Modern Hinduism in Text and Context

Description

Modern Hinduism in Text and Context brings together textual and contextual approaches to provide a holistic understanding of modern Hinduism. It examines new sources - including regional Saiva texts, Odissi dance and biographies of Nationalists - and discusses topics such as yoga, dance, visual art and festivals in tandem with questions of spirituality and ritual. The book addresses themes and issues yet to receive in-depth attention in the study of Hinduism. It shows that Hinduism endures not only in texts, but also in the context of festivals and devotion, and that contemporary practice, devotional literature, creative traditions and ethics inform the intricacies of a religion in context. Lavanya Vemsani draws on social scientific methodologies as well as history, ethnography and textual analysis, demonstrating that they are all part of the toolkit for understanding the larger framework of religion in the context of emerging nationhood, transnational and transcultural interactions.** ** Review The collection is well organized and highly engaging. It provides an ideal balance between the classical and the modern Hindu world. Without exception, the essays are well written and thought provoking. It makes and important contribution to Hindu Studies. * Sushil Mittal, Professor of Hindu Studies, James Madison University, USA * Modern Hinduism in Text and Context offers an interdisciplinary, wide angle view into 20th century forms of Hinduism. Examining media, dance, state politics in Tamil Nadu, sacred groves in Nepal, councils of women religious in Rajasthan and other topics, this collection emphasizes the local nature of Hinduism, while acknowledging the ongoing influence "classical" influences of Swami Vivekananda, Sri Aurobindo, and the Mother. * Christopher Key Chapple, Doshi Professor of Indic and Comparative Theology, Loyola Marymount University, USA * Modern Hinduism in Text and Context by Lavanya Vemsani's provides a truly multilayered or multifaceted account of Hinduism in various regions of the world. The book helps cut through the often mythical aspects that get portrayed in various times and places as identities, ideologies devotional practices and get linked to gender, national and spiritual notions. By depicting the experiences of practicing Hinduism in some eastern and western country's it emphasizes the variety of ways which are essential to the understanding of Modern Hinduism in text and contextual specificities. Drawing upon the significant sources and carefully examined empirical evidence the book amplifies the way modern Hinduism evolves and is practiced the way it does at a time when the Hinduism is in a state of considerable rethinking. The work is very refreshing and offers a range of perspectives that show how the reality is uncovered only after we breakdown the surfaces of appearances. Professor Lavanya vemsani's contribution is a major new contribution in the study of India's Hindu religious tradition. * Rattan Lal Hangloo, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Allahabad, University of Allahabad, India * Modern Hinduism in Text and Context approaches this field of study in a new and exciting way. Written by a range of eminent scholars, it explores several areas that I have not seen elsewhere. By focusing its attention on modern regional text and context (including Nepal) and working thematically across groups of chapters, it provides the reader with an original and stimulating understanding of this complex field of study. * Lynn Foulston, Course Leader in Religious Studies, University of South Wales, UK * About the Author Lavanya Vemsani is Professor in the Department of Social Sciences at Shawnee State University, USA. She is Editor-in-Chief of American Journal of Indic Studies and Associate Editor of the Journal of South Asian Religious History. Cover Half Title Series Title Copyright Dedication Contents Figures Contributors Acknowledgments Notes to Diacritics and Pronunciation 1 Introduction Part One Traditional Hinduism: Classical Texts, Traditions, and Practices 2 Multiregional and Multi-linguistic Virasaivism: Change and Continuity in an Early Devotional Tradition 1. Multilingual Virasaivism, past and present 2. Coconut in