Author: David R. Kinsley
Publisher: Univ of California Press
ISBN: 9780520224766
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 188
Book Description
Vivid sketches and interpretations of two Hindu deities: the amorous, irresistibly beautiful Krishna and the black, fearsome goddess Kali. The book traces the history and describes the mythology of both deities.
Hindu Goddesses
Author: David Kinsley
Publisher: Motilal Banarsidass Publ.
ISBN: 9788120803947
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 296
Book Description
Hindu Goddesses is a valuable sourcebook and reference work for students and scholars of Hindu goddesses and of Hinduism in general. Each goddess is dealt with as an independent deity with a coherent mythology, theology and, in some cases, cult of her own. Within the complex, diverse, and rich goddess traditions of Hinduism, one can find suggestions of nearly every important theme in the Hindu religion. In many ways, this book is as much a study of the Hindu tradition itself as it is a study of one aspect of that tradition. No other living religious tradition has displayed such an ancient, continuous, and diverse history of goddess worship.
Publisher: Motilal Banarsidass Publ.
ISBN: 9788120803947
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 296
Book Description
Hindu Goddesses is a valuable sourcebook and reference work for students and scholars of Hindu goddesses and of Hinduism in general. Each goddess is dealt with as an independent deity with a coherent mythology, theology and, in some cases, cult of her own. Within the complex, diverse, and rich goddess traditions of Hinduism, one can find suggestions of nearly every important theme in the Hindu religion. In many ways, this book is as much a study of the Hindu tradition itself as it is a study of one aspect of that tradition. No other living religious tradition has displayed such an ancient, continuous, and diverse history of goddess worship.
Tantric Visions of the Divine Feminine
Author: David Kinsley
Publisher: Univ of California Press
ISBN: 0520917723
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 328
Book Description
The Hindu pantheon is rich in images of the divine feminine—deities representing a wide range of symbolic, social, and meditative meanings. David Kinsley's new book documents a highly unusual group of ten Hindu tantric goddesses, the Mahavidyas, many of whom are strongly associated with sexuality and violence. What is one to make of a goddess who cuts her own head off, or one who prefers sex with a corpse? The Mahavidyas embody habits, attributes, or identities usually considered repulsive or socially subversive and can be viewed as "antimodels" for women. Yet it is within the context of tantric worship that devotees seek to identify themselves with these forbidding goddesses. The Mahavidyas seem to function as "awakeners"—symbols which help to project one's consciousness beyond the socially acceptable or predictable. Drawing on a broad range of Sanskrit and vernacular texts as well as extensive research in India, including written and oral interpretations of contemporary Hindu practitioners, Kinsley describes the unusual qualities of each of the Mahavidyas and traces the parallels between their underlying themes. Especially valuable are the many rare and fascinating images he presents—each important to grasping the significance of the goddesses. Written in an accessible, engaging style, Kinsley's book provides a comprehensive understanding of the Mahavidyas and is also an overview of Hindu tantric practice.
Publisher: Univ of California Press
ISBN: 0520917723
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 328
Book Description
The Hindu pantheon is rich in images of the divine feminine—deities representing a wide range of symbolic, social, and meditative meanings. David Kinsley's new book documents a highly unusual group of ten Hindu tantric goddesses, the Mahavidyas, many of whom are strongly associated with sexuality and violence. What is one to make of a goddess who cuts her own head off, or one who prefers sex with a corpse? The Mahavidyas embody habits, attributes, or identities usually considered repulsive or socially subversive and can be viewed as "antimodels" for women. Yet it is within the context of tantric worship that devotees seek to identify themselves with these forbidding goddesses. The Mahavidyas seem to function as "awakeners"—symbols which help to project one's consciousness beyond the socially acceptable or predictable. Drawing on a broad range of Sanskrit and vernacular texts as well as extensive research in India, including written and oral interpretations of contemporary Hindu practitioners, Kinsley describes the unusual qualities of each of the Mahavidyas and traces the parallels between their underlying themes. Especially valuable are the many rare and fascinating images he presents—each important to grasping the significance of the goddesses. Written in an accessible, engaging style, Kinsley's book provides a comprehensive understanding of the Mahavidyas and is also an overview of Hindu tantric practice.
