Download or read book Deities and Devotees written by Uma Maheswari Bhrugubanda and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2018-09-18 with total page 318 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: How have cinema and popular religion shaped each other? Is the display of devotion in a cinema hall the same as devotion in a temple? How do we understand cinema’s compelling power to mesmerize people? Unlike Hindi cinema, mythological and devotional films remained popular genres in Telugu (and Tamil too) until quite recently. The political success of film star N.T. Rama Rao, well-known for his portrayal of gods and kings, posed afresh the problem of cinema’s power to enthral. To what extent viewers were persuaded of his divinity became a matter of debate. In later decades, the figure of another kind of viewer haunted the discourses around cinema, that of the female viewer who got possessed during screenings of goddess films. Using questions around viewership as the focal point, this book studies the intersections between popular cinema, religion, and politics in South India. The first full-length study of Telugu mythological and devotional films, it combines an account of the history and politics of these genres with an anthropology of film-making and viewership practices. It argues that cinema and other audio-visual technologies lead to the re-orientation of sensibilities and the cultivation of new sensory modes.
Download or read book Krishna Deities and Their Miracles written by Stephen Knapp and published by Createspace Independent Publishing Platform. This book was released on 2011 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Krishna Deities and Their Miracles This book helps reveal how the Deities of Krishna in the temple are but another channel through which the Divine can be better understood and perceived. In fact, the Deities Themselves can exhibit what some would call miracles in the way They reveal how the Divine accepts the Deity form. These miracles between the Deities of Krishna and His devotees happen in many different ways, and all the time. This is one process through which Krishna, or the Supreme Being, reveals Himself and the reality of His existence. Stories of such miracles or occurrences extend through the ages up to modern times, and all around the world. This book relates an assortment of these events to show how the images in the temples have manifested Their personality and character in various ways in Their pastimes with Their devotees, whether it be for developing their devotion, instructing them, or simply giving them His kindness, mercy or inspiration. This book helps show that the Supreme Reality is a person who plays and exhibits His pastimes in any manner He likes. This is also why worship of the Deity in the temple has been and remains a primary means of increasing one's devotion and connection with the Supreme Being. Besides presenting stories of the reciprocation that can exist between Krishna in His Deity form and the ordinary living beings, other topics include: The antiquity of devotion to the Deity in the Vedic tradition. Historical sites of ancient Deity worship. Scriptural instructions and references to Deity veneration. The difference between idols and Deities. What is darshan and the significance of Deities. Why God would even take the initiative to reveal Himself to His devotees and accept the position of being a Deity. This book will give deeper insight into the unlimited personality and causeless benevolence of the Supreme, especially to those who become devoted to Him.
Download or read book Criminal Gods and Demon Devotees written by Alf Hiltebeitel and published by SUNY Press. This book was released on 1989-09-21 with total page 508 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Hindu sacred order is guarded by the very gods who violate it and the demons who oppose it. This book is a who's who of such transgressive figures, both familiar and unfamiliar, showing their place within the Hindu order that they violate. It is also a reflection of the serious scholarly debate over the nature and composition of this Hindu order. The chapters range from pan-Hindu deities such as Bhairava and Virabhadra to guardian gods of specific regions and lineages and of different goddess cults. Chapters cover violent themes in SAaivite hagiography, the position of Brahmans in relation to cultic carnivorism, guardian heroes in folk epic, the deified dead, the royal mythology of a "criminal caste," and a wide-ranging overview of transgressive sacrality.
Download or read book Dealing with Deities written by Selva J. Raj and published by State University of New York Press. This book was released on 2012-02-01 with total page 310 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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.
Download or read book Meeting God written by and published by Yale University Press. This book was released on 1999-01-01 with total page 280 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Huyler provides an introduction to the scope of Hindu beliefs and practices, accompanied by his arresting photographs documenting the spirituality of common men and women in India. 200 color illustrations.
Download or read book Hinduism written by Kim Knott and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2016 with total page 169 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Hinduism is practised by about 80% of India's population, and by about 30,000,000 people outside India. But how is Hinduism defined, and what basis does the religion have? This work gives concise insights into the central preoccupations of Hinduism.
Download or read book Consecration Rituals in South Asia written by István Keul and published by BRILL. This book was released on 2017-02-06 with total page 405 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The essays in the volume Consecration Rituals in South Asia address the ritual procedures that accompany the installation of temple images in Shaiva, Vaishnava, Buddhist and Jain contexts, in various traditions and historical periods.
Download or read book Ganeshpuri Days written by Swami Shankarananda and published by Shaktipat Press. This book was released on 2020-04-13 with total page 434 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In 1970, driven by a search for purpose and meaning, a young New Yorker leaves his promising academic career to travel to India seeking yogic wisdom. After many adventures, he arrives at the feet of the great Siddha master Baba Muktananda, in the holy village of Ganeshpuri. Here, he experiences the awakening of the kundalini energy. With enthusiasm, sincerity and candid self-reflection, Swami Shankarananda depicts his profound relationship with his Guru and the inner voyage of his transformation. He takes the reader on a mystical journey in which he does battle with his ego and his own negative tendencies and connects with the inner divine energy. Under Baba's guidance he emerges from a twelve-year apprenticeship as a knower of the Self and a Guru in his own right. 'Ganeshpuri Days' is a beautifully written account that will inspire readers to awaken to the true Self and fulfil their highest potential
Download or read book Into the Great Below written by Galina Krasskova and published by . This book was released on 2010-08 with total page 136 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Into the Great Below is a compilation of devotional poems, prayers, and rituals celebrating two magnificent Sumerian Goddesses: Inanna, Queen of Heaven and Erishkigal, Queen of the Underworld. In these pages you will find a map traversing the shadowy places between these two Holy Powers. Here, you will read about Inanna's courage, Her journey and decent into Irkla, and Her vulnerability before Her sister. Here too you will find prayers celebrating the wisdom of Eriskigal, Her power, Her fury, Her mercy. In this book, you will hear from contemporary devotees of these ancient Powers and through their words possibly glimpse the ways in which both goddesses touch Their devotees lives today.
