The Roots of Tantra

The Roots of Tantra PDF Author: Katherine Anne Harper
Publisher: SUNY Press
ISBN: 9780791453056
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 284

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Book Description
Among the many spiritual traditions born and developed in India, Tantra has been the most difficult to define. Almost everything about it its major characteristics, its sources, its relationships to other religions, even its practices are debated among sc

The Roots of Tantra

The Roots of Tantra PDF Author: Katherine Anne Harper
Publisher: SUNY Press
ISBN: 9780791453056
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 284

Get Book Here

Book Description
Among the many spiritual traditions born and developed in India, Tantra has been the most difficult to define. Almost everything about it its major characteristics, its sources, its relationships to other religions, even its practices are debated among sc

The Secret of the Three Cities

The Secret of the Three Cities PDF Author: Douglas Renfrew Brooks
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
ISBN: 9780226075693
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 336

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Book Description
The esoteric Hindu traditions of Tantrism have profoundly influenced the development of Indian thought and civilization. Emerging from elements of yoga and wisdom traditions, shamanism, alchemy, eroticism, and folklore, Tantrism began to affect brahmanical Hinduism in the ninth century. Nevertheless, Tantrism and its key historical figures have been ignored by scholars. This accessible work introduces the concepts and practices of Hindu Sakta Tantrism to all those interested in Hinduism and the comparative study of religion.

The Roots of Tantra

The Roots of Tantra PDF Author: Katherine Anne Harper
Publisher: State University of New York Press
ISBN: 079148890X
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 281

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Book Description
Among the many spiritual traditions born and developed in India, Tantra has been the most difficult to define. Almost everything about it—its major characteristics, its sources, its relationships to other religions, even its practices—are debated among scholars. In addition, Tantrism is not confined to any particular religion, but is a set of beliefs and practices that appears in a variety of religions, including Hinduism and Buddhism. This book explores one of the most controversial aspects of Tantra, its sources or roots, specifically in regard to Hinduism. The essays focus on the history and development of Tantra, the art history and archaeology of Tantra, the Vedas and Tantra, and texts and Tantra. Using various disciplinary and methodological approaches, from history to art history and religious studies to textual studies, scholars provide both broad overviews of the beginnings of Tantra and detailed analyses of specific texts, authors, art works, and rituals.

Making Sense of Tantric Buddhism

Making Sense of Tantric Buddhism PDF Author: Christian K. Wedemeyer
Publisher: Columbia University Press
ISBN: 0231162413
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 338

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Book Description
Making Sense of Tantric Buddhism fundamentally rethinks the nature of the transgressive theories and practices of the Buddhist Tantric traditions, challenging the notion that the Tantras were “marginal” or primitive and situating them instead—both ideologically and institutionally—within larger trends in mainstream Buddhist and Indian culture. Critically surveying prior scholarship, Wedemeyer exposes the fallacies of attributing Tantric transgression to either the passions of lusty monks, primitive tribal rites, or slavish imitation of Saiva traditions. Through comparative analysis of modern historical narratives—that depict Tantrism as a degenerate form of Buddhism, a primal religious undercurrent, or medieval ritualism—he likewise demonstrates these to be stock patterns in the European historical imagination. Through close analysis of primary sources, Wedemeyer reveals the lived world of Tantric Buddhism as largely continuous with the Indian religious mainstream and deploys contemporary methods of semiotic and structural analysis to make sense of its seemingly repellent and immoral injunctions. Innovative, semiological readings of the influential Guhyasamaja Tantra underscore the text’s overriding concern with purity, pollution, and transcendent insight—issues shared by all Indic religions—and a large-scale, quantitative study of Tantric literature shows its radical antinomianism to be a highly managed ritual observance restricted to a sacerdotal elite. These insights into Tantric scripture and ritual clarify the continuities between South Asian Tantrism and broader currents in Indian religion, illustrating how thoroughly these “radical” communities were integrated into the intellectual, institutional, and social structures of South Asian Buddhism.

