Contemporary Hinduism

Contemporary Hinduism
Author: P. Pratap Kumar
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 312
Release: 2014-09-11
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1317546369

Most overviews of Hindu belief and practice follow a history from the ancient Vedas to today. Such approaches privilege Brahmanical traditions and create a sense of Hinduism as a homogenous system and culture, and one which is largely unchanging and based solely on sacred texts. In reality, modern Hindu faith and culture present an extraordinary range of dynamic beliefs and practices. 'Contemporary Hinduism' aims to capture the full breadth of the Hindu worldview as practised today, both in the sub-continent and the diaspora. Global and regional faith, ritualised and everyday practice, Brahmanical and non-Brahmanical belief, and ascetic and devotional traditions are all discussed. Throughout, the discussion is illustrated with detailed case material and images, whilst key terms are highlighted and explained in a glossary. 'Contemporary Hinduism' presents students with a lively and engaging survey of Hinduism, offering an introduction to the oldest and one of the most complex of world religions.

The Tirumala Temple

The Tirumala Temple
Author: N. Ramesan
Publisher:
Total Pages: 710
Release: 1981
Genre: Buddhist temples
ISBN:

History of Sri Venkatesvara Temple at Tirupati.

A Sacred Thread

A Sacred Thread
Author: Raymond Brady Williams
Publisher: Columbia University Press
Total Pages: 356
Release: 1996
Genre: Hindu sects
ISBN: 9780231107792

What are UFOs? And what did happen in Hanger 57? This book looks into the stories behind the sightings, including several closed military files that may have some very strange evidence within them.

Beyond Courtrooms and Street Violence

Beyond Courtrooms and Street Violence
Author: Vera Lazzaretti
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
Total Pages: 191
Release: 2022-07-25
Genre: History
ISBN: 1000622193

Much of the scholarship dealing with religious offence in South Asia focuses on the unintended effects of blasphemy laws, showing, for instance, that laws presumably intended to promote religious tolerance end up informing, if not encouraging, disputes around religious sensitivities. But while debates about the effects of law are crucial, this collection widens the scope of the enquiry by suggesting that a more nuanced understanding of religious offence can be gained by looking past full-blown legal proceedings and the spectacular violence performed in the streets during religious offence controversies. Drawing on the extensive empirical field research of six scholars of religion and politics, this book directs attention to frictions around religious sensitivities that are handled and often mitigated locally—either entirely outside the courts or through bottom-up initiatives that unfold in combination with, or as a reaction to, top-down measures. While documenting a range of containment modalities in diverse geographical and socio-religious settings in India and scrutinising their functioning and outcomes, the book is a first attempt to bridge research on religious offence with critical understandings of peace and scholarship on the micro-mechanisms of coexistence. Beyond Courtrooms and Street Violence is a significant new contribution to the study of religion, politics and communities in India, and will be a great resource for academics, researchers, and advanced students of Anthropology, History, Politics, Cultural Studies, and Sociology. The chapters in this book were originally published as a special issue of South Asia: Journal of South Asian Studies.

The Festival of Pirs

The Festival of Pirs
Author: Afsar Mohammad
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages: 214
Release: 2013-12
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0199997586

This study is about a popular manifestation of Islamic devotion that embraces a pluralist setting, keeping itself in a dynamic dialogue with non-Muslim practices. With evidence from various public devotional narratives and ritual practices, the author argues that even universal understanding of living Islam remains incomplete if we do not consider this locally produced pluralised devotional setting that surrounds it. He seeks to address various aspects of local and localised Islam through an examination of Gugudu's local and popular transformation of normative Islam, giving particular focus to the various devotional rituals that blend Muslim and Hindu practices in the public event of Muharram.

Architecture of Sovereignty

Architecture of Sovereignty
Author: Gita V. Pai
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 379
Release: 2023-05-31
Genre: History
ISBN: 1009150154

Demonstrates how religious spaces are sites of contestation over sovereignty and broader debates about governance as they have been reconceived repeatedly.