Hindu nationalism came to world attention in 1998, when the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won national elections in India. Although the BJP was defeated nationally in 2004, it continues to govern large Indian states, and the movement it represents remains a major force in the world's largest democracy. This book presents the thought of the founding fathers and key intellectual leaders of Hindu nationalism from the time of the British Raj, through the independence period, to the present. Spanning more than 130 years of Indian history and including the writings of both famous and unknown ideologues, this reader reveals how the "Hindutuva" movement approaches key issues of Indian politics. Covering such important topics as secularism, religious conversion, relations with Muslims, education, and Hindu identity in the growing diaspora, this reader will be indispensable for anyone wishing to understand contemporary Indian politics, society, culture, or history.

More than ever before, we in the West are discovering the value and practicality of the teachings of the East. In this book Paul Hourihan, who was a long-time American student of Vedanta, presents the venerable Indian teachings of Vedanta with illustrations and examples that make sense of them to Westerners in particular. In his own inimitable way, he shows how the profound, yet practical, teachings of Vedanta, one of the main schools of thought in Hinduism, give meaning and understanding to our lives. This study includes an overview of the mysticism of India, and provides a summary of the Bhagavad Gita and the Yoga system of thought. Using the teachings of the Upanishads, Dr Hourihan covers the main principles of this perennial philosophy and the core concepts that flow from them. The last section demonstrates the universality of these teachings through confirmations from the masters of other spiritual traditions -- Lao Tzu, Meister Eckhart, Plotinus, and the Sufis of Islam. Over a period of 15 years Dr Hourihan gave many courses and talks on the world's mystical traditions, including the Vedanta philosophy. This book is derived from transcripts of these lectures. With a strong experiential background and lifelong interest in the field of mysticism, along with a Ph.D. in Literature, Hourihan, an American, was well qualified to introduce these ancient teachings to Western readers looking for guidance and personal transformation. As Robert Ellwood, Distinguished Emeritus Professor of Religion, University of Southern California, states "Children of Immortal Bliss is a splendid introduction to Vedanta for the average person, presenting this Indian tradition simply, and with the use of ideas and illustrations that will make sense of it to a wide audience". The practical application of this philosophy is the means for those of all faiths to realise their identity as Children of Immortal Bliss.

"The Life of Hinduism" brings together a series of essays - many recognized as classics in the field - that present Hinduism as a vibrant, truly 'lived' religion. Celebrating the diversity for which Hinduism is known, this volume begins its journey in the 'new India' of Bangalore, India's Silicon Valley, where global connections and local traditions rub shoulders daily. Readers are then offered a glimpse into the multifaceted world of Hindu worship, life-cycle rites, festivals, performances, gurus, and castes. The book's final sections deal with the Hinduism that is emerging in diasporic North America and with issues of identity that face Hindus in India and around the world: militancy versus tolerance and the struggle between owning one's own religion and sharing it with others. Contributors of this title include: Andrew Abbott, Michael Burawoy, Patricia Hill Collins, Barbara Ehrenreich, Evelyn Nakano Glenn, Sharon Hays, Douglas Massey, Joya Misra, Orlando Patterson, Frances Fox Piven, Lynn Smith-Lovin, Judith Stacey, Arthur Stinchcombe, Alain Touraine, Immanuel Wallerstein, William Julius Wilson, and Robert Zussman.

The Great Hall relates some of the most seminal events of the epic, culminating in the famous game of dice between the Pandavas and the Kauravas. The Pandavas, happily settled in Indra-prastha, enjoy one glorious success after another. Yudhi-shthira, after erecting the most magnificent hall on earth, decides to perform the Royal Consecration Sacrifice, which will raise his status to that of the world's greatest sovereign. His brothers travel far and wide and conquer all known kingdoms. Yet just when the Pandavas are beginning to seem invincible, Yudhi-shthira mysteriously gambles everything away in a fateful game of dice to his cousin Duryodhana.

Co-published by New York University Press and the JJC Foundation

For more on this title and other titles in the Clay Sanskrit series, please visit http: //www.claysanskritlibrary.org

This book is addressed to serious Biblical students, Christians who are interested in comparing Eastern spiritual teachings with those of Christianity, and students of spiritual Yoga, otherwise known as Classical Yoga and Tantra, as well as students and practitioners of meditation and other spiritual disciplines. The discoveries of ancient manuscripts, and their analysis by independent critical scholars using scientific methods, provide much insight into the original teachings of Jesus. The sayings of Jesus, circulated orally during the first decades following his crucifixion are probably the most authentic source of his teachings that we have available today. These sayings are limited to a few dozen parables, aphorisms and sharp retorts, which were repeated in the oral tradition for two or three decades before they were eventually recorded by the anonymous writers of the Gospels. Remarkably, what Jesus taught through his parables and sayings exactly parallels the yogic teachings of the Yoga Siddhas. For those seeking to apply the wisdom of these sayings in their own life, the implications are clear. Seek not to know about God; instead, seek to know God through higher states of consciousness.

