Devas Demons And Buddhist Cosmology In Sri Lanka

Author : Achala Gunasekara-Rockwell
Publisher : Taylor & Francis
Page : 203 pages
File Size : 52,8 Mb
Release : 2022-08-19
Category : Social Science
ISBN : 9781000630862

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Devas, Demons and Buddhist Cosmology in Sri Lanka by Achala Gunasekara-Rockwell Pdf

This book examines the worship of devas and demons in Sri Lanka, illustrating how diverse influences interacted to create the Sinhala Buddhist cosmology. The work explains the processes by which apotheosis plays an important role in revitalizing that cosmology. The author offers an examination of holy sites associated with the worship of Hūniyam. These sacred spaces each have a unique background historically, and the ritualists associated with these sites have divergent understandings concerning Hūniyam. Building upon the examination of the temples, the book delves into the iconography of Hūniyam, illustrating his transformation from demon to deity in the manner that he is depicted in imagery associated with his worship. The book moves to a discussion of Aritṭ ạ Kivenḍu Perumāl, a South Indian adventurer, demonstrating the likelihood that he is the historical figure later apotheosized as Hūniyam. Sri Lankan society felt his impact so strongly that in death he became a demon in the Sinhala Buddhist cosmology. Finally, the book demonstrates that the same apotheosis processes are at work today. This book will be of interest to researchers and students engaged in the study of religion, anthropology, folklore, and history, specifically in the South Asian context.

Author : István Keul,Srilata Raman
Publisher : Taylor & Francis
Page : 283 pages
File Size : 42,7 Mb
Release : 2022-09-30
Category : Social Science
ISBN : 9781000654929

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Religious Authority in South Asia by István Keul,Srilata Raman Pdf

This book focuses on genealogies of religious authority in South Asia, examining the figure of the guru in narrative texts, polemical tracts, hagiographies, histories, in contemporary devotional communities, New Age spiritual movements and global guru organizations. Experts in the field present reflections on historically specific contexts in which a guru comes into being, becomes part of a community, is venerated, challenged or repudiated, generates a new canon, remains unique with no clear succession or establishes a succession in which charisma is routinized. The guru emerges and is sustained and routinized from the nexus of guruship, narratives, performances and community. The contributors to the book examine this nexus at specific historical moments with all their elements of change and contingency. The book will be of interest to scholars in the field of South Asian studies, the study of religions and cultural studies.

Author : Mrinal Pande
Publisher : Routledge
Page : 196 pages
File Size : 40,8 Mb
Release : 2022-06-24
Category : Social Science
ISBN : 9781000604641

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Popular Hinduism, Stories and Mobile Performances by Mrinal Pande Pdf

This book addresses the recent transformations of popular Hinduism by focusing upon the religious cum artistic practice of Ramkatha, staged narratives of the Ramcharitmanas. Focusing on the sensory and media experiences, the author examines the aesthetics and dynamics of the Ramkatha ethnoscape through participant-observation in everyday practices, and how it particularly, translates politics from the realm of religion. Besides being socially constructed, the Ramkatha heavily relies on technologies for its production and continuation. Negotiated through a telling of Hindu religious stories, the mediated voice of Morari Bapu, a former school-teacher turned narrator, is a major medium of performance transposed into multiple media such as theatre, stage, music and spectacle. The book engages with voice as a vehicle of meaning to scrutinize its discursive production, imagination and re-production across mobile contexts. It investigates how the transnationally disseminated practices re-contextualize religious subjectivities of an affective community enmeshed in spatio-sensorial modes. The book will be of interest to academic audiences in the fields of South Asian Studies, Anthropology, Sociology, as well as Performance Studies and Religious Studies.

Author : Abdul Wohab
Publisher : Taylor & Francis
Page : 128 pages
File Size : 48,6 Mb
Release : 2023-10-13
Category : Social Science
ISBN : 9781000985290

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Secularism and Islam in Bangladesh by Abdul Wohab Pdf

Secularism and Islam in Bangladesh comprehensively analyses the syncretistic form of Bengali Islam and its relationship with secularism in Bangladesh from pre-British to contemporary times. It focuses on the importance of understanding the dynamics between religion and secularism within specific cultural contexts. The author draws upon historical, sociological, and political literature, Bangladeshi electoral results, newspaper reports, and elite interviews with political commentators and offers a rich historical and empirical analysis. Arguing that extremist interpretations of Islam, which aim to establish a theocratic state, have not been able to influence the pluralistic religious and cultural life of Bangladesh substantially, the book shows that religious and cultural pluralism will continue to thrive despite the apparent threat posed by increasing religiosity among Bangladeshi Muslims. This book is a timely and significant contribution to the discourse on secularism and Islam, with relevance beyond Bangladesh and the wider Islamic world. It will appeal to scholars and researchers working in the fields of South Asian Studies, Asian Religions, and the Sociology of Religion.

