Being Janana focuses on same-sex desiring male-bodied subjects in Lucknow, India, and explores how they make meaning in the marginalization of their desire through language performativity. Along with their desire for other men, jananas maintain ostensibly heteronormatively and culturally defined masculine positions. This book argues for an intersectional approach to understanding janana life worlds and situates janana subjectivity in dialogue with social, cultural, linguistic, and legal happenings. In engaging with the full complexity of janana identities and experience, Ila Nagar calls for a reassessment of gender categories and a new understanding of power and sexuality amidst emerging Indian modernities. Derived from ethnographic research conducted over a period of twelve years, this book also reflects on the interaction between social actors and researchers, and critically examines the use of ethnography as a method in sociolinguistics and linguistic anthropology. It will be of interest to scholars from Anthropology, Asian Studies, Gender & Sexuality Studies, and Linguistics.
Jnana Yoga(Part II) (The yoga of knowledge) by Swami Vivekananda. based on Seven lectures on this topic delivered in New York in the beginning of 1896.
Within the pages of "Jnana-Yoga," the profound collection of ideas penned by Swami Vivekananda, lies a transformative journey into the realm of self-realization and transcendental wisdom. Drawing from ancient Indian philosophy and his own profound experiences, Vivekananda unveils the path of Jnana-Yoga, the pursuit of knowledge and the realization of one's true nature. In this timeless treatise, Vivekananda dismantles the barriers of ignorance that shroud our understanding, inviting readers to embark on an inner quest for self-discovery. Through his teachings, Vivekananda illuminates the profound truths that lie at the core of human existence. He explores the intricate tapestry of the mind and its role in perceiving the world, emphasizing the power of introspection and self-analysis as tools for unraveling the mysteries of the self. Jnana-Yoga is an invitation to embark on an inward pilgrimage, to delve into the depths of our being and discover the timeless truths that lead to liberation. It is a guiding light that empowers seekers to awaken their inner divinity and merge with the eternal source of knowledge.
ous powers proclaim His omnipotence; His wisdom, His analysis of the ills of humanity, and His prescription for their cure reveal His omniscience. You have the unique chance of meeting Him, at the Abode of Peace (Prasanthi Nilayam), and receiving from Him His blessings for the success of your spiritual pilgrimage. He will know and appreciate your earnestness and faith, and you can continue with greater confidence and courage, because He is certain to assure victory. He is the Eternal Teacher of the Gita, the Charioteer in your heart. In the pages of the magazine, published with His Blessings, and named after Him as Sanathana Sarathi, He wrote, out of His overwhelming love toward humanity, caught in the meshes of cynicism and credal fanaticism, this series of articles, called Stream of Spiritual Wisdom (Jnana Vahini). Month after month, thousands of readers awaited these articles (in the original Telugu as well as in the English translation), and when they received their copy, they perused it diligently and with reverential eagerness. These articles are now put together in book form for your guidance and inspiration.
Advaita Vedanta is one of the most important and widely studied schools of thought in Hindu religion and the Vivekacudamani is one of the most important texts in the Advaita tradition and the most popular philosophical work ascribed to the great Indian philosopher, Sankara. Sankara (c.650-700) is considered to be a giant among giants and probably the most venerated philosopher in India's long history. The Vivekacudamani is in the form of a dialogue between a preceptor (guru) and a pupil (sisya) expounding the quintessence of Advaita in which the pupil humbly approaches the preceptor and, having served the teacher selflessly, implores to be rescued from worldly existence (samsara). The guru promises to teach the way to liberation (moksa) which culminates in the ecstatic experience of one's own Self. This book presents an accessible translation of the entire text and also includes Upanisadic cross-referencing to most of its 580 verses, extensive notes, a lengthy Introduction, list of variant readings, an extensive bibliography, and an index to the verses. All those interested in Indian religion and philosophy, Hindu studies, or Sanskrit, will find this readable English translation of an Indian philosophical classic invaluable.
