Download or read book Ritual and Speculation in Early Tantrism written by Teun Goudriaan and published by SUNY Press. This book was released on 1992-01-01 with total page 380 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book illustrates the extent to which we can understand the writings of the leading tantricas whose views regarding the universe and enlightenment developed from ritual practice and yoga. Contributors to this anthology include Helene Brunner, Gudrun Buhnemann, Richard H. Davis, Vrajavallabha Dviveda, Sanjukta Gupta, Minoru Hara, Paul Muller-Ortega, Navjivan Rastogi, Alexis Sanderson, Jan A. Schoterman, Raffaele Torella, and Teun Goudriaan.
Download or read book Ritual and Speculation in Early Tantrism written by Teun Goudriaan and published by SUNY Press. This book was released on 1992-05-14 with total page 380 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book illustrates the extent to which we can understand the writings of the leading tantricas whose views regarding the universe and enlightenment developed from ritual practice and yoga. Contributors to this anthology include Helene Brunner, Gudrun Buhnemann, Richard H. Davis, Vrajavallabha Dviveda, Sanjukta Gupta, Minoru Hara, Paul Muller-Ortega, Navjivan Rastogi, Alexis Sanderson, Jan A. Schoterman, Raffaele Torella, and Teun Goudriaan.
Download or read book Theory and Practice of Yoga written by Knut A. Jacobsen and published by BRILL. This book was released on 2018-08-14 with total page 494 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This collection of original essays provides fascinating insights into yoga as a historical and pluralistic phenomenon flourishing in a variety of religious and philosophical contexts. They cover a wide variety of traditions and topics related to Yoga: Classical Yoga, Sāṃkhya, Tantric Yoga, Bhakti Yoga, the Guru, Indic Islamic traditions of Yoga, Yoga and asceticism in contemporary India, and the reception of Yoga in the West. The essays are written by eighteen professors in the field of the history of religions, most of them former graduate students of Gerald James Larson, Larson is Rabindranath Tagore Professor Emeritus, Indiana University, Bloomington, Professor Emeritus, Religious Studies, University of California, Santa Barbara, an internationally acclaimed scholar on the history of religions and philosophies of India, and one of the world's foremost authorities on the Samkhya and Yoga traditions. The publication is in honour of him.
Download or read book Vajrayogini written by Elizabeth English and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2013-02-08 with total page 607 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Vajrayogini is a tantric goddess from the highest class of Buddhist tantras who manifests the ultimate development of wisdom and compassion. Her practice is prevalent today among practitioners of Tibetan Buddhism. This ground-breaking book delves into the origins of Vajrayogini, charting her evolution in India and examining her roots in the Cakrasamvara tantra and in Indian tradition relating to siva. The focus of this work is the Guhyasamayasadhanamala, a collection of forty-six sadhanas, or practice texts. Written on palm leaves in Sanskrit and preserved since the twelfth century, this diverse collection, composed by various authors, reveals a multitude of forms of the goddess, each of which is described and illustrated here. One of the sadhanas, the Vajravarahi Sadhana by Umapatideva, depicts Vajrayogini at the center of a mandala of thirty-seven different goddesses, and is here presented in full translation alongside a Sanskrit edition. Elizabeth English provides extensive explanation and annotation of this representative text. Sixteen pages of stunning color plates not only enhance the study but bring the goddess to life.
Download or read book The Roots of Tantra written by Katherine Anne Harper and published by State University of New York Press. This book was released on 2012-02-01 with total page 281 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Among the many spiritual traditions born and developed in India, Tantra has been the most difficult to define. Almost everything about it—its major characteristics, its sources, its relationships to other religions, even its practices—are debated among scholars. In addition, Tantrism is not confined to any particular religion, but is a set of beliefs and practices that appears in a variety of religions, including Hinduism and Buddhism. This book explores one of the most controversial aspects of Tantra, its sources or roots, specifically in regard to Hinduism. The essays focus on the history and development of Tantra, the art history and archaeology of Tantra, the Vedas and Tantra, and texts and Tantra. Using various disciplinary and methodological approaches, from history to art history and religious studies to textual studies, scholars provide both broad overviews of the beginnings of Tantra and detailed analyses of specific texts, authors, art works, and rituals.
Download or read book Discovering the Vedas written by Frits Staal and published by Penguin Books India. This book was released on 2008 with total page 476 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this unprecedented guide to the Vedas, Frits Staal, the celebrated author of Agni- The Vedic Ritual of the Fire Altarand Universals- Studies in Indian Logic and Linguisticsexamines almost every aspect of these ancient sources of Indic civilisation. Staal extracts concrete information from the Oral Tradition and Archaeology about Vedic people and their language, what they thought and did, and where they went and when. He provides essential information about the Vedas and includes selections and translations. Staal sheds light on mantras and rituals, that contributed to what came to be known as Hinduism. Significant is a modern analysis of what we can learn from the Vedas today- the original forms of the Vedic sciences, as well as the perceptive wisdom of the composers of the Vedas. The author puts Vedic civilisation in a global perspective through a wide-ranging comparison with other Indic philosophies and religions, primarily Buddhism. For Staal, originally a logician, the voyage of discovering the Vedas is like unpeeling an onion but without the certainty of reaching an end. Even so, his book shows that the Vedas have a logic all their own. Accessible, finely-argued, and with a wealth of information and insight, Discovering the Vedas is for both the scholar and the interested lay reader.
