Hayagrīva in South India

Hayagrīva in South India PDF

Author: Kamala Elizabeth Nayar

Publisher: BRILL

Published: 2004-03-01

Total Pages: 272

ISBN-13: 9047413040

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This book is about how mythology may be purposively adapted in the service of theology. It does so at the hand of Hayagrīva, since the 14th century C.E. revered as a full form of the Supreme Lord Viṣṇu in the local Śrīvaiṣṇava tradition of South India, but originally a relatively minor pan-Indian deity. Convincingly laying bare the complexity in respect of the pan-Indian images of Hayagrīva, it makes clear that there is no single unilinear history of this deity. It subsequently reconstructs the ‘Śrīnivaiṣṇava History’ of Hayagrīva, and brings out the selectivity involved in borrowing materials from the pan-Indian and local levels. Amidst the incredible complexity encountered here, this study exposes, however, that the emblems and functions of different images show continuity, although a god’s status may change according to the sect.

South India Heritage

South India Heritage PDF

Author: Prema Kasturi

Publisher:

Published: 2007

Total Pages: 650

ISBN-13:

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What do you know about Carnatic music? South India`s dance styles? Handloom weavers of Andhra Pradesh? The Madras Sanskrit College? The art of Ivory carving? Temple murals? Who was Ramanuja? How have Christians contributed to art, literature and architecture in South India? What`s notable about Gangaikondacholapuram, Belur, or Islamic places of worship? What do we know irrigation practices in Ancient South India? The evolution of Malayalam literature? What is special about the cuisines of South India? These are some of the 500-odd topics on South India`s Heritage discussed in this book. It provides snapshots of the collective cultural experience of the people of South India, their heroes, their rivers, lakes and hills and forests, their temples, their music, dance and folklore. The book has a general section on South India`s Heritage, common to the four southern states. It is followed by three sections--political, socio-economic and cultural. The book covers South India`s Heritage till the end of the nineteenth century. The book is targeted specifically at Indian students from South India who go abroad for college education. It is meant to give them an idea of our heritage--kindle their interest in the subject, enable them to answer questions, serve as their heritage companion and guide. A product of painstaking research, the book reflects an earnest attempt to shed light on a complex, amorphous, many-faceted subject and give it form, shape and substance.

The Sikh View on Happiness

The Sikh View on Happiness PDF

Author: Kamala Elizabeth Nayar

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing

Published: 2020-04-16

Total Pages: 272

ISBN-13: 1350139882

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Sukhmani (The Pearl of Happiness) is a popular Sikh text by Guru Arjan, which inculcates the Sikh religious ethos and philosophical perspective on wellbeing and happiness. The book features a new translation of this celebrated Sikh text and provides the first in-depth analysis of it. The Sikh View on Happiness begins with an overview of the nature of suffering and the attainment of happiness in Indian religions. This provides the foundation for the examination of the historical, social, and religious context of the Sukhmani and its contribution to the development of the Sikh tradition. In addition to exploring the spiritual teachings of the Sukhmani, Nayar and Sandhu draw upon the Sikh understanding of the mind, illness, and wellbeing to both introduce key Sikh psychological concepts and illustrate the practical application of traditional healing practices in the contemporary context. In doing so, they highlight the overlap of the teachings in the Sukhmani with concepts and themes found in Western psychotherapy, such as mindfulness, meaningful living, and resilience.

Dharma, Disorder and the Political in Ancient India

Dharma, Disorder and the Political in Ancient India PDF

Author: Adam Bowles

Publisher: BRILL

Published: 2007-10-15

Total Pages: 448

ISBN-13: 9047422600

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The Āpaddharmaparvan, 'the book on conduct in times of distress', is an important section of the great Sanskrit epic the Mahābhārata which, despite its significance for Mahābhārata studies and for the history of Indian social and political thought, has received little attention in scholarly literature. This book places the Āpaddharmaparvan within its literary and ideological contexts. In so doing it explores the development of a conception of brahmanic kingship morally justifiable within the terms of a debate largely set by various alternative social movements of the period. This book further explores the implications for our understanding of the Mahābhārata that follow from the Āpaddharmaparvan's presentation as a poetically cohesive unit within itself and within the wider parameters of the Mahābhārata.

Sikh Diaspora

Sikh Diaspora PDF

Author:

Publisher: BRILL

Published: 2013-08-29

Total Pages: 437

ISBN-13: 9004257233

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Sikh Diaspora: Theory, Agency, and Experience is a collection of essays offering new insights into the diverse experiences of Sikhs beyond the Punjab. Moving beyond migration history and global in their scope, the essays in this volume draw from a range of methodological approaches to engage with diaspora theory, agency, space, social relations, and aesthetics. Rich in substantive content, these essays offer critical reflections on the concept of diaspora, and insight into key features of Sikh experience including memory, citizenship, political engagement, architecture, multiculturalism, gender, literature, oral history, kirtan, economics, and marriage.

