The Chaitanya Vaishnava Vedanta of Jiva Gosvami

The Chaitanya Vaishnava Vedanta of Jiva Gosvami
Author: Ravi M. Gupta
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 227
Release: 2007-08-07
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 1134135629

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The Chaitanya Vaishnava tradition is famous for its depth of devotion to Krishna, the blue-hued Deity. Chaitanya Vaishnavas are known for having refined the practice and aesthetics of devotion into a sophisticated science. This imposing devotional edifice was constructed upon a solid foundation of philosophical argument and understanding. In this book, Ravi Gupta sheds new light on the contribution of Chaitanya Vaishnavism to the realm of Indian philosophy. He explores the hermeneutical tools employed, the historical resources harnessed, the structure of the arguments made, and the relative success of the endeavor. For most schools of Vaishnavism, the supporting foundation consists of the philosophical resources provided by Vedanta. The Chaitanya tradition is remarkable in its ability to engage in Vedantic discourse and at the same time practice an ecstatic form of devotion to Krishna. The prime architect of this balance was the scholar-devotee Jiva Gosvami (ca. 1517 - 1608). This book analyses Jiva Gosvami's writing concerning the philosophy of the Vedanta tradition. It concludes that Jiva's writing crosses 'disciplinary boundaries', for he brought into dialogue four powerful streams of classical Hinduism: the various systems of Vedanta, the ecstatic bhakti movements, the Puranic commentarial tradition, and the aesthetic rasa theory of Sanskrit poetics. With training in and commitments to all of these traditions, Jiva Gosvami produced a distinctly Chaitanya Vaishnava system of theology.

The Chaitanya Vaishnava Vedanta of Jiva Gosvami

The Chaitanya Vaishnava Vedanta of Jiva Gosvami
Author: Ravi M. Gupta
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 241
Release: 2007-08-07
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 1134135637

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In this book, Ravi Gupta sheds new light on the contribution of Chaitanya Vaishnava to the realm of Indian philosophy.

Chaitanya

Chaitanya
Author: Amiya P. Sen
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages: 240
Release: 2019-04-08
Genre: History
ISBN: 0199097771

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A saint, a reformer, an avatar of Lord Krishna—Chaitanya Mahaprabhu (1486–1533) is perceived as all these and many others. In this book on Chaitanya, Amiya P. Sen focuses on the discourses surrounding the mystic’s life, which ended rather mysteriously at the age of 48. Written in a lucid manner and for a wider audience, this book is a fresh attempt to historically reconstruct Chaitanya’s life and times in Bengal and Odisha, as well as Vrindavan, the key centre of medieval Vaishnavism in north India. This work critically evaluates how Chaitanya has been understood contemporaneously and posthumously, particularly as an icon in colonial Bengal. Addressing an important gap in scholarship, which hitherto concentrated on religious and philosophical discourses, Sen offers a full-length biographical account of Nimai or Gaur by drawing on a wide range of sources in English and Bengali. He also argues against the belief that Chaitanya is the sole proponent of Vaishnava bhakti in Bengal, choosing to situate him in the wider devotional cultures of the region.

Buddhism, Conflict and Violence in Modern Sri Lanka

Buddhism, Conflict and Violence in Modern Sri Lanka
Author: Mahinda Deegalle
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 302
Release: 2006-09-27
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1134241895

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Interdisciplinary in its approach, this book explores the dilemmas that Buddhism faces in relation to the continuing ethnic conflict and violence in modern Sri Lanka. Prominent scholars in the fields of anthropology, history, Buddhist studies and Pali examine multiple dimensions of the problem. Buddhist responses to the crisis are discussed in detail, along with how Buddhism can help to create peace in Sri Lanka. Evaluating the role of Buddhists and their institutions in bringing about an end to war and violence as well as possibly heightening the problem, this collection puts forward a critical analysis of the religious conditions contributing to continuing hostilities.

Krishna in History, Thought, and Culture

Krishna in History, Thought, and Culture
Author: Lavanya Vemsani
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA
Total Pages: 360
Release: 2016-06-13
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 161069211X

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Krishna is a central figure in Hinduism, a religion that has been a fundamental force for thousands of years. This accessible encyclopedia covers texts, practices, scholarship, and arts related to Krishna from the earliest known sources on. As Eastern religions and related practices such as yoga become increasingly popular, there is a need for resources that explain where these practices come from and what they mean. This is one of those works. Krishna is central to Hindu philosophy, theology, art, architecture, and literature, and an understanding of Krishna will give students greater understanding of the role of Hinduism around the world. Yet this isn't just a book on religion. The encyclopedia also provides insights into Indian and world history and into contemporary concerns, fostering respect for religious and cultural diversity. Entries on a wide range of subjects related to Krishna cover India and other places where major Krishna religious centers and temples are established worldwide. Articles draw from classical Indian sources dating back as far as 1300 BCE and from folk and worldwide literature, including mythology from Jainism and Buddhism. The book's alphabetical organization, cross references in each entry that highlight related entries and further readings, and topical and thematic lists will facilitate in-depth research.

