By Klaus K. Klostermaier
The 3rd variation of this well-regarded creation to Hinduism provides new fabric at the religion's origins, on its family members with rival traditions, and on Hindu technological know-how.
Read or Download A Survey of Hinduism, Third Edition PDF
Best hinduism books
Myth = Mithya: Decoding Hindu Mythology
Submit 12 months be aware: First released in 2006
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A deciphering of Hindu mythology Hindus have one God. additionally they have 330 million gods: male gods; woman gods; own gods; family members gods; loved ones gods; village gods; gods of house and time; gods for particular castes and specific professions; gods who stay in timber; in animals; in minerals; in geometrical styles and in man-made gadgets. Then there are a complete host of demons. yet no satan.
In this groundbreaking booklet Dr Devdutt Pattanaik; considered one of India's most well-liked mythologists; seeks a solution to those obvious paradoxes and unravels an inherited fact approximately existence and loss of life; nature and tradition; perfection and risk. He retells sacred Hindu tales and decodes Hindu symbols and rituals; utilizing a special form of remark; illustrations and diagrams. we find why the villainous Kauravas went to heaven and the virtuous Pandavas (all other than Yudhishtira) have been despatched to hell; why Rama regardless of forsaking the blameless Sita continues to be the version king; why the blood-drinking Kali is one other kind of the milk-giving Gauri; and why Shiva wrenched off the 5th head of Brahma.
Constructed over generations; Hindu myths function home windows to the soul; and supply an realizing of the realm round us. the purpose isn't to outgrow fantasy; yet to be enriched and empowered by means of its old; effective and nonetheless suitable language.
Anandamath, or The Sacred Brotherhood
It is a translation of a traditionally very important Bengali novel. released in 1882, Chatterji's Anandamath helped create the ambience and the symbolism for the nationalist move resulting in Indian independence in 1947. It comprises the well-known hymn Vande Mataram ("I revere the Mother"), which has develop into India's respectable nationwide track.
Abhinavagupta: A Trident of Wisdom
It is a lengthy observation on a brief Tantra. some of the most authoritative and honored texts in Kashmir Shaivism, it bargains with the character of final fact and with equipment of attention targeting the idea and perform of Mantra. Abhinavagupta provides his metaphysics of language, of the area (Vak), and its relation to attention.
Myths of the Asanas: The Stories at the Heart of the Yoga Tradition
Practitioners worldwide attain the actual merits of yoga, assuming poses and regularly calling them through their Sanskrit names. whereas many be aware of that hanumanasana is termed for the deity Hanuman, few comprehend why this is often the case. in the back of every one asana and its corresponding events is an historic tale a couple of god, sage, or sacred animal, very like Aesop’s fables or eu folktales.
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Extra info for A Survey of Hinduism, Third Edition
Example text
In connection with recommendations on their behalf by the Mandal Commission, this led to riots and self-immolation by caste Hindus some years ago. India is a large country and has always contained a considerable part of the earth’s population, roughly one-sixth at present. India’s civilization in all its aspects—material, intellectual, artistic, spiritual—is a major component of world civilization and has been so for the past five thousand years at least. Learning about India widens our horizons and makes us better understand what it means to be human and civilized.
The identity of Hinduism rests primarily on the particular line of verbal revelation on which the Hindu tradition is grounded. The Vedas and the other books, which are held sacred as scriptures by Hindus, differentiate Hinduism from other religions possessing their own specific holy books, and they permit at least in a negative way a definition of the essentials of Hinduism over against what is not Hinduism. While acceptance of the Veda as revealed is certainly the most basic criterion for declaring oneself a Hindu—the preferred self-designation of Hinduism in Indian languages is Vaidika dharma, the “Vedic Law”—there is another genre of literature that has shaped the minds and hearts of present-day Hindus much more profoundly: the two great epics, Mahābhārata and Rāmāyana, and the voluminous Purāṇas, the true Bibles of Hinduism.
The boons are limited by the power of the god, and the tapasvi has to make the right choice. If the god is not quick witted enough, the ascetic who called him can also turn the boon against the god. The gods, therefore, usually grant boons with built-in precautions, stipulating the conditions under which the boon will be effective. A telling story is that of Vikra, who, after practicing severe tapas for many years, called on Śiva, asking him to grant the boon that whosoever’s head he would touch, that person should die instantly.
