Living Mantra

Mantra, Deity, and Visionary Experience Today
2019
ISBN: 978-3-030-07184-4
Verlag: Springer International Publishing

Buch, Englisch, 215 Seiten, Previously published in hardcover, Format (B × H): 148 mm x 210 mm, Gewicht: 311 g

Reihe: Contemporary Anthropology of Religion

Living Mantra is an anthropology of mantra-experience among Hindu-tantric practitioners. In ancient Indian doctrine and legends, mantras perceived by rishis (seers) invoke deities and have transformative powers. Adopting a methodology that combines scholarship and practice, Mani Rao discovers a continuing tradition of visionaries (rishis/seers) and revelations in south India’s Andhra-Telangana. Both deeply researched and replete with fascinating narratives, the book  reformulates the poetics of mantra-practice as it probes practical questions. Can one know if a vision is real or imagined? Is vision visual? Are deity-visions mediated by culture? If mantras are effective, what is the role of devotion? Are mantras language? Living Mantra interrogates not only theoretical questions, but also those a practitioner would ask: how does one choose a deity, for example, or what might bind one to a guru? Rao breaks fresh ground in redirecting attention to the moments that precede systematization and canon-formation, showing how authoritative sources are formed.    

Zielgruppe

Research

Autoren/Hrsg.

Rao, Mani

Fachgebiete

• Sozialwissenschaften Soziologie | Soziale Arbeit Spezielle Soziologie Religionssoziologie
• Geisteswissenschaften Religionswissenschaft Hinduismus
• Sozialwissenschaften Ethnologie | Volkskunde Ethnologie Ethnographie
• Geisteswissenschaften Religionswissenschaft Religionswissenschaft Allgemein Religionssoziologie und -psychologie, Spiritualität, Mystik

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Part 1: Preparation.- 1. Introduction.- 2. A Mountain of Scholarship.- 3. Crossing Over.- 4. Are there Revelations Today? - Part 2: Fieldwork.-  5. Body-Yantra: Sahasrakshi Meru Temple, Devipuram.- 6. Self-Made: Svayam Siddha Kali Pitham, Guntur.- 7. "I am in Mantra, Mantra is in me": Nachiketa Tapovan, Kodgal.- Part 3.- 8. Understanding Mantra Again.

Über Autor(innen)

Mani Rao, PhD, is a poet and independent scholar. She has nine poetry books and two books in translation from Sanskrit including The Bhagavad Gita and Kalidasa for the 21 Century Reader. See manirao.com for links and updates.