Download or read book Hekate written by Sorita D'Este and published by . This book was released on 2010 with total page 306 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A collection of devotional essays on working with Hekate.
Download or read book The Yoruba God of Drumming written by Amanda Villepastour and published by Univ. Press of Mississippi. This book was released on 2016-01-19 with total page 339 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: As one of the salient forces in the ritual life of those who worship the pre-Christian and Muslim deities called orishas, the Yorùbá god of drumming, known as Àyàn in Africa and Añá in Cuba, is variously described as the orisha of drumming, the spirit of the wood, or the more obscure Yorùbá praise name AsòròIgi (Wood That Talks). With the growing global importance of orisha religion and music, the consequence of this deity's power for devotees continually reveals itself in new constellations of meaning as a sacred drum of Nigeria and Cuba finds new diasporas. Despite the growing volume of literature about the orishas, surprisingly little has been published about the ubiquitous Yorùbá music spirit. Yet wherever one hears drumming for the orishas, Àyàn or Añá is nearby. This groundbreaking collection addresses the gap in the research with contributions from a cross-section of prestigious musicians, scholars, and priests from Nigeria, the Americas, and Europe who have dedicated themselves to studying Yorùbá sacred drums and the god sealed within. As well as offering multidisciplinary scholarly insights from transatlantic researchers, the volume includes compelling first-hand accounts from drummer-priests who were themselves history-makers in Nigerian and Cuban diasporas in the United States, Venezuela, and Brazil. This collaboration between diverse scholars and practitioners constitutes an innovative approach, where differing registers of knowledge converge to portray the many faces and voices of a single god.
Download or read book Politics as Performance written by S. V. Srinivas and published by . This book was released on with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Hindu Gods in West Africa written by Albert Wuaku and published by BRILL. This book was released on 2013-07-11 with total page 346 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In Hindu Gods in West Africa, Wuaku offers an account of the histories, beliefs and practices of the Hindu Monastery of Africa and the Radha Govinda Temple, two Hindu Temples in Ghana. Using historical material and data from his field work in southern Ghana, Wuaku shows how these two Hindu Temples build their traditions on popular Ghanaian religious notions about the powerful magicality of India's Hindu gods. He explores how Ghanaian soldiers who served in the colonial armies in India, Sri Lanka, and Burma during World War II, Bollywood films, and local magicians, have contributed to the production and the spreading of these cultural ideas. He argues that while Ghanaian worshippers appropriated and deployed the alien Hindu religious world through their own cultural ideas, as they engage Hindu beliefs and rituals in negotiating challenges their own worldviews would change considerably.
Download or read book Goddess on the Rise written by Philip Taylor and published by University of Hawaii Press. This book was released on 2004-03-31 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An innovative and multidimensional account of translocal religious practice, this sophisticated study, the first of its kind for Vietnam, blurs disciplinary boundaries and disrupts preconceived images of Vietnamese society.
Download or read book A Garland of Forgotten Goddesses written by Michael Slouber and published by University of California Press. This book was released on 2020-12-22 with total page 374 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Imagining the divine as female is rare—even controversial—in most religions. Hinduism, by contrast, preserves a rich and continuous tradition of goddess worship. A Garland of Forgotten Goddesses conveys the diversity of this tradition by bringing together a fresh array of captivating and largely overlooked Hindu goddess tales from different regions. As the first such anthology of goddess narratives in translation, this collection highlights a range of sources from ancient myths to modern lore. The goddesses featured here battle demons, perform miracles, and grant rare Tantric visions to their devotees. Each translation is paired with a short essay that explains the goddess’s historical and social context, elucidating the ways religion adapts to changing times.
Download or read book The Disguises of the Demon written by Gail Hinich Sutherland and published by State University of New York Press. This book was released on 1991-07-03 with total page 258 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Among the most ancient deities of South Asia, the yaksha straddle the boundaries between popular and textual traditions in both Hinduism and Buddhism and both benevolent and malevolent facets. As a figure of material plenty, the yaksis epitomized as Kubera, god of wealth and king of the yaks In demonic guise, the yaksis related to a large family of demonic and quasi-demonic beings, such as nagas, gandharvas, raks, and the man-eating pisaacas. Translating and interpreting texts and passages from the Vedic literature, the Hindu epics, the Puranas, Kālidāsa's Meghadūta, and the Buddhist Jātaka Tales, Sutherland traces the development and transformation of the elusive yaksfrom an early identification with the impersonal absolute itself to a progressively more demonic and diminished terrestrial characterization. Her investigation is set within the framework of a larger inquiry into the nature of evil, misfortune, and causation in Indian myth and religion.
Download or read book Devotional Fanscapes written by Shalini Kakar and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2023-01-09 with total page 299 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Devotional Fanscapes examines the practices and materiality of fans who worship film stars as divine figures. This book is an analysis of visual culture and star temples that bring cinema, fandom, religion, and politics into undocumented negotiations in national and transnational contexts.
