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'Singing the Body of God' is a study of the devotional poetry of the 14th-century poet-philosopher Vedāntadeśika, one of the most influential figures in the Hindu tradition of Sri-Vaishnavism.
This book analyzes the writings of Karl Rahner, Karl Barth, and Vedanta Desika to disclose how each construes "piety" and "responsibility" as integral to each other. Each theologian expresses a fundamental unity of love of God and love of neighbour. Sheveland explores this unity in ecumenical and interreligious frameworks, showing how these authors privilege theology as practice, enactment, or simply as ethical. He uses the Renaissance genre of musical polyphony as a methodological tool by which to explore the aesthetic quality and the similarity-in-difference of the theological voices being compared. Polyphony's application to comparative theology includes the avoidance of caricature, domestication, and antagonism. In place of these is offered a fundamentally aesthetic paradigm by which to hear theological voices in terms of their unity-in-distinction.
What is the status of the Goddess Laksmi in relation to her consort Vishnu in South Indian Vaisnavism? In some Hindu sub-traditions the Goddess is seen as a mediator between devotees and God. Other traditions put the Goddess on a par with her male counterpart. In yet other traditions she is worshiped as an independent deity in her own right. South Indian Vaisnavism views the Goddess in all of these ways, and theological debates on these issues have flourished. In clarifying these debates and the assumptions behind them the author contributes not only to the interpretive study of South Indian Vaisnavism, but also to an understanding of gender issues in the study of religion.
The monotheistic religions of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam have severely limited the portrayal of the divine as feminine. But in Hinduism "God" very often means "Goddess." This extraordinary collection explores twelve different Hindu goddesses, all of whom are in some way related to Devi, the Great Goddess. They range from the liquid goddess-energy of the River Ganges to the possessing, entrancing heat of Bhagavati and Seranvali. They are local, like Vindhyavasini, and global, like Kali; ancient, like Saranyu, and modern, like "Mother India." The collection combines analysis of texts with intensive fieldwork, allowing the reader to see how goddesses are worshiped in everyday life. In these compelling essays, the divine feminine in Hinduism is revealed as never before--fascinating, contradictory, powerful.
Thematically organised, this is an annotated anthology of translations from the Sanskrit, Tamil and Maharashtri Prakit devotional poetry of the South Indian Srivaisnava philosopher Venkatanatha.
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Includes entries for maps and atlases.