Download or read book The Saktas written by Ernest A. Payne and published by Courier Corporation. This book was released on 2013-01-18 with total page 178 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: DIVFavorite Russian Fairy Tales, Irish Fairy Tales, Japanese Fairy Tales, Favorite Celtic Fairy Tales and North American Indian Legends. /div

Download or read book Hinduism written by Panikkar, Raimon and published by Orbis Books. This book was released on 2017-06-15 with total page 568 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Studies on Tantra in Bengal and Eastern India written by Madhu Khanna and published by Springer Nature. This book was released on 2023-02-20 with total page 192 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book explores the tantric concept of Shakti, or the principal female cosmic entity and her pilgrimage sites. It offers a first-hand view of the multidimensional ways in which Shakti asserted its supremacy over existing Vaishnava and orthodox Brahmanical traditions in post mediaeval Bengal and India. The interdisciplinary chapters pave the way to understanding the intra-textual relationships between philosophical and conceptual ideas in literary texts and their oral transmission. Divided into three thematic sections: Cult Inclusiveness, Śakti Pithas, and the Śākta Philosophy, the book invites readers to explore a contested area of scholarship from unique perspectives, offering rich insights into the nature of negotiations between diverse religious streams. It also urges readers to examine the many innovative approaches and theoretical models on the goddess culture of East India. The book is of interest to students and scholars of religious textual studies, anthropology, pilgrimage studies, comparative religion, Sanskrit and Bengali languages, regional studies, South Asian cultures, goddess traditions and cultural history of mediaeval Bengal.

Download or read book Kiss of the Yogini written by David Gordon White and published by University of Chicago Press. This book was released on 2006-07-07 with total page 393 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: For those who wonder what relation actual Tantric practices bear to the "Tantric sex" currently being marketed so successfully in the West, David Gordon White has a simple answer: there is none. Sweeping away centuries of misunderstandings and misrepresentations, White returns to original texts, images, and ritual practices to reconstruct the history of South Asian Tantra from the medieval period to the present day. Kiss of the Yogini focuses on what White identifies as the sole truly distinctive feature of South Asian Tantra: sexualized ritual practices, especially as expressed in the medieval Kaula rites. Such practices centered on the exchange of powerful, transformative sexual fluids between male practitioners and wild female bird and animal spirits known as Yoginis. It was only by "drinking" the sexual fluids of the Yoginis that men could enter the family of the supreme godhead and thereby obtain supernatural powers and transform themselves into gods. By focusing on sexual rituals, White resituates South Asian Tantra, in its precolonial form, at the center of religious, social, and political life, arguing that Tantra was the mainstream, and that in many ways it continues to influence contemporary Hinduism, even if reformist misunderstandings relegate it to a marginal position. Kiss of the Yogini contains White's own translations from over a dozen Tantras that have never before been translated into any European language. It will prove to be the definitive work for persons seeking to understand Tantra and the crucial role it has played in South Asian history, society, culture, and religion.

Download or read book Sources of Mongolian Buddhism written by Vesna A. Wallace and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2020-01-06 with total page 553 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Despite Mongolia's centrality to East Asian history and culture, Mongols themselves have often been seen as passive subjects on the edge of the Qing formation or as obedient followers of so-called "Tibetan Buddhism," peripheral to major literary, religious, and political developments. But in fact Mongolian Buddhists produced multi-lingual and genre-bending scholastic and ritual works that profoundly shaped historical consciousness, community identification, religious knowledge, and practices in Mongolian lands and beyond. In Sources of Mongolian Buddhism, a team of leading Mongolian scholars and authors have compiled a collection of original Mongolian Buddhist works--including ritual texts, poetic prayers and eulogies, legends, inscriptions, and poems--for the first time in any European language.

Download or read book Consecration of Images and St pas in Indo Tibetan Tantric Buddhism written by Yael Bentor and published by BRILL. This book was released on 1996 with total page 450 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This study of the Indo-Tibetan ritual of rendering religious objects sacred concerns one of the fundamental Buddhist tantric processes of transformation into a chosen tantric Buddha. It provides a general discussion of the ritual as well as detailed analyses of each ritual step in the composite present-day consecration.

Download or read book Buddhism in Mongolian History Culture and Society written by Vesna A. Wallace and published by Oxford University Press, USA. This book was released on 2015 with total page 352 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Buddhism in Mongolia explores the unique historical and cultural elements of Mongolian Buddhism while challenging its stereotyped image as a mere replica of Tibetan Buddhism. The book illuminates the historical, social, and cultural contexts within which Buddhism has operated as a major social and cultural force among the Mongols.

