Swaminarayan Hinduism
Swaminarayan Hinduism

Author: Raymond Brady Williams

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 2016-05-12

Total Pages: 552

ISBN-13: 0199089590

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Towards the end of the eighteenth century, a lone pilgrim reached Gujarat and joined a small ashram in Loj. In time, his followers not only accepted him as the leader of the ashram but also as the manifestation of deity and called him Swaminarayan. His followers increased rapidly and today Swaminarayan Hinduism is a transnational religious movement with major centers in India, East Africa, UK, USA, and Australasia. In a first multidisciplinary study of the movement, this volume provides new and vital information about its history, theology, as well as its transnational development, and brings forth current academic research from fields as diverse as the arts, architecture, sociology, and migration studies, among others. It analyses the philosophy, conduct, and principles that guide Swaminarayan Hindus and provides a case study of the historical and social processes of adapting religious traditions to shape new identities in response to evolving social, economic, and political changes.

Williams on South Asian Religions and Immigration
Williams on South Asian Religions and Immigration

Author: Raymond Brady Williams

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2017-11-28

Total Pages: 302

ISBN-13: 1351143107

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The dual foci for this collection of the author's most important writings are Swaminarayan Hinduism and South Asian immigrants in the United States. Both are topics of wide and growing interest in India and in many countries where South Indians have settled. Swaminarayan Hinduism's growth in the past few decades in India and among Indians abroad has been remarkable: one subsect now has 8100 centers around the world where weekly meetings are held. The second focus is on the religions of South Asian immigrants: Hindus, Muslims, Jains, Sikhs and Christians. The first section is introductory and sets the stage through an analysis of the transmission of religious traditions. The second section moves from the development of Swaminarayan Hinduism and its leadership in India to its development in the United States as exemplified in Chicago. The third section analyzes the impact South Asian religions are having in the United States, and the effects that migration and modernization are having on the religions of the immigrants.

Introduction to Swaminarayan Hinduism
Introduction to Swaminarayan Hinduism

Author: Raymond Brady Williams

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2019

Total Pages: 293

ISBN-13: 1108421148

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An Introduction to Swaminarayan Hinduism, third edition, offers a comprehensive study of a contemporary form of Hinduism. Begun as a revival and reform movement in India 200 years ago, it has now become one of the fastest growing and most prominent forms of Hinduism. The Swaminarayan Hindu transnational network of temples and institutions is expanding in India, East Africa, the UK, USA, Australasia, and in other African and Asian cities. The devotion, rituals, and discipline taught by its founder, Sahajanand Swami (1781-1830) and elaborated by current leaders in major festivals, diverse media, and over the Internet, help preserve ethnic and religious identity in many modern cultural and political contexts. Swaminarayan Hinduism, here described through its history, divisions, leaders, theology and practices, provides valuable case studies of contemporary Hinduism, religion, migrants, and transnationalism. This new edition includes up-to-date information about growth, geographic expansion, leadership transitions, and impact of Swaminarayan institutions in India and abroad.

Rāja-vidyā
Rāja-vidyā

Author: A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda

Publisher:

Published: 1973

Total Pages: 110

ISBN-13: 9781845990725

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In this little jewel of a book, based on the Bhagavad-gita, Srila Prabhupada explains that the king of knowledge is knowledge of God, his creation, and ourselves -- and the relationships between these. He explains that the way to attain this knowledge is through bhakti-yoga, devotional service to the Lord, beginning with the chanting of the maha-mantra, Hare Krsna, Hare Krsna, Krsna Krsna, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare.

An Introduction to Swaminarayan Hindu Theology
An Introduction to Swaminarayan Hindu Theology

Author: Sadhu Paramtattvadas

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2017-08-17

Total Pages: 377

ISBN-13: 1107158672

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An Introduction to Swaminarayan Hindu Theology provides a comprehensive doctrinal account of the Swaminarayan tradition's belief system, drawing on its rich corpus of theological literature, including the teachings of Swaminarayan himself and classical commentaries on canonical Vedāntic texts.