This book shows that science and religion should not be antagonistic since both relate to each other in the search for unity and truth. Swami Ranganathananda believes that the modern age demands the meeting of the challenges of life with an adequate philosophy. That adequacy can be ensured only if the philosophy achieves a happy synthesis between the physical sciences and spirituality. This is the specialty of Vedanta. Human Being in Depth illustrates the kinship between Vedanta and modern science. Religion expounded as a verified and verifiable science has a message for all humanity: that spiritual life is a fact, that the consciousness within man is a spark of divinity, and that this same divine consciousness pervades nature and the universe of physics. Vedanta, with its various yoga disciplines, has been explored by the author in its role in mental and spiritual development.
Shortlisted for BAAL (British Association for Applied Linguistics) Book Prize 2022 The Routledge Handbook of Language, Gender, and Sexuality provides an accessible and authoritative overview of this dynamic and growing area of research. Covering cutting-edge debates in eight parts, it is designed as a series of mini edited collections, enabling the reader, and particularly the novice reader, to discover new ways of approaching language, gender, and sexuality. With a distinctive focus both on methodologies and theoretical frameworks, the Handbook includes 40 state-of-the art chapters from international authorities. Each chapter provides a concise and critical discussion of a methodological approach, an empirical study to model the approach, a discussion of real-world applications, and further reading. Each section also contains a chapter by leading scholars in that area, positioning, through their own work and chapters in their part, current state-of-the-art and future directions. This volume is key reading for all engaged in the study and research of language, gender, and sexuality within English language, sociolinguistics, discourse studies, applied linguistics, and gender studies.
This book addresses LGBTQ issues in relation to among others law and policy, mobility and migration, children and family, social well-being and identity, visible and invisible landscapes, teaching and instruction, parades, arts and cartography and mapping. A variety of research methods are used to explore identities, communities, networks and landscapes, all which can be used in subsequent research and classroom instruction and disciplinary and interdisciplinary levels. This extensive book stimulates future pioneering research ventures in rural and urban settings about existing and proposed LGBTQ policies, individual and group mapping, visible and invisible spaces, and the construction of public and private spaces. Through the methodologies and rich bibliographies, this book provides a rich source for future comparative research of scholars working in social work, NGOs and public policy, and community networking and development.
Some 25 years ago, I had been struggling to receive spiritual initiation from a would-be diksha-guru for over three years, but he kept repeating that I was not ready yet. Just about that time (April 1994), I suffered what turned out to be a near-fatal heart attack during a lunch break at my FDA office. They rushed me into the emergency where I underwent triple heart bypass surgery. Three major arteries in my heart had ~98-100% blockages. One of these is the one commonly referred to by cardiologists as a “widow-maker!” Suffices to say that I could have suffered a massive heart attack, but for some divine intervention, I probably received another life. That incident alarmed me to seek spiritual initiation from my spiritual master, but I did not have much hope for that possibility. Based on my meagre scriptural knowledge at the time (Ante Narayana Smiti), I took refuge in whatever intelligence the Lord had endowed me. How do I attract Guru Maharaja’s attention to my cause? My intense greediness/eagerness [referred to as laulyam in sanskrit] initiated prompted me to study his mood using my intelligence. Through Krsna, we get introduced to our prospective guru, and thru Guru only, we attain Krsna. Thereby I figured out how he served his guru. His pranama-mantra happens to be “prabhup?dasya s?hitya? yat prak???ya vitirya?ca” Prabhupada ordered him to renounce this lucrative job of being a general manager of the Pepsi cola company, get married to a devotee woman even though he did not want to marry, return to India, and translate his books into several regional languages, and then distribute in India and abroad. All these he did in the prime of his youth when he was in Canada. That is when the idea flashed in my mind to write this essay on Absolute Knowledge despite my limited knowledge of Bhagavad-Gita at the time. I gathered enough courage to submit that essay with a degree of apprehension at his lotus feet. My would-be spiritual master was so pleased with it that not only did he invest the time out of his preaching schedule to read this synopsis written by an absolute novice like me, but he also initiated me within a month in our Potomac Temple in the suburb of Maryland, USA, on Lord Nrsimhadeva’s Appearance Day (May 25, 1997). Moreover, he gave me an order at my initiation, which was even more significant. I paraphrase it here: “Carucandra, I want you to learn the Gaudiya scriptures and then teach others.” This year, I would celebrate a silver jubilee to that fateful occasion in my spiritual life. And to this day, the divine couple has mercifully allowed me to keep my word to my Guru. Carrying out his order remains the very mission of my life balance.