Download or read book The Kaulaj nanir aya written by Macchaghnapāda and published by . This book was released on 2012 with total page 307 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Sanskrit treatise on the fundamentals of Nātha Sect in Hinduism.

Download or read book Sahaja Yoga written by Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi and published by Divine Cool Breeze Books. This book was released on 2018-04-15 with total page 64 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Shri Mataji writes that “India is a very ancient country and it has been blessed by many seers and saints who wrote treatises about reality and guidelines on how to achieve it.” This is just such a book. This book is both an introduction to Sahaja Yoga, describing the nature of the subtle reality within each of us, and a step-by-step handbook on how to be a good Sahaja Yogi, the nature of Sahaj culture, how to be a leader and how to raise children. “The knowledge of Sahaja Yoga cannot be described in a few sentences or one small book, but one should understand that all this great work of creation and evolution is done by some great subtle organization, which is in the great divine form.”

Download or read book Hinduism and Tribal Religions written by Jeffery D. Long and published by Springer. This book was released on 2021-12-24 with total page 1822 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This volume offers an overview of Hinduism as found in India and the diaspora. Exploring Hinduism in India in dynamic interaction, rather than in isolation, the volume discusses the relation of Hinduism with other religions of Indian origin and with religions which did not originate in India but have been a major feature of its religious landscape. These latter religions include Islam and Christianity and, to a lesser extent, Zoroastrianism and Judaism. The volume also covers Hinduism’s close association with Tribal Religions, sometimes called Primal Religions. As its second main theme, the volume examines the phenomenon of Hinduism in the diaspora. The Indian diaspora is now beginning to make its presence felt, both in India and abroad. In India, the Indian government annually hosts a diaspora event called Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (PBD), in recognition of the growing importance of the twenty-million-strong diaspora. Although not all Indians are Hindus, most are, both in India and abroad, and a strong sense of Hindu identity is emerging among diasporic Hindus. This volume fills the need felt by Hindus both in India and the diaspora for more knowledge about modern-day Hinduism, Hindu history and traditions. It takes into account three main aspects of Hinduism: that the active pan-Indian and diasporic language of the Hindus is English; that modern Hindus need a rational rather than a devotional or traditional exposition of the religion; and that they need information about and arguments to address the stereotypes which characterize the presentation of Hinduism in academia and the media, especially in the West.

Download or read book Maritime Trade and State Development in Early Southeast Asia written by Kenneth R. Hall and published by University of Hawaii Press. This book was released on 2019-03-31 with total page 483 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book brings something new in both dimension and detail to our understanding of Southeast Asia from the first to the fourteenth centuries. It puts Southeast Asia in the context of the international trade that stretched from Rome to China and draws upon a wide range of recent scholarship in history and the social sciences to redefine the role that this trade played in the evolution of the classical states of Southeast Asia. By examining the sources of Southeast Asia's classical era with the tools of modern economic history, the author shows that well-developed socioeconomic and political networks existed in Southeast Asia before significant foreign economic penetration took place. With the growth of interest in Southeast Asian commodities and the refocusing of the major East-West commercial routes through the region during the early centuries of the Christian era, internal conditions within Southeast Asia adjusted to accommodate increased external contacts. Hall takes the view that Southeast Asia's response to international trade was a reflection of preexisting patterns of trade and statecraft. In the forty years since Coede's monumental work The Indianized States of Southeast Asia was published, a great deal of archaeological and epigraphical work has been done and new interpretations advanced. By integrating new theoretical constructs, recent archaeological finds and interpretations, and his own informed reading and research, Kenneth R. Hall puts his historical narrative on a large canvas and treats areas not previously brought together for discussion along comparative lines. Like Coedes' work, his book will be important as a basic text for the teaching of early Southeast Asian history.

Download or read book Empires of the Silk Road written by Christopher I. Beckwith and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2009-03-16 with total page 506 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An epic account of the rise and fall of the Silk Road empires The first complete history of Central Eurasia from ancient times to the present day, Empires of the Silk Road represents a fundamental rethinking of the origins, history, and significance of this major world region. Christopher Beckwith describes the rise and fall of the great Central Eurasian empires, including those of the Scythians, Attila the Hun, the Turks and Tibetans, and Genghis Khan and the Mongols. In addition, he explains why the heartland of Central Eurasia led the world economically, scientifically, and artistically for many centuries despite invasions by Persians, Greeks, Arabs, Chinese, and others. In retelling the story of the Old World from the perspective of Central Eurasia, Beckwith provides a new understanding of the internal and external dynamics of the Central Eurasian states and shows how their people repeatedly revolutionized Eurasian civilization. Beckwith recounts the Indo-Europeans' migration out of Central Eurasia, their mixture with local peoples, and the resulting development of the Graeco-Roman, Persian, Indian, and Chinese civilizations; he details the basis for the thriving economy of premodern Central Eurasia, the economy's disintegration following the region's partition by the Chinese and Russians in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, and the damaging of Central Eurasian culture by Modernism; and he discusses the significance for world history of the partial reemergence of Central Eurasian nations after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Empires of the Silk Road places Central Eurasia within a world historical framework and demonstrates why the region is central to understanding the history of civilization.

