Hinduism and Modernity

Hinduism and Modernity PDF Author: David Smith
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 0470776854
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 264

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Book Description
This examination of Hinduism in the context of modernity will be of interest to all students of Hinduism, as well as to those interested in the sociology and history of religion. Shows Hinduism to be a highly dynamic world-view which challenges western notions of modernity. Considers a broad range of topics including women, the caste system, the self, divinities and gurus. Contains up-to-date discussions of modern Hindu culture and beliefs.

Hinduism and Modernity

Hinduism and Modernity PDF Author: David Smith
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 0470776854
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 264

Get Book Here

Book Description
This examination of Hinduism in the context of modernity will be of interest to all students of Hinduism, as well as to those interested in the sociology and history of religion. Shows Hinduism to be a highly dynamic world-view which challenges western notions of modernity. Considers a broad range of topics including women, the caste system, the self, divinities and gurus. Contains up-to-date discussions of modern Hindu culture and beliefs.

The Emergence of Modern Hinduism

The Emergence of Modern Hinduism PDF Author: Richard S. Weiss
Publisher: Univ of California Press
ISBN: 0520973747
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 222

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Book Description
A free open access ebook is available upon publication. Learn more at www.luminosoa.org. The Emergence of Modern Hinduism argues for the importance of regional, vernacular innovation in processes of Hindu modernization. Scholars usually trace the emergence of modern Hinduism to cosmopolitan reform movements, producing accounts that overemphasize the centrality of elite religion and the influence of Western ideas and models. In this study, the author considers religious change on the margins of colonialism by looking at an important local figure, the Tamil Shaiva poet and mystic Ramalinga Swami (1823–1874). Weiss narrates a history of Hindu modernization that demonstrates the transformative role of Hindu ideas, models, and institutions, making this text essential for scholarly audiences of South Asian history, religious studies, Hindu studies, and South Asian studies.

Hinduism in the Modern World

Hinduism in the Modern World PDF Author: Brian A. Hatcher
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 113504631X
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 341

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Book Description
Hinduism in the Modern World presents a new and unprecedented attempt to survey the nature, range, and significance of modern and contemporary Hinduism in South Asia and the global diaspora. Organized to reflect the direction of recent scholarly research, this volume breaks with earlier texts on this subject by seeking to overcome a misleading dichotomy between an elite, intellectualist "modern" Hinduism and the rest of what has so often been misleadingly termed "traditional" or "popular" Hinduism. Without neglecting the significance of modern reformist visions of Hinduism, this book reconceptualizes the meaning of "modern Hinduism" both by expanding its content and by situating its expression within a larger framework of history, ethnography, and contemporary critical theory. This volume equips undergraduate readers with the tools necessary to appreciate the richness and diversity of Hinduism as it has developed during the past two centuries.

History and the Making of a Modern Hindu Self

History and the Making of a Modern Hindu Self PDF Author: Aparna Devare
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1136197079
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 232

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Book Description
Taking the contentious debates surrounding historical evidence and history writing between secularists and Hindu nationalists as a starting point, this book seeks to understand the origins of a growing historical consciousness in contemporary India, especially amongst Hindus. The broad question it poses is: Why has ‘history’ become such an important site of identity, conflict and self-definition amongst modern Hindus, especially when Hinduism is known to have been notoriously impervious to history? As modern ideas regarding notions of history came to India with colonialism, it turns to the colonial period as the ‘moment of encounter’ with such ideas. The book examines three distinct moments in the Hindu self through the lives and writings of lower-caste public figure Jotiba Phule, ‘moderate’ nationalist M. G. Ranade and Hindu nationalist V. D. Savarkar. Through a close reading of original writings, speeches and biographical material, it is demonstrated that these three individuals were engaged with a modern historical and rationalist approach. However, the same material is also used to argue that Phule and Ranade viewed religion as living, contemporaneous and capable of informing both their personal and political lives. Savarkar, the ‘explicitly Hindu’ leader, on the contrary, held Hindu practices and traditions in contempt, confining them to historical analysis while denying any role for religion as spirituality or morality in contemporary political life. While providing some historical context, this volume highlights the philosophical/ political ideas and actions of the three individuals discussed. It integrates aspects of their lives as central to understanding their politics.