Seeing Spiritual India

Seeing Spiritual India PDF

Author: Stephen Knapp

Publisher: iUniverse

Published: 2008-05-29

Total Pages: 1016

ISBN-13: 0595614523

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This book is for anyone who wants to know of the many holy sites that you can visit while traveling within India, how to reach them, and what is the history and significance of these most spiritual of sacred sites, temples, and festivals. It also provides a deeper understanding of the mysteries and spiritual traditions of India. This book includes: Descriptions of the temples and their architecture, and what you will see at each place. Explanations of holy places of Hindus, Buddhists, Sikhs, Jains, Parsis, and Muslims. The spiritual benefits a person acquires by visiting them. Convenient itineraries to take to see the most of each area of India, which is divided into East, Central, South, North, West, the Far Northeast, and Nepal. Packing list suggestions and how to prepare for your trip, and problems to avoid. How to get the best experience you can from your visit to India. How the spiritual side of India can positively change you forever. This book goes beyond the usual descriptions of the typical tourist attractions and opens up the spiritual venue waiting to be revealed for a far deeper experience on every level.

Tibetan Ritual

Tibetan Ritual PDF

Author: Jose Ignacio Cabezon

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 2009-12-08

Total Pages: 320

ISBN-13: 9780199742400

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Ritual is one of the most pervasive religious phenomena in the Tibetan cultural world. Despite its ubiquity and importance to Tibetan cultural life, however, only in recent years has Tibetan ritual been given the attention it deserves. This is the first scholarly collection to focus on this important subject. Unique in its historical, geographical and disciplinary breadth, this book brings together eleven essays by an international cast of scholars working on ritual texts, institutions and practices in the greater Tibetan cultural world - Tibet, Nepal, Bhutan, and Mongolia. While most of the chapters focus on Buddhism, two deal with ritual in Tibet's indigenous Bon religion. All of the essays are original to this volume. An extensive introduction by the editor provides a broad overview of Tibetan ritual and contextualizes the chapters within the field of Buddhist and Tibetan studies. The book should find use in advanced undergraduate courses and graduate seminars on Tibetan religion. It will also be of interest to students and scholars of ritual generally.

From Coffee to Tea Cultivation in Ceylon, 1880-1900

From Coffee to Tea Cultivation in Ceylon, 1880-1900 PDF

Author: Roland Wenzlhuemer

Publisher: BRILL

Published: 2008-02-28

Total Pages: 360

ISBN-13: 9047432177

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In the early 1880s a disastrous plant disease diminished the yields of the hitherto flourishing coffee plantation of Ceylon. Coincidentally, world market conditions for coffee were becoming increasingly unfavourable. The combination of these factors brought a swift end to coffee cultivation in the British crown colony and pushed the island into a severe economic crisis. When Ceylon re-emerged from this crisis only a decade later, its economy had been thoroughly transformed and now rested on the large-scale cultivation of tea. This book uses the unprecedented intensity and swiftness of this process to highlight the socioeconomic interconnections and dependencies in tropical export economies in the late nineteenth century and it shows how dramatically Ceylonese society was affected by the economic transformation.

Religion in the Public Sphere

Religion in the Public Sphere PDF

Author: Solange Lefebvre

Publisher: University of Toronto Press

Published: 2014-01-01

Total Pages: 347

ISBN-13: 1442626305

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The place of religion in the public realm is the subject of frequent and lively debate in the media, among academics and policymakers, and within communities. With this edited collection, Solange Lefebvre and Lori G. Beaman bring together a series of case studies of religious groups and practices from all across Canada that re-examine and question the classic distinction between the public and private spheres. Religion in the Public Sphere explores the public image of religious groups, legal issues relating to “reasonable accommodations,” and the role of religion in public services and institutions like health care and education. Offering a wide range of contributions from religious studies, political science, theology, and law, Religion in the Public Sphere presents emerging new models to explain contemporary relations between religion, civil society, the private sector, family, and the state.

Religious Understandings of a Good Death in Hospice Palliative Care

Religious Understandings of a Good Death in Hospice Palliative Care PDF

Author: Harold Coward

Publisher: State University of New York Press

Published: 2012-06-13

Total Pages: 354

ISBN-13: 1438442750

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Winner of the 2012 AJN (American Journal of Nursing) Book of the Year Award in the Hospice and Palliative Care category In the 1960s, English physician and committed Christian Cicely Saunders introduced a new way of treating the terminally ill that she called "hospice care." Emphasizing a holistic and compassionate approach, her model led to the rapid growth of a worldwide hospice movement. Aspects of the early hospice model that stressed attention to the religious dimensions of death and dying, while still recognized and practiced, have developed outside the purview of academic inquiry and consideration. Meanwhile, global migration and multicultural diversification in the West have dramatically altered the profile of contemporary hospice care. In response to these developments, this volume is the first to critically explore how religious understandings of death are manifested and experienced in palliative care settings. Contributors discuss how a "good death" is conceived within the major religious traditions of Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Judaism, Buddhism, Chinese religion, and Aboriginal spirituality. A variety of real-world examples are presented in case studies of a Buddhist hospice center in Thailand, Ugandan approaches to dying with HIV/AIDS, Punjabi extended-family hospice care, and pediatric palliative care. The work sheds new light on the significance of religious belief and practice at the end of life, at the many forms religious understanding can take, and at the spiritual pain that so often accompanies the physical pain of the dying person.