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The articles in this survey of the Indo-Aryan controversy address questions such as: are the Indo-Aryans insiders or outsiders?
In the West Krishna is primarily known as the speaker of the Bhagavad Gita. But it is the stories of Krishna's childhood and his later exploits that have provided some of the most important and widespread sources of religious narrative in the Hindu religious landscape. This volume brings together new translations of representative samples of Krishna religious literature from a variety of genres -- classical, popular, regional, sectarian, poetic, literary, and philosophical.
A landmark new translation and edition Written almost two millennia ago, Patañjali's work focuses on how to attain the direct experience and realization of the purusa: the innermost individual self, or soul. As the classical treatise on the Hindu understanding of mind and consciousness and on the technique of meditation, it has exerted immense influence over the religious practices of Hinduism in India and, more recently, in the West. Edwin F. Bryant's translation is clear, direct, and exact. Each sutra is presented as Sanskrit text, transliteration, and precise English translation, and is followed by Bryant's authoritative commentary, which is grounded in the classical understanding of yoga and conveys the meaning and depth of the sutras in a user-friendly manner for a Western readership without compromising scholarly rigor or traditional authenticity. In addition, Bryant presents insights drawn from the primary traditional commentaries on the sutras written over the last millennium and a half.
From the author of what has become the standard edition of The Yoga Sutras of Patañjali, an exploration of probably the most significant tradition in Hinduism, along with a rendering of key texts and parables from that tradition Bhakti Yoga explores one of the eight “limbs” of yoga. In the simplest terms, bhakti yoga is the practice of devotion, which is the essential heart of yoga and of Hinduism in general. In recent times, the term has come to be used in a rather simplistic way to refer to the increasingly popular practice of kirtan, or chanting in a group or at large gatherings. But bhakti yoga is far more complex and ancient than today’s growing kirtan audiences are aware, and em...
This work studies how Indian scholars have rejected the idea of an external origin of the Indo-Aryans, by questioning the logic assumptions and methods upon which the theory is based.
Focusing on the rich and variegated cluster of Indic philosophical traditions as they developed from the late Vedic period up to the pre-modern period, this book offers an understanding, according to each school, of the nature of free will and agency.
This book explores a number of concepts of God in Vaiṣṇavism, which is commonly referred to as one of the great Hindu monotheistic traditions. By addressing the question of what attributes God possesses according to particular Vaiṣṇava textual sources and traditions, the book locates these concepts within a global philosophical framework. The book is divided into two parts. The first part, God in Vaiṣṇava Texts, deals with concepts of God found in some of the more prominent canonical Vaiṣṇava texts: the Bhagavad-Gītā, the Bhagavata-Purāṇa, the Jayākhya-Saṃhitā as representative of the Pāñcarātras, and the Mahābhārata. The second part, God in Vaiṣṇava Traditi...
The discovery of Sanskrit literature at the end of the eighteenth century was the most significant cultural event since the Renaissance. The Greeks became acquainted with the Indians after Alexander's invasion; the Arabs brought Indian science to the West during the Middle Ages; some European missionaries from the sixteenth century on gained some familiarity with the ancient language of India; and Abraham Roger translated the Sanskrit poet Bhartihari into Dutch in 1651. However, it is only now that this highly advanced knowledge is being revealed. The existence of Sanskrit literature was only vaguely known in Europe about two hundred years ago, expressed in stories about Indian wisdom. In an...
Rather than focus on the attraction exerted by the Mediterranean South on Northerners in search of health, pleasure, leisure and culture, the contributors to this book choose to bring out its less enticing aspects and the repugnance these induced in northern Europeans over four centuries, through a series of sixteen essays covering a geographical area stretching from Portugal to Turkey and Lebanon, from the Balkans to Egypt, and embracing several cultures, two religious faiths and very diverse populations. Most of them were read at an international conference held in Nice in April 2012, and were substantially revised for publication in this volume. All contributions centre around the manner ...