Author: Axel Michaels
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 0691234019
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 448
Book Description
Hinduism is currently followed by one-fifth of humankind. Far from a monolithic theistic tradition, the religion comprises thousands of gods, a complex caste system, and hundreds of languages and dialects. Such internal plurality inspires vastly ranging rites and practices amongst Hinduism's hundreds of millions of adherents. It is therefore not surprising that scholars have been hesitant to define universal Hindu beliefs and practices. In this book, Axel Michaels breaks this trend. He examines the traditions, beliefs, and rituals Hindus hold in common through the lens of what he deems its "identificatory habitus," a cohesive force that binds Hindu religions together and fortifies them against foreign influences. Thus, in his analysis, Michaels not only locates Hinduism's profoundly differentiating qualities, but also provides the framework for an analysis of its social and religious coherence. Michaels blends his insightful arguments and probing questions with introductions to major historical epochs, ample textual sources as well as detailed analyses of major life-cycle rituals, the caste system, forms of spiritualism, devotionalism, ritualism, and heroism. Along the way he points out that Hinduism has endured and repeatedly resisted the missionary zeal and universalist claims of Christians, Muslims, and Buddhists. He also contrasts traditional Hinduism with the religions of the West, "where the self is preferred to the not-self, and where freedom in the world is more important than liberation from the world." Engaging and accessible, this book will appeal to laypersons and scholars alike as the most comprehensive introduction to Hinduism yet published. Not only is Hinduism refreshingly new in its methodological approach, but it also presents a broad range of meticulous scholarship in a clear, readable style, integrating Indology, religious studies, philosophy, anthropological theory and fieldwork, and sweeping analyses of Hindu texts.
Hinduism
Author: Axel Michaels
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 0691234019
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 448
Book Description
Hinduism is currently followed by one-fifth of humankind. Far from a monolithic theistic tradition, the religion comprises thousands of gods, a complex caste system, and hundreds of languages and dialects. Such internal plurality inspires vastly ranging rites and practices amongst Hinduism's hundreds of millions of adherents. It is therefore not surprising that scholars have been hesitant to define universal Hindu beliefs and practices. In this book, Axel Michaels breaks this trend. He examines the traditions, beliefs, and rituals Hindus hold in common through the lens of what he deems its "identificatory habitus," a cohesive force that binds Hindu religions together and fortifies them against foreign influences. Thus, in his analysis, Michaels not only locates Hinduism's profoundly differentiating qualities, but also provides the framework for an analysis of its social and religious coherence. Michaels blends his insightful arguments and probing questions with introductions to major historical epochs, ample textual sources as well as detailed analyses of major life-cycle rituals, the caste system, forms of spiritualism, devotionalism, ritualism, and heroism. Along the way he points out that Hinduism has endured and repeatedly resisted the missionary zeal and universalist claims of Christians, Muslims, and Buddhists. He also contrasts traditional Hinduism with the religions of the West, "where the self is preferred to the not-self, and where freedom in the world is more important than liberation from the world." Engaging and accessible, this book will appeal to laypersons and scholars alike as the most comprehensive introduction to Hinduism yet published. Not only is Hinduism refreshingly new in its methodological approach, but it also presents a broad range of meticulous scholarship in a clear, readable style, integrating Indology, religious studies, philosophy, anthropological theory and fieldwork, and sweeping analyses of Hindu texts.
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 0691234019
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 448
Book Description
Hinduism is currently followed by one-fifth of humankind. Far from a monolithic theistic tradition, the religion comprises thousands of gods, a complex caste system, and hundreds of languages and dialects. Such internal plurality inspires vastly ranging rites and practices amongst Hinduism's hundreds of millions of adherents. It is therefore not surprising that scholars have been hesitant to define universal Hindu beliefs and practices. In this book, Axel Michaels breaks this trend. He examines the traditions, beliefs, and rituals Hindus hold in common through the lens of what he deems its "identificatory habitus," a cohesive force that binds Hindu religions together and fortifies them against foreign influences. Thus, in his analysis, Michaels not only locates Hinduism's profoundly differentiating qualities, but also provides the framework for an analysis of its social and religious coherence. Michaels blends his insightful arguments and probing questions with introductions to major historical epochs, ample textual sources as well as detailed analyses of major life-cycle rituals, the caste system, forms of spiritualism, devotionalism, ritualism, and heroism. Along the way he points out that Hinduism has endured and repeatedly resisted the missionary zeal and universalist claims of Christians, Muslims, and Buddhists. He also contrasts traditional Hinduism with the religions of the West, "where the self is preferred to the not-self, and where freedom in the world is more important than liberation from the world." Engaging and accessible, this book will appeal to laypersons and scholars alike as the most comprehensive introduction to Hinduism yet published. Not only is Hinduism refreshingly new in its methodological approach, but it also presents a broad range of meticulous scholarship in a clear, readable style, integrating Indology, religious studies, philosophy, anthropological theory and fieldwork, and sweeping analyses of Hindu texts.
