The Transformation of Tamil Religion

The Transformation of Tamil Religion PDF Author: Srilata Raman
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 131774473X
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 344

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Book Description
This book analyses the religious ideology of a Tamil reformer and saint, Ramalinga Swamigal of the 19th century and his posthumous reception in the Tamil country and sheds light on the transformation of Tamil religion that both his works and the understanding of him brought about. The book traces the hagiographical and biographical process by which Ramalinga Swamigal is shifted from being considered an exemplary poet-saint of the Tamil Śaivite bhakti tradition to a Dravidian nationalist social reformer. Taking as a starting point Ramalinga’s own writing, the book presents him as inhabiting a border zone between early modernity and modernity, between Hinduism and Christianity, between colonialism and regional nationalism, highlighting the influence of his teachings on politics, particularly within Dravidian cultural and political nationalism. Simultaneously, the book considers the implication of such an hagiographical process for the transformation of Tamil religion in the period between the 19th –mid-20th centuries. The author demonstrates that Ramalinga Swamigal’s ideology of compassion, cīvakāruṇyam, had not only a long genealogy in pre-modern Tamil Śaivism but also that it functioned as a potentially emancipatory ethics of salvation and caste critique not just for him but also for other Tamil and Dalit intellectuals of the 19th century. This book is a path-breaking study that also traces the common grounds between the religious visions of two of the most prominent subaltern figures of Tamil modernity – Iyothee Thass and Ramalingar. It argues that these transformations are one meaningful way for a religious tradition to cope with and come to terms with the implications of historicization and the demands of colonial modernity. It is, therefore, a valuable contribution to the field of religion, South Asian history and literature and Subaltern studies. The Open Access version of this book, available at http://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/e/9781315794518 has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 4.0 license.

The Transformation of Tamil Religion

The Transformation of Tamil Religion PDF Author: Srilata Raman
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 131774473X
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 344

Get Book Here

Book Description
This book analyses the religious ideology of a Tamil reformer and saint, Ramalinga Swamigal of the 19th century and his posthumous reception in the Tamil country and sheds light on the transformation of Tamil religion that both his works and the understanding of him brought about. The book traces the hagiographical and biographical process by which Ramalinga Swamigal is shifted from being considered an exemplary poet-saint of the Tamil Śaivite bhakti tradition to a Dravidian nationalist social reformer. Taking as a starting point Ramalinga’s own writing, the book presents him as inhabiting a border zone between early modernity and modernity, between Hinduism and Christianity, between colonialism and regional nationalism, highlighting the influence of his teachings on politics, particularly within Dravidian cultural and political nationalism. Simultaneously, the book considers the implication of such an hagiographical process for the transformation of Tamil religion in the period between the 19th –mid-20th centuries. The author demonstrates that Ramalinga Swamigal’s ideology of compassion, cīvakāruṇyam, had not only a long genealogy in pre-modern Tamil Śaivism but also that it functioned as a potentially emancipatory ethics of salvation and caste critique not just for him but also for other Tamil and Dalit intellectuals of the 19th century. This book is a path-breaking study that also traces the common grounds between the religious visions of two of the most prominent subaltern figures of Tamil modernity – Iyothee Thass and Ramalingar. It argues that these transformations are one meaningful way for a religious tradition to cope with and come to terms with the implications of historicization and the demands of colonial modernity. It is, therefore, a valuable contribution to the field of religion, South Asian history and literature and Subaltern studies. The Open Access version of this book, available at http://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/e/9781315794518 has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 4.0 license.

The Transformation of Tamil Religion

The Transformation of Tamil Religion PDF Author: Srilata Raman
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781315794518
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 346

Get Book Here

Book Description
"This book analyses the religious ideology of a Tamil reformer and saint, Ramalinga Swamigal of the 19th century and his posthumous reception in the Tamil country and sheds light on the transformation of Tamil religion that both his works and the understanding of him brought about. The book traces the hagiographical and biographical process by which Ramalinga Swamigal is shifted from being considered an exemplary poet-saint of the Tamil âSaivite bhakti tradition to a Dravidian nationalist social reformer. Taking as a starting point Ramalinga's own writing, the book presents him as inhabiting a border zone between early modernity and modernity, between Hinduism and Christianity, between colonialism and regional nationalism, highlighting the influence of his teachings on politics, particularly within Dravidian cultural and political nationalism. Simultaneously, the book considers the implication of such an hagiographical process for the transformation of Tamil religion in the period between the 19th -mid-20th centuries. The author demonstrates that Ramalinga Swamigal's ideology of compassion, cåivakåaruònyam, had not only a long genealogy in pre-modern Tamil âSaivism but also that it functioned as a potentially emancipatory ethics of salvation and caste critique not just for him but also for other Tamil and Dalit intellectuals of the 19th century. This book is a path-breaking study that also traces the common grounds between the religious visions of two of the most prominent subaltern figures of Tamil modernity - Iyothee Thass and Ramalingar. It argues that these transformations are one meaningful way for a religious tradition to cope with and come to terms with the implications of historicization and the demands of colonial modernity. It is, therefore, a valuable contribution to the field of religion, South Asian history and literature and Subaltern studies"--

Colonizing the Realm of Words

Colonizing the Realm of Words PDF Author: Sascha Ebeling
Publisher: State University of New York Press
ISBN: 1438432011
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 386

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Book Description
A true tour de force, this book documents the transformation of one Indian literature, Tamil, under the impact of colonialism and Western modernity. While Tamil is a living language, it is also India's second oldest classical language next to Sanskrit, and has a literary history that goes back over two thousand years. On the basis of extensive archival research, Sascha Ebeling tackles a host of issues pertinent to Tamil elite literary production and consumption during the nineteenth century. These include the functioning and decline of traditional systems in which poet-scholars were patronized by religious institutions, landowners, and local kings; the anatomy of changes in textual practices, genres, styles, poetics, themes, tastes, and audiences; and the role of literature in the politics of social reform, gender, and incipient nationalism. The work concludes with a discussion of the most striking literary development of the time—the emergence of the Tamil novel.