Download or read book Rethinking Ghosts in World Religions written by Mu-chou Poo and published by BRILL. This book was released on 2009-06-24 with total page 360 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The central theme of this volume is to re-examine the received concepts and images of ghosts in various religious cultures ranging from the Ancient Near East and Egypt to the Old Testament, the Classical Era, Early Medieval and Early Modern Europe, Early India, and Medieval China. As a religious phenomenon, the realm of ghosts has been less studied than the realm of the divine. Through a collaborative effort by scholars from different disciplines, this volume proposes a multi-cultural approach to construct a wider and complicated picture of the phenomenon of ghosts and spirits in human societies and to have a grasp of the various problems involved in understanding the phenomenon of ghost.
Download or read book Tantra Iluminado written by Christopher D. Wallis and published by Mattamayura Press. This book was released on 2022-03-18 with total page 675 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Tantra Iluminado gu&ía al lector a lo largo de un viaje fascinante hacia el coraz&ón mismo del Tantra: sus ense&ñanzas principales, los linajes que le dan fundamento y sus pr&ácticas transformativas. Desde que Occidente descubri&ó el Tantra hace 100 a&ños, este movimiento espiritual ha sido objeto de gran fascinaci&ón, especulaci&ón, y una buena dosis de desinformaci&ón. Ahora, por primera vez en nuestra lengua, Tantra Iluminado nos brinda una introducci&ón accesible a esta sagrada tradici&ón que naci&ó hace 1,500 a&ños en el norte de la India. Esta obra se sustenta en fuentes originales en s&ánscrito, ofrece una mirada profunda a la pr&áctica espiritual, y revela la rica historia del Tantra junto con sus poderosas ense&ñanzas.Entrar en el mundo del Tantra original es adentrarse en un reino de magia y misterio, en una filosof&ía que expande nuestra mente; llena de ritos arcanos; panteones de diosas feroces encarnadas en s&ílabas m&ísticas; diagramas energéticos que dibujan un mapa de las dimensiones de la realidad; visualizaciones de los centros de poder del cuerpo; posturas que expresan las formas m&ás puras de la conciencia; experiencias nect&áreas del éxtasis m&ás absoluto, portadoras un poder sobrenatural, y conceptos que desaf&ían las normas fundamentales de la sociedad tradicional. En pocas palabras, un mundo que abarca todo el rango de la actividad religiosa y espiritual del ser humano, desde las contemplaciones m&ás sublimes y elevadas de nuestra naturaleza interna, hasta las m&ás extra&ñas supersticiones. Hoy en d&ía, algunos est&án interesados en la elevada filosof&ía del Tantra, otros s&ólo quieren conocer las técnicas netamente pr&ácticas, mientras que a otros m&ás los mueve la curiosidad de conocer el contexto hist&órico. No importa quién seas, para sumergirte por completo en este mundo, deber&ás no nada m&ás renunciar a cualquier noci&ón de aquello que t&ú creas que es Tantra, sino también despojarte de algunas de tus creencias m&ás arraigadas sobre la realidad en s&í misma.
Download or read book Explaining Mantras written by Robert A. Yelle and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2004-03 with total page 190 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: First Published in 2003. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.
Download or read book Tantric Mantras written by Andre Padoux and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2011-05-19 with total page 193 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Providing a systematic and complete overview of the highest scholarly quality on Tantric mantras in Hinduism, this book presents a summary on the nature of Tantric mantras, their phonetic aspect, structure and classifications. Additionally, it explains the metaphysical-theological nature of Tantric mantras and gives an introduction to their beliefs and practices. In individual chapters, Andre Padoux discusses the extraction and examination of mantras, certain characteristics such as their "perfect nature" and their imperfections, and he describes certain mantrics practices. For the first time, Andre Padoux' work on Tantric mantras is made accessible to an English-speaking readership. This book will be of great interest to scholars of Religious Studies, Theology, Indology, South Asian Studies, and Asian Religion.
Download or read book The Teachings of the Odd Eyed One written by David Peter Lawrence and published by State University of New York Press. This book was released on 2008-08-20 with total page 210 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book offers the first published translation of the contemplative manual Virūpāksapañcasikā, written circa the twelfth century CE, and the commentary on it, Vivrti by Vidyācakravartin. These late works from the Pratyabhijñā tradition of monistic and tantric Kashmiri Śaiva philosophy focus on means to deindividualize and disclose the primordial, divine essential natures of the human ego and body-sense. David Peter Lawrence situates these writings in their medieval, South Asian religious and intellectual contexts. He goes on to engage Pratyabhijñā philosophical psychology in dialogue with Western religious and psychoanalytic conceptions of identity and "narcissism," and also demonstrates the Śaiva tradition's strong concern with ethics. The richly annotated translation and glossary illuminate the texts for all readers.