Nonviolence in the Mahabharata

Nonviolence in the Mahabharata
Author: Alf Hiltebeitel
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 188
Release: 2016-03-22
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 131723877X

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In Indian mythological texts like the Mahābhārata and Rāmāyaṇa, there are recurrent tales about gleaners. The practice of "gleaning" in India had more to do with the house-less forest life than with residential village or urban life or with gathering residual post-harvest grains from cultivated fields. Gleaning can be seen a metaphor for the Mahābhārata poets’ art: an art that could have included their manner of gleaning what they made the leftovers (what they found useful) from many preexistent texts into Vyāsa’s “entire thought”—including oral texts and possibly written ones, such as philosophical debates and stories. This book explores the notion of non-violence in the epic Mahābhārata. In examining gleaning as an ecological and spiritual philosophy nurtured as much by hospitality codes as by eating practices, the author analyses the merits and limitations of the 9th century Kashmiri aesthetician Anandavardhana that the dominant aesthetic sentiment or rasa of the Mahābhārata is shanta (peace). Mahatma Gandhi's non-violent reading of the Mahabharata via the Bhagavad Gita are also studied. This book by one of the leaders in Mahābhārata studies is of interest to scholars of South Asian Literary Studies, Religious Studies as well as Peace Studies, South Asian Anthropology and History.

A Living Theology of Krishna Bhakti

A Living Theology of Krishna Bhakti
Author: Tamal Krishna Goswami
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages: 297
Release: 2012-07-26
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0199796637

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An illuminating examination of the theology of A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, the founder of the Hare Krishna movement.

The Death and Afterlife of Mahatma Gandhi

The Death and Afterlife of Mahatma Gandhi
Author: Makarand R. Paranjape
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 357
Release: 2014-09-19
Genre: History
ISBN: 1317682335

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Who is responsible for the Mahatma’s death? Just one single, but determined, fanatic, the whole ideology of Hindu nationalism, the ruling Congress-led government whichfailed to protect him, or a vast majority of Indians and their descendants who considered Gandhi irrelevant? Such questions mean that Gandhi, even after his tragic and brutal death, continues to haunt India – perhaps more effectively in his afterlife than when he was alive. The Death and Afterlife of Mahatma Gandhi is a groundbreaking and profound analysis of the assassination of the ‘father of the nation’ and its after-effects. Paranjape argues that such a catastrophic event during the very birth pangs of a new nation placed a huge burden of Oedipal guilt on Indians, and that this is the reason for the massive repression of the murder in India’s political psyche. The enduring influence of Gandhi is analysed, including his spectral presence in Indian cinema. The book culminates in Paranjape’s reading of Gandhi’s last six months in Delhi, where, from the very edge of the grave, he wrought what was perhaps his greatest miracle, the saving of Delhi and thus of India itself from internecine bloodshed. This evocative and moving meditation into the meaning of the Mahatma’s death will be relevant to scholars of Indian political and cultural history, as well as those with an interest in Gandhi and contemporary India

Religious Individualisation

Religious Individualisation
Author: Martin Fuchs
Publisher: Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG
Total Pages: 1058
Release: 2019-12-16
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 3110580934

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This volume brings together key findings of the long-term research project ‘Religious Individualisation in Historical Perspective’ (Max Weber Centre for Advanced Cultural and Social Studies, Erfurt University). Combining a wide range of disciplinary approaches, methods and theories, the volume assembles over 50 contributions that explore and compare processes of religious individualisation in different religious environments and historical periods, in particular in Asia, the Mediterranean, and Europe from antiquity to the recent past. Contrary to standard theories of modernisation, which tend to regard religious individualisation as a specifically modern or early modern as well as an essentially Western or Christian phenomenon, the chapters reveal processes of religious individualisation in a large variety of non-Western and pre-modern scenarios. Furthermore, the volume challenges prevalent views that regard religions primarily as collective phenomena and provides nuanced perspectives on the appropriation of religious agency, the pluralisation of religious options, dynamics of de-traditionalisation and privatisation, the development of elaborated notions of the self, the facilitation of religious deviance, and on the notion of dividuality.