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Dictionary of Bhakti...
Dictionary of Bhakti ( 3 Vols. Set)
North-Indian Bhakti Texts into Khari Boli Hindi and by: Winand M. Callewaert , Swapna SharmaBhakti is the tool prescribed in the present Kali age to reach the Supreme. Over the last seven centuries mystic reformers preached a monotheistic religion, without caste distinction and wandering singers spread their message in the vernacular languages. This dictionary will enable a wider readership to access and understand the beautiful texts available in bhakti literature.
₹3,600.00
ISBN: 9788124605295
Year Of Publication: 2009
Edition: 1st
Pages : 2187
Bibliographic Details : Bibliography
Language : English
Binding : Hardcover
Publisher: D.K. Printworld Pvt. Ltd.
Size: 29 cm.
Weight: 7250 gm.
After ce 1000 an important change took place on the religious scene in India. With the arrival of the Muslims and the establishment of Muslim governments in Delhi and elsewhere, Hinduism was confronted with a powerful religious tradition that was not only supported by military strength but was also endowed with a strong tradition of mysticism. Along with this double challenge, India was invaded by a language, Persian, that became the official language of the imperial court. From ce 1300 onwards a remarkable phenomenon changed the religious history of India. Popular mystic reformers appeared, reacting vehemently against both the Brahmanical ritualism and the corruption in Islamic practices. They preached a monotheistic religion, without caste distinction, stressing very personal devotion and giving their message in the vernacular languages, not in Sanskrit.
The language of this bhakti literature is a mixed medium that, until now, has not been described in detailed grammars and dictionaries, as was the case with Sanskrit. The vocabulary of this medium was borrowed, not only from Sanskrit and Persian but also from local idioms and dialects, and wandering singers adopted many terms and expressions as they travelled from one region to another. Consequently, each fresh edition in this field requires new grammars and glossaries.
The challenge of research in this area is the fact that this literature is only accessible in manuscripts and little has been critically edited. Secondly, the language in which these hymns were sung has been studied only imperfectly, although a lot of progress has been made in the last twenty years. It is important that a wider readership should be able to access and understand the texts available, and it is here that we should situate the usefulness of the Bhakti HindiEnglish Dictionary.
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Sale!Journey to the Centre of my Being ₹315.00
Jim Wilson is an adventurer: mountaineering; Antarctic exploration; adventure films with Sir Edmund Hillary (on one of which he drove a jet boat up Mother Ganga from ocean to sky); climbing and school building with Sir Edmund in the Everest region of Nepal; and sailing to Pacific islands in a small yacht. These physical adventures provide an exciting backdrop to this book.
But Jim is also a religious adventurer. He relates in depth, with clarity and humour, his long journey in search of a satisfying way of understanding and experiencing the true nature of his self, and of his place in this mysterious universe. Studying Western philosophy and theology moved him away from intense involvement in the liberal Christianity of his parents. So he looked to India, inexhaustible source of inspiration. For two years he studied Indian philosophy and religion at Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi. Then he taught for 23 years in the Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies at the University of Canterbury, New Zealand, returning many times to India and Nepal.
Though profoundly moved by the religions he studied and taught about, he was unable to accept the metaphysical beliefs underpinning them. Increasingly, though, he became fascinated by modern scientific discoveries about the universe, and about our planet and the evolution of life on it. So he wove together elements from religious and scientific traditions. In particular, he took Adi Shankara’s Advaita, also known as spiritual monism, and applied it to the physical universe, adding in also feelings and attitudes from New Zealand’s indigenous Maori religion. He now believes that the centre of his being is the physical energy of the universe, with which, therefore, he is at one. He finds this deeply satisfying in understanding, and emotionally and morally experiencing, his place on this planet and in the universe. Because it owes so much to spiritual monism he calls it physical monism, or physical Advaita. -
Sale!Across the South of Asia ₹1,530.00
All too often, modern scholarship limits its scope according to the boundaries of contemporary nations and current geopolitical borders. Academic expertise frequently ties itself artificially to these pre-defined spaces and in so doing often does a disservice to the past. It is no great revelation to point out that people of the past defined the limits of their political and cultural reach in ways that were very different from those found on modern maps. Ancient rulers, merchants, and priests understood the reach of their influence and defined foreignness in ways that would be deeply unfamiliar to those only knowledgeable of the modern world. Yet, despite the well-recognized truth in these observations, it is still relatively rare for scholars to research in ways that transcend modern boundaries.
