Arvind Sharma
- Published in print:
- 2001
- Published Online:
- October 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780195658712
- eISBN:
- 9780199082018
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195658712.003.0017
- Subject:
- Religion, Hinduism
Bhakti-yoga is directed towards the realization of saguna Brahman, and this kind of yoga functions within the framework of a somewhat different set of presuppositions. A special ...
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Bhakti-yoga is directed towards the realization of saguna Brahman, and this kind of yoga functions within the framework of a somewhat different set of presuppositions. A special mark of monotheistic belief, whether Śaivism or Vaishavism, is the distinction between God, the individual soul, and the world of which he is the author. The soul is usually conceived as eternal, but as entirely dependent upon God; and it therefore becomes the first duty of man to make himself a conscious and willing instrument in the fulfillment of His purpose. The conception of the goal of life according to early Indian theism may be taken as reaching the presence of God, or becoming godlike. The predominant means of achieving this end is, besides good conduct (caryā), is loving devotion (bhakti) to God.Less
Bhakti-yoga is directed towards the realization of saguna Brahman, and this kind of yoga functions within the framework of a somewhat different set of presuppositions. A special mark of monotheistic belief, whether Śaivism or Vaishavism, is the distinction between God, the individual soul, and the world of which he is the author. The soul is usually conceived as eternal, but as entirely dependent upon God; and it therefore becomes the first duty of man to make himself a conscious and willing instrument in the fulfillment of His purpose. The conception of the goal of life according to early Indian theism may be taken as reaching the presence of God, or becoming godlike. The predominant means of achieving this end is, besides good conduct (caryā), is loving devotion (bhakti) to God.
David M. DiValerio
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- August 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780199391202
- eISBN:
- 9780199391233
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199391202.003.0003
- Subject:
- Religion, Buddhism
This chapter examines the distinctive behavior that earned the Madmen of Ü and Tsang reputations as “madmen,” including dressing in costumes made from human remains, consuming filth, and defying ...
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This chapter examines the distinctive behavior that earned the Madmen of Ü and Tsang reputations as “madmen,” including dressing in costumes made from human remains, consuming filth, and defying social convention. In acting in this fashion, the two men were performing a specific tantric practice that developed in India, known in Sanskrit as vrata, caryā, or vratacaryā. This practice was typically performed in a highly domesticated form in Tibet. What distinguished the Madmen of Ü and Tsang was their attempt to perform the practice exactly as it was described in Indian Buddhist tantric scriptures, especially the Hevajra Tantra. This made them, in a sense, tantric fundamentalists. In the process, the two men collapsed their identities with that of the deity known as Heruka.Less
This chapter examines the distinctive behavior that earned the Madmen of Ü and Tsang reputations as “madmen,” including dressing in costumes made from human remains, consuming filth, and defying social convention. In acting in this fashion, the two men were performing a specific tantric practice that developed in India, known in Sanskrit as vrata, caryā, or vratacaryā. This practice was typically performed in a highly domesticated form in Tibet. What distinguished the Madmen of Ü and Tsang was their attempt to perform the practice exactly as it was described in Indian Buddhist tantric scriptures, especially the Hevajra Tantra. This made them, in a sense, tantric fundamentalists. In the process, the two men collapsed their identities with that of the deity known as Heruka.