Author : Gananath Obeyesekere
Publisher : Taylor & Francis
Page : 289 pages
File Size : 53,7 Mb
Release : 2017-08-07
Category : Social Science
ISBN : 9781351592253

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The Buddha in Sri Lanka by Gananath Obeyesekere Pdf

This book examines culture, religion and polity in the context of Buddhism. Gananath Obeyesekere, one of the foremost analytical voices from South Asia develops Freud’s notion of ‘dream work’, the ‘work of culture’ and ideas of no-self (anatta) to understand Buddhism in contemporary Sri Lanka. This work offers a restorative interpretation of Buddhist myths in contrast to the perspective involving deconstruction. The book deals with a range of themes connected with Buddhism, including oral traditions and stories, the religious pantheon, philosophy, emotions, reform movements, questions of identity and culture, and issues of modernity. This fascinating volume will greatly interest students, teachers and researchers of religion and philosophy, especially Buddhism, ethics, cultural studies, social and cultural anthropology, Sri Lanka and modern South Asian history.

Author : Nandadeva Wijesekera
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 216 pages
File Size : 48,8 Mb
Release : 1987
Category : Healing
ISBN : UOM:39015025210025

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Deities and Demons, Magic and Masks by Nandadeva Wijesekera Pdf

Beliefs and customs of Sri Lanka.

Author : Kevin Trainor
Publisher : Oxford University Press, USA
Page : 262 pages
File Size : 48,7 Mb
Release : 2004
Category : Religion
ISBN : 0195173988

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Buddhism by Kevin Trainor Pdf

In this strikingly illustrated and authoritative volume, readers have an introduction to one of the world's greatest living faiths. 200 color photos, maps & drawings.

Author : Ahangama Dhammarama
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 124 pages
File Size : 41,7 Mb
Release : 2005
Category : Buddhism
ISBN : UVA:X030239651

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Gods and Their Origin in Sri Lanka by Ahangama Dhammarama Pdf

Author : E. M. C. Amunugama
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 340 pages
File Size : 45,7 Mb
Release : 1994
Category : Buddhism
ISBN : UOM:39015037339424

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The History of Ancient Aryan Tribes in Sri Lanka by E. M. C. Amunugama Pdf

Author : Sharmini Serasinghe
Publisher : Lulu.com
Page : 156 pages
File Size : 44,9 Mb
Release : 2019-10-13
Category : History
ISBN : 9789557137100

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Sri Lanka - The Elusive Miracle of Asia by Sharmini Serasinghe Pdf

This is a book no publisher or printer in Sri Lanka wanted to be associated with, fearing for their lives. Their fears are justified. Under the despotic political regime headed by the megalomaniacal Mahinda Rajapaksa, journalists and writers in Sri Lanka who stood up for the truth were brutally murdered, tortured, kidnapped or made to disappear for good. Self-described Buddhists, Mahinda Rajapaksa and his cohorts embraced all that is ugly in his Sinhala-Buddhist toxic political ideology, using and abusing Buddhism to the maximum. With this book, the writer has placed her head on the block and in her words: "I may face the same fate as my late colleagues Lasantha Wickrematunge and Richard de Zoysa, but it's a sacrifice I am ready to make for the sake of future generations of Sri Lanka!"

Author : John Holt
Publisher : Oxford University Press, USA
Page : 306 pages
File Size : 54,6 Mb
Release : 1991
Category : Avalokiteśvara (Buddhist deity)
ISBN : 9780195064186

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Buddha in the Crown by John Holt Pdf

Sri Lanka has one of Asia's most pluralistic religious cultures. From a study of the changing role played by one Buddhist deity in Sinhala religious culture, the author of this study develops a thesis about the mechanism of religious change.

