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Books > Religion & Spirituality > Non-Christian religions > Religions of Indic & Oriental origin > Hinduism
This is the second volume of a translation of India's most beloved
and influential epic saga, the monumental R?m?ya?a of V?lm?ki. Of
the seven sections of this great Sanskrit masterpiece, the
Ayodhyak???a is the most human, and it remains one of the best
introductions to the social and political values of traditional
India. This readable translation is accompanied by commentary that
elucidates the various problems of the text--philological,
aesthetic, and cultural. The annotations make extensive use of the
numerous commentaries on the R?m?ya?a composed in medieval India.
The substantial introduction supplies a historical context for the
poem and a critical reading that explores its literary and
ideological components.
The High-Caste Hindu Woman (1887) is a work of political nonfiction
by Pandita Ramabai. Written for an American audience, The
High-Caste Hindu Woman was published in Philadelphia while Ramabai
was living in the United States as a lecturer for the Women's
Christian Temperance Union. Born and raised in India, Ramabai
converted to Christianity and dedicated her life to advocating on
behalf of impoverished women and children. A fiery orator and true
iconoclast, Ramabai's activism led to important educational and
social reforms in her native country. Arguing for the need to offer
education to women, Ramabai examines the nature of life for Hindu
women born into the Brahman caste in nineteenth century India.
Despite their position in Indian society, these women remained
subjected to the control of their husbands, who limited their
freedom and social mobility. Ramabai examines the traditions and
customs of Hinduism in order to show how women are made ignorant by
their oppression and taught to accept their conditions, thereby
prolonging the suffering of lower caste and impoverished Hindus.
Through education alone, Ramabai shows, are women able to alter
their oppressed condition. Both a portrait of Indian life and a
moving political treatise, The High-Caste Hindu Woman showcases
Ramabai's foresight as an activist and reformer who sought to
radically improve the lives of her people. With a beautifully
designed cover and professionally typeset manuscript, this edition
of Pandita Ramabai The High-Caste Hindu Woman is a classic work of
Indian political nonfiction reimagined for modern readers.
The name Bhagavad Gita sounds exotic; but the truths it teaches are
the essential truths of every great teaching. To understand the
Gita is to understand truth, religion, and the depth of each
person's divine nature.
With the Hindu nationalist BJP now replacing the Congress as the
only national political force, the communalization of the Indian
polity has qualitatively advanced since the earlier edition of this
book in 1997. This edition has been substantially reworked and
updated with several new chapters added. Hindutva's rise
necessitates a more critical take on mainstream secular claims
ironically reinforced by liberal-left sections discovering special
virtues in India's 'distinctive' secularism. The careful evaluation
of the ongoing debate on 'Indian fascism' has resonances for the
broader debate about how best to assess the dangers of the far
right's rise in other liberal democracies. A study follows of how
Hindutva forces are pursuing their project of establishing a Hindu
Rashtra and how to thwart them through a wider transformative
struggle targeting capitalism itself.
This text acts as an introduction to the essence of Hindu Tantrism.
It introduces the major concepts and offers corrections for many
misconceptions. The reader will learn of the ten wisdom goddesses
and core Tantric practices, such as meditation and mantra
recitation.
The Veda in Kashmir presents a detailed history and the current
state of Veda tradition in Kashmir. It traces the vicissitudes of
Vedic texts and rituals and their survival during some 400 years of
Muslim rule. The peculiarities of the Sakalya Rgveda, Katha
Yajurveda, and Paippalada Atharvaveda texts are discussed in great
detail. The rituals from birth to death of the Pandits, the
Kashmiri Brahmins, are depicted and explained, including current
interpretation. This two-volume work includes a DVD that contains
additional texts, rituals, sound recordings, and films taken in
1973 and 1979.
RELIGION / HINDUISM "Peter Marchand has accomplished something
unique in his new book. He has turned Jnana Yoga, the highest
non-dual philosophy, into a real page-turner. I especially enjoy
reading the book just before going to sleep; when I do, I find
myself resting deeply and waking up each morning more connected to
my unchanging Being." --Swami Asokananda, president of
Satchidananda Ashram-Yogaville In The Yoga of Truth, Peter
Marchand, through a series of deceptively simple introspective
questions, leads the seeker into discarding everything--body,
personality, thoughts, memories, experiences--that disguises the
ego's relentless masquerade as the Self. This is a contemplative
yoga, requiring constant commitment to witnessing without
attachment. This inner examination disempowers the ego's fixation
on its products and leads instead to the realization that the
witnessing consciousness is, in fact, the one immutable Being
within or without--the real Self, the true You. The universal
illusion rests upon space and time, body and elements, the life
force, mind, intellect, ego, and self. Jnana Yoga reveals not only
the insubstantial and illusory nature of our presumptions but also
our habitual commitment to the false sense of self that they
create. This illusion of individuality collapses before direct
inspection. When something has form, when it can change, it cannot
be the eternal with which we seek union. Witnessing consciousness
stands alone as that which is without form. In The Yoga of Truth,
Marchand leads us simply, and compellingly, to the truth of our
nature and the peaceful bliss of true Being. PETER MARCHAND is one
of the founders of Sanatan Society, a networking organization ofthe
family and students of Harish Johari (1934-1999), a tantric
scholar, poet, and artist who authored twelve books, including
Chakras and Tools for Tantra. Marchand became a student of Johari
in 1983 and teaches Rasa Sadhana and Jnana Yoga in Europe, India,
the United States, and Canada. The author of The Yoga of the Nine
Emotions, he lives in Belgium
This book explores what integral morality and maturity means in
traditional yogic terms and in the context of contemporary culture.
