A Raghuramaraju (ed.)
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- September 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780198070122
- eISBN:
- 9780199080014
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198070122.001.0001
- Subject:
- Sociology, Social Theory
Indian society is extremely complex, particularly in the twentieth century. However, this complexity has not been captured by Indian social theory. One reason is the theoretical burden caused by ...
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Indian society is extremely complex, particularly in the twentieth century. However, this complexity has not been captured by Indian social theory. One reason is the theoretical burden caused by historical events such as colonialism, which incidentally brought modernity to India. Western modernity is mainly normative, and its norms include the concept of autonomous individual, freedom, and instrumental rationality. This normative project is sought to be ruthlessly implemented through modern programmes of secularism, nationalism, urbanization, and industrialization where the pre-modern is sought to be disinherited. This book explores the limitations surrounding Indian social theorists' views on Indian society. It discusses Partha Chatterjee's perspectives on Indian nationalism, Javeed Alam's interpretation of Indian secularism and the use of plural character of Indian society by some Indian social scientists, and Gopal Guru's proposal to move Dalits' lived experience from literature into social theory. The book also examines the limitations surrounding the reading of contemporary texts and activities of thinkers such as Mahatma Gandhi, Swami Vivekananda, B.R. Ambedkar, and Aurobindo Ghosh.Less
Indian society is extremely complex, particularly in the twentieth century. However, this complexity has not been captured by Indian social theory. One reason is the theoretical burden caused by historical events such as colonialism, which incidentally brought modernity to India. Western modernity is mainly normative, and its norms include the concept of autonomous individual, freedom, and instrumental rationality. This normative project is sought to be ruthlessly implemented through modern programmes of secularism, nationalism, urbanization, and industrialization where the pre-modern is sought to be disinherited. This book explores the limitations surrounding Indian social theorists' views on Indian society. It discusses Partha Chatterjee's perspectives on Indian nationalism, Javeed Alam's interpretation of Indian secularism and the use of plural character of Indian society by some Indian social scientists, and Gopal Guru's proposal to move Dalits' lived experience from literature into social theory. The book also examines the limitations surrounding the reading of contemporary texts and activities of thinkers such as Mahatma Gandhi, Swami Vivekananda, B.R. Ambedkar, and Aurobindo Ghosh.
A. Raghuramaraju
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- September 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780198070122
- eISBN:
- 9780199080014
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198070122.003.0008
- Subject:
- Sociology, Social Theory
Some social theorists in India, including Partha Chatterjee, Javeed Alam, and Gopal Guru, have failed to recognize the core project of modernity and its social consequences. Instead, they were ...
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Some social theorists in India, including Partha Chatterjee, Javeed Alam, and Gopal Guru, have failed to recognize the core project of modernity and its social consequences. Instead, they were preoccupied with the themes of modernity including reason or the ‘cunning of reason’, ‘individualism’ or ‘individuation’, nationalism, secularism, and universalism. This prevented them from recognizing the internal project of modernity. This also prevented others from seeing some important and unique issues including internal criticism that is evident in the writings of contemporary Indian thinkers like Swami Vivekananda, and prevented them from identifying a third kind of action in Mahatma Gandhi, namely, inaction. This book argues that, unlike the West, social theory in India was unable to grasp the philosophical foundations of modernity that lies in its method.Less
Some social theorists in India, including Partha Chatterjee, Javeed Alam, and Gopal Guru, have failed to recognize the core project of modernity and its social consequences. Instead, they were preoccupied with the themes of modernity including reason or the ‘cunning of reason’, ‘individualism’ or ‘individuation’, nationalism, secularism, and universalism. This prevented them from recognizing the internal project of modernity. This also prevented others from seeing some important and unique issues including internal criticism that is evident in the writings of contemporary Indian thinkers like Swami Vivekananda, and prevented them from identifying a third kind of action in Mahatma Gandhi, namely, inaction. This book argues that, unlike the West, social theory in India was unable to grasp the philosophical foundations of modernity that lies in its method.
Karen Pechilis
- Published in print:
- 2004
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780195145380
- eISBN:
- 9780199849963
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195145380.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Hinduism
A distinctive aspect of Hindu devotion is the veneration of a human guru, who is not only an exemplar and a teacher, but is often worshipped as an embodiment of the divine. In the past these gurus ...
