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The relationship between new religious movements (NRMs) and violence has long been a topic of intense public interest--an interest heavily fueled by multiple incidents of mass violence involving certain groups. Some of these incidents have made international headlines. When New Religious Movements make the news, it's usually because of some violent episode. Some of the most famous NRMs are known much more for the violent way they came to an end than for anything else. Violence and New Religious Movements offers a comprehensive examination of violence by-and against-new religious movements. The book begins with theoretical essays on the relationship between violence and NRMs and then moves on to examine particular groups. There are essays on the "Big Five"--the most well-known cases of violent incidents involving NRMs: Jonestown, Waco, Solar Temple, the Aum Shunrikyo subway attack, and the Heaven's Gate suicides. But the book also provides a richer survey by examining a host of lesser-known groups. This volume is the culmination of decades of research by scholars of New Religious Movements.
Naked holy men denying sexuality and feeling; elderly people basking in the warmth and security provided by devoted and attentive family members; fastidious priests concerned solely with rules of purity and the minutiae of ritual practice; puritanical moralists concealing women and sexuality behind purdah's veils—these are familiar Western stereotypes of India. The essays in Divine Passions, however, paint other, more colorful and emotionally alive pictures of India: ecstatic religious devotees rolling in temple dust; gray-haired elders worrying about neglect and mistreatment by family members; priests pursuing a lusty, carefree ideal of the good life; and jokers reviling one another with ...
A number of religious movements were born in the United States in the 1970s as refugees from the counterculture sought new ways of living. In 1969 in Los Angeles, teacher Yogi Bhajan founded the Healthy Happy Holy Organization (3HO) and dedicated it to yoga and healthy living. Many members began to convert to Sikhism, Bhajan's faith, and soon the group numbered in the thousands. Graceful Women is the first look at the women who embraced this community as they sought meaning in their lives. Constance Waeber Elsberg follows members of an ashram over an extended period of time--from affiliation, through their first attempts to apply the teachings of 3HO to everyday life, through upheavals and d...
This handbook innovatively combines the ways in which scholars diverse fields (including philosophy, psychology, literary studies, history, sociology, anthropology, political science, and economics) have integrated the study of Sikhism within critical and postcolonial perspectives on the nature of religion.
The story of personal spiritual growth told through poetry. The book includes five sacred Kriyas or meditations.
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Let’s face and share the pain. This groundbreaking exposé, Under the Yoga Mat, lifts the veil on the underexposed dark side of the history of Yogi Bhajan’s Kundalini Yoga and his revered 3HO Healthy, Happy, Holy community. This is the first book presenting the multifaceted character and extent of the wrongdoings and the tactics used by 3HO leadership to keep the horrific abuse hidden for five decades. This meticulously researched non-fiction work delves deep into the disturbing tragedies that unfolded when Harbhajan, a 39-year-old Sikh-born Indian customs officer, arrived in Los Angeles in 1968, posing as a master of Kundalini Yoga. Through a thoughtful selection of testimonies, histori...
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.
The International Bibliography of Sikh Studies brings together all books, composite works, journal articles, conference proceedings, theses, dissertations, project reports, and electronic resources produced in the field of Sikh Studies until June 2004, making it the most complete and up-to-date reference work in the field today. One of the youngest religions of the world, Sikhism has progressively attracted attention on a global scale in recent decades. An increasing number of scholars is exploring the culture, history, politics, and religion of the Sikhs. The growing interest in Sikh Studies has resulted in an avalanche of literature, which is now for the first time brought together in the ...