Dealing with Deities

Dealing with Deities PDF

Author: Selva J. Raj

Publisher: State University of New York Press

Published: 2012-02-01

Total Pages: 310

ISBN-13: 0791482006

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Drawing on original field research, Dealing with Deities explores the practice of taking ritual vows in the lives of ordinary religious practitioners in South Asia. The cornerstone of lay religious activity, vow rituals are adopted by Muslims, Hindus, Christians, Buddhists, Jains, and Sikhs who wish to commit themselves to ritually enacted relationships with sacred figures in order to gain earthly boons and spiritual merit. The contributors to this volume offer a fascinating look at the varieties and complexities of vows and also focus on a unique characteristic of this vow-taking culture, that of resorting to deities and shrines of other religions in defiance of institutional directives and religious boundaries. Richly illustrated, the book explores the creativity of South Asian devotees and their deeply felt convictions that what they require, they can achieve faithfully—and independently—by dealing directly with deities.

Hekate

Hekate PDF

Author: Sorita D'Este

Publisher:

Published: 2010

Total Pages: 306

ISBN-13: 9781905297351

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A collection of devotional essays on working with Hekate.

Sacred Play

Sacred Play PDF

Author: Selva J. Raj

Publisher: State University of New York Press

Published: 2010-01-12

Total Pages: 243

ISBN-13: 1438429819

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Explores the significance of levity and humor in South Asian religious traditions.

Dictionary of Gods and Goddesses

Dictionary of Gods and Goddesses PDF

Author: Michael Jordan

Publisher: Infobase Publishing

Published: 2014-05-14

Total Pages: 417

ISBN-13: 1438109857

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Presents brief entries describing the gods and goddesses from the mythology and religion of a wide variety of cultures throughout history.

Depicted Deities

Depicted Deities PDF

Author: M.L.B. Blom

Publisher: BRILL

Published: 2023-08-07

Total Pages: 98

ISBN-13: 9004646604

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This book deals with the rules of art. More specifically, it treats of the unwritten rules of Nepalese religious art as laid down in ‘model books’. These can be seen as manuals for the artists, in which they can find the correct way to represent, in visual art, any of some 2000 godly figures. The representation of these gods, all of them with their particular attributes, was (and is) subject to more or less strict rules. These books, the kind of which is also found in Europe in the early Middle Ages, have developed into a special tradition in Nepal, where a unique number of model books was found to be in existence, the oldest of them going back to the 15th century. The author of this study (the first in its kind) has traced the development in time of some 150 popular Hindu deities to determine the meaning of these model books for the artists using them, and also to see if the representation of these gods is in any way related to changes in society.

Popular Christianity in India

Popular Christianity in India PDF

Author: Selva J. Raj

Publisher: State University of New York Press

Published: 2012-02-01

Total Pages: 307

ISBN-13: 0791487814

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Popular Christianity in India explores Indian Christianity as crafted and expressed through lived experience, providing an important balance to currently available, typically theological, studies. Drawing from many disciplines, this volume unearths the multifaceted terrain of festivals, rituals, saints, miracle workers, missionaries, and visionaries in Christian India, providing a wonderful glimpse of its richness and complexities. The contributors reveal the ways in which local Christian traditions deftly challenge assumed divisions and power imbalances between East and West, Hindu and Christian, foreign and indigenous, and elite and local expressions. Whether forging complicated religious, caste, and national identities, employing religious hybridity to promote well-being, or asserting autonomy within oppressive social and religious structures, local Christianity provides a crucial means for its participants to manage their earthly needs and desires.

Pagan Theology

Pagan Theology PDF

Author: Michael York

Publisher: NYU Press

Published: 2005-04

Total Pages: 251

ISBN-13: 0814797083

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In Pagan Theology, Michael York provides an introduction to, and expansion of, the concept of Paganism and provides an overview of its theological perspective and practice. He demonstrates it to be a viable and distinguishable spiritual perspective found today in such forms as Chinese folk religion, Shinto, tribal religions, and neo-Paganism in the West. While adherents of many of these traditions do not use the word "pagan" to describe their beliefs or practices, York contends that there is an identifiable position possessing characteristics and understandings in common for which the label "pagan" is appropriate. He outlines these characteristics and also explores paganism as a general form of religious behavior which may be found in other religions which are not themselves pagan. In the course of examining such behavior, York provides descriptions of religions in action, including Buddhism and Hinduism.

Encyclopedia of Gods

Encyclopedia of Gods PDF

Author: Michael Jordan

Publisher: Echo Point Books & Media, LLC

Published: 2022-12-27

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9781648372254

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This reference book offers a comprehensive survey of gods and goddesses from cultures across the globe, with each entry covering specific cultures, dates of worship, the role the god played, and defining characteristics and symbols.