This collection of essays invites readers to take a broad view of South Asian art and culture by providing a wide geographic and chronological scope. The articles are united only by their focus on art historical and archaeological concerns and their concentration on South Asia ranging from Afghanistan to the island kingdoms of Indonesia. Each essay on its own constitutes a solid, well-grounded academic study, but taken collectively they provide a wide and inclusive view of issues of art and material culture that span the region and invite comparison.
By taking this approach, this volume is a tribute to Prof. Robert L. Brown whose lifetime of teaching has always emphasized connections as well as differences. Over his professional career, he has trained a large cohort of students (many of whom are contributors to this volume) whose expertise truly does reach across the south of Asia. -
Sale!Sleeping to Dream and Dreaming to Wake Up ₹1,440.00
“Dreams play a significant role in our life, meaningfully affecting us in the development of our personality and our spiritual journey. They are an everyday experience for any human being. Dreams have always been of great interest to poets and philosophers alike since ancient times and examples are aplenty in Indian and Western scriptures. However, it is an uphill task for an ordinary person to fully appreciate the intricacies and significance of dreams in the day-to-day life. It is here that this book proves as an invaluable guide providing deep understanding on the nature of dream and sleep.
This book is a repertoire of human wisdom – gathered for centuries and attested by the modern science – offering enormous insights into our dream and deep-sleep states. It asks, from a common man’s point of view, many a question that perturb us and provides answers to them from the scientific and spiritual perspectives in a captivating way. Some such questions include:
• Do we see dreams in black and white or in colour?
• What does a visually-challenged person see in his dreams?
• Why are some of our dreams extraordinarily vivid with electric colours, the clarity and brilliance of which, we may never encounter in our ordinary waking lives?
• Why are we non-reflective, irrational in our dreams?
• Are the dream time and waking time equal?
• How does our memory work in dream state? Why do we forget our dreams and is it possible to improve dream recall and cultivate awareness in dreams?
• Why do we fail to distinguish a dream object from the physical world object while we are dreaming?
• If the dream experience exactly feels like the real world and we fail to distinguish it from the waking world while we are dreaming, how can we be certain that we are not dreaming now?
• How does a dream contain various persons exhibiting opposite emotions at the same time when all the dream characters including the witnessing dreamer are produced out of single mind of the dreaming person?
• Can we intentionally transform the dream scenarios? If so, what would be the philosophical implications of it?
• Can dreams and sleeps be utilized for spiritual elevation?
… and many more questions we always wondered about the daily eight hours of our bed time, but never got the right answers to! We find new meanings and ways in dealing with our dreams in this volume, therefore, it is a must read for every dream enthusiast as well as any serious spiritual seeker.
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Sale!Socio-Literary and Cultural Study of Indian Society ₹1,350.00
The Socio-Literary and Cultural Study of Indian Society from Ancient to Modern is a search for India’s heritage: Hindu, Sufi and about Nationalism and India’s freedom from her colonial past. It is analytical but not learnedness. The author believes as Iqbal, the famous Urdu poet, said: “Transcend your reason because though it is a glow, it is not your destination; it can only be the path to the destination show.” People, both Indian and foreign, who want to understand Indian heritage from Ancient to Modern in a simple, agreeable style and friendly manner, is the author’s destination. In this volume, he has tried to demolish many myths like dharma is religion, Vedas are Śruti though the Almighty ordered six ṛṣis to write them down. A Hindu is just not emotional in mind, he also believes in analytic discussion (tarka). Upaniṣads are not just created by ṛṣis but also by a revolution unfolded by the students by barraging questions after questions.By explaining about the vitality of India and many other subjects, the book elucidates many things about the idea of India in an authentic manner. The readers will find here many varieties of theological explication, ultimately leading to the celebration of life while searching for the divine and realizing the self.
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Sale!Asangas Mahayanasamgraha ₹360.00
Mahayanasamgraha is one of the most important texts of the Yogacara School of Mahayana Buddhism. In this text, its author, Asanga, developed and systematized the Yogacara philosophy and praxis.
This volume presents an English translation of Mahayanasamgrahas third chapter which discusses the bodhisattvas entrance into the defining characteristics of what is to be known, i.e. the realization of vijnapti-matrata. The translation is based on the Tibetan text edited by utilizing and consulting all available Tibetan editions sDe dge, Co ne, Peking, sNar thang, Taipei, Lamotte, Yamaguchi and Nagao. This volume also contains English translations and Tibetan texts of the selected passages in the commentaries of the text, i.e. Mahayanasamgrahabhasya by Vasubandhu and Mahayanasamgrahopanibandhana by Asvabhava. The translation of the texts in this volume aims to advance a scholarly understanding of praxis, and the relation of the practical and philosophical theories described in the third chapter of Mahayanasamgraha and its commentaries.
