Christian Missionaries worked hard to convert immigrants. Their first order of business was to denigrate Hinduism, designate Hindus as heathen, and disparage their culture, food and even attire. Immigrants stubbornly resisted, led by the tiny educated elite, including Brhmaas whom we call Brahmins. Conversion was a failure at least up to the end of the 19th century but picked up a self-generating momentum thereafter. The result is that the share of Hindus in Guyana’s Indian population declined from 83.5 percent in 1880 to 62.8 percent in 2012. The largest portion of the contraction was lost to Christianity. The loss notwithstanding, even a casual observer would conclude that Guyanese Hindus, at home and in the Diaspora, are a very religious people. Many of us do a jhandi or havan once annually; others do the more elaborate and costlier yajña, where everyone is welcome, once or twice in their lifetime. Most of us do a short daily puja – prayers, offerings, reading the stras and listening to bhajan – in our homes. An important, but perhaps unintended, way immigrants countered conversion to Christianity was an unplanned movement towards a “synthesis” that brought Hindus, regardless of caste or sect, under a “unitary form of Hinduism.” The “synthesis” began around the 1870s and was completed by the 1930s to the 1950s. Guyanese Hindus call the unified corpus of religious beliefs and practices that emerged from the “synthesis” Sanatana Dharma. Ramesh Gampat labels it Plantation Hinduism in this path-breaking book. The book argues that the brand of Hinduism practiced is inconsistent with Sanatana Dharma, called Vednta by the more philosophically inclined. Plantation Hinduism features an extraordinary dependence upon purohits (pandits), which has anaesthetized the Hindu mind and render him unable to think, question and inquire when it comes to Dharma. Rituals and bhakti have been degraded and turned into desire-motivated worship; devats have been misconstrued as Brahman rather than as limited manifestation of the one non-dual pure Consciousness; belief in the multiplicity of gods encourages image worship; and superstitions anchor Guyanese Hindus to tradition and mere belief. Plantation Hinduism is little more than desire-motivated actions, dogmas and superstitions. Absent is the idea that Sanatana Dharma is a spiritual science no less scientific than hard sciences, such as physics and astronomy. The central message of Vednta is the innate divinity of every person and the freedom to realize that divinity through anubhava, direct personal experience of Supreme Reality.

The Growth of Literature is a key work for all scholars and students of comparative literature, and will also interest those involved with other fields of literary studies as well as sociology, anthropology and related disciplines. The three volumes, hailed as classics when they first appeared between 1932 and 1940, were last reprinted in 1968. Now available for the first time in paperback, they remain the definitive study of their subject. The work contains an examination of comparative literatures in various countries and at various times, with a view to demonstrating what literature (oral and written) consists of at different stages of its growth and what, if any, general principles can be applied to its development under diverse conditions. In the first volume Professor and Mrs Chadwick establish the categories of literature which are used throughout as a means of classification, and discuss the heroic age in Europe, focusing on Classical, Anglo-Saxon and Celtic cultures. In the second volume they deal with Russian oral literature, Yugoslav oral poetry, early Indian literature and early Hebrew literature. Volume III examines the oral literature of the Tatars, of Polynesia, and of Africa, concluding with a general survey which makes use of the categories developed in the first volume.

An 'Upanisad' is a teaching session with a guru, and these thirteen texts, the 'Principal Upanisads', form a series of philosophical discourses between teacher and student that question the inner meaning of the world. Composed from around the eighth century BCE, the Upanisads have been central to the development of Hinduism, and explore the central doctrines of rebirth, karma, overcoming death, and achieving detachment, equilibrium and spiritual bliss. Speaking to the reader in direct, unadorned prose or lucid verse, they embody humanity's perennial search for truth and knowledge.

Originally published as a single volume, The Heart of Listening has been re-issued as two separate volumes because of public demand for a more concise, portable edition. Milne, a third generation Scottish osteopath, begins by explaining the visionary approach to healing, and how it may be applied to the realm of craniosacral work. In the second volume, Milne details the anatomy, physiology, energetics, and techniques that are the essential core of visionary craniosacral work. His particular genius lies in his ability to weave a delicate tapestry of narrative, poetry, and scientific fact into a fascinating and insightful exposition of the visionary healing arts.

This second volume examines how sexual mores and behavior, religious dogma and practice, and literary creativity and authenticity have influenced and been influenced by the existentialist thought of Kierkegaard, Heidegger, Sartre, Nietzsche, Husserl and Buber, and the writings of Camus, Dostoevsky, Beckett, Shestov, Berdyaev and Tillich. It compares human and cultural attributes with the attributes of pagan and monotheistic Gods, and Buddhist, Gnostic, Christian and Muslim mysticism with Jewish Kabbalah. It explains society’s harsh treatment of Vincent van Gogh and Antonin Artaud, and analyzes the existentialist approach to existence, absurdity, human dialogue, cosmology, and quantum mechanics. It will appeal to students and professionals in fields as diverse as philosophy, psychology, sociology, anthropology, religion, law, art, drama, literature, cosmology and physics.

Beginning Apr. 1895, includes the Proceedings of the East India Association.

This edition of Ramakatha Rasavahini improves on the previous edition. Grammatical errors and typos have been corrected, and some sentences have been rewritten to smooth and clarify the presentation —of course, without disturbing the meaning. Long paragraphs have been split in two to provide easier reading. Sanskrit words have been replaced by English equivalents, to make the text accessible to readers who do not know Sanskrit. The accuracy of the text has been maintained by putting Sanskrit words in parentheses, after their English translations. Several Sanskrit words have made their way into the English language and can be found in most dictionaries —e.g. dharma, guru, yoga, and moksha. These words are mostly used without translation, although their meanings appear in the glossary at the end of the book. Besides definition of Sanskrit words used in this book, the glossary contains descriptions of the people and places mentioned. This edition is being brought out in ebook form, for tablets such as the Kindle, Ipad, and Nook. Clicking on most Sanskrit words, people, and places will take you right to the glossary, where you can find the meaning. A back-button will be available in your reader to take you back to where you were reading. And on these tablets, you generally get to choose a font and font size that suits you. With these changes, we hope that the revised Ramakatha Rasavahini will be of great benefit to earnest seekers in the spiritual realm. Convener Sri Sathya Sai Books and Publications Trust, Prasanthi Nilayam Pin 515134, India.