The Upanayana

The Upanayana
Author: Ram Chandra Prasad
Publisher: Motilal Banarsidass Publ.
Total Pages: 208
Release: 1997
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 9788120812406

Upanayana is one of the sixteen samskaras or purificatory rites in which a boy is invested with the sacred thread and thus endowedwith second or spiritual birth and qualified to learn the Veda by heart. In this ceremony the boy goes to an Acarya well-versed in the Vedas with a view to be initiated into Vedic studies or a Guru draws a boy towards himself and initiates him into one of the three twice-born classes. From the day the initiation ceremony takes place the young celibate commits himself to a life of austerity and abstinence; he chooses to lead a life rigorously disciplined by vows and disciplinary rules.

The Sacred Thread

The Sacred Thread
Author: J. L. Brockington
Publisher:
Total Pages: 222
Release: 1997
Genre: Hinduism
ISBN: 9780195642162

Sacred Space, Sacred Thread

Sacred Space, Sacred Thread
Author: John W. Welch
Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers
Total Pages: 243
Release: 2019-04-17
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1532635249

The insightful studies contained in this book will be of significant value to anyone interested in experiencing more deeply the intersections between materiality and spirituality. Part 1 introduces readers into Egyptian, Israelite, Christian, and Hindu temples, shrines, or sanctuaries. Part 2 helps readers understand how items of colored fabrics, clothing, robes, and veils, convey ritual meanings. Part 3 reports two panel discussions that exemplify the pathway of fruitful conversation. Matter and spirit might seem to some to be polar opposites. But as these studies by distinguished and diverse scholars demonstrate, spiritual experiences are constructively defined and refined within the coordinates of place and time. Sacred space, as well as sacred cloth, define borders, but not necessarily boundaries, between the sacred and the profane. These material coordinates physically enclose and also spiritually disclose. They both symbolize and synergize, as they encompass and expansively inspire. These original and enjoyable presentations will help all readers to hold tenaciously to the tenets and also the tensions inherent in physical spiritual experiences.

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.

Meditations of the Heart

Meditations of the Heart
Author: Howard Thurman
Publisher: Beacon Press
Total Pages: 194
Release: 2023-01-31
Genre: Body, Mind & Spirit
ISBN: 080700717X

“As poet, prophet, and priest, Thurman builds upon a powerful legacy of ancestral hope: belief in a liberating God who can always be found ‘in and among the struggling.’” —Yolanda Pierce A universal beacon of hope and endurance for people of all faiths seeking to meet the challenges, uncertainties, and joys of life Howard Thurman’s Meditations of the Heart is a beautiful collection of over 150 prayers, poems, and meditations on prayer, community, and the joys and rituals of life by one of our greatest spiritual leaders. Thurman, a spiritualist and mystic, was renowned for the quiet beauty of his reflections on humanity and our relationship with God. In a new foreword, Yolanda Pierce, dean of Howard University’s School of Divinity, calls attention to the justice-centered theological framework of Thurman’s words. Pierce notes how Thurman brings to light an image of God who can always be found “in and among the struggling,” both in times of weariness and in strength. First written for and shared with his congregation of the Church for the Fellowship of All Peoples in San Francisco, California, these meditations sustain, elevate, and inspire. They are a universal beacon of hope and endurance for people of all faiths seeking to meet the challenges, uncertainties, and joys of everyday life with a renewed and liberating faith.

The Miracle of the Scarlet Thread

The Miracle of the Scarlet Thread
Author: Richard Booker
Publisher: Destiny Image Publishers
Total Pages: 180
Release: 1991-12
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 9780914903260

The Miracle of the Scarlet Thread reveals God's order, sheds light on the Old Testament and demonstrates in clear language how the Old Testament and New Testament fit together.

The Sacred and the Profane

The Sacred and the Profane
Author: Mircea Eliade
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Total Pages: 268
Release: 1959
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 9780156792011

Famed historian of religion Mircea Eliade observes that even moderns who proclaim themselves residents of a completely profane world are still unconsciously nourished by the memory of the sacred. Eliade traces manifestations of the sacred from primitive to modern times in terms of space, time, nature, and the cosmos. In doing so he shows how the total human experience of the religious man compares with that of the nonreligious. This book serves as an excellent introduction to the history of religion, but its perspective also emcompasses philosophical anthropology, phenomenology, and psychology. It will appeal to anyone seeking to discover the potential dimensions of human existence. -- P. [4] of cover.

Introduction to Swaminarayan Hinduism

Introduction to Swaminarayan Hinduism
Author: Raymond Brady Williams
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 293
Release: 2019
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1108421148

An Introduction to Swaminarayan Hinduism, third edition, offers a comprehensive study of a contemporary form of Hinduism. Begun as a revival and reform movement in India 200 years ago, it has now become one of the fastest growing and most prominent forms of Hinduism. The Swaminarayan Hindu transnational network of temples and institutions is expanding in India, East Africa, the UK, USA, Australasia, and in other African and Asian cities. The devotion, rituals, and discipline taught by its founder, Sahajanand Swami (1781-1830) and elaborated by current leaders in major festivals, diverse media, and over the Internet, help preserve ethnic and religious identity in many modern cultural and political contexts. Swaminarayan Hinduism, here described through its history, divisions, leaders, theology and practices, provides valuable case studies of contemporary Hinduism, religion, migrants, and transnationalism. This new edition includes up-to-date information about growth, geographic expansion, leadership transitions, and impact of Swaminarayan institutions in India and abroad.

Hindu Saṁskāras

Hindu Saṁskāras
Author: Rajbali Pandey
Publisher: Motilal Banarsidass Publ.
Total Pages: 364
Release: 1987
Genre: History
ISBN: 9788120803961

The Hindu Samskaras give expression to aspirations and ideals of the Hindus. They aim at securing the welfare of the performer and developing his personality.