of countless millions of people in South and Southeast Asiaan influence that is perhaps unparalleled in the history of world literature. Balakanda, the opening portion of this first translation to be based on the critical edition (Oriental Institute, Baroda), is presented here in a compact volume without the section of notes that appears in the hardcover book.

Read the story of two worlds that converge: one of Hindu immigrants to America who want to preserve their traditions and pass them on to their children in a new and foreign land, and one of American spiritual seekers who find that the traditions of India fulfil their most deeply held aspirations. Learn about the theoretical approaches to Hinduism in America, the question of orientalism and 'the invention of Hinduism'. Read about: * how concepts like karma, rebirth, meditation and yoga have infiltrated and influenced the American consciousness * Hindu temples in the United States and Canada * how Hinduism has influenced vegetarianism * the emergence of an increasingly assertive socially and politically active American Hinduism. The book contains 30 images, chapter summaries, a glossary, study questions and suggestions for further reading.

The concluding volume of a critical English edition of the monumental Indian epic The seventh and final book of the monumental Ramayana of Valmiki, the Uttarakanda, brings the epic saga to a close with an account of the dramatic events of King Rama's millennia-long reign. It opens with a colorful history of the demonic race of the raksasas and the violent career of Rama's villainous foe Ravana, and later recounts Rama's grateful discharge of his allies in the great war at Lanka as well as his romantic reunion with his wife Sita. But dark clouds gather as Rama makes the agonizing decision to banish his beloved wife, now pregnant. As Rama continues as king, marvelous tales and events unfurl, illustrating the benefits of righteous rule and the perils that await monarchs who fail to address the needs of their subjects. The Uttarakanda has long served as a point of social and religious controversy largely for its accounts of the banishment of Sita, as well as of Rama's killing of a low-caste ascetic. This seventh volume in the critical edition and translation of the Valmiki Ramayana includes an extensive introduction and describes the complex reception history of the Uttarakanda, as well as exhaustive notes and a comprehensive bibliography.

Many of the great thinkers and poets in Christianity and Islam led lives marked by personal and religious struggle. Indeed, suffering and struggle are part of the human condition and constant themes in philosophy, sociology and psychology. In this thought-provoking book, acclaimed scholar Mona Siddiqui ponders how humankind finds meaning in life during an age of uncertainty. Here, she explores the theme of human struggle through the writings of iconic figures such as Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Muhammad Ghazali, Rainer Maria Rilke and Sayyid Qutb - people who searched for meaning in the face of adversity. Considering a wide range of thinkers and literary figures, her book explores how suffering and struggle force the faithful to stretch their imagination in order to bring about powerful and prophetic movements for change. The moral and aesthetic impulse of their writings will also stimulate inter-cultural and interdisciplinary conversations on the search for meaning in an age of uncertainty.

For many centuries, Hindus have taken it for granted that the religious images they place in temples and home shrines for purposes of worship are alive. Hindu priests bring them to life through a complex ritual "establishment" that invokes the god or goddess into material support. Priests and devotees then maintain the enlivened image as a divine person through ongoing liturgical activity: they must awaken it in the morning, bathe it, dress it, feed it, entertain it, praise it, and eventually put it to bed at night. In this linked series of case studies of Hindu religious objects, Richard Davis argues that in some sense these believers are correct: through ongoing interactions with humans, religious objects are brought to life.

Davis draws largely on reader-response literary theory and anthropological approaches to the study of objects in society in order to trace the biographies of Indian religious images over many centuries. He shows that Hindu priests and worshipers are not the only ones to enliven images. Bringing with them differing religious assumptions, political agendas, and economic motivations, others may animate the very same objects as icons of sovereignty, as polytheistic "idols," as "devils," as potentially lucrative commodities, as objects of sculptural art, or as symbols for a whole range of new meanings never foreseen by the images' makers or original worshipers.