The ancient Indian Sanskrit tradition produced no text more intriguing, or more persistently misunderstood or underappreciated, than the Mahabharata. Its intricacies have waylaid generations of scholars and ignited dozens of unresolved debates. "In Rethinking the Mahabharata," Alf Hiltebeitel offers a unique model for understanding the great epic. Employing a wide range of literary and narrative theory, Hiltebeitel draws on historical and comparative research in an attempt to discern the spirit and techniques behind the epic's composition. He focuses on the education of Yudhisthira, also known as the Dharma King, and shows how the relationship of this figure to others-especially his author-grandfather Vyasa and his wife Draupadi-provides a thread through the bewildering array of frames and stories embedded within stories. Hiltebeitel also offers a revisionist theory regarding the dating and production of the original text and its relation to the Veda. No ordinary reader's guide, this volume will illuminate many mysteries of this enigmatic masterpiece.
This work is the fourth volume in Hiltebeitel's study of the Draupadi cult. Other volumes include "Mythologies: From Gingee to Kuruksetra" (Volume One), "On Hindu Ritual and the Goddess" (Volume Two), and "Rethinking India's Oral and Classical Epics" (Volume Three).

Patanjali's Yoga-Sutras are universally considered to be among the two or three most important texts in the field of yoga. Patanjali refers to his yoga as 'Kriya Yoga': the 'yoga of action with awareness'. Until now, commentators have treated it as a philosophical reference, and have largely ignored its implications for yogic practice. They have also ignored the fact that it is also an esoteric work, and that only initiates, with sufficient prior experience, can grasp its deeper meaning. This new translation and commentary provides a practical guide to Self-realisation or enlightenment. It clearly explains how to apply Patanjali's profound philosophical teachings in everyday life, in any situation with a unique 'practice' section after each verse's commentary. There is also comparison with 'Thirumandiram' a classic work of the siddha tradition.

A collection of more than 50 talks on the vast range of inspiring and universal truths that have captivated millions in Paramahansa Yogananda's Autobiography of a Yogi. Readers will find these talks alive with the unique blend of all-embracing wisdom, encouragement, and love for humanity that have made the author one of our era's most revered and trusted guides to the spiritual life.

In South India there is a society where priests and lay people claim supernatural powers. Where a sophisticated medical system underlies a quest for physical longevity and psychic immortality and where arcane and sexual rituals take place that are far removed from the Brahmanic tradition of the rest of India. That society is the Tamil Siddhas. Here expert Kamil Zvelebil offers a vivid picture of these people: religious beliefs, magical rites, alchemical practices, complex system of medicine, and inspired tradition of poetry. Topics covered include: On Siddhas medicine; The ideological basis of Siddhas quest of immortality; Basic tenets of Siddhas medicine; Diseases and their cure; Yoga in Siddhas tradition; Daily regime; Siddhas alchemy; Rejuvenation, longevity, and 'immortality'; Doctrines and traditions of the Siddhas; Tantrik Siddhas and Siddhas attitudes to sex; Siddhas poetry and other texts.

Many of us face the difficulty of trying to change something in our nature, only to find that it is either difficult or virtually impossible. We struggle, try to suppress various actions, only to have these actions rebound on us and cause feelings of failure, shame, guilt or frustration. The key to solving this problem actually lies in a deeper understanding of the true nature of our psychological being. We are actually composed of various different "parts" or "planes" of action that combine together, interact with one another and impinge upon one another. This understanding allows us to differentiate between a
mental idea, a force of will, an emotional movement, a vital energy, or a physical structure, and thereby more clearly understand the results of our psychological efforts and growth activities.

The Upanishads are called shruti, revelations. Mandukya Upanishad, though the shortest of all Upanishads, is a revered, profound Upnaishad that teaches us about four states of consciousness: the waking, dreaming and sleeping states and Turiya, the fourth state, beyond the first three. In this Upanishad, there is a unique combination of psychology and profound philosophy, a clear exposition of the four states of consciousness.

Heathen, Hindoo, Hindu is a groundbreaking analysis of American representations of religion in India before the turn of the twentieth century. In their representations of India, American writers from a variety of backgrounds described "heathens," "Hindoos," and, eventually "Hindus." Before Americans wrote about "Hinduism," they wrote about "heathenism," "the religion of the Hindoos," and "Brahmanism." Various groups interpreted the religions of India for their own purposes. Cotton Mather, Hannah Adams, and Joseph Priestley engaged the larger European Enlightenment project of classifying and comparing religion in India. Evangelical missionaries used images of "Hindoo heathenism" to raise support at home. Unitarian Protestants found a kindred spirit in the writings of Bengali reformer Rammohun Roy. Transcendentalists and Theosophists imagined the contemplative and esoteric religion of India as an alternative to materialist American Protestantism, while popular magazines and common school books used the image of dark, heathen, despotic India to buttress Protestant, white, democratic American identity. Americans used the heathen, Hindoo, and Hindu as an other against which they represented themselves. The questions of American identity, classification, representation and the definition of "religion" that animated descriptions of heathens, Hindoos, and Hindus in the past still animate American debates today.

At first sight the lives of hermits, living in solitude and committed to a life of prayer and contemplation seems to be a world apart of the active practice of interfaith dialogue. Yet, there is a long tradition of seeking the divine together and thus making a contribution to better mutual understanding and an active contribution to peace between Christianity, Hinduism and Buddhism in India. Drawing on his experience of travelling to some of India's holy places, the life and work of writers like Thomas Merton, Charles de Foucauld and Abishaktanda and being himself a Benedictine hermit and Professor of Divinity at the University of St Andrews, Mario Aguilar opens up new possibilities for dialogue between three of the world's major religions in today's world. He shows how his own experience of an eremitic life has brought him into deep communion with pilgrims of other faiths, be it through shared silence or listening to each other's experience, through reading sacred scriptures together, through poetry or interfaith worship that draws on practices and texts from Hinduism, Buddhism and Christianity. This is a book for all engaged in interfaith dialogue and seeking to explore how spiritualities of silence, contemplation and prayer can make a contribution to peace and harmony in the world today.