Devī

Devī

Author: John Stratton Hawley

Publisher: Motilal Banarsidass Publ.

Published: 1998

Total Pages: 380

ISBN-13: 9788120814912

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

The monotheistic religions of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam have severely limited the portrayal of the divine as feminine. But in Hinduism "God" very often means "Goddess." This extraordinary collection explores twelve different Hindu goddesses, all of whom are in some way related to Devi, the Great Goddess. They range from the liquid goddess-energy of the River Ganges to the possessing, entrancing heat of Bhagavati and Seranvali. They are local, like Vindhyavasini, and global, like Kali; ancient, like Saranyu, and modern, like "Mother India." The collection combines analysis of texts with intensive fieldwork, allowing the reader to see how goddesses are worshiped in everyday life. In these compelling essays, the divine feminine in Hinduism is revealed as never before--fascinating, contradictory, powerful.


The Eternal Food

The Eternal Food

Author: R. S. Khare

Publisher: State University of New York Press

Published: 1992-08-25

Total Pages: 294

ISBN-13: 1438408919

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

The interdisciplinary approaches presented here investigate food in India and Sri Lanka for its wide ranging cultural meaning and uses. The authors examine food in religious and literary contexts, where saints, ritualists, poets, and the divine often provide grounds for a practically inexhaustible hermeneutics. The Eternal Food focuses on reflexive cultural expressions and personal experiences that food elicits in the region. Concerned with food as an "essence" and as an essential experience, the authors give special attention to Hindu saints for whom food, firmly grounded in moral ideals and practice, represents a cosmic divine principle at one level, and a most immediate and intimate material reality at another. In the cultural diversity of India, the authors work with several conceptual models and meanings of food. They demonstrate how it reflects common social understandings about social caste, the cure and prevention of ailments, its ability to alter moods and motivations, or affect innate personal dispositions, personal spiritual pursuits and attainments. In its sweep and depth, food presents a powerful cultural lens for seeing how practical, ritual, and spiritual spheres of life conjoin.


The Lord of Vengadam

The Lord of Vengadam

Author: S R RAMANUJAN

Publisher: Partridge Publishing

Published: 2014-08-15

Total Pages: 271

ISBN-13: 1482834634

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

The temple for the Lord of Vengadam in Tirumala (Andhra Pradesh, India) is one of the richest places of worship in the entire world with ever-increasing popularity, the footfall of devotees on the Seven Hills touching a whopping figure of seventy thousand on weekdays and one hundred thousand during the weekends. The Temples annual budget hovers around 25 billion rupees. This world record to fame and riches is not without its flip side. The temple has become the focal point for a variety of controversiessome created by the political class, some by historians with an axe to grind, and some more by Hindus with a sectarian outlook. The never-ending dispute is over the identity of the idol as a result of the age-old conflict between the worshippers of Siva and Vishnu, the two most important deities of the Hindu pantheon. Taking their cue from this, Neo-Buddhists joined the fray with the claim that the temple was a Buddhist shrine and that it was converted into Vishnu temple by wily Brahmins. The book aims to unravel the mystery over the history of the temple, providing a historical perspective to the issue and thus establishing the real identity of the Lord, which is indisputably that of the Vishnu.


Sri Krishna, the Lord of Guruvayur

Sri Krishna, the Lord of Guruvayur

Author: Kunissery Ramakrishnier Vaidyanathan

Publisher:

Published: 1977

Total Pages: 250

ISBN-13:

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Descriptive study of the temple at Guruvayur, Kerala, and the greatness of Guruvayurappan form of Krishna, Hindu deity.


When I Saw Tirupati Balaji

When I Saw Tirupati Balaji

Author: Pi. Vi. Ār. Ke Prasād

Publisher: Gyan Publishing House

Published: 2008

Total Pages: 344

ISBN-13: 9788121209335

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

The book provides personal account and experiences of the author who visited devasthanam. They should worke interest and devision among the reades and reverance of the deity. The book deals with eternal questions like Is there God? If there is, how does He look? Have you seen Him? Or the seekers of truth who ask, How much of faith one should repose in God to earn His Support for Human endeavors? This book, perhaps has answers for such question.


Hinduism & Its Military Ethos

Hinduism & Its Military Ethos

Author: Air Marshal RK Nehra

Publisher: Lancer Publishers LLC

Published:

Total Pages: 334

ISBN-13: 193550147X

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

What is (real) Hinduism? The simple answer is that there is no ‘simple answer’. We know Hinduism as the most ancient, complex and fascinating religion of humankind. It may also be the least understood due to bewildering variety of its thought processes, which are both original and sublime. An attempt has been made in the book to present a short and simplified, yet comprehensive view of Hinduism – its culture and civilization. The vast range of Hindu gods and goddesses is fully explored. It is considered that after going through the book, aam admi (layman) would be greatly informed about Hinduism; and Hindus will feel empowered about their religion. The book will be of special interest to NRIs, especially of the second generation, in search of their roots. For everyone else, including the foreigners, there is a fascinating story waiting to be discovered. The second half of the book relates to study of the Hindu military value system from the earliest times of mythology to the present times. Issues of Hindu military mindset and 750 years of unending slavery are covered in detail. The causes for the Hindu military defeats are analyzed with an extraordinary degree of candor; the conclusions reached shatter many a prevalent myth. The causes for Hindu military defeats lay in their mind, rather than in their muscle.


Rise of a Folk God

Rise of a Folk God

Author: Ramchandra Chintaman Dhere

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 2011-06-15

Total Pages: 371

ISBN-13: 0199777640

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Vitthal, also called Vithoba, is the most popular Hindu god in the western Indian state of Maharashtra, and the best-known god of that region outside India. His temple at Pandharpur is the goal of an annual pilgrimage that is one of the largest and most elaborate in the world. This book is the foremost study of the history of Vitthal, his worship, and his worshippers.


The Encyclopedia of Religious Phenomena

The Encyclopedia of Religious Phenomena

Author: J Gordon Melton

Publisher: Visible Ink Press

Published: 2007-09-01

Total Pages: 395

ISBN-13: 1578592305

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

An inspiring and fascinating look at people’s religious experiences and beliefs. Visions of Mary and glimpses of God. Miraculous apparitions witnessed by hundreds in parking lots, along freeways, and at the world’s holiest sites. Weeping statues, exorcisms, near-death experiences, mystical labyrinths, and more than 250 other unusual and unexplained phenomena, apparitions, and extraordinary experiences rooted in religious beliefs are explored in The Encyclopedia of Religious Phenomena. J. Gordon Melton, the Distinguished Professor of American Religious History at the Institute for Studies of Religion, Baylor University, takes readers on a tour among angels, Marian apparitions, and religious figures such as Jesus, the Buddha, Muhammad, and Tao Tzu. Melton reports on dreams, feng shui, statues that bleed, snake handling, speaking in tongues, stigmata, relics—including the Spear of Longinus and the Shroud of Turin—and sacred locales such as Easter Island, the Glastonbury Tor, the Great Pyramids, Mecca, Sedona, and much more. Each entry includes a description of a particular phenomenon and the religious claims being made about it as well as a discussion of what scientists say about it. Transcending the mundane, the entries take no sides on who is right or wrong: the journey is the experience and the experience is the journey. This fascinating encyclopedia is illustrated with 100 pictures and includes a detailed index and additional reading recommendations. It lets you experience the marvels of weeping statues and icons; exorcisms and ecstasy; the grilled cheese sandwich kit for making your own Virgin Mary image; and so much more.