Hinduism and Christianity
Author: Panikkar, Raimon
Publisher: Orbis Books
ISBN: 160833788X
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages :
Book Description
Publisher: Orbis Books
ISBN: 160833788X
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages :
Book Description
The Study of Hinduism
Author: Arvind Sharma
Publisher: Univ of South Carolina Press
ISBN: 9781570034497
Category : Hinduism
Languages : en
Pages : 352
Book Description
In this text, leading scholars from around the world take stock of two centuries of international intellectual investment in Hinduism. Since the early 19th century, when the scholarly investigation of Hinduism began to take shape as a modern academic discipline, Hindu studies has evolved from its concentration on description and analysis to an emphasis on understanding Hindu traditions in the context of the religion's own values, concepts and history. Offering an assessment of the current state of Hindu studies, the contributors to this volume identify past achievements and chart the course for what remains to be accomplished in the field.
Publisher: Univ of South Carolina Press
ISBN: 9781570034497
Category : Hinduism
Languages : en
Pages : 352
Book Description
In this text, leading scholars from around the world take stock of two centuries of international intellectual investment in Hinduism. Since the early 19th century, when the scholarly investigation of Hinduism began to take shape as a modern academic discipline, Hindu studies has evolved from its concentration on description and analysis to an emphasis on understanding Hindu traditions in the context of the religion's own values, concepts and history. Offering an assessment of the current state of Hindu studies, the contributors to this volume identify past achievements and chart the course for what remains to be accomplished in the field.
Hinduism
Author: Dinesh Chandra
Publisher: Diamond Pocket Books Pvt Ltd
ISBN: 9385975439
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 293
Book Description
This book is, thus, an effort to compile the history, development and the basic tenets of Hinduism which guide the way of life of one fifth of humanity on earth. Effort has been made to include only the basic information that has helped a Hindu to choose a desired path from amongst the many that have been lighted up by Hindu sages to achieve their goal, that of attaining ‘Moksha’ or ‘Mukti’, which means that he or she obtains relief from the cycle of birth and death through good Karmas. This is the central precept of Hinduism. Interaction with people in foreign countries, other than Hindus, reveals that they have little knowledge about Hinduism. It is learnt that British schools have a period or two, in class eight, to deal with all religions which is obviously insufficient to make a child of that age to even understand the actual meaning of the word religion. Hindus who migrated abroad from India at a young age and those who were born abroad, except for Mauritius and Fiji islands where Hindus have lived as a cohesive community for over a century, and those who have continued to maintain their links with their original faith, many have started losing touch with the basics of their religion. Generally, there is a perceptible lack of authentic knowledge about the beginnings of Hindu religion and its evolution over the ages into what it represents today.
Publisher: Diamond Pocket Books Pvt Ltd
ISBN: 9385975439
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 293
Book Description
This book is, thus, an effort to compile the history, development and the basic tenets of Hinduism which guide the way of life of one fifth of humanity on earth. Effort has been made to include only the basic information that has helped a Hindu to choose a desired path from amongst the many that have been lighted up by Hindu sages to achieve their goal, that of attaining ‘Moksha’ or ‘Mukti’, which means that he or she obtains relief from the cycle of birth and death through good Karmas. This is the central precept of Hinduism. Interaction with people in foreign countries, other than Hindus, reveals that they have little knowledge about Hinduism. It is learnt that British schools have a period or two, in class eight, to deal with all religions which is obviously insufficient to make a child of that age to even understand the actual meaning of the word religion. Hindus who migrated abroad from India at a young age and those who were born abroad, except for Mauritius and Fiji islands where Hindus have lived as a cohesive community for over a century, and those who have continued to maintain their links with their original faith, many have started losing touch with the basics of their religion. Generally, there is a perceptible lack of authentic knowledge about the beginnings of Hindu religion and its evolution over the ages into what it represents today.