the honey: the Viramahesvaras of Andhra Pradesh 3. Sanskritic Virasaivism after Vijayanagar: the codification of Sivadvaita philosophy 4. Transregional Virasaivism: new perspectives from the archive 3 Entering the South Asian City: Pravesa in Literature and Practice 1. Introduction 2. The domestic Pravesa 3. The Indra festival 4. The South Asian city 5. Yudhi..hira enters Hastinapura 6. Conclusion 4 Demonic Devotees and Symbolism of Violence in Hindu Literature 1. Introduction 2. Demons and asceticism 3. The nature of the demonic 4. Ending the cycle of violence 5. Conclusion 5 Sacred Groves: The Playground of the Gods 1. Introduction 2. Pañcava.i in thought, culture, and practice 3. Sacred groves in modern India and Nepal 4. Conclusion 6 Religious Symbolism in Contemporary Political Art: Hussaini and Tamil Popular Culture 1. Introduction 2. The Tamil political image 3. Hussaini’s blood images of Jayalalitha 4. Blood sacrifice in Tamil films 5. In the aftermath of Jayalalitha Part Two Hinduism in the Modern World: Colonial, Diasporic, and Women’s Religion 7 “Rite of Passage” in India’s National Struggle: Understanding Rabindranath Tagore’s Gora in the Context of Religion 1. Introduction: nation in the rite of passage 2. Nation in the rite of passage: symbols of separation and displacement in Gora Caged bird and other passages of separation in Gora Liminal entities Images of new India (Bharatavarsha) Brittanica versus Indica: empire and emergence of a new nation 3. Liminoid nation: journey of the protagonists India in transition: nation and nationhood in Gora 4. The final passage: aggregation and Culmination of the new nation 5. Emergence of the new nation (Bharatavarsha): marriage as the final passage 6. Conclusion 8 America, the Superlative, and India, the Jewel in the Crown: Religious Ideologies, Transnationalism, and the End of the Raj 1. Introduction 2. Early visitors and cross-cultural interactions 3. Religious and political leaders: deepening relations 4. Orient and Occident 9 The Integral Yoga of the Sri Aurobindo Asram: Gender, Spirituality, and the Arts 1. Introduction 2. Incarnating Mahasakti (the Divine Mother): spiritual consorts and avataras 3. Mahesvari (Wisdom) and the destiny of the mind Transformation of the mind The annihilation of the mind The divine body and a new center of consciousness Implications of manonasa for art 4. Mahasarasvati (Perfection) and Mahakali (Strength): descendant spirituality and opposition used in growth 5. Mahalak.mi (Harmony) and the role of beauty 6. Conclusion 10 In Relationship with the Goddess: Women Interpreting Leadership Roles and Shaping Diasporic Identities 1. Introduction 2. Ethics and participation 3. Innovation and tradition 4. Devi in Tamil culture 5. Interpretations of the goddess 6. Women’s roles in leadership 7. Gender, identity, and performativity 11 Spirituality and Ritual in Odissi Dance: Health, Healing, and Ritual in a Diaspora Performance Tradition 1. Introduction 2. Theoretical framework 3. Horidraa: golden healing Act I—“Inside the Industry of Health” Act II—Descent into memory Act III—“Magykal Imaginings: Rituals of Memory, Reckonings, Loss, Love, Pleasure, and Imagining Healing” 4. Conjuring healing 5. Conclusion 12 A Mandal of Their Own: Gender and the Reimagining of Community by Hindu Renouncers in Northern India 1. “Enough is enough!”: imagining a women’s mandal in Rajasthan, India 2. Radical disorientations: renunciation in text and practice 3. “Where have all the women gone?”: the absence in the presence of a women’s mandal 4. Disruptive symbols: changing meanings of gender androgyny in sannyas 5. “Whose mandal is it anyway?”: disruptures in the vision and goals of an organization 6. “God and bhagva are the same”: symbolically transforming sannyas through the sari 7. Conclusion: the creativity of disruptive gestures for female sadhus in India 13 Conclusion Appendix: Poetry by Ananya Chatterjea Glossary Notes Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 References Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Primary sources Secondary sources Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 The Indian Ladies’ Magazine (ILM) Chapter 9 Primary sources Secondary sources Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Index