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A distinctive aspect of Hindu devotion is the veneration of a human guru, who is not only an exemplar and a teacher, but is often worshipped as an embodiment of the divine. In the past these gurus have almost always been men. Today, however, female gurus are a noticeable presence, especially in the United States. This book containing nine chapter looks at the phenomenon of the female guru both in its original Indian context, where Hindu women leaders have been unusual but not unknown, and as it has evolved on the American scene. Each chapter is devoted to a particular female guru, ranging from the 5th-century Tamil saint Karaikkal Ammaiyar to Gurumayi, who today presides over the worldwide movement of Siddha Yoga, headquartered in the Catskill resort town of South Fallsburg, New York.Less
A distinctive aspect of Hindu devotion is the veneration of a human guru, who is not only an exemplar and a teacher, but is often worshipped as an embodiment of the divine. In the past these gurus have almost always been men. Today, however, female gurus are a noticeable presence, especially in the United States. This book containing nine chapter looks at the phenomenon of the female guru both in its original Indian context, where Hindu women leaders have been unusual but not unknown, and as it has evolved on the American scene. Each chapter is devoted to a particular female guru, ranging from the 5th-century Tamil saint Karaikkal Ammaiyar to Gurumayi, who today presides over the worldwide movement of Siddha Yoga, headquartered in the Catskill resort town of South Fallsburg, New York.
Loriliai Biernacki
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780195327823
- eISBN:
- 9780199785520
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195327823.003.0002
- Subject:
- Religion, Hinduism
This chapter addresses women's roles in Tantra, examining how and whether women function as actors within Tantric rites or to what degree they function merely as objects of male desire. This chapter ...
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This chapter addresses women's roles in Tantra, examining how and whether women function as actors within Tantric rites or to what degree they function merely as objects of male desire. This chapter argues that Tantric texts are varied, offering a multiplicity of views. Particularly, this chapter presents evidence from Tantric sources associated with the Northeast region of India in the fifteenth through eighteenth centuries for a particular Tantric tradition that accords women respect and in which we find women as gurus and initiates. This chapter proposes that the model for understanding the veneration of women in these texts finds a parallel in the veneration of the Brahmin, where women in these texts are by analogy likened to Brahmins.Less
This chapter addresses women's roles in Tantra, examining how and whether women function as actors within Tantric rites or to what degree they function merely as objects of male desire. This chapter argues that Tantric texts are varied, offering a multiplicity of views. Particularly, this chapter presents evidence from Tantric sources associated with the Northeast region of India in the fifteenth through eighteenth centuries for a particular Tantric tradition that accords women respect and in which we find women as gurus and initiates. This chapter proposes that the model for understanding the veneration of women in these texts finds a parallel in the veneration of the Brahmin, where women in these texts are by analogy likened to Brahmins.
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- September 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780198070740
- eISBN:
- 9780199080427
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198070740.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Sikhism
This book presents a comprehensive account of Sikh history and tradition, beginning with the founding of the community to the impact of modernity on Sikh institutions in the Punjab. It discusses ...
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This book presents a comprehensive account of Sikh history and tradition, beginning with the founding of the community to the impact of modernity on Sikh institutions in the Punjab. It discusses issues like conscious conceptualization of a new dispensation, process of community formation, social transformation and politicization leading to the emergence of a new political order. It brings out the cumulative implications of these processes on the evolution of Sikh identity. Fourteen essays cover Sikh literature from the early sixteenth century to the early twentieth century and reflect identity consciousness in Mughal, Sikh, and colonial rule in Punjab. The book looks at the compositions of five Gurus: Guru Nanak, Guru Angad, Guru Amar Das, Guru Ram Das, and Guru Arjan along with other Sikh theologians and historians to reflect upon the changing socio-political context. Highlighting the intricate connections between literature and historical processes, it also presents the life of Guru Tegh Bahadur and explores Sikh nationality, Sikh faith, and the Khalsa.Less
This book presents a comprehensive account of Sikh history and tradition, beginning with the founding of the community to the impact of modernity on Sikh institutions in the Punjab. It discusses issues like conscious conceptualization of a new dispensation, process of community formation, social transformation and politicization leading to the emergence of a new political order. It brings out the cumulative implications of these processes on the evolution of Sikh identity. Fourteen essays cover Sikh literature from the early sixteenth century to the early twentieth century and reflect identity consciousness in Mughal, Sikh, and colonial rule in Punjab. The book looks at the compositions of five Gurus: Guru Nanak, Guru Angad, Guru Amar Das, Guru Ram Das, and Guru Arjan along with other Sikh theologians and historians to reflect upon the changing socio-political context. Highlighting the intricate connections between literature and historical processes, it also presents the life of Guru Tegh Bahadur and explores Sikh nationality, Sikh faith, and the Khalsa.
Pashaura Singh (ed.)
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- September 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780198075547
- eISBN:
- 9780199082056
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198075547.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Sikhism
The Sikh community has made its presence felt throughout the world. Focusing on globalization, this book presents Sikh history, politics, identity, music, ethics, material culture, the worldwide Sikh ...