The Myth of Religious Violence
Author: William T Cavanaugh
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 9780199736645
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 296
Book Description
The idea that religion has a dangerous tendency to promote violence is part of the conventional wisdom of Western societies, and it underlies many of our institutions and policies, from limits on the public role of religion to efforts to promote liberal democracy in the Middle East. William T. Cavanaugh challenges this conventional wisdom by examining how the twin categories of religion and the secular are constructed. A growing body of scholarly work explores how the category 'religion' has been constructed in the modern West and in colonial contexts according to specific configurations of political power. Cavanaugh draws on this scholarship to examine how timeless and transcultural categories of 'religion and 'the secular' are used in arguments that religion causes violence. He argues three points: 1) There is no transhistorical and transcultural essence of religion. What counts as religious or secular in any given context is a function of political configurations of power; 2) Such a transhistorical and transcultural concept of religion as non-rational and prone to violence is one of the foundational legitimating myths of Western society; 3) This myth can be and is used to legitimate neo-colonial violence against non-Western others, particularly the Muslim world.
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 9780199736645
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 296
Book Description
The idea that religion has a dangerous tendency to promote violence is part of the conventional wisdom of Western societies, and it underlies many of our institutions and policies, from limits on the public role of religion to efforts to promote liberal democracy in the Middle East. William T. Cavanaugh challenges this conventional wisdom by examining how the twin categories of religion and the secular are constructed. A growing body of scholarly work explores how the category 'religion' has been constructed in the modern West and in colonial contexts according to specific configurations of political power. Cavanaugh draws on this scholarship to examine how timeless and transcultural categories of 'religion and 'the secular' are used in arguments that religion causes violence. He argues three points: 1) There is no transhistorical and transcultural essence of religion. What counts as religious or secular in any given context is a function of political configurations of power; 2) Such a transhistorical and transcultural concept of religion as non-rational and prone to violence is one of the foundational legitimating myths of Western society; 3) This myth can be and is used to legitimate neo-colonial violence against non-Western others, particularly the Muslim world.
What Is Hinduism?
Author: Himalayan Academy Publications
Publisher: Himalayan Academy Publications
ISBN: 1934145009
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 919
Book Description
"Since 1979 the international magazine Hinduism Today has been producing a treasury of educational features on all aspects of Sanatana Dharma. Guided by the founder, Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami, the magazine's editors, who are initiated monks of Kauai's Hindu Monastery, collaborated with holy men and women and experts around the world in creating graphically rich guides to virtually every important aspect of Hinduism. The best of those works are assembled in "What Is Hinduism?" for Hindus and non-Hindus alike to discover the culture, beliefs, worship and mysticism that is India's greatest gift to humanity." --Back cover.
Publisher: Himalayan Academy Publications
ISBN: 1934145009
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 919
Book Description
"Since 1979 the international magazine Hinduism Today has been producing a treasury of educational features on all aspects of Sanatana Dharma. Guided by the founder, Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami, the magazine's editors, who are initiated monks of Kauai's Hindu Monastery, collaborated with holy men and women and experts around the world in creating graphically rich guides to virtually every important aspect of Hinduism. The best of those works are assembled in "What Is Hinduism?" for Hindus and non-Hindus alike to discover the culture, beliefs, worship and mysticism that is India's greatest gift to humanity." --Back cover.
The Missionary Review
Globalization and Civilizations
Author: Mehdi Mozaffari
Publisher: Psychology Press
ISBN: 0415286158
Category : Civilization
Languages : en
Pages : 289
Book Description
Uniquely, critically interrogates the concept of 'civilization' by asking whether it is still valid in the globalized world economy of the twenty-first century. Includes case studies on the Arab world, Islam, China and Japan.
Publisher: Psychology Press
ISBN: 0415286158
Category : Civilization
Languages : en
Pages : 289
Book Description
Uniquely, critically interrogates the concept of 'civilization' by asking whether it is still valid in the globalized world economy of the twenty-first century. Includes case studies on the Arab world, Islam, China and Japan.
Religious Reform
Author: Christian Literature Society for India
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Hinduism
Languages : en
Pages : 176
Book Description
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Hinduism
Languages : en
Pages : 176
Book Description