Source Book Modern Hinduism

Source Book Modern Hinduism PDF Author: Glyn Richards
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 113609914X
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 221

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Book Description
Published in the year 2004, Source Book Modern Hinduism is a valuable contribution to the field of Asian Studies.

Swami Vivekananda

Swami Vivekananda PDF Author: Makarand Paranjape
Publisher: Harper Collins
ISBN: 9353570891
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 283

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Book Description
Arguably, the greatest achievement of Swami Vivekananda, one of the most celebrated icons of modern India, was the reconstruction of Hinduism. This he accomplished by reforming the religion in India and changing its image in the West. Indeed, the Hinduism that Vivekananda expounded at the Parliament of World's Religions in Chicago was a new, progressive version of an ancient tradition, devoid of the superstitions and distortions with which it had come to be associated. He revolutionized Hindu faith traditions by turning them into a repository of rational, universal philosophy. This book tries to get to the heart of Swami Vivekananda's legacy and his relevance in the contemporary world. It examines hitherto lesser-known aspects of Swamiji's life and work including his contributions to practical Vedanta, universal religion, science-spirituality and inter-religious dialogue, dharmic secularism, educational philosophy, poetry, and, above all, to the problem of Indian modernity. Despite the abundance of literature available on him, Swami Vivekananda is still not understood adequately, remaining somewhat of an enigma. A fresh reading of the life and times of the Swami by someone who has studied him closely, Makarand R. Paranjape's detailed, thought-provoking account shows that in Vivekananda's visionary thoughts lay the seeds of the creation of a modern India. This book reclaims Swami Vivekananda's stature as a pioneer of contemporary Hindu thought and nationalism.

Hindu Pluralism

Hindu Pluralism PDF Author: Elaine M. Fisher
Publisher: Univ of California Press
ISBN: 0520966295
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 300

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Book Description
A free ebook version of this title is available through Luminos, University of California Press’s Open Access publishing program. Visit www.luminosoa.org to learn more. In Hindu Pluralism, Elaine M. Fisher complicates the traditional scholarly narrative of the unification of Hinduism. By calling into question the colonial categories implicit in the term “sectarianism,” Fisher’s work excavates the pluralistic textures of precolonial Hinduism in the centuries prior to British intervention. Drawing on previously unpublished sources in Sanskrit, Tamil, and Telugu, Fisher argues that the performance of plural religious identities in public space in Indian early modernity paved the way for the emergence of a distinctively non-Western form of religious pluralism. This work provides a critical resource for understanding how Hinduism developed in the early modern period, a crucial era that set the tenor for religion's role in public life in India through the present day.

Hindu Encounter with Modernity

Hindu Encounter with Modernity PDF Author: Shukavak Das
Publisher: Sanskrit Religions Institute (S R I)
ISBN:
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 378

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Book Description
Bhaktivinode is presented from the perspective of his own times and in his own words. His writings, theology, and religious practices are thoroughly and systematically examined from a nonhagiographic viewpoint and the entire work is carefully annotated. Bhaktivinode's life straddled contemporary British society and ancestral Hindu culture. One was a modern, analytical world which demanded rational thought. The other was a traditional world of Hindu faith and piety, which seemingly allowed little room for critical analysis. Could he play a meaningful role in modern society and at the same time maintain integrity as a Hindu? This book systematically examines his reinterpretation and application of Hinduism in the context of rational thought. In this well-researched, comprehensive, and objective study Dr. Shukavak begins with a discussion of the "crisis of faith" many Hindus experienced during British rule in India. This is followed by a biographic narration of the life of Kedarnath Dutta concentrating primarily on his devotional development and struggle with the problems of tradition and modernity. Shukavak identifies the inner logic of Bhaktivinode's approach as it points backward to Caitanya and the Goswamis and forward to the challenges of rationalism and universalism. Kedarnath Dutta Bhaktivinode (1838-1914) was an English-educated member of the Bengali bhadralok in 19th century British India. He was an associate of such noteworthy men as: Kashiprasad Ghosh, Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar, Keshub Chandra Sen, Michael Madhusudan Datta, Bankim Chandra Chatterjee, Sisir Kumar Ghosh and the Tagore family. In his late twenties he discovered his "Eastern Savior", Caitanya Mahaprabhu (1486-1533) and became a leader of the Caitanya Vaishnava movement in Bengal. He made a lifelong study of Vaishnava philosophy, theology, and literature; and he wrote or edited almost a hundred books in Bengali, Sanskrit, and English. Bhaktivinode's spiritual insights which divide religion into two constituent parts, the phenomenal and the transcendent allowed him to combine critical rational analysis with the best of Hindu mysticism, Krishna lila. This created a unique synthesis of tradition and modernity. Instead of relinquishing modernity, he utilized it in his writings; instead of rejecting the Hindu tradition in the presence of rational thought, he strengthened it.