Download or read book The Canon of the aiv gama and the Kubjik Tantras of the Western Kaula Tradition written by Mark S. G. Dyczkowski and published by Motilal Banarsidass Publ.. This book was released on 1989 with total page 262 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: ABOUT THE BOOK:This book serves as an introductory study of Tantric Saivism in its original scriptural sources. It traces the features and content of the canon of the Saiva Tantras, making use of many unpublished manuscripts from Kashmiri Saiva author

Download or read book The Nectar of Devotion written by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada and published by The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust. This book was released on with total page 521 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: We cannot be happy without satisfying our fundamental desire to love. Discover all the intricacies of spiritual love, bhakti, in this devotional classic. This is a summary study of Bhakti-rasamrita-sindhu, the Vaishnava classic written by Rupa Goswami that analyzes the various stages of bhakti (devotion) as a methodical practice resulting in love of God. Rupa Goswami uses a metaphor comparing an ocean (sindhu) to a devotional relationship with God. The title of the book conveys that loving relationships are enjoyable like sweet nectar and deep like an ocean. However, devotion is truly only meant for the supreme beloved, Krishna. Srila Prabhupada has written this summary study to show the essential understanding of the practices and ideals of Krishna consciousness, and to introduce the Western world to the beauty of devotional concepts. The spiritually thirsty can develop their relationship with Krishna by drinking from the unlimited reservoir of The Nectar of Devotion. Drink deeply.

Download or read book Hanklyn janklin written by Nigel B. Hankin and published by . This book was released on 1997 with total page 364 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book The Origins of Yoga and Tantra written by Geoffrey Samuel and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2008-03-27 with total page 429 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Yoga, tantra and other forms of Asian meditation are practised in modernized forms throughout the world today, but most introductions to Hinduism or Buddhism tell only part of the story of how they developed. This book is an interpretation of the history of Indic religions up to around 1200 CE, with particular focus on the development of yogic and tantric traditions. It assesses how much we really know about this period, and asks what sense we can make of the evolution of yogic and tantric practices, which were to become such central and important features of the Indic religious scene. Its originality lies in seeking to understand these traditions in terms of the total social and religious context of South Asian society during this period, including the religious practices of the general population with their close engagement with family, gender, economic life and other pragmatic concerns.

Download or read book Violence and Serenity written by Natasha Reichle and published by University of Hawaii Press. This book was released on 2007-07-26 with total page 306 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The mention of Buddhism in Indonesia calls to mind for many people the Central Javanese monument of Borobudur, one of the largest Buddhist monuments in the world and the subject of extensive scholarly scrutiny. The neglect of scholarship on Buddhist art from later periods might lead one to assume that after the tenth century Buddhism had been completely eclipsed by the predominantly Hindu Eastern Javanese dynasties. Yet, as the works discussed here illustrate, extraordinary Buddhist images were still being produced as late as the fourteenth century. Violence and Serenity offers a close examination of some of the impressive works from East Java and Sumatra and explores their political and religious roles. The number of clearly identifiable Buddhist works from the Singasari and Majapahit dynasties (1222–ca. 1520) is limited, yet existing examples are impressive. They demonstrate a remarkable level of craftsmanship and are exceptionally expressive, exhibiting a range of emotions from the ferocious to the serene. Following a brief discussion of the early history of Buddhism in Indonesia, Natasha Reichle focuses each chapter on a specific statue or group of statues and considers the larger issues evoked by the images. Through a rarely examined depiction of the last Singasari king, she explores the nature of religion in Java in the late thirteenth century and what we know about tantric practices and the syncretism of Hinduism and Buddhism. She reassesses the question of portraiture in ancient Javanese art while contemplating the famous Prajñāpāramitā from Singasari. Notions of kingship are discussed in light of a number of statues depicting the Buddhist deity Amoghapāśa and his attendants and the meanings of the Amoghapāśa maṇḍala. The final chapter examines the origins and significance of one of Indonesia’s most spectacular sculptures, a four-meter-high Buddhist bhairava (demon) discovered in West Sumatra.