The present book Sarada-Tilaka of Laksmana Desikendra is one of the important texts on Tantric subjects. It is divided into 25 Chapters. Chapter 1 is Prakrti and deals with the origin of creation: the 23 chapters which follow demonstrate Prakrti-Vikrti; the last chapter 25 is beyond Prakrti and Vikrti. But Sarada-Tilaka is a tantric treatise which deals primarily with the Tantric worship of gods and goddesses.

Since the beginning of humanity, fables and stories have been the means of imparting instruction and amusement to man. The stories were designed to illustrate and exemplify precept for human conduct. After centuries, these stories eventually found themselves in print. They are divided into four groups: Sanskrit or Hindoo, Arabic or Persian, Western or European, and American. Of these, Sanskrit or Hindoo groups of stories are the oldest and probably served as the basis of Arabic or Persian fables, which again serve as the source for many European storytellers.

"Gods, Sages and Kings is a very important book. It fills a major void in our understanding of human history...It calls into question our entire view of human history...it is much more significantly a truly spiritual vision of where we come from and who we are." Vyaas Houston

Advaita Vedanta is one of the best-known schools of Indian philosophy, but much of its history-a history closely interwoven with that of medieval and modern Hinduism-remains surprisingly unexplored. This book focuses on a single remarkable work and its place within that history: The Ocean of Inquiry, a vernacular compendium of Advaita Vedanta by the North Indian monk Niscaldas (ca. 1791 - 1863). Though not well known today, Niscaldas's work was once referred to by Vivekananda (himself a key figure in the shaping of modern Hinduism) as the most influential book in India. The present book situates The Ocean of Inquiry as representative of both a neglected genre (vernacular Vedanta) and a neglected period (ca. 17th-19th centuries) in the history of Indian philosophy. It argues that the rise of Advaita Vedanta to a position of prestige began well before the period of British rule in India, and that vernacular texts like The Ocean of Inquiry played an important role in popularizing Vedantic teachings. It also offers a new appraisal of the period of late Advaita Vedanta, arguing that it should not be seen as one of barren scholasticism. For thinkers like Niscaldas, intellectual "inquiry" (vicara) was not an academic exercise but a spiritual practice-indeed, it was the central practice on the path to liberation. The book concludes by arguing that without understanding both vernacular Vedanta and the scholasticism of the period, one cannot fully understand the emergence of modern Hinduism.

Hinduism is the oldest surviving religion in the world. The religious and philosophical literature of Hinduism is vast, diverse and covers thousands of years of accumulated spiritual experiences of Hindu Saints and Seers. This book presents the fundamentals of Hindu religion and philosophical thought in a logical and straight-forward manner. The purpose being, to create a strong base for further study of Hinduism.

This book provides an introduction to the main schools of Indian philosophy within both the Hindu and Buddhist traditions. Richard King analyzes the schools' different doctrines and compares their approaches to specific philosophical topics -- ontology, epistemology, perception, consciousness, and creation and causality.

While King's main focus is on the ideas as professed by the major schools of thought, he also takes into account the important contributions made by individual thinkers. Among these are Bhartrhari, who helped introduce linguistic analysis into Indian philosophy; Nagarjuna, the reputed founder of the Mahayana or "Middle Way" school; and Asanga, the believed founder of the Yogacara or "Practice of Yoga" school.

This is the first introduction to Indian philosophy written for a western audience to assess Indian thought in its own context and to examine its relationship with the West. King discusses the nature of philosophy in general, examining the shifting usage of the term throughout history. He examines western perceptions of Indian philosophy, exploring the reasons why it has not made substantial inroads into western intellectual discourse.

King argues that western scholars will remain tied to a Eurocentric perspective as long as they continue to ignore the possibility of philosophical thought "East of the Suez." This, he argues, highlights the need for a post-colonial and global approach to philosophy.

Written in a clear and accessible style, the book can be used for courses in religion, theology, and philosophy.