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The Sikh community has made its presence felt throughout the world. Focusing on globalization, this book presents Sikh history, politics, identity, music, ethics, material culture, the worldwide Sikh diaspora, and the history and current state of scholarship in the field of Sikh Studies. The book describes the internal differences of caste, community, and gender within Sikhism, as well as the use of modern media to disseminate and construct the frameworks of Sikhism. It also stresses the importance of internal dynamics within the Sikh community and external factors (such as local experiences in different countries) for comprehending the processes of change visible among Sikhs from the global point of view. The essays question the conventional premises of Sikh studies by breaking away from an emphasis on history and text, and look at Sikh practices from the ‘lived religion perspective.’ The place of the Guru Granth Sahib as a perennial source of human understanding, non-violent movements in Sikh history, Sikh music, and Sikh miracles are also discussed.Less
The Sikh community has made its presence felt throughout the world. Focusing on globalization, this book presents Sikh history, politics, identity, music, ethics, material culture, the worldwide Sikh diaspora, and the history and current state of scholarship in the field of Sikh Studies. The book describes the internal differences of caste, community, and gender within Sikhism, as well as the use of modern media to disseminate and construct the frameworks of Sikhism. It also stresses the importance of internal dynamics within the Sikh community and external factors (such as local experiences in different countries) for comprehending the processes of change visible among Sikhs from the global point of view. The essays question the conventional premises of Sikh studies by breaking away from an emphasis on history and text, and look at Sikh practices from the ‘lived religion perspective.’ The place of the Guru Granth Sahib as a perennial source of human understanding, non-violent movements in Sikh history, Sikh music, and Sikh miracles are also discussed.
J.S. Grewal
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- September 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780198070740
- eISBN:
- 9780199080427
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198070740.003.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Sikhism
The Sikhs produced a wealth of literature during the sixteenth to the nineteenth centuries. A historical analysis of this literature can help elucidate the Sikh tradition and better understand Sikh ...
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The Sikhs produced a wealth of literature during the sixteenth to the nineteenth centuries. A historical analysis of this literature can help elucidate the Sikh tradition and better understand Sikh history. This book presents the history of the Sikhs, focusing on their literature, ideology, identity, faith, and nationalism. It looks at the compositions of five Gurus as the articulation of a new dispensation: Guru Nanak, Guru Angad, Guru Amar Das, Guru Ram Das, and Guru Arjan. It also analyses the compositions of Guru Tegh Bahadur in a phase of confrontation with the state. The book examines the mission of Guru Gobind Singh, declared in the Bachittar Nātak as an irrevocable commitment to righteous war, and discusses Sikh literature of Khalsa Raj as well as Bhai Gurdas’s eloquent expression for a distinctive identity of Gursikhs, the literature produced at the court of Guru Gobind Singh, the Khalsa Panth, and the Sikh writers’ use of tisar panth in their works to distinguish the Khalsa from Hindus and Muslims.Less
The Sikhs produced a wealth of literature during the sixteenth to the nineteenth centuries. A historical analysis of this literature can help elucidate the Sikh tradition and better understand Sikh history. This book presents the history of the Sikhs, focusing on their literature, ideology, identity, faith, and nationalism. It looks at the compositions of five Gurus as the articulation of a new dispensation: Guru Nanak, Guru Angad, Guru Amar Das, Guru Ram Das, and Guru Arjan. It also analyses the compositions of Guru Tegh Bahadur in a phase of confrontation with the state. The book examines the mission of Guru Gobind Singh, declared in the Bachittar Nātak as an irrevocable commitment to righteous war, and discusses Sikh literature of Khalsa Raj as well as Bhai Gurdas’s eloquent expression for a distinctive identity of Gursikhs, the literature produced at the court of Guru Gobind Singh, the Khalsa Panth, and the Sikh writers’ use of tisar panth in their works to distinguish the Khalsa from Hindus and Muslims.
William S. Sax
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- January 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780195335866
- eISBN:
- 9780199868919
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195335866.003.0004
- Subject:
- Religion, Theology
This chapter examines oracles and gurus, the two main types of ritual specialists in the healing cult of Bhairav. It shows that they are distinguished above all in terms of agency and patiency. The ...
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This chapter examines oracles and gurus, the two main types of ritual specialists in the healing cult of Bhairav. It shows that they are distinguished above all in terms of agency and patiency. The oracles are the gods' patients: they subordinate their personal agency to that of the gods whose vessels they are, and their reputation and success depends on the degree to which they are thought to embody completely the god. The gurus, on the other hand, are masters of the spirits, and their reputation and success depends on the degree to which they are believed to control supernatural beings, turning them into their “disciples,” that is, their patients. The chapter introduces several oracles and gurus, mostly in their own words, and attempt to shows how such relations of agency and patiency work themselves out in practice.Less
This chapter examines oracles and gurus, the two main types of ritual specialists in the healing cult of Bhairav. It shows that they are distinguished above all in terms of agency and patiency. The oracles are the gods' patients: they subordinate their personal agency to that of the gods whose vessels they are, and their reputation and success depends on the degree to which they are thought to embody completely the god. The gurus, on the other hand, are masters of the spirits, and their reputation and success depends on the degree to which they are believed to control supernatural beings, turning them into their “disciples,” that is, their patients. The chapter introduces several oracles and gurus, mostly in their own words, and attempt to shows how such relations of agency and patiency work themselves out in practice.
