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Living Mantra is an anthropology of mantra-experience among Hindu-tantric practitioners. In ancient Indian doctrine and legends, mantras perceived by rishis (seers) invoke deities and have transformative powers. Adopting a methodology that combines scholarship and practice, Mani Rao discovers a continuing tradition of visionaries (rishis/seers) and revelations in south India’s Andhra-Telangana. Both deeply researched and replete with fascinating narratives, the book reformulates the poetics of mantra-practice as it probes practical questions. Can one know if a vision is real or imagined? Is vision visual? Are deity-visions mediated by culture? If mantras are effective, what is the role of devotion? Are mantras language? Living Mantra interrogates not only theoretical questions, but also those a practitioner would ask: how does one choose a deity, for example, or what might bind one to a guru? Rao breaks fresh ground in redirecting attention to the moments that precede systematization and canon-formation, showing how authoritative sources are formed.
'Mani Rao's courageous approach to the Gita not only revitalizes an ancient philosophy but also restores power and majesty to the text's poetry.' - Arshia Sattar 'My life is so much easier as I don't have to go through maddening archaic prose thanks to Mani Rao's uncluttered, refined poetry.' - Devdutt Pattanaik The Bhagavad Gita is by far the most revered text of ancient Indian thought. In the form of a dialogue between Arjuna and Lord Krishna, it explains the nature of the self and the universe. However, the sheer number of translations, dense commentaries and complex interpretations has created distance between it and readers. With this volume - which includes the Sanskrit original, and a guide to reading and interpretation - poet, translator and religious studies scholar Mani Rao helps readers return to the source text and appreciate its nuances for themselves. Critically acclaimed for its accuracy and freshness, Rao's translation in free verse draws from modern poetics to redirect attention to the literary qualities of the Gita and sets a new standard for the translation of canonical spiritual texts.
Sacred Hindu scripture is freshly presented in adventurous, contemporary English poetry, capturing the wildness of the original Sanskrit language that has been lost in generations of listless prose translations. Long considered among the most important texts in the history of literature and philosophy, the 700 verses here capture the dialogue between Krishna, revered by Hindus as a manifestation of God, and the character of Arjuna on the battlefield before the start of the Kurukshetra War. Explaining not only the duties of a warrior but also elaborating upon different Yogic and Vedantic philosophies through examples and analogies, this major ancient Indian epic has often been described as a concise introduction to Hindu theology and a practical, self-contained guide to life.
A fresh and very readable translation of the world's greatest Sanskrit writer, Kalidasa ""Kalidasa(circa fourth century CE) is widely regarded as the greatest poet and dramatist in the Sanskrit language. Not much is known with certainty about his life and though many are aware of his timeless Sakuntalam and Meghadutam, very few have actually read him, even in translation. The aesthetics of poetry may have changed over 1500 years - we no longer compare women's faces to lotuses or their figures to vines - but it is difficult not to be moved by the sheer beauty and lyricism of Kalidasa's description of the exiled yak?a beseeching a cloud to carry his message across the mountains to his lover, o...
Mani Rao's poetry has featured in anthologies by Penguin, WW Norton and Bloodaxe, and has been translated into French, Italian, German, Korean, Chinese and Arabic. She lives between India, Hong Kong and the USA. Ghostmasters is her eighth book, and collects poems published in: Zoland Poetry, XCP, Washington Square, Wasafiri, Tinfish, Softblow, Indian Literature, Almost Island, 91st Meridian and other journals. Advance praise: Mani Rao is an endlessly interesting poet, and in Ghostmasters the full range of her talent is on display. The people, places, and things that haunt this book have their own special expressions, which reveal dark and delightful truths. Watch your step! -- Christopher Me...
Many techniques, algorithms, protocols and tools have been developed in the different aspects of cyber-security, namely, authentication, access control, availability, integrity, privacy, confidentiality and non-repudiation as they apply to both networks and systems. Web Services Security and E-Business focuses on architectures and protocols, while bringing together the understanding of security problems related to the protocols and applications of the Internet, and the contemporary solutions to these problems. Web Services Security and E-Business provides insight into uncovering the security risks of dynamically-created content, and how proper content management can greatly improve the overall security. It also studies the security lifecycle and how to respond to an attack, as well as the problems of site hijacking and phishing.
Mani Ratnam’s Nayakan is among Time’s ‘100 Best Movies Ever’; and Roja launched A.R. Rahman. This book, unique to Indian cinema, illuminates the genius of the man behind these and eighteen other masterly films. For the first time ever, Mani Ratnam opens up here, to Baradwaj Rangan, about his art, as well as his life before films. In these freewheeling conversations—candid, witty, pensive, and sometimes combative—many aspects of his films are explored. Ratnam elaborates in a personal vein on his choice of themes, from the knottiness in urban relationships (Agni Natchatiram) to the rents in the national fabric (Bombay); his directing of children (Anjali); his artful use of songs; h...
This book traces the growth of gardens, their history and development and provides information on the various principal horticultural practices, taxonomy and its significance, floriculture, bonsai, bottle or dish gardens, floral decorations like lkebana,
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Ninth century Tamil poet and founding saint Andal is believed to have been found as a baby underneath a holy basil plant in the temple garden of Srivilliputhur. As a young woman she fell deeply in love with Lord Vishnu, composing fervent poems and songs in his honour and, according to custom, eventually marrying the god himself. The Autobiography of a Goddess is Andal's entire corpus, composed before her marriage to Vishnu, and it cements her status as the South Indian corollary to Mirabai, the saint and devotee of Sri Krishna. The collection includes Tiruppavai, a song still popular in congregational worship, thirty pasuram (stanzas) sung before Lord Vishnu, and the less-translated, rapturously erotic Nacchiyar Tirumoli. Priya Sarrukai Chabria and Ravi Shankar employ a radical method in this translation, breathing new life into this rich classical and spiritual verse by rendering Andal in a contemporary poetic idiom in English. Many of Andal's pieces are translated collaboratively; others individually and separately. The two approaches are brought together, presenting a richly layered reading of these much-loved classic Tamil poems and songs.