Author : Nanditha Krishna
Publisher : Penguin UK
Page : 280 pages
File Size : 42,9 Mb
Release : 2007-10-16
Category : Body, Mind & Spirit
ISBN : 9789351181446

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The Book of Demons by Nanditha Krishna Pdf

From The Rig Veda To Myriads Of Folk Narratives, The Belief In Demons Prevails All Over India, Vividly Illustrating That A Demon Is Something People Fear Because It Is Beyond Their Comprehension And Control. Time And Again, The Menacing And Uncontrollable Forces Of Night, Darkness And Death, Along With Powerful Defeated Enemies And Incomprehensible Natural Phenomena, Are Demonized. The Book Of Demons Presents A Perceptive Overview Of The Various Types Of Demonic Beings And Concepts That Exist In Hindu Literature, Supplemented With A Dictionary Of Individual Demons For Ready Reference. Besides The Well-Known Rakshasas And Asuras, The Author Also Reveals A Densely Populated World Of Lesser-Known, But Equally Fascinating, Demonic Creatures. Andhaka (Blind Darkness), Conceived When Parvati Playfully Covered Shiva S Eyes And The World Was Plunged Into Darkness; Gajamukha, The Elephant-Faced Demon Who Was Transformed Into A Mouse By Ganesha And Then Converted Into His Vehicle; Jambha, The Demon-Leader Who Snatched The Pot Of Immortal Nectar From The Ocean During The Great Churning; Maya, The Demonic Equivalent Of Vishvakarma, Architect Of The Gods, Who Built The Three Cities Of Tripura; And Putana, The Demon Who Tried To Kill Krishna By Suckling Him With Poisoned Breasts. Male Or Female, Human, Animal, Plant, Or Simply A Concept Demons Play A Pivotal Role In Our Mythical Traditions. Blending Insightful Erudition And Lively Description, Nanditha Krishna Brings To Life The Traits And Actions Of A Host Of Complex, Colourful, Monstrous And Intriguing Demons That Inhabit Indian Religion And Mythology.

Author : Lynn A. De Silva
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 258 pages
File Size : 50,5 Mb
Release : 1974
Category : Buddhism
ISBN : UVA:X000381064

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Buddhism by Lynn A. De Silva Pdf

Author : Pon Kulendiren
Publisher : iUniverse
Page : 213 pages
File Size : 54,8 Mb
Release : 2012
Category : Religion
ISBN : 9781475936735

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Hinduism a Scientific Religion by Pon Kulendiren Pdf

Hinduism, the Truth is not a sect of a faith or a man-made religion. The Cosmic Truth of Hinduism is non denominational and universal and its founder is unknown. However, ancient Rishis and Saints have nurtured and revived it into what it is today. Hinduism's basic concept is unique with its link to Cosmic Energy , its traditions and culture is also linked to nature. A diagram explaining the distribution of Cosmic energy is explained, is given in this book. Lord Shiva is the Cosmic dancer. It is depicted that Brahma is the creator, Vishnu the Preserver and Shiva is in charge of evolution, for easy understanding by the people. This book deals with speculations about the origin of Hinduism and its association with nature. The design and energy of the Hindu temple and how the energy is associated with the power of Yantras, and Chakras in the human body, mantras and their connection with sound waves, Solar system, and Time. Idol / Deity worship and rituals etc. The book covers the five Ishwarams temples of Shiva, Sakthi, Karthigeya, Vishnu, Kannagi in Sri Lanka, worshipped by Hindus and Buddhists. Hinduism had its origin in the Indus valley civilization. The word Hindu is derived from the Indus river and dates back to over 5,000 years or more. This book also touches the link between the Hinduism and Buddhism. Kannagi (Pathini) and her worship by Sri Lankan Tamils and Singhalese is also explained in the book.

Author : Beatrice Vogt
Publisher : Vu University Press
Page : 380 pages
File Size : 51,7 Mb
Release : 1999
Category : Health & Fitness
ISBN : IND:30000061562272

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Skill and Trust by Beatrice Vogt Pdf

Tovil is an indigenous healing ritual among the Sinfiala of Sri Lanka. It is a treatment for mental illness. During the ritual, which takes place at night, the patient embodies the demons who are the cause of his or her psychic problems. The ritual is a psychodrama, accompanied and induced by drumming, dancing and singing. The emphasis of this study is not on the patient but on the healer.