Nikky-Guninder Kaur Singh
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- January 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780195380040
- eISBN:
- 9780199869077
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195380040.003.0008
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion and Society, World Religions
With a combination of ancient patriarchal values and twenty-first-century globalization exerting social influence, the proportion of baby girls is declining rapidly in India. Ironically, the ...
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With a combination of ancient patriarchal values and twenty-first-century globalization exerting social influence, the proportion of baby girls is declining rapidly in India. Ironically, the technological and economic advancements in the Punjab have only exacerbated the practice. Neonatal sex identifications through ultrasound have made gender-selective abortions increasingly easy, though they remain illegal. Can literature succeed where laws are failing? The land where female fetuses are being aborted is also the land of Sikh scripture, the Guru Granth, which resonates with powerful fetal imagery. This chapter examines fetal images within the literary folds of the Guru Granth. The basic premise here is that literature has the capacity to change both conscience and consciousness.Less
With a combination of ancient patriarchal values and twenty-first-century globalization exerting social influence, the proportion of baby girls is declining rapidly in India. Ironically, the technological and economic advancements in the Punjab have only exacerbated the practice. Neonatal sex identifications through ultrasound have made gender-selective abortions increasingly easy, though they remain illegal. Can literature succeed where laws are failing? The land where female fetuses are being aborted is also the land of Sikh scripture, the Guru Granth, which resonates with powerful fetal imagery. This chapter examines fetal images within the literary folds of the Guru Granth. The basic premise here is that literature has the capacity to change both conscience and consciousness.
Anne Murphy
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- September 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780198078012
- eISBN:
- 9780199080984
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198078012.003.0028
- Subject:
- History, Indian History
This chapter explores one exemplary portrayal of the death of the ninth guru of the Sikh tradition, Guru Tegh Bahadur, in the mid- to late-eighteenth century account of the life of the tenth guru, ...
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This chapter explores one exemplary portrayal of the death of the ninth guru of the Sikh tradition, Guru Tegh Bahadur, in the mid- to late-eighteenth century account of the life of the tenth guru, Guru Gobind Singh, by Kuir Singh, entitled gurbilās patshāhi das. The essay explores how the idea of religion has been imagined and expressed through the portrayal of this important incident in Sikh history. Particular attention is paid to how the religious difference is described and standards for comparison between religions are articulated, suggesting the comparability/commensurability of religious traditions and, therefore, an underlying common notion of the religious that supplies grounds for comparison. It also discusses the issue of conversion.Less
This chapter explores one exemplary portrayal of the death of the ninth guru of the Sikh tradition, Guru Tegh Bahadur, in the mid- to late-eighteenth century account of the life of the tenth guru, Guru Gobind Singh, by Kuir Singh, entitled gurbilās patshāhi das. The essay explores how the idea of religion has been imagined and expressed through the portrayal of this important incident in Sikh history. Particular attention is paid to how the religious difference is described and standards for comparison between religions are articulated, suggesting the comparability/commensurability of religious traditions and, therefore, an underlying common notion of the religious that supplies grounds for comparison. It also discusses the issue of conversion.
Gurinder Singh Mann
- Published in print:
- 2001
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780195130249
- eISBN:
- 9780199834433
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195130243.003.0003
- Subject:
- Religion, Sikhism
This chapter and the next two examine in detail the extant Sikh scriptural manuscripts in relation to the compilation of the Adi Granth (the primary Sikh scripture). Here, an analysis is made of the ...
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This chapter and the next two examine in detail the extant Sikh scriptural manuscripts in relation to the compilation of the Adi Granth (the primary Sikh scripture). Here, an analysis is made of the information available about the Guru Harsahai Pothi (thought to date from the 1530s) and the Goindval Pothis (thought to date from the 1570s), which are traditionally associated with Guru Nanak and Guru Amardas, respectively. The contents of these manuscripts are drawn on to assess the early formation of the Sikh scriptural corpus, and questions of their history, dating, and location in the early Sikh sacred corpus addressed.Less
This chapter and the next two examine in detail the extant Sikh scriptural manuscripts in relation to the compilation of the Adi Granth (the primary Sikh scripture). Here, an analysis is made of the information available about the Guru Harsahai Pothi (thought to date from the 1530s) and the Goindval Pothis (thought to date from the 1570s), which are traditionally associated with Guru Nanak and Guru Amardas, respectively. The contents of these manuscripts are drawn on to assess the early formation of the Sikh scriptural corpus, and questions of their history, dating, and location in the early Sikh sacred corpus addressed.