Translating Kali's Feast
Author: Stephanos Stephanides
Publisher: BRILL
ISBN: 9004486216
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 228
Book Description
Translating Kali's Feast is an interdisciplinary study of the Goddess Kali bringing together ethnography and literature within the theoretical framework of translation studies. The idea for the book grew out of the experience and fieldwork of the authors, who lived with Indo-Caribbean devotees of the Hindu Goddess in Guyana. Using a variety of discursive forms including oral history and testimony, field notes, songs, stories, poems, literary essays, photographic illustrations, and personal and theoretical reflections, it explores the cultural, aesthetic and spiritual aspects of the Goddess in a diasporic and cross-cultural context. With reference to critical and cultural theorists including Walter Benjamin and Julia Kristeva, the possibilities offered by Kali (and other manifestations of the Goddess) as the site of translation are discussed in the works of such writers as Wilson Harris, V.S. Naipaul and R.K. Narayan. The book articulates perspectives on the experience of living through displacement and change while probing the processes of translation involved in literature and ethnography and postulating links between ‘rite' and ‘write,' Hindu ‘leela' and creole ‘play.' The author wrote the description of the Big Puja (namely chapter 9, 10, 11, and 13) and the Guyana Kali Puja Lexicon (chapter 17) in collaboration with Guyanese scholar Karna Singh.
Publisher: BRILL
ISBN: 9004486216
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 228
Book Description
Translating Kali's Feast is an interdisciplinary study of the Goddess Kali bringing together ethnography and literature within the theoretical framework of translation studies. The idea for the book grew out of the experience and fieldwork of the authors, who lived with Indo-Caribbean devotees of the Hindu Goddess in Guyana. Using a variety of discursive forms including oral history and testimony, field notes, songs, stories, poems, literary essays, photographic illustrations, and personal and theoretical reflections, it explores the cultural, aesthetic and spiritual aspects of the Goddess in a diasporic and cross-cultural context. With reference to critical and cultural theorists including Walter Benjamin and Julia Kristeva, the possibilities offered by Kali (and other manifestations of the Goddess) as the site of translation are discussed in the works of such writers as Wilson Harris, V.S. Naipaul and R.K. Narayan. The book articulates perspectives on the experience of living through displacement and change while probing the processes of translation involved in literature and ethnography and postulating links between ‘rite' and ‘write,' Hindu ‘leela' and creole ‘play.' The author wrote the description of the Big Puja (namely chapter 9, 10, 11, and 13) and the Guyana Kali Puja Lexicon (chapter 17) in collaboration with Guyanese scholar Karna Singh.
Kali's Child
Author: Jeffrey J. Kripal
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
ISBN: 0226453774
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 421
Book Description
Scholar Jeffrey J. Kripal explores the life and teachings of Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, a 19th-century Bengali saint who played a major role in the creation of modern Hinduism. The work is now marked by both critical acclaim and cross-cultural controversy. In a substantial new Preface to this second edition, Kripal answers his critics and addresses the controversy.
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
ISBN: 0226453774
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 421
Book Description
Scholar Jeffrey J. Kripal explores the life and teachings of Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, a 19th-century Bengali saint who played a major role in the creation of modern Hinduism. The work is now marked by both critical acclaim and cross-cultural controversy. In a substantial new Preface to this second edition, Kripal answers his critics and addresses the controversy.
The Hindu Traditions
Author: Mark W. Muesse
Publisher: Fortress Press
ISBN: 1451414005
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 242
Book Description
Renowned lecturer from The Teaching Company, Mark W. Muesse brings readers into an encounter with the world's oldest living religious tradition, known as Hinduism. Muesse's brief survey, challenges the perception of Hinduism as one religious tradition, showing how wonderfully rich and diverse this 5,000-year old story truly is. He traces the vast history and practices of classic and diverse traditions, moving from the origins in the Indus Valley up through classic and contemporary periods. Muesse exhibits a keen sense of the myriad spiritualities associated with Hinduism, demonstrating how the religious tradition is both monotheistic and polytheistic.
Publisher: Fortress Press
ISBN: 1451414005
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 242
Book Description
Renowned lecturer from The Teaching Company, Mark W. Muesse brings readers into an encounter with the world's oldest living religious tradition, known as Hinduism. Muesse's brief survey, challenges the perception of Hinduism as one religious tradition, showing how wonderfully rich and diverse this 5,000-year old story truly is. He traces the vast history and practices of classic and diverse traditions, moving from the origins in the Indus Valley up through classic and contemporary periods. Muesse exhibits a keen sense of the myriad spiritualities associated with Hinduism, demonstrating how the religious tradition is both monotheistic and polytheistic.