The book offers a number of new insights in the history of yoga powers in the South Asian religious traditions, analyzes the position of the powers in the salvific process and in conceptions of divinity, and explores the rational explanations of the powers provided by the traditions.

Throughout the history of Indian religions, the ascetic figure is most closely identified with power. A by-product of the ascetic path, power is displayed in the ability to fly, walk on water or through dense objects, read minds, discern the former lives of others, see into the future, harm others, or simply levitate one's body. These tales give rise to questions about how power and violence are related to the phenomenon of play. Indian Asceticism focuses on the powers exhibited by ascetics of India from ancient to modern time. Carl Olson discusses the erotic, the demonic, the comic, and the miraculous forms of play and their connections to power and violence. He focuses on Hinduism, but evidence is also presented from Buddhism and Jainism, suggesting that the subject matter of this book pervades India's major indigenous religious traditions. The book includes a look at the extent to which findings in cognitive science can add to our understanding of these various powers; Olson argues that violence is built into the practice of the ascetic. Indian Asceticism culminates with an attempt to rethink the nature of power in a way that does justice to the literary evidence from Hindu, Buddhist, and Jain sources.

"This carefully edited collection of William Walker Atkinson has been designed and formatted to the highest digital standards and adjusted for readability on all devices. The Art of Logical Thinking The Crucible of Modern Thought Dynamic Thought How to Read Human Nature The Inner Consciousness The Law of the New Thought The Mastery of Being Memory Culture Memory: How to Develop, Train and Use It The Art of Expression and The Principles of Discourse Mental Fascination Mind and Body; or Mental States and Physical Conditions Mind Power: The Secret of Mental Magic The New Psychology Its Message, Principles and Practice New Thought Nuggets of the New Thought Practical Mental Influence Practical Mind-Reading Practical Psychomancy and Crystal Gazing The Psychology of Salesmanship Reincarnation and the Law of Karma The Secret of Mental Magic The Secret of Success Self-Healing by Thought Force The Subconscious and the Superconscious Planes of Mind Suggestion and Auto-Suggestion Telepathy: Its Theory, Facts, and Proof Thought-Culture - Practical Mental Training Thought-Force in Business and Everyday Life Thought Vibration or the Law of Attraction in the Thought World Your Mind and How to Use It The Hindu-Yogi Science Of Breath Lessons in Yogi Philosophy and Oriental Occultism Advanced Course in Yogi Philosophy and Oriental Occultism Hatha Yoga The Science of Psychic Healing Raja Yoga or Mental Development Gnani Yoga The Inner Teachings of the Philosophies and Religions of India Mystic Christianity The Life Beyond Death The Practical Water Cure The Spirit of the Upanishads or the Aphorisms of the Wise Bhagavad Gita The Art and Science of Personal Magnetism Master Mind Mental Therapeutics The Power of Concentration Genuine Mediumship Clairvoyance and Occult Powers The Human Aura The Secret Doctrines of the Rosicrucians Personal Power The Arcane Formulas, or Mental Alchemy Vril, or Vital Magnetism ...

This book is related to the importance of Marathas as well as the process of nation making.

The SAGE Encyclopedia of the Sociology of Religion takes a look at the role of religion in society; unpacking and evaluating the significance of religion in and on human history; and tracing and outlining the social forces and influences that shape religion.

A succinct, approachable guide to the origins, development, key texts, concepts, and practices of yoga. Yoga is practiced by many millions of people worldwide and is celebrated for its mental, physical, and spiritual benefits. And yet, as Daniel Simpson reveals in The Truth of Yoga, much of what is said about yoga is misleading. For example, the word “yoga” does not always mean union. In fact, in perhaps the discipline’s most famous text—the Yoga Sutra of Patanjali—its aim is described as separation: isolating consciousness from everything else. And yoga is not five thousand years old, as is commonly claimed; the earliest evidence of practice dates back about twenty-five hundred years. (Yoga may well be older, but no one can prove it.) The Truth of Yoga is a clear, concise, and accessible handbook for the lay reader that draws upon abundant recent scholarship. It outlines these new findings with practitioners in mind, highlighting ways to keep traditions alive in the twenty-first century.

Yoga Sastra by John Murdoch is an illuminating exploration of the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, enriched by insights into Swami Vivekananda's profound contributions to the philosophy of yoga. Yoga Sastra - The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali Examined with a Notice of Swami Vivekananda's Yoga Philosophy by John Murdoch is a scholarly work that invites readers on a profound journey into the world of yoga philosophy. This book carefully examines the ancient teachings of Patanjali's Yoga Sutras and their relevance in the context of Swami Vivekananda's transformative yoga philosophy. The book begins by introducing readers to the historical and philosophical background of the Yoga Sutras, providing essential context for understanding their significance. Murdoch's insightful commentary sets the stage for a deeper exploration of these sacred texts. Central to the book is the examination of Patanjali's Yoga Sutras themselves. Murdoch dissects and elucidates these sutras, offering readers a comprehensive understanding of their teachings, which encompass the path to spiritual realization, meditation, and the attainment of inner peace. Yoga Sastra - The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali Examined with a Notice of Swami Vivekananda's Yoga Philosophy is not only a scholarly examination but also a spiritual exploration. It invites readers to delve into the timeless wisdom of yoga, offering practical guidance on the path to self-realization and spiritual growth. This book is an invaluable resource for yoga enthusiasts, scholars, and spiritual seekers interested in the profound teachings of Patanjali's Yoga Sutras and the transformative philosophy of Swami Vivekananda. John Murdoch's insightful analysis makes this work a source of inspiration and contemplation for readers.

God in Post-Christianity combines Eastern and Western influences into a dazzling survey of the contemporary theological landscape. Reading "the age of the Spirit" as "the age of the Breath," the book argues for a material, elemental, and sensory theology of God following the death of the ontotheological God of metaphysics. Drawing inspiration equally from Irigaray and Feuerbach, it offers a vision of God that is both feminist and humanist, a divine becoming for humanity, a sacred alliance with Nature. By presenting and analyzing the modern philosophies of Hegel, Schelling, and Merleau-Ponty, as well as such contemporary figures as John Caputo and Catherine Keller, and by drawing on unexpected, forgotten, or neglected sources such as Vedic poetry and American Mormonism and figures such as Averroes and Amalric of Bène, the book makes an original argument about God that resonates with currents in new materialism, comparative theology, and affect theory. Both speculative and mythopoetic, it is intended to forge a way forward for humanity to achieve the intersubjective and interreligious peace we all crave and deserve.

Jainism originated in India and shares some features with Buddhism and Hinduism, but it is a distinct tradition with its own key texts, art, rituals, beliefs, and history. One important way it has often been distinguished from Buddhism and Hinduism is through the highly contested category of Tantra: Jainism, unlike the others, does not contain a tantric path to liberation. But in Making a Mantra, historian of religions Ellen Gough refines and challenges our understanding of Tantra by looking at the development over two millennia of a Jain incantation, or mantra, that evolved from an auspicious invocation in a second-century text into a key component of mendicant initiations and meditations that continue to this day. Typically, Jainism is characterized as a celibate, ascetic path to liberation in which one destroys karma through austerities, while the tantric path to liberation is characterized as embracing the pleasures of the material world, requiring the ritual use of mantras to destroy karma. Gough, however, argues that asceticism and Tantra should not be viewed in opposition to one another. She does so by showing that Jains perform “tantric” rituals of initiation and meditation on mantras and maṇḍalas. Jainism includes kinds of tantric practices, Gough provocatively argues, because tantric practices are a logical extension of the ascetic path to liberation.