Charles Ramble
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- January 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780195154146
- eISBN:
- 9780199868513
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195154146.003.0009
- Subject:
- Religion, Buddhism
The title is an evocation of the 17th‐century poet and puritan John Milton's frustration with popular adherence to religious forms that he regarded as being devoid of meaning. This chapter describes ...
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The title is an evocation of the 17th‐century poet and puritan John Milton's frustration with popular adherence to religious forms that he regarded as being devoid of meaning. This chapter describes and analyses a number of rituals in Te, with particular attention to the Lama Guru, the main annual ceremony. Many of the episodes in this and related ceremonies are relics of activities, recitations, and objects that once had pragmatic (or at least perceived pragmatic) value. An answer to the question of why they should be so meticulously preserved is sought in Krzysztof Pomian's study of collectors and collections, which proposes that the value of such objects lies in their provision of a link with a world that is invisible due to spatial or temporal distance. It is suggested that the “invisible world” in this case is the hypostasised community of Te itself.Less
The title is an evocation of the 17th‐century poet and puritan John Milton's frustration with popular adherence to religious forms that he regarded as being devoid of meaning. This chapter describes and analyses a number of rituals in Te, with particular attention to the Lama Guru, the main annual ceremony. Many of the episodes in this and related ceremonies are relics of activities, recitations, and objects that once had pragmatic (or at least perceived pragmatic) value. An answer to the question of why they should be so meticulously preserved is sought in Krzysztof Pomian's study of collectors and collections, which proposes that the value of such objects lies in their provision of a link with a world that is invisible due to spatial or temporal distance. It is suggested that the “invisible world” in this case is the hypostasised community of Te itself.
Richard S. Weiss
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- May 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780195335231
- eISBN:
- 9780199868803
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195335231.003.0007
- Subject:
- Religion, Hinduism
In Tamil-speaking south India, and in South Asia more generally, secrecy as a mode of disseminating knowledge has undergone a radical change in value, from its consideration as a moral duty that ...
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In Tamil-speaking south India, and in South Asia more generally, secrecy as a mode of disseminating knowledge has undergone a radical change in value, from its consideration as a moral duty that keeps powerful knowledge in the hands of the good, to its regard as a selfish act that has led to the disintegration of a unified Tamil community. This chapter documents the historical trajectory of obfuscation in siddha medicine, a history that is just one instance of more general debates in South Asia about whether the proper locus of knowledge is in public or private spheres, in the archive or in the home. It argues that the function of secrecy as a strategy for garnering prestige is now served by another form of concealed knowledge—that is, Tamil medical knowledge that has been lost in the ravages of time.Less
In Tamil-speaking south India, and in South Asia more generally, secrecy as a mode of disseminating knowledge has undergone a radical change in value, from its consideration as a moral duty that keeps powerful knowledge in the hands of the good, to its regard as a selfish act that has led to the disintegration of a unified Tamil community. This chapter documents the historical trajectory of obfuscation in siddha medicine, a history that is just one instance of more general debates in South Asia about whether the proper locus of knowledge is in public or private spheres, in the archive or in the home. It argues that the function of secrecy as a strategy for garnering prestige is now served by another form of concealed knowledge—that is, Tamil medical knowledge that has been lost in the ravages of time.
James G. Lochtefeld
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- February 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780195386141
- eISBN:
- 9780199866380
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195386141.003.0004
- Subject:
- Religion, Hinduism
Chapter 4 examines economic patterns, particularly how religious goods and services are integral to Hardwar’s highly seasonal economy. The busy season is April–October, when it serves as the gateway ...
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Chapter 4 examines economic patterns, particularly how religious goods and services are integral to Hardwar’s highly seasonal economy. The busy season is April–October, when it serves as the gateway to Himalayan shrines such as Kedarnath and Badrinath, but festivals can generate large off-season pilgrim crowds, and local business owners pay close attention to the calendar. Hardwar’s religious importance means that intangible goods and services (removing sins or bestowing blessings) are vital to the city’s economy, and money given for them supports many different groups: beggars, service organizations, soup kitchens (annakshetras), religious trusts, and individual gurus. Each group has a vested interest in receiving gifts (dan) and can deploy strong arguments for such gifts’ religious merit (punya). Finally, despite Hardwar’s reputation as a holy place, one also finds instances of fraud, deception, and crimes of opportunity consistent with any large transient population.Less
Chapter 4 examines economic patterns, particularly how religious goods and services are integral to Hardwar’s highly seasonal economy. The busy season is April–October, when it serves as the gateway to Himalayan shrines such as Kedarnath and Badrinath, but festivals can generate large off-season pilgrim crowds, and local business owners pay close attention to the calendar. Hardwar’s religious importance means that intangible goods and services (removing sins or bestowing blessings) are vital to the city’s economy, and money given for them supports many different groups: beggars, service organizations, soup kitchens (annakshetras), religious trusts, and individual gurus. Each group has a vested interest in receiving gifts (dan) and can deploy strong arguments for such gifts’ religious merit (punya). Finally, despite Hardwar’s reputation as a holy place, one also finds instances of fraud, deception, and crimes of opportunity consistent with any large transient population.
