Encountering the Goddess

Encountering the Goddess
Author: Thomas B. Coburn
Publisher: State University of New York Press
Total Pages: 276
Release: 1991-04-23
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0791499316

Coburn provides a fresh and careful translation from the Sanskrit of this fifteen-hundred-year-old text. Drawing on field work and literary evidence, he illuminates the process by which the Devī-Māhātmya has attracted a vast number of commentaries and has become the best known Goddess-text in modern India, deeply embedded in the ritual of Goddess worship (especially in Tantra). Coburn answers the following questions among others: Is this document "scripture?" How is it that this text mediates the presence of the Goddess? What can we make of contemporary emphasis on oral recitation of the text rather than study of its written form? One comes away from Coburn's work with a sense of the historical integrity or wholeness of an extremely important religious development centered on a "text." The interaction between the text and later philosophical and religious developments such as those found in Advaita Vedanta and Tantra is quite illuminating. Relevant here are the issues of the writtenness and orality/aurality of 'scripture,' and the various ways by which a deposit of holy words such as the Devī-Māhātmya becomes effective, powerful, and inspirational in the lives of those who hold it sacred.

The Myths and Gods of India

The Myths and Gods of India
Author: Alain Danielou
Publisher: Motilal Banarsidass
Total Pages: 506
Release: 2017-01-01
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 8120836383

This study of Hindu mythology explores the significance of the most prominent Hindu deities as they are envisioned by the Hindus themselves, Referred to by its adherents as the "eternal religion" Hinduism recognizes for each age and each country a new form of revelation-and for each person, according to his or her stage of development, a different path of realization. This message of tolerance and adaptability, the very heart of Hindu polytheism, resounds clearly throughout Alain Danielou's work. Photographic plates by Raymond Burnier further illustrate the many facets of Hindu teaching and grace the significance of the Gods of the Vedas, as well as Vishnu, Shiva, Brahma, Kali, Shakti, and other deities.

The Persistence of Religion

The Persistence of Religion
Author: Bolle
Publisher: BRILL
Total Pages: 152
Release: 2018-11-13
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 9004377999

Preliminary Material /Kees W. Bolle and Mircea Eliade -- Preface /Mircea Eliade -- Foreword /Kees W. Bolle -- Introduction: Tantrism Within the Perspective of the History of Religions /Kees W. Bolle and Mircea Eliade -- The “Orthodox” Praehistory /Kees W. Bolle and Mircea Eliade -- The “Unorthodox” Praehistory /Kees W. Bolle and Mircea Eliade -- Tantra and Tantrism /Kees W. Bolle and Mircea Eliade -- Śrī Aurobindo /Kees W. Bolle and Mircea Eliade -- The Persistence of Religion /Kees W. Bolle and Mircea Eliade -- Bibliography /Kees W. Bolle and Mircea Eliade.

SHIVA PUJA

SHIVA PUJA
Author: SWAMI RAM CHARRAN
Publisher: Lulu.com
Total Pages: 210
Release: 2011-03-22
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1435796179

In Vedic Sciences the Sanskrit word Puja means honoring a force higher than yourself for inner gains and the word Shiva means the Lord of Time. In this book a simulated version of the Universe is constructed, and a simulated trip is made to request the Lord of Time to grant a prosperous, happy, and satisfactory life.

The Secret of Sri Vidya

The Secret of Sri Vidya
Author: Satya Narayana Sarma Rupenaguntla
Publisher: Panchawati Spiritual Foundation
Total Pages: 335
Release:
Genre: Body, Mind & Spirit
ISBN:

There are many books written in abstract language on the Tantra Upasana known as Sri Vidya. However, they contain highly technical words, mantras and rituals which are beyond the understanding of a layman who is alien to the concept of Hindu religion. Hence, more than enlightening the reader, they confuse him. In this aspect, this book is different in its diction. It tries to explain the abstruse subject of Sri Vidya in simplest possible terms, highlighting its most benign form of practices. Explaining the meanings of important mantras from the Upanishads, the connection between Sri Vidya and the Vedas has been established in this book. In addition, the four paths of Sri Vidya have been briefly touched upon, introducing the readers to the practical aspects of these four esoteric paths. Dispelling the fear of Tantra and the worship of God in his feminine aspect, the entire subject of Sri Vidya has been explained in this book. If the reader develops interest in the sadhana of Sri Vidya after reading this work, we feel our efforts in writing this book are fulfilled.

SARASWATY PUJA HANDBOOK

SARASWATY PUJA HANDBOOK
Author: SWAMI RAM CHARRAN
Publisher: Lulu.com
Total Pages: 214
Release: 2011-08-26
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1257835092

In Vedic Sciences, the Sanskrit word Puja means honoring a force more powerful than you for inner gains. The goddess Saraswaty is the goddess of knowledge and arts. In this book a simulated version of the Universe is constructed and a simulated trip is made to request the Goddess Saraswaty to grant remunerative knowledge. Such knowledge brings understanding, awareness and enlightenment. Therefore, fear, hatred and other negative influences are removed from your life.

Sonic Theology

Sonic Theology
Author: Guy L. Beck
Publisher: Motilal Banarsidass Publ.
Total Pages: 322
Release: 1995
Genre: Hinduism
ISBN: 9788120812611

The Devī Gītā

The Devī Gītā
Author: C. Mackenzie Brown
Publisher: State University of New York Press
Total Pages: 422
Release: 1998-09-11
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0791497739

This book provides a translation, with introduction, commentary, and annotation, of the medieval Hindu Sanskrit text the Devi Gita (Song of the Goddess). It is an important but not well-known text from the rich SAakta (Goddess) tradition of India. The Devi Gita was composed about the fifteenth century C.E., in partial imitation of the famous Bhagavad Gita (Song of the Lord), composed some fifteen centuries earlier. Around the sixth century C.E., following the rise of several male deities to prominence, a new theistic movement began in which the supreme being was envisioned as female, known as the Great Goddess (Maha-Devi). Appearing first as a violent and blood-loving deity, this Goddess gradually evolved into a more benign figure, a compassionate World-Mother and bestower of salvific wisdom. It is in this beneficent mode that the Goddess appears in the Devi Gita. This work makes available an up-to-date translation of the Devi Gita, along with a historical and theological analysis of the text. The book is divided into sections of verses, and each section is followed by a comment explaining key terms, concepts, ritual procedures, and mythic themes. The comments also offer comparisons with related schools of thought, indicate parallel texts and textual sources of verses in the Devi Gita, and briefly elucidate the historical and religious background, supplementing the remarks of the introduction.