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Books > Religion & Spirituality > Non-Christian sacred works & liturgy > Sacred texts
The Mahabharata, one of the major epics of India, is a sourcebook
complete by itself as well as an open text constantly under
construction. This volume looks at transactions between its modern
discourses and ancient vocabulary. Located amid conversations
between these two conceptual worlds, the volume grapples with the
epic's problematisation of dharma or righteousness, and
consequently, of the ideal person and the good life through a
cluster of issues surrounding the concept of agency and action.
Drawing on several interdisciplinary approaches, the essays reflect
on a range of issues in the Mahabharata, including those of duty,
motivation, freedom, selfhood, choice, autonomy, and justice, both
in the context of philosophical debates and their ethical and
political ramifications for contemporary times. This book will be
of interest to scholars and researchers engaged with philosophy,
literature, religion, history, politics, culture, gender, South
Asian studies, and Indology. It will also appeal to the general
reader interested in South Asian epics and the Mahabharata.
This book, first published in 1962, is an analysis of the history
of the philosophy of a country that has never distinguished
philosophy from religion. Indian philosophy is not merely
metaphysical speculation, but has its foundation in immediate
perception. This insistence upon immediate perception rather than
abstract reasoning is what distinguishes the Indian philosophy of
religion from philosophy as Western nations know it.
This book, first published in 1968, is a collection of twenty-five
lectures by Swami Prabhavananda, the outstanding scholar and
translator of Hindu scriptures. They present a direct and pragmatic
approach to spiritual life, and a clear guide to Hinduism.
This book, first published in 1968, comprises five articles on the
immortality of the soul. According to Hindu tradition this
immortality cannot be proved by the scientific method of reasoning
- it is based upon scriptural evidence and on the direct experience
of enlightened souls. These articles examine the Hindu tradition
and provide reasoned support to the scriptures and experiences.
This book, first published in 1957, was the first in English to
provide a full and clear introduction to one of the most
significant of Indian gods, and stresses his supreme role in Indian
religion and art. The book relates the full Krishna story,
explaining his role in Indian religion, and traces the history of
Krishna in Indian painting. There are 39 plates of Indian pictures,
each accompanied by a commentary by the author, revealing a wealth
of subtle and poetic detail.
Indian art, increasingly popular in the west, cannot be fully
appreciated without some knowledge of the religious and
philosophical background. This book, first published in 1985,
covers all aspects of Hindu iconography, and explains that its
roots lie far back in the style of prehistoric art. The dictionary
demonstrates the rich profusion of cults, divinities, symbols,
sects and philosophical views encompassed by the Hindu religious
tradition.
This volume is a systematic and comprehensive introduction to one
of the most read texts in South Asia, the Bhagavad-gita. The
Bhagavad-gita is at its core a religious text, a philosophical
treatise and a literary work, which has occupied an authoritative
position within Hinduism for the past millennium. This book brings
together themes central to the study of the Gita, as it is
popularly known - such as the Bhagavad-gita's structure, the
history of its exegesis, its acceptance by different traditions
within Hinduism and its national and global relevance. It
highlights the richness of the Gita's interpretations, examines its
great interpretive flexibility and at the same time offers a
conceptual structure based on a traditional commentarial tradition.
With contributions from major scholars across the world, this book
will be indispensable for scholars and researchers of religious
studies, especially Hinduism, Indian philosophy, Asian philosophy,
Indian history, literature and South Asian studies.
This volume is a systematic and comprehensive introduction to one
of the most read texts in South Asia, the Bhagavad-gita. The
Bhagavad-gita is at its core a religious text, a philosophical
treatise and a literary work, which has occupied an authoritative
position within Hinduism for the past millennium. This book brings
together themes central to the study of the Gita, as it is
popularly known - such as the Bhagavad-gita's structure, the
history of its exegesis, its acceptance by different traditions
within Hinduism and its national and global relevance. It
highlights the richness of the Gita's interpretations, examines its
great interpretive flexibility and at the same time offers a
conceptual structure based on a traditional commentarial tradition.
With contributions from major scholars across the world, this book
will be indispensable for scholars and researchers of religious
studies, especially Hinduism, Indian philosophy, Asian philosophy,
Indian history, literature and South Asian studies.
This collection of essays seeks to demonstrate that many biblical
authors deliberately used Classical and Hellenistic Greek texts for
inspiration when crafting many of the narratives in the Primary
History. Through detailed analysis of the text, Gnuse contends that
there are numerous examples of clear influence from late classical
and Hellenistic literature. Deconstructing the biblical and Greek
works in parallel, he argues that there are too many similarities
in basic theme, meaning, and detail, for them to be accounted for
by coincidence or shared ancient tropes. Using this evidence, he
suggests that although much of the text may originate from the
Persian period, large parts of its final form likely date from the
Hellenistic era. With the help of an original introduction and
final chapter, Gnuse pulls his essays together into a coherent
collection for the first time. The resultant volume offers a
valuable resource for anyone working on the dating of the Hebrew
Bible, as well as those working on Hellenism in the ancient Levant
more broadly.