James G. Lochtefeld
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- February 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780195386141
- eISBN:
- 9780199866380
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195386141.003.0006
- Subject:
- Religion, Hinduism
Ascetics are Hardwar’s final group of religious contractors. The chapter first examines their general characteristics as renunciants living an alternate lifestyle—whether as independents or as ...
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Ascetics are Hardwar’s final group of religious contractors. The chapter first examines their general characteristics as renunciants living an alternate lifestyle—whether as independents or as members of particular ascetic orders (sanyasis, bairagis, or Udasis)—as well as how these characteristics simultaneously reflect and shape Hardwar’s religious environment. The chapter later examines different economic strategies and means of livelihood. Most ascetics are individually poor, but the groups called akharas control enormous wealth, and their leaders (mahants) are powerful and politically influential. For ascetics outside the akharas, the most prestigious livelihood is to be a guru (religious preceptor) supported by one’s disciples. Gurus guide their householder disciples not only on religious matters but also on a host of worldly troubles—from business, legal, and medical matters to personal and family problems. As such, they are still intimately connected with a life they have outwardly renounced.Less
Ascetics are Hardwar’s final group of religious contractors. The chapter first examines their general characteristics as renunciants living an alternate lifestyle—whether as independents or as members of particular ascetic orders (sanyasis, bairagis, or Udasis)—as well as how these characteristics simultaneously reflect and shape Hardwar’s religious environment. The chapter later examines different economic strategies and means of livelihood. Most ascetics are individually poor, but the groups called akharas control enormous wealth, and their leaders (mahants) are powerful and politically influential. For ascetics outside the akharas, the most prestigious livelihood is to be a guru (religious preceptor) supported by one’s disciples. Gurus guide their householder disciples not only on religious matters but also on a host of worldly troubles—from business, legal, and medical matters to personal and family problems. As such, they are still intimately connected with a life they have outwardly renounced.
Corinne G. Dempsey
- Published in print:
- 2005
- Published Online:
- February 2006
- ISBN:
- 9780195187298
- eISBN:
- 9780199784547
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195187296.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Hinduism
This book is a portrayal of a flourishing Hindu temple in the town of Rush, New York, dedicated to the great south Indian goddess Rājarājeśwarī. Guided by an exuberant Sri Lankan guru known as Aiya, ...
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This book is a portrayal of a flourishing Hindu temple in the town of Rush, New York, dedicated to the great south Indian goddess Rājarājeśwarī. Guided by an exuberant Sri Lankan guru known as Aiya, temple practitioners embrace yet definitively break with tradition. Known for its ritual precision and extravagance, the temple and its guru defy convention by training and encouraging non-brahmans and women to publicly perform priestly roles, and by teaching the secrets of Śrīvidyā, a highly exclusive Tantric tradition. Weaving together traditional South Asian tales, temple miracle accounts, and devotional testimonials, the book is organized into three parts reflecting various intersecting worldviews, traditions, and landscapes with which temple practices and participants contend. The book’s first part explores the temple’s emphasis on ritual performance and potency, and the resulting collisions between miraculous and mundane worldviews as experienced and understood by Aiya, temple participants, and the ethnographer-author. Part two explores how Aiya and his students deftly balance convention with non-convention, breaking rules of orthodoxy that make room for leadership and learning, and providing possibilities otherwise unavailable in traditional temple settings. Part three explores the diaspora condition as experienced within the Rush temple context. It chronicles the joys and challenges of negotiating domestic and foreign traditions, and the effects this has on human and divine participants, temple rituals, and the temple terrain itself. In sum, the book argues that in a setting where science illuminates the sacred, where traditional religious practices allow for breaking with the same, and where foreign terrain becomes home turf, the Goddess not only lives, she thrives.Less
This book is a portrayal of a flourishing Hindu temple in the town of Rush, New York, dedicated to the great south Indian goddess Rājarājeśwarī. Guided by an exuberant Sri Lankan guru known as Aiya, temple practitioners embrace yet definitively break with tradition. Known for its ritual precision and extravagance, the temple and its guru defy convention by training and encouraging non-brahmans and women to publicly perform priestly roles, and by teaching the secrets of Śrīvidyā, a highly exclusive Tantric tradition. Weaving together traditional South Asian tales, temple miracle accounts, and devotional testimonials, the book is organized into three parts reflecting various intersecting worldviews, traditions, and landscapes with which temple practices and participants contend. The book’s first part explores the temple’s emphasis on ritual performance and potency, and the resulting collisions between miraculous and mundane worldviews as experienced and understood by Aiya, temple participants, and the ethnographer-author. Part two explores how Aiya and his students deftly balance convention with non-convention, breaking rules of orthodoxy that make room for leadership and learning, and providing possibilities otherwise unavailable in traditional temple settings. Part three explores the diaspora condition as experienced within the Rush temple context. It chronicles the joys and challenges of negotiating domestic and foreign traditions, and the effects this has on human and divine participants, temple rituals, and the temple terrain itself. In sum, the book argues that in a setting where science illuminates the sacred, where traditional religious practices allow for breaking with the same, and where foreign terrain becomes home turf, the Goddess not only lives, she thrives.