Feuerstein shows how the ancient teachings of Yoga are singularly
relevant in our time of global crisis. At the same time, he offers
a trenchant critique of the contemporary Yoga movement. This work,
which is full of surprising insights, is required reading for
anyone aspiring to understand or practice authentic Yoga.
The Upanishads are among the source books of the Hindu faith, being
the concluding portion of the Hindu scriptures, the Vedas, also the
Vedanta. This selection of translations by Swami Nikhilananda
contains the Svetasvatara, Prasna and Mandukya Upanishads together
with a special contribution to Western understanding of these
important books in the form of a noteworthy essay on Hindu Ethics.
Translated from the Sanskrit with an Introduction embodying a study
of Hindu Ethics, and with Notes and Explantions based on the
Commentary of Sri Sankaracharya, the great Eighth-Century
Philosopher and Saint of India. Contents Include: Svetasvatara
Upanishad - Prasna Upanishad - Mandukya Upanishad
This work contains almost everything written by Bhagavan Sri Ramana
Maharshi, his inspired compositions, and a number of translations
from ancient Advaitic texts, representing the essence of his
teachings. They fall into two categories-those which exemplify the
path of surrender through love and devotion to the Divine, and
those which are more doctrinal. The first group included the Five
Hymns to Sri Arunachala, of which the first poem, The Marital
Garland of Letters, "is among the most profound and moving poems in
any language" and expressses the attitude of the soul aspiring for
union with God. Sri Bhagavan has affirmed that seekers who study
these works are certain to attain the Bliss of Liberation.
Krishna, one of the most beloved characters of the Hindu pantheon,
has been portrayed in many lights: a god-child, a prankster, a
model lover, a divine hero, an exemplary ruler, and the Supreme
Being. In _The Complete Life of Krishna_, Vanamali, a leading
Krishna expert from a long line of prominent Krishna devotees,
provides the first book in English or Sanskrit to cover the
complete range of the avatar's life. Drawing from the Bhagavad
Purana, the Bhagavad Gita, the Mahabharata, and India's sacred oral
tradition, Vanamali shares stories from Krishna's birth in a
dungeon and early days as a merry trickster in Vrindavana, through
his time as divine ruler at Dwaraka, to his final powerful acts as
the hero Arjuna's charioteer and guru in the Kurukshetra war. She
explains how Krishna became a mahayogi, the greatest of all yogis,
and attained complete mastery over himself and nature. By
integrating the hero-child with the mahayogi, the playful lover
with the divine ruler, Vanamali shows how the stories of Krishna's
life are expressed with such simplicity and humor that they enable
anyone--man, woman, or child--to see the wisdom of his teachings.
This complete biography of the man who was also a god provides a
valuable meditative tool allowing Krishna's lessons to illuminate
from within.
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Upanisads
(Paperback)
Patrick Olivelle
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R310
R269
Discovery Miles 2 690
Save R41 (13%)
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Ships in 10 - 15 working days
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The Upanisads are the central scriptures of Hinduism. They
represent some of the most important literary products in the
history of Indian culture and religion, both because they played a
critical role in the development of religious ideas in India and
because they are our greatest source for the religious, social, and
intellectual history of ancient India. Composed at a time of great
social, economic, and religious change, the Upanisads document the
transition from the archaic ritualism of the Veda into new
religious ideas and institutions. The first major English
translation of the ancient Upanisads for over half a century,
Olivelle's work incorporates the most recent historical and
philological scholarship. The introduction and detailed notes make
this edition ideal for the non-specialist as well as for students
of Indian religions. ABOUT THE SERIES: For over 100 years Oxford
World's Classics has made available the widest range of literature
from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford's
commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a
wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions
by leading authorities, helpful notes to clarify the text,
up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more.
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.
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.
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