Religion Against the Self

Religion Against the Self PDF Author: Isabelle Nabokov
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0195354362
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 245

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Book Description
This book provides a holistic description of Hinduism, showing how different types of Hinduism form a "total" or systematic cosmology and repeat crucial values through different symbols. Looking at Tamil religious practices, Isabelle Nabokov reveals that Tamil religion is primarily concerned with transformations of identity and subjectivity, both in this world and in the hereafter.

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.

Religion Against the Self : An Ethnography of Tamil Rituals

Religion Against the Self : An Ethnography of Tamil Rituals PDF Author: Isabelle Nabokov Assistant Professor of Anthropology Princeton University
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
ISBN: 0198027354
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 250

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Book Description
In this comprehensive analysis of South Indian village Hinduism, Isabelle Nabokov shows that a wide spectrum of Tamil rituals effects transformations of identity through similar processual and symbolic operations. She reveals that such operations may lead participants to adopt personalities which are at odds with themselves.

Tamil Culture

Tamil Culture PDF Author: A. Kiruṭṭin̲an̲
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 476

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Book Description
At a time the Tamils have forgotten their glorious past, the hights of their achievements in political, social, cultural and civilization fields, when they have lost even their sense of self respect, this book apart from being a treasure of culture, I consider, is one that awakens them, reminds them and rekindles their interest to know about their past and implores them to create a greater feature. I fervently hope that the vision of the author is realized and all our wishes filfilled. I am sure that the sincere and enlightened work serve the purpose and the society. It has website effect scanning every minutes detail of the Tamil culture. We are sure when you come out you would be a scholar to be sought after. Hardbound

Turbulent Transformations

Turbulent Transformations PDF Author: Katherine K. Young
Publisher:
ISBN: 9788194925880
Category : Caste-based discrimination
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
"This book studies the interlinking of religious, social and political identities in modern Tamil Nadu. Through interviews with non-Brahmin Srivaisnavas of many castes, but especially belonging to the lower-caste groups, it analyses their histories of discrimination, their negotiation of lived realities, and hopes for the future. The interviews all refer to the history of Srivaisnavism, an historically important Hindu sect in the region, the religion's theology of caste inclusiveness, and history of Brahmin leadership exclusiveness.In addition, the author also addresses colonial changes, Telugu connections, the non-Brahmin movement, Dalit mobilisation, post-Independence caste hierarchies, government policies, party politics, Brahmin reactions, court cases, and inter-religious competition.Turbulent Transformations breaks new ground by highlighting radical non-Brahmin leaders in the colonial period. It probes the Srivaisnava connections of prominent political figures such as Periyar and Jayalalithaa. And it explores the relation of the temples, the state, and the Supreme Court over questions such as 'who is allowed to be a priest'.This book provides insights into new configurations of democracy, caste and modern lived Hinduism. It fills the lacunae created by Brahmin narratives, scholarly studies focused on Tamil Saivism or Christianity, and political and sociological analyses removed from the dynamic pulse of religion in interaction with the non-Brahmin movement over the past century."--

Media and the Transformation of Religion in South Asia

Media and the Transformation of Religion in South Asia PDF Author: Lawrence A. Babb
Publisher: Motilal Banarsidass Publ.
ISBN: 9788120814530
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 312

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Book Description
This volume explores the effects of the religious transformation taking place in India as sacred symbols assume the shapes of media images.

Self-Surrender (prapatti) to God in Shrivaishnavism

Self-Surrender (prapatti) to God in Shrivaishnavism PDF Author: Srilata Raman
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1134165374
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 460

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Book Description
Filling the most glaring gap in Shrivaishnava scholarship, this book deals with the history of interpretation of a theological concept of self-surrender-prapatti in late twelfth and thirteenth century religious texts of the Shrivaishnava community of South India. This original study shows that medieval sectarian formation in its theological dimension is a fluid and ambivalent enterprise, where conflict and differentiation are presaged on "sharing", whether of a common canon, saint or rituals or two languages (Tamil and Sanskrit), or of a "meta-social" arena such as the temple. Srilata Mueller, a member of the Shrivaishnava community, argues that the core ideas of prapatti in these religious texts reveal the description of a heterogeneous theological concept. Demonstrating that this concept is theologically moulded by the emergence of new literary genres, Mueller puts forward the idea that this original understanding of prapatti is a major contributory cause to the emergence of sectarian divisions among the Shrivaishnavas, which lead to the formation of two sub-sects, the Tenkalai and the Vatakalia, who stand respectively, for the "cat" and "monkey" theological positions. Making an important contribution to contemporary Indian and Hindu thinking on religion, this text provides a new intellectual history of medieval Indian religion. It will be of particular interest to scholars of Shrivaishnava and also Hindu and Indian religious studies.