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This work studies how Indian scholars have rejected the idea of an external origin of the Indo-Aryans, by questioning the logic assumptions and methods upon which the theory is based.
Focusing on the rich and variegated cluster of Indic philosophical traditions as they developed from the late Vedic period up to the pre-modern period, this book offers an understanding, according to each school, of the nature of free will and agency.
From the author of what has become the standard edition of The Yoga Sutras of Patañjali, an exploration of probably the most significant tradition in Hinduism, along with a rendering of key texts and parables from that tradition Bhakti Yoga explores one of the eight “limbs” of yoga. In the simplest terms, bhakti yoga is the practice of devotion, which is the essential heart of yoga and of Hinduism in general. In recent times, the term has come to be used in a rather simplistic way to refer to the increasingly popular practice of kirtan, or chanting in a group or at large gatherings. But bhakti yoga is far more complex and ancient than today’s growing kirtan audiences are aware, and embraces many strands and practices. Edwin F. Bryant focuses on one famous and important school of bhakti and explores it in depth to show what bhakti is and how it is expressed. And he supplies his own renderings of central texts from that tradition in the form of “tales and teachings” from an important work called the Bhagavata Purana, or “The Beautiful Legend of God.” This clarifying work establishes a baseline for understanding, and will be welcomed by all serious students of the spiritual heritage of India.
The articles in this survey of the Indo-Aryan controversy address questions such as: are the Indo-Aryans insiders or outsiders?
In this pathbreaking book, the authors show that the ancient Indians were no primitives but possessed a high spiritual culture, which not only influenced the evolution of the Western world in decisive ways but which still hs much to teach us today. India's archaic spirituality is codified in the rich symbols, metaphors and myths of the magnificent Rig-Veda, which is shown to be much older than has been widely assumed by scholars. The present book also unravels the astonishing mathematical and astronomical code hidden in the Vedic hymns. Anyone interested in ancient cultural history, India, archaeo-astronomy or spirituality will find this well researched and cross-cultural work spellbinding and enriching.
Here then is the fruit of Elena Kuz'mina's life-long quest for the Indo-Iranians. Already its predecessor ("Otkuda prishli indoarii?," published in 1994) was considered the most comprehensive analysis of the origins of the Indo-Iranians ever published, but in this new, significantly expanded edition (edited by J.P. Mallory) we find an encyclopaedic account of the Andronovo culture of Eurasia. Taking its evidence from archaeology, linguistics, ethnology, mythology, and physical anthropology pertaining to Indo-Iranian origins and expansions, it comprehensively covers the relationships of this culture with neighboring areas and cultures, and its role in the foundation of the Indo-Iranian peoples.
In this revelatory volume, Roberto Calasso, whom the Paris Review has called 'a literary institution', explores the ancient texts known as the Vedas. Little is known about the Vedic people who lived more than three thousand years ago in northern India: they left behind almost no objects, images, ruins. They created no empires. Even the hallucinogenic plant, the soma, which appears at the centre of some of their rituals, has not been identified with any certainty. Only a 'Parthenon of words' remains: verses and formulations suggesting a daring understanding of life. 'If the Vedic people had been asked why they did not build cities,' writes Calasso, 'they could have replied: we did not seek power, but rapture.' This is the ardor of the Vedic world, a burning intensity that is always present, both in the mind and in the cosmos. With his signature erudition and profound sense of the past, Calasso explores the enigmatic web of ritual and myth that define the Vedas. Often at odds with modern thought, he shows how these texts illuminate the nature of consciousness more than neuroscientists have been able to offer us up to now. Following the 'hundred paths' of the Satapatha Brahmana, an impressive exegesis of Vedic ritual, Ardor indicates that it may be possible to reach what is closest by passing through that which is most remote, as 'the whole of Vedic India was an attempt to think further'.
This Is A Remarkable Book. It Untangles The Many Complexities Of The Vedas And Combines Staal S Scholarly Respect For The Texts, With Explanations That Are Lucid And Occasionally Witty. His Insights Are Thoughtful And Perceptive. Romila Thapar In This Unprecedented Guide To The Vedas, Frits Staal, The Celebrated Author Of Agni: The Vedic Ritual Of The Fire Altar And Universals: Studies In Indian Logic And Linguistics Examines Almost Every Aspect Of These Ancient Sources Of Indic Civilisation. Staal Extracts Concrete Information From The Oral Tradition And Archaeology About Vedic People And Their Language, What They Thought And Did, And Where They Went And When. He Provides Essential Information About The Vedas And Includes Selections And Translations. Staal Sheds Light On Mantras And Rituals, That Contributed To What Came To Be Known As Hinduism. Significant Is A Modern Analysis Of What We Can Learn From The Vedas Today: The Original Forms Of The Vedic Sciences, As Well As The Perceptive Wisdom Of The Composers Of The Vedas. The Author Puts Vedic Civilisation In A Global Perspective Through A Wide-Ranging Comparison With Other Indic Philosophies And Religions, Primarily Buddhism For Staal, Originally A Logician, The Voyage Of Discovering The Vedas Is Like Unpeeling An Onion But Without The Certainty Of Reaching An End. Even So, His Book Shows That The Vedas Have A Logic All Their Own. Accessible, Finely-Argued, And With A Wealth Of Information And Insight, Discovering The Vedas Is For Both The Scholar And The Interested Lay Reader.
An illustrated foray into the hidden truth about the use of psychoactive mushrooms to connect with the divine. • Draws parallels between Vedic beliefs and Judeo-Christian sects, showing the existence of a mushroom cult that crossed cultural boundaries. • Contends that the famed philosophers' stone of the alchemist was a metaphor for the mushroom. • Confirms and extends Robert Gordon Wasson's hypothesis of the role of the fly agaric mushroom in generating religious visions. Rejecting arguments that the elusive philosophers' stone of alchemy and the Hindu elixir of life were mere legend, Clark Heinrich provides a strong case that Amanita muscaria, the fly agaric mushroom, played this role in world religious history. Working under the assumption that this "magic mushroom" was the mysterious food and drink of the gods, Heinrich traces its use in Vedic and Puranic religion, illustrating how ancient cultures used the powerful psychedelic in esoteric rituals meant to bring them into direct contact with the divine. He then shows how the same mushroom symbols found in Hindu scriptures correspond perfectly to the symbols of ancient Judaism, Christianity, the Grail myths, and alchemy, arguing that miraculous stories as disparate as the burning bush of Moses and the raising of Lazarus from the dead can be easily explained by the use of this strange and powerful mushroom. While acknowledging the speculative nature of his work, Heinrich concludes that in many religious cultures and traditions the fly agaric mushroom--and in some cases ergot or psilocybin mushrooms--had a fundamental influence in teaching humans about the nature of God. His insightful book truly brings new light to the religious history of humanity.