Eclecticism and Modern Hindu Discourse

Eclecticism and Modern Hindu Discourse PDF Author: Brian A. Hatcher
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0195344138
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 213

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Book Description
In this new book, Brian Hatcher examines the modern Hindu penchant for constructing religious worlds in an eclectic fashion. Noting how Hindu apologists from Rammohun Roy to Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan make an almost promiscuous use of the world's many philosophies and religions to define and defend Hinduism, Hatcher sets out to explore the ancient roots and contemporary significance of such eclectic borrowing. A discussion of the Vedic and classical roots of Hindu eclecticism affords Hatcher the opportunity to reflect upon the profound and widespread role of eclecticism in South Asian religion, while consideration of the work of Swami Vivekananda--as well as a variety of religious reformers from nineteenth-century Bengal--suggests the ongoing significance of the phenomenon in colonial and postcolonial contexts. By examining the development of Brahmo and Neo-Vedanta discourse, Hatcher is able both to problematize the notion of a monolithic concept of religious eclecticism and to reflect upon the various ways scholars might nevertheless attempt to make sense of a bewildering variety of eclectic philosophies. What emerges is not simply an attempt to refine our understanding of the role eclecticism has played in the modern Hindu context, but an extended reflection upon changing attitudes toward eclecticism in the West, from Diderot and Kant through postmodern critical theory. By investigating modern and postmodern perspectives on such issues as history, system, authenticity, and difference, Hatcher seeks to set in motion a dialectical approach to the study of eclectic world construction that balances the positivisitic confidence of modern scholarship with the playful exuberance of postmodern pastiche. Invoking the critical theories of Salman Rushdie, Theodor Adorno, and Richard Rorty, Hatcher advocates an approach to modern Hindu eclecticism that honors its creative poetics while retaining the critical distance necessary for judging its sometimes baleful fruits.

Modern Hindu Traditionalism in Contemporary India

Modern Hindu Traditionalism in Contemporary India PDF Author: Daniela Bevilacqua
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1351805703
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 420

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Book Description
Modern Hindu Traditionalism addresses Hindu traditions that resisted contact with both Neo-Hindu thought and views of “classical” Hinduism perceived to be outmoded. This book provides an in-depth understanding of Modern Hindu Traditionalism through the case study of the Rāmānandī order (sampradāya) and the portrait of the Jagadguru Rāmānandācārya Rāmnareśācārya. This guru belongs to the ancient tradition of the Rāmānandī order, which is active at the present time and the biggest Vaiṣṇava religious order in Northern India. Analyzing the historical evolution of the Rāmānandī order, the author shows how different centers have undergone different changes over the centuries, and focuses on the independence struggle of a group of Rāmānandīs from the Rāmānūjīs, which led to the creation of the role of Jagadguru Rāmānandācārya and the construction of the Śrī Maṭh. Drawing on extensive fieldwork, this book casts light on figures and processes central to the development of Hinduism in the twentieth and twenty-first century and consequently describes the role of religion in contemporary Indian society. The author examines the role religious institutions and their leaders have in the everyday life of individuals, how they interact with and in the society, and how they approach and interpret social and political issues. The Rāmānandīs’ use of new methods of communication, in particular social media, is an innovative part of the study. A welcome innovation in the studies of South Asian religion, this book will be of interest to historians, anthropologists, and scholars of Hinduism and religion and politics.