Anna Bigelow
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- February 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780195368239
- eISBN:
- 9780199867622
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195368239.003.0002
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion and Society
The saint’s descendants became the ruling nawabs, several of whom had an enduring effect on Malerkotla. Their legacies will be discussed with a particular focus on Nawab Sher Muhammad Khan, who spoke ...
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The saint’s descendants became the ruling nawabs, several of whom had an enduring effect on Malerkotla. Their legacies will be discussed with a particular focus on Nawab Sher Muhammad Khan, who spoke up against the killing of the captured sons of the tenth Sikh guru, Gobind Singh. The subsequent blessing of the guru is one of the best-known events in Malerkotlan history and is often credited with the town’s current interreligious peace. The nawab’s protest, known as the haah da naara or “cry for justice,” features prominently in political rituals, personal narratives, and regional histories, profoundly shaping the public perception of Malerkotla and its heritage.Less
The saint’s descendants became the ruling nawabs, several of whom had an enduring effect on Malerkotla. Their legacies will be discussed with a particular focus on Nawab Sher Muhammad Khan, who spoke up against the killing of the captured sons of the tenth Sikh guru, Gobind Singh. The subsequent blessing of the guru is one of the best-known events in Malerkotlan history and is often credited with the town’s current interreligious peace. The nawab’s protest, known as the haah da naara or “cry for justice,” features prominently in political rituals, personal narratives, and regional histories, profoundly shaping the public perception of Malerkotla and its heritage.
J.S. Grewal
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- September 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780198070740
- eISBN:
- 9780199080427
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198070740.003.0013
- Subject:
- Religion, Sikhism
According to Rattan Singh Jaggi, there are two opposing evaluations of Bansāvalīnāma Dasān Pātshāhīan Kā written by Kesar Singh Chhibber: one based on extreme scepticism and the other which borders ...
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According to Rattan Singh Jaggi, there are two opposing evaluations of Bansāvalīnāma Dasān Pātshāhīan Kā written by Kesar Singh Chhibber: one based on extreme scepticism and the other which borders on credulity. Dealing primarily with genealogies, the Bansāvalīnāma discusses the state of the Sikhs in the author’s own time, the Sikh faith and the Khalsa Panth, Banda Bahadur, Jit Singh, Mata Sahib Devi, the ten Gurus including Guru Gobind Singh, Guru Hargobind, and Guru Nanak. Chhibber’s detailed account of Guru Gobind Singh dwells on kinship. He views the Khalsa Panth as distinct from both Muslims and Hindus as the Third Panth. Chhibber has a positive view only for Brahman Sikhs and not for all Brahmans, one of the many contradictions in the Bansāvalīnāma.Less
According to Rattan Singh Jaggi, there are two opposing evaluations of Bansāvalīnāma Dasān Pātshāhīan Kā written by Kesar Singh Chhibber: one based on extreme scepticism and the other which borders on credulity. Dealing primarily with genealogies, the Bansāvalīnāma discusses the state of the Sikhs in the author’s own time, the Sikh faith and the Khalsa Panth, Banda Bahadur, Jit Singh, Mata Sahib Devi, the ten Gurus including Guru Gobind Singh, Guru Hargobind, and Guru Nanak. Chhibber’s detailed account of Guru Gobind Singh dwells on kinship. He views the Khalsa Panth as distinct from both Muslims and Hindus as the Third Panth. Chhibber has a positive view only for Brahman Sikhs and not for all Brahmans, one of the many contradictions in the Bansāvalīnāma.
Paul Younger
- Published in print:
- 2001
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780195140446
- eISBN:
- 9780199834907
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195140443.003.0012
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion and Society
Murukapula is a modestly sized village in the south of Kerala which looks out onto the backwaters leading to the sea and has a huge Roman Catholic church for its large population of fishermen. The ...
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Murukapula is a modestly sized village in the south of Kerala which looks out onto the backwaters leading to the sea and has a huge Roman Catholic church for its large population of fishermen. The other two‐thirds of its population are a mixture of people in Untouchables castes and Ilavas who have only a slightly higher caste status. Narayana Guru started a reform movement among Ilavas early in the last century and he visited Murukapula and there is a reform temple in the village still pushing his ideas. The traditional temple compound had separate temples for the Untouchables and the Ilavas, and the Ilava who now owns the compound has tried to redesign the local festival so that it appeals to those two groups and the more modern tastes of those who see the festival as community entertainment. The velicapatu still goes into trance for those who need exorcism, but the cock sacrifice is only simulated and the hook swinging is transformed into a painless initiation of the youth in which the whole community participates.Less
Murukapula is a modestly sized village in the south of Kerala which looks out onto the backwaters leading to the sea and has a huge Roman Catholic church for its large population of fishermen. The other two‐thirds of its population are a mixture of people in Untouchables castes and Ilavas who have only a slightly higher caste status. Narayana Guru started a reform movement among Ilavas early in the last century and he visited Murukapula and there is a reform temple in the village still pushing his ideas. The traditional temple compound had separate temples for the Untouchables and the Ilavas, and the Ilava who now owns the compound has tried to redesign the local festival so that it appeals to those two groups and the more modern tastes of those who see the festival as community entertainment. The velicapatu still goes into trance for those who need exorcism, but the cock sacrifice is only simulated and the hook swinging is transformed into a painless initiation of the youth in which the whole community participates.
Jane Iwamura
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- January 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199738601
- eISBN:
- 9780199894604
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199738601.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion and Society
Saffron-robed monks and long-haired gurus have become familiar characters on the American popular culture scene. This book examines the contemporary fascination with Eastern spirituality and provides ...
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Saffron-robed monks and long-haired gurus have become familiar characters on the American popular culture scene. This book examines the contemporary fascination with Eastern spirituality and provides a cultural history of the representation of Asian religions in American mass media. Initial engagements with Asian spiritual heritages were mediated by monks, gurus, bhikkhus, sages, sifus, healers, and masters from a wide variety of ethnic backgrounds and religious traditions. Virtual Orientalism shows the evolution of these interactions, from direct engagements with specific individuals, to mediated relations with a conventionalized icon. Visually and psychically compelling, the Oriental Monk becomes for Americans a “figure of translation” - a convenient symbol for alternative spiritualities and modes of being. Through the figure of the solitary Monk, who generously and purposefully shares his wisdom with the West, Asian religiosity is made manageable — psychologically, socially, and politically — for popular culture consumption. On an historical level, the books argues that American mass awareness of Asian religions coincides with the advent of visually-oriented media (magazines, television, and film) and examines how technological transformations ushered in a new form of Orientalism — virtual Orientalism — prevalent since the late 1950s. Although popular engagement with Asian religions in the U.S. has increased, the fact that much of this has taken virtual form makes stereotypical constructions of “the spiritual East” obdurate and especially difficult to challenge. Representational moments in Virtual Orientalism’s development that are examined include: D.T. Suzuki and the 1950s Zen Boom; the Maharishi Mahesh and his celebrity followers in the 1960s and; Kwai Chang Caine in the popular 1970 television series, Kung Fu.Less
Saffron-robed monks and long-haired gurus have become familiar characters on the American popular culture scene. This book examines the contemporary fascination with Eastern spirituality and provides a cultural history of the representation of Asian religions in American mass media. Initial engagements with Asian spiritual heritages were mediated by monks, gurus, bhikkhus, sages, sifus, healers, and masters from a wide variety of ethnic backgrounds and religious traditions. Virtual Orientalism shows the evolution of these interactions, from direct engagements with specific individuals, to mediated relations with a conventionalized icon. Visually and psychically compelling, the Oriental Monk becomes for Americans a “figure of translation” - a convenient symbol for alternative spiritualities and modes of being. Through the figure of the solitary Monk, who generously and purposefully shares his wisdom with the West, Asian religiosity is made manageable — psychologically, socially, and politically — for popular culture consumption. On an historical level, the books argues that American mass awareness of Asian religions coincides with the advent of visually-oriented media (magazines, television, and film) and examines how technological transformations ushered in a new form of Orientalism — virtual Orientalism — prevalent since the late 1950s. Although popular engagement with Asian religions in the U.S. has increased, the fact that much of this has taken virtual form makes stereotypical constructions of “the spiritual East” obdurate and especially difficult to challenge. Representational moments in Virtual Orientalism’s development that are examined include: D.T. Suzuki and the 1950s Zen Boom; the Maharishi Mahesh and his celebrity followers in the 1960s and; Kwai Chang Caine in the popular 1970 television series, Kung Fu.