The Mahabharata has been explored extensively as a work of
mythology, epic poetry, and religious literature, but the text's
philosophical dimensions have largely been under-appreciated by
Western scholars. This book explores the philosophical implications
of the Mahabharata by paying attention to the centrality of
dialogue, both as the text's prevailing literary expression and its
organising structure. Focusing on five sets of dialogues about
controversial moral problems in the central story, this book shows
that philosophical deliberation is an integral part of the
narrative. Black argues that by paying attention to how characters
make arguments and how dialogues unfold, we can better appreciate
the Mahabharata's philosophical significance and its potential
contribution to debates in comparative philosophy today. This is a
fresh perspective on the Mahabharata that will be of great interest
to any scholar working in religious studies, Indian/South Asian
religions, comparative philosophy, and world literature.
In the public sphere, it is often assumed that acts of violence
carried out by Muslims are inspired by their religious commitment
and encouraged by the Qur'an. Some people express similar concerns
about the scriptures and actions of Christians and Jews. Might they
be right? What role do scriptural texts play in motivating and
justifying violence in these three traditions? Scripture and
Violence explores the complex relationship between scriptural texts
and real-world acts of violence. A variety of issues are addressed,
including the prevalent modern tendency to express more concern
about other people's texts and violence than one's own, to treat
interpretation and application of scriptural passages as
self-evident, and to assume that the actions of religious people
are directly motivated by what they read in scriptures.
Contributions come from a diverse group of scholars of Islam,
Judaism, and Christianity with varying perspectives on the issues.
Highlighting the complex relationship between texts and human
actions, this is an essential read for students and academics
studying religion and violence, Abrahamic religions, or scriptural
interpretation. Scripture and Violence will also be of interest to
researchers working on religion and politics, sociology and
anthropology of religion, socio-political approaches to scriptural
texts, and issues surrounding religion, secularity, and the public
sphere. This volume could also form a basis for discussions in
churches, synagogues, mosques, interfaith settings, and government
agencies. The editors of Scripture and Violence have also set up a
website including lesson plans/discussion guides for the different
chapters in the book, available here:
https://www.scriptureandviolence.org/scripture-and-violence-book-and-chapter-discussion-guides
This book focuses on the expressions used to describe Job's body in
pain and on the reactions of his friends to explore the moral and
social world reflected in the language and the values that their
speeches betray. A key contribution of this monograph is to
highlight how the perspective of illness as retribution is
powerfully refuted in Job's speeches and, in particular, to show
how this is achieved through comedy. Comedy in Job is a powerful
weapon used to expose and ridicule the idea of retribution.
Rejecting the approach of retrospective diagnosis, this monograph
carefully analyses the expression of pain in Job focusing
specifically on somatic language used in the deity attack
metaphors, in the deity surveillance metaphors and in the language
connected to the body and social status. These metaphors are
analysed in a comparative way using research from medical
anthropology and sociology which focuses on illness narratives and
expressions of pain. Job's Body and the Dramatised Comedy of
Moralising will be of interest to anyone working on the Book of
Job, as well as those with an interest in suffering and pain in the
Hebrew Bible more broadly.
In this highly original study, David Gillis demonstrates that the
Mishneh torah, Maimonides' code of Jewish law, has the structure of
a microcosm. Through this symbolic form, Maimonides presents the
law as designed to perfect the individual and society by shaping
them in the image of the divinely created cosmic order. The
commandments of the law thereby bring human beings closer to
fulfilling their ultimate purpose, knowledge of God. This symbolism
turns the Mishneh torah into an object of contemplation that itself
communicates such knowledge. In short, it is a work of art. Gillis
unpacks the metaphysical and cosmological underpinnings of
Maimonides' scheme of organization with consummate skill, allowing
the reader to understand the Mishneh torah's artistic dimension and
to appreciate its power. Moreover, as he makes clear, uncovering
this dimension casts new light on one of the great cruxes of
Maimonides studies: the relationship of the Mishneh torah to his
philosophical treatise The Guide of the Perplexed. A fundamental
unity is revealed between Maimonides the codifier and Maimonides
the philosopher that has not been fully appreciated hitherto.
Maimonides' artistry in composition is repeatedly shown to serve
his aims in persuading us of the coherence and wisdom of the
halakhic system. Gillis's fine exegesis sets in high relief the
humane and transcendental purposes and methods of halakhah as
Maimonides conceived of it, in an argument that is sure-footed and
convincing.
This acclaimed spiritual masterpiece is widely regarded as one of the most complete and authoritative presentations of the Tibetan Buddhist teachings ever written. A manual for life and death and a magnificent source of sacred inspiration from the heart of the Tibetan tradition, The Tibetan Book Of Living and Dying provides a lucid and inspiring introduction to the practice of meditation, to the nature of mind, to karma and rebirth, to compassionate love and care for the dying, and to the trials and rewards of the spiritual path.
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