Translated from original Marathi by Indira Kher, this work is a verse composition containing the known facts about Shri Sai Baba's life at Shirdi, and also his teachings seeks to meet a long-felt need. This is the Bible of Sai devotes in every sense of the term, in it's veracity, sanctity, faith and devotion that it inspires and the deep satisfaction, a sense of fulfilment that it brings to the devotee, it has no equal. Its sanctity derives from the fact that its idea was conceived during Baba's lifetime and with his blessings and express permission. For those unaware of Shri Sai Satcharita, it is necessary to add that in the original it runs into 53 chapters and contains over 9,000 verses. Every chapter has a judicious mixture of philosophy, stories and anecdotes along with the Baba's teachings.

Inside the Yoga Sutras presents a clear, up-to-date perspective on the classic text of Yoga theory and practice: the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali. This comprehensive sourcebook includes: commentary for each sutra, extensive cross referencing, a study gu

A free open access ebook is available upon publication. Learn more at www.luminosoa.org. The Practice of Texts examines the uses of the Sanskrit medical classics in two educational institutions of India's classical life science, Ayurveda: the college and the gurukula. In this interdisciplinary study, Anthony Cerulli probes late- and postcolonial reforms in ayurvedic education, the development of the ayurvedic college, and the impacts of the college curriculum on ways that ayurvedic physicians understand and use the Sanskrit classics in their professional work today. His fieldwork in south India illuminates the nature of philology and ritual in the ayurvedic gurukula and showcases how knowledge is exchanged among students, teachers, and patients. The result, Cerulli shows, is that the Sanskrit classics are presented and applied differently in the college and gurukula, producing a variety of relationships with these texts among practitioners. By interrogating the politics surrounding the place of the Sanskrit classics in ayurvedic curricula, this book reveals a spectrum of views about the history and tradition of Ayurveda in modern India.

Hinduism is practised by nearly eighty per cent of India's population, and by some seventy million people outside India. In this Very Short Introduction, Kim Knott offers a succinct and authoritative overview of this major religion, and analyses the challenges facing it in the twenty-first century. She discusses key preoccupations of Hinduism such as the centrality of the Veda as religious texts, the role of Brahmins, gurus, and storytellers in the transmission of divine truths, and the cultural and moral importance of epics such as the Ramayana. In this second edition Knott considers the impact of changes in technology and the flourishing of social media on Hinduism, and looks at the presence of Hinduism in popular culture, considering pieces such as Sita Sings the Blues. She also analyses recent developments in India, and the impact issues such as Hindu nationalism and the politicization of Hinduism have on Hindus worldwide. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.

Three chief categories of seekers have been kept in view in selecting passages for this compilation: those who wish to obtain a greater life-mastery; those who, while pursuing the common goals of life, also aim at something beyond the ordinary life and seek to grow towards a higher or spiritual state of being; and those for whom spiritual growth is the primary purpose and occupation of life......

A delightfully straightforward and lyrical retelling of the ancient Indian epic of loyalty, betrayal, redemption, and insight into the true nature of life -- one of history's most sacred ethical works, rendered with completeness and sterling accuracy for the modern reader. Here is one of the world's most hallowed works of sacred literature, the grand, sweeping epic of the divine bowman and warrior Rama and his struggles with evil, power, duplicity, and avarice. "The Ramayana" is one of the foundations of world literature and one of humanity's most ancient and treasured ethical and spiritual works. "This new version is so simply and beautifully written -- it will stir the soul!" --David Lynch

In India, statues of Ganesh are placed at the inner gates of many temples, symbolizing his role as keeper of sacred spaces. Here, pilgrims and passersby pay homage and seek his blessings. It is this symbolic presence at the entrance of our most holy places that makes Ganesh such a vital figure in our lives.
Stationed at the threshold of sacredness and awareness, mediating between the possibility of the profound and our often habitual, mundane perception of the world, Ganesh is the guiding force behind this very moment of experience - where desire meets possibility. "Ganesh: Removing the Obstacles" offers practical and meaningful interpretations of folk narratives and sacred texts concerning the larger-than-life elephant-headed god, Ganesh.