An Introduction to Hinduism

An Introduction to Hinduism PDF Author: Gavin D. Flood
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 9780521438780
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 382

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Book Description
This book provides a much-needed thematic and historical introduction to Hinduism, the religion of the majority of people in India. Dr Flood traces the development of Hindu traditions from their ancient origins, through the major deities of Visnu, Siva and the Goddess, to the modern world. Hinduism is discussed as both a global religion and a form of nationalism. Emphasis is given to the tantric traditions, which have been so influential; to Hindu ritual, which is more fundamental to the life of the religion than are specific beliefs or doctrines; and to Dravidian influences from south India. An Introduction to Hinduism examines the ideas of dharma, particularly in relation to the ideology of kingship, caste and world renunciation. Dr Flood also introduces some debates within contemporary scholarship about the nature of Hinduism. It is suitable both for the student and for the general reader.

Ritual and Speculation in Early Tantrism

Ritual and Speculation in Early Tantrism PDF Author: Teun Goudriaan
Publisher: SUNY Press
ISBN: 9780791408988
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 380

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Book Description
This book illustrates the extent to which we can understand the writings of the leading tantricas whose views regarding the universe and enlightenment developed from ritual practice and yoga. Contributors to this anthology include Helene Brunner, Gudrun Buhnemann, Richard H. Davis, Vrajavallabha Dviveda, Sanjukta Gupta, Minoru Hara, Paul Muller-Ortega, Navjivan Rastogi, Alexis Sanderson, Jan A. Schoterman, Raffaele Torella, and Teun Goudriaan.

Mysticism in India

Mysticism in India PDF Author: Ramchandra Dattatraya Ranade
Publisher: SUNY Press
ISBN: 9780873956697
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 540

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Book Description
Mysticism in India is a complete and informative description of the teachings, works, and lives of the great poet-saints of Maharashtra written by a scholar and professor who was also a mystic. Jnaneshwar, Namadev, Tukaram, Eknath, Ramdas, and the other saints discussed belonged to the great devotional religious movement that spread through medieval India. With the exception of Ramdas, they all belonged to the tradition of the Varkaris, the most popular sect in contemporary Maharashtra. Their compositions exemplify the universality of their faith and practice, and are recognized as literary treasures. Ranade was primarily interested in the poet-saints as mystics--teachers of the perennial philosophy--whose experiences have general metaphysical and religious implications. At the heart of his classic is a comprehensive, objective presentation of the thought of these saints, augmented by a deep appreciation of their value and relevance to present-day scholars and seekers. Mysticism in India is the only major study in English of medieval Indian religious literature. The book's enduring value has been enhanced by the addition of a foreword by a scholar currently working in Marathi literature, and a preface by a present-day poet-saint of Maharashtra.

Auspicious Wisdom

Auspicious Wisdom PDF Author: Douglas Renfrew Brooks
Publisher: State University of New York Press
ISBN: 0791497682
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 326

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Book Description
Rooting itself in Kashmir Shaivism, Śrividyā became a force in South India no later than the seventh century, and eventually supplanted the Trika as the dominant Tantric tradition in Kashmir. This is the first comprehensive study of the texts and traditions of this influential school of goddess-centered, Śākta, Tantrism. Centering on the goddess's three manifestations—the beneficent deity Lalita Tripurasundari, her mantra, and the visually striking sricakra—Śrividyā creates a systematic esoteric discipline that combines elements of the yogas of knowledge, of devotion, and of ritual. Utilizing canonical works, historical commentaires, and the interpretive insights of living practitioners, this book explores the theological and ritual theories that form the basis for Śrividyā practice and offers new methods for critical and comparative studies of esoteric Hinduism.

Kashmir Śaivism

Kashmir Śaivism PDF Author: Kamalakar Mishra
Publisher:
ISBN: 9789381120033
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
On understand the Tantrism in light of the Tantrāloka of Abhinavagupta.

The Secret of the Three Cities

The Secret of the Three Cities PDF Author: Douglas Renfrew Brooks
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
ISBN: 0226075702
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 328

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Book Description
The esoteric Hindu traditions of Tantrism have profoundly influenced the development of Indian thought and civilization. Emerging from elements of yoga and wisdom traditions, shamanism, alchemy, eroticism, and folklore, Tantrism began to affect brahmanical Hinduism in the ninth century. Nevertheless, Tantrism and its key historical figures have been ignored by scholars. This accessible work introduces the concepts and practices of Hindu Sakta Tantrism to all those interested in Hinduism and the comparative study of religion.