Download or read book The Blackwell Companion to Hinduism written by Gavin Flood and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2008-04-15 with total page 616 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An ideal resource for courses on Hinduism or world religions, this accessible volume spans the entire field of Hindu studies. It provides a forum for the best scholars in the world to make their views and research available to a wider audience. Comprehensively covers the textual traditions of Hinduism Features four coherent sections covering theoretical issues, textual traditions, science and philosophy, and Hindu society and politics Reflects the trend away from essentialist understandings of Hinduism towards tradition and regional-specific studies Includes material on Hindu folk religions and stresses the importance of region in analyzing Hinduism Ideal for use on university courses.
Download or read book Hindu Scriptures written by Dominic Goodall and published by Motilal Banarsidass Publ.. This book was released on 2001 with total page 468 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Hindu Scriptures is a unique collection of Hindu texts spanning more than twenty centuries. Two anthologies entitled Hindu Scriptures have previously appeared in the Everyman series alone, that of Nicol MacNicol in 1938 and that of Professor R.C. Zaehner in 1966. This present title is the enlarged edition of R.C. Zaehner`s anthology, with the addition of three fresh translations, its broad range includes arcane hymns of the ancient Aryans, a manual of prescriptions governing every aspect of the daily life of the orthodox, and rich poetry that describes with heady sensuality the dalliance of Krsna and the cowherd women of Vraja in the nights of the autumn moon. The texts are arranged in chronological order and the Introduction explains the reasons for their inclusion, sets them in context, and briefly characterizes their contents.
Download or read book The Continuum Companion to Hindu Studies written by Jessica Frazier and published by A&C Black. This book was released on 2011-06-30 with total page 423 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Featuring chapters by an international team of leading scholars in the field, this is a comprehensive reference guide to Hindu Studies.
Download or read book Renowned Goddess of Desire written by Loriliai Biernacki and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2007-10-11 with total page 313 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The role of women and ideas of gender are fundamental components of all religious traditions. This book examines the representations of women within Tantra using a case study of a selection of Hindu Tantric texts from the 15th through 18th centuries in Northeast India.
Download or read book The Truth Within written by Gavin Flood and published by OUP Oxford. This book was released on 2013-10-25 with total page 329 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The idea that there is a truth within the person linked to the discovery of a deeper, more fundamental, more authentic self, has been a common theme in many religions throughout history and an idea that is still with us today. This inwardness or interiority unique to me as an essential feature of who I am has been an aspect of culture and even a defining characteristic of human being; an authentic, private sphere to which we can retreat that is beyond the conflicts of the outer world. This inner world becomes more real than the outer, which is seen as but a pale reflection. Remarkably, the image of the truth within is found across cultures and this book presents an account of this idea in the pre-modern history of Christianity, Hinduism, and Buddhism. Furthermore, in theistic religions, Christianity and some forms of Hinduism, the truth within is conflated with the idea of God within and in all cases this inner truth is thought to be not only the heart of the person, but also the heart of the universe itself. Gavin Flood examines the metaphor of inwardness and the idea of truth within, along with the methods developed in religions to attain it such as prayer and meditation. These views of inwardness that link the self to cosmology can be contrasted with a modern understanding of the person. In examining the truth within in Christianity, Hinduism, and Buddhism, Flood offers a hermeneutical phenomenology of inwardness and a defence of comparative religion.
Download or read book The Wiley Blackwell Companion to Hinduism written by Gavin Flood and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2022-05-13 with total page 660 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An accessible and up-to-date survey of scholarly thinking about Hinduism, perfect for courses on Hinduism or world religions The Wiley-Blackwell Companion to Hinduism examines the historical trajectories that have led to the modern religion of Hinduism. Covering main themes such as philosophy, practice, society, and science, this comprehensive volume brings together a variety of approaches and perspectives in Hindu Studies to help readers better appreciate the richness, complexity, and diversity of Hinduism. Essays by acknowledged experts in the field present historical accounts of all major traditions, analyze key texts, engage with Hindu theology and philosophy, address contemporary questions of colonialism and identity, and more. Throughout the text, the authors highlight the links, common threads, and issues that reoccur in the history of Hinduism. Fully revised and updated, the second edition of the Companion incorporates the most recent scholarship and reflects the trend away from essentialist understandings of Hinduism. New chapters examine the Goddess tradition, Hindu diaspora, Hinduism and inter-religious comparison, Hindu philosophy, and Indian astronomy, medicine, language, and mathematics. This edition places further emphasis on the importance of region-specific studies in analyzing Hinduism, discusses important theoretical issues, and offers fresh perspectives on current discourse in Hindu society and politics. Provides a thorough overview of major texts, their histories, and the traditions that preserve them Describes the major textual traditions in Sanskrit with examples in different Indian vernacular languages Addresses major issues and contemporary debates about the nature and study of Hinduism Discusses the importance of systematic, rational thinking in Indian sciences, philosophy, and theology Examines key socio-political themes in Hinduism that are of particular relevance to the modern world The Wiley-Blackwell Companion to Hinduism, Second Edition is an excellent text for undergraduate courses on Hinduism in Religious Studies and Philosophy departments, and an invaluable resource for scholars and researchers in Hindu Studies.
