This carefully crafted ebook: "Buddhism & Hinduism Premium Collection: The Light of Asia + The Essence of Buddhism + The Song Celestial (Bhagavad-Gita) + Hindu Literature + Indian Poetry (Unabridged)" is formatted for your eReader with a functional and detailed table of contents. Table of Contents: The Light of Asia The Song Celestial or Bhagavad-Gita (from the Mahb́hŕata) The Essence of Buddhism Hindu Literature: Comprising The Book of good counsels, Nala and Damayanti Indian Poetry: The Indian Song of Songs (Hymn to Vishnu -11 Sargas) Miscellaneous Oriental Poems: The Rajpoot Wife King Saladin The Caliph's Draught Hindoo Funeral Song Song of the Serpent-charmers Song of the Flour-mill Taza ba Taza The Mussulman Paradise Dedication of a Poem From the Sanskrit The Rajah's Ride Two Books From The Iliad Of India "The Great Journey." "The Entry Into Heaven." "Night of Slaughter." The Morning Prayer. Proverbial Wisdom From the Shlokas of the Hitopadesa ... Edwin Arnold (1832-1904) was an English poet and journalist. The literary task which he set before him was the interpretation in English verse of the life and philosophy of the East. The Light of Asia, subtitled The Great Renunciation, is in a form of a narrative poem. The book endeavors to describe the life and time of Prince Gautama Siddhartha, who after attaining enlightenment became The Buddha, The Awakened One. The book presents his life, character, and philosophy, in a series of verses. It is a free adaptation of the Lalitavistara. A few decades before the book's publication, very little was known outside Asia about the Buddha and Buddhism, the religion which he founded, and which had existed for about twenty-five centuries. Arnold's book was one of the first successful attempts to popularize Buddhism for a Western readership. The Bhagavad Gita is a 700-verse Hindu scripture in Sanskrit that is part of the Hindu epic Mahabharata.

Edwin Arnold's 'Buddhism & Hinduism Premium Collection' is a remarkable literary compilation that delves deeply into the spiritual and religious aspects of Buddhism and Hinduism. This collection includes 'The Light of Asia,' a poetic retelling of the life of Buddha, written in a captivating and lyrical style that immerses readers in the spiritual journey of the enlightened one. The inclusion of 'The Essence of Buddhism' and 'The Song Celestial (Bhagavad-Gita)' provides a comprehensive overview of the key tenets and teachings of both religions, making this collection an indispensable resource for students of religious studies and spiritual seekers alike. Arnold's exploration of Indian poetry and Hindu literature further enriches the reader's understanding of these ancient traditions, presenting a wealth of sacred writings and spiritual poems that showcase the profound wisdom of the East.

When Agni, having entered the waters, burned, where the (gods) who uphold the order (of the universe) rendered homage (to Agni), there, they say, is thy origin on high: do thou feel for us, and spare us, O takman!

As a world religion, Hinduism remains one of the most elusive for many. Its teachings, beliefs, practices, and history are reviewed here by an expert hoping to introduce readers to the world of Hinduism. While there are many forms of Hinduism, and offshoots as well, the complex nature of this faith makes it elusive to many. This straightforward overview, focusing on Vaishnavism-the most common form of Hinduism—is ideal for those who wish to learn more about this ancient tradition.. Beginning with chapters about the foundations of Hinduism, Rosen clearly lays out what is otherwise a complicated history. Providing Hindu terms alongside English translations, he is able to bring the faith alive for readers unacquainted with its varieties and its tenets. Moving on to chapters about practices, including festivals, teachings, chanting, eating habits and more, Rosen brings Hinduism to life in vivid detail.

Harvard psychologist and philosopher William James' The Varieties of Religious Experience: A Study in Human Nature explores the nature of religion and, in James' observation, its divorce from science when studied academically. After publication in 1902 it quickly became a canonical text of philosophy and psychology, remaining in print through the entire century. "Scientific theories are organically conditioned just as much as religious emotions are; and if we only knew the facts intimately enough, we should doubtless see 'the liver' determining the dicta of the sturdy atheist as decisively as it does those of the Methodist under conviction anxious about his soul. When it alters in one way the blood that percolates it, we get the Methodist, when in another way, we get the atheist form of mind."

An extensive examination of the underpinnings of the Shaivite Tradition • Reveals the influence of Shaivism on the Western world • Discusses Shaivism’s understanding of sacred sexuality • Presents the connections between Vedic poetry and metaphysics In Shiva and the Primordial Tradition, Alain Daniélou explores the relationship between Shaivism and the Western world. Shaivite philosophy does not oppose theology, cosmology, and science because it recognizes that their common aim is to seek to understand and explain the nature of the world. In the Western world, the idea of bridging the divide between science and religion is just beginning to touch the edges of mainstream thought. This rare collection of the late author’s writings contains several never-before-published articles and offers an in-depth look at the many facets of the Samkhya, the cosmologic doctrines of the Shaivite tradition. Daniélou provides important revelations on subjects such as the science of dreams, the role of poetry and sexuality in the sacred, the personality of the great Shankara, and the Shaivite influence on the Scythians and the Parthians (and by extension, the Hellenic world in general). Providing a convincing argument in favor of the polytheistic approach, he explains that monotheism is merely the deification of individualism--the separation of humanity from nature--and that by acknowledging the sacred in everything, we can recognize the imprint of the primordial tradition.

A story-book from the Sanscrit at least possesses the minor merit of novelty. The "perfect language" has been hitherto regarded as the province of scholars, and few of these even have found time or taste to search its treasures. And yet among them is the key to the heart of modern India—as well as the splendid record of her ancient Gods and glories. The hope of Hindostan lies in the intelligent interest of England. Whatever avails to dissipate misconceptions between them, and to enlarge their intimacy, is a gain to both peoples; and to this end the present volume aspires, in an humble degree, to contribute. The "Hitopadeśa" is a work of high antiquity, and extended popularity. The prose is doubtless as old as our own era; but the intercalated verses and proverbs compose a selection from writings of an age extremely remote. The "Mahabharata" and the textual Veds are of those quoted; to the first of which Professor M. Williams (in his admirable edition of the "Nala," 1860) assigns a date of 350 B.C., while he claims for the "Rig-Veda" an antiquity as high as B.C. 1300. The "Hitopadeśa" may thus be fairly styled "The Father of all Fables"; for from its numerous translations have come Æsop and Pilpay, and in later days Reineke Fuchs. Originally compiled in Sanscrit, it was rendered, by order of Nushiraván, in the sixth century, A.D., into Persic. From the Persic it passed, A.D. 850, into the Arabic, and thence into Hebrew and Greek. In its own land it obtained as wide a circulation. The Emperor Acbar, impressed with the wisdom of its maxims and the ingenuity of its apologues, commended the work of translating it to his own Vizir, Abdul Fazel. That minister accordingly put the book into a familiar style, and published it with explanations, under the title of the "Criterion of Wisdom." The Emperor had also suggested the abridgment of the long series of shlokes which here and there interrupt the narrative, and the Vizir found this advice sound, and followed it, like the present Translator. To this day, in India, the "Hitopadeśa," under other names (as the "Anvári Suhaili"), retains the delighted attention of young and old, and has some representative in all the Indian vernaculars. A work so well esteemed in the East cannot be unwelcome to Western readers, who receive it here, a condensed but faithful transcript of sense and manner.

The Life of a Text offers a vivid portrait of one community's interaction with its favorite text—the epic Ramcaritmanas—and the way in which performances of the epic function as a flexible and evolving medium for cultural expression. Anthropologists, historians of religion, and readers interested in