The Intimate Other: Love Divine in Indic Religions
Anna S. King, J. L. Brockington
The Intimate Other explores the theme of the devotional element in Indic Religions not only in Hinduism in which bhakti has become the dominant form, but also in Budhism, Jainism, Sikhism and Islam. The essays by scholars of international repute, show the strength of this devotion to the divine as a living and powerful source of value, aesthetic imagination, creativity and well-being . They also analyse the sometimes divergent interests of scholar and devotee, problematising devotion and exposing its historical development as complex, contested and 'political'. Of particular interest are the chapters on the Jain and Buddhist traditions where the existence of devotion has often been doubted or denied. Contributors investigate widely raging topics: these include an analysis of bhakti within the Sanskrit epics; a text-historical approach to Valmiki; Kabir's authorship of the poems attributed to him; contemporary attitudes to devotion to the Ganga: devotion within a syncretistic Jain movement, in Theravada Budhism, subcontinental Sufi Islam, young Sikhs in Britain and in the shared musical and poetic traditions of Hindus, Sikhs and Muslims. The volume ends with a sensitive exploration of the devotional love that overpowers death within the Hindus, sikhs and Muslims. The volume ends with a sensitive exploration of the devotional love that overpowers death within the Hindu bhakti context. Together they demonstrate vividly just how passionate love for the intimate other penetrates and inspires so many aspects of the religious culture of South Asia.
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Contents
ONE Introduction
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1 |
TWO The Epics in the Bhakti Tradition
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31 |
THREE The Implications of Bhakti for the Story
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54 |
Three
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78 |
Do We Sing His Songs
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129 |
Waters of Devotion
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153 |
Simandhar Svami
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194 |
EIGHT Devotion to the Buddha in Theravada
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244 |
NINE The Heart of Islam in the Subcontinent
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278 |
TEN Young British Sikhs and Religious Devotion
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310 |
ELEVEN The Religion of Music
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337 |
The Transfigurative
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369 |
Notes on Contributors
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409 |
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The Intimate Other: Love Divine in Indic Religions Anna S. King,J. L. Brockington Limited preview - 2005 |
Common terms and phrases
A.M. Patel Akram Vijnan Marg Allah ascetic bathing Bhagavad Gita Bhagavata Bhakti movement Bhakti tradition Brahmin Buddha Buddhist century context culture Dada Dada Bhagavan death deity Delhi devotion dharma disciples Divali divine doctrinal emphasised epics Festival Ganga grace Gujarati Guru Granth Sahib Hindu Hinduism human ibid India Islam Jain Jaina Jainism jnana jnani Kabir Kanu Patel karma katha king Krishna living London Lord Madhvani Mahabharata mantra manuscripts meditation Morari Bapu Muslim mystical Nirubahen Amin North Indian path performed pilgrimage pilgrims popular practice Punjabi Purana qawwali Rama Rama's Ramayana Ramcharitmanas Ramkatha Ramlila Rasa Lila Ravana reciting religion religious ritual sacred sages salvation samabhav Sanskrit scriptures Shah sheikh Shiva Sikh Simandhar Svami Singh Sita songs soul South Asian Southall spiritual statue story Studies Sufi Sufism teaching termite mound Theravada tirtha tirthankara translation Tulsidas University Press Vaishnava Valmiki verses vidhi worship