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Indian Religions

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Indian Religions: Renaissance and Renewal, the latest collection of Spalding papers, celebrates the work of Ninian Smart in bringing together papers by some of the most eminent scholars within this field. The papers are concerned with cultural, religious, political or textual exchange and encounter, and therefore in concepts of rupture, revival, restoration, reformation and reformulation. The title of this book comes directly from Professor Klaus Klostermaier's paper which argues that the real Hindu Renaissance is happening now. However, the title also embraces the contemporary problematic of the study of Indian religions. There cannot ever have been a time when the scholarly study of Indic religions has been under such scrutiny or more politically, culturally and religiously sensitive.



The papers in section one urge a major rethinking of academic paradigms. The papers in the second section focus on texts, contexts and ways of understanding. Vastly different in style, period and approach, they nevertheless cumulatively develop sensitivity to textual continuities, to the purposes of commentators and the contemporary creative reinterpretation of texts and their application to real life. The third section is concerned with cultural and religious encounter and exchange, transformation, restoration, revival and reformation. The fourth section is concerned with the performative, experiential and expressive. There are papers on the Hindu imagination and imaginary Hinduisms; religion, the media and a multi-modal future; ritual performance and gender; art and the aesthetic imagination.

Published: Mar 1, 2007

Section Chapter Authors
Prelims
Preface Karel Werner
Introduction Anna S. King
Acknowledgments Anna S. King
SECTION 1: Challenging Paradigms
Hinduism—Hindutva—Hindu Dharma Klaus Klostermaier
The Hindu Religion and War Hans Bakker
Is Hinduism an Offshoot of Buddhism? Knut A. Jacobsen, Ninian Smart
The Philosophy of Religion from the Perspective of Indian Religions Karel Werner
SECTION 2: Text and Context
Faculties, Breaths and Offices: Some Vedic and Sâ›khya Notions of the Body and Personality Dermot Killingley
Time and the Sarvâstivâdins David Bastow
Images of Samkara: Understanding the Other Jacqueline Suthren Hirst
Arthur Avalon Among the Orientalists: Sir John Woodroffe and the Re-imaging of the Tantras Kathleen Taylor
SECTION 3: Encounter, Revival and Reform
Shamanic Powers, Village Religion and Esoteric Exchange: How Far is Tantra a Specifically Indian Phenomenon? Geoffrey Samuel
Theravada Revivalism in Nepal: Reflections on the Early Years David N. Gellner
Brahminisation of Dravidian Religions: The Case of the Muttappan Cult of North Malabar Theodore Gabriel
The Curious History of the Dasanâmï-Samnyâsïs Matthew Clark
From Totapuri to Maharaji (Prem Rawat)? Reflections on a Lineage (Parampara) Ron Geaves
SECTION 4: Renewing the World: Sacred Performance, Sacred Art
The Hindu Imagination and Imaginary Hinduisms David Smith
Kumbha Melâ and the Media Anna S. King
Walking in the Mother’s Footsteps: Dravidian Virgin Goddesses as Empowering Role Models for Women Alleyn Diesel
The Medieval Saivite World Portrayed on the Prâkâra Wall of the Mallikârjuna Temple at Srisailam Richard Shaw
Height and Size in Indian Iconography Christopher Aslet
End Matter
Notes on Contributors Anna S. King

Reviews

'Many of the papers discuss interesting and important topics. As with other such eclectic anthologies, one is likely to pick up this volume based on the desire to read one of its essays in particular and subsequently to discover the worth of some of its other contents.'
Jack C. Laughlin, University of Sudbury, Studies in Religion 39 (1), 2010