The Origins of Yoga and Tantra: Indic Religions to the Thirteenth CenturyYoga, tantra and other forms of Asian meditation are practised in modernized forms throughout the world today, but most introductions to Hinduism or Buddhism tell only part of the story of how they developed. This book is an interpretation of the history of Indic religions up to around 1200 CE, with particular focus on the development of yogic and tantric traditions. It assesses how much we really know about this period, and asks what sense we can make of the evolution of yogic and tantric practices, which were to become such central and important features of the Indic religious scene. Its originality lies in seeking to understand these traditions in terms of the total social and religious context of South Asian society during this period, including the religious practices of the general population with their close engagement with family, gender, economic life and other pragmatic concerns. |
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User Review - pbjwelch - LibraryThingLet me start with two negatives, which explain the 4 (rather than 5) star rating: First of all, the academic practise of inserting credits to authors mid-sentence is immensely irritating, and this is ... Read full review
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User Review - kukulaj - LibraryThingSamuel is an anthropologist and his book discusses the social and cultural contexts through which yoga and tantra developed, from roughly 400 BCE up to 1200 CE. So he doesn't go into deep meanings of ... Read full review
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The Origins of Yoga and Tantra: Indic Religions to the Thirteenth Century Geoffrey Samuel No preview available - 2008 |
The Origins of Yoga and Tantra: Indic Religions to the Thirteenth Century Geoffrey Samuel No preview available - 2008 |
Common terms and phrases
areas Aryan ascetic Asian associated Atharvaveda Bhairava body Brahmanical Bronkhorst Buddha Buddhist Buddhist and Jaina Central Gangetic region centre century BCE Chapter Chinese complex context cult cultural dating defined deities difficult Dynasty earlier evidence female fierce figures find fire first goddess groups Gupta Hindu Hinduism identified imagery important Indian Indic religions Indo-Aryan Indo-Aryan languages Indus Valley influence Jain Jaina Jainism K¯alacakra kind king kingship ks.atriya Kuru-Pa˜nc¯ala region later liberating insight Magadha Mah¯abh¯arata Mah¯ay¯ana male man.d.ala meditation modern monastic Olivelle one’s origins P¯a´supatas Pali Canon Parpola Pata˜njali perhaps period practitioners R.gveda R¯am¯ayan.a reflect religious renunciate ritual role s¯utras sacrifice Saiva Saivite Samuel Sanderson Sanskrit sexual practices shamanic significant Siva social society South Asia South India Southeast Asia specific spiritual sraman.a st¯upa suggests Tantra Tantric Tantric practice techniques texts textual Tibet Tibetan tradition transgressive Upanis.ads urban village vr¯atyas Witzel yaks.a yoga yogic
Bibliographic information
| Title | The Origins of Yoga and Tantra: Indic Religions to the Thirteenth Century |
| Author | Geoffrey Samuel |
| Publisher | Cambridge University Press, 2008 |
| ISBN | 1139470213, 9781139470216 |
| Subjects | › › History / Asia / General Religion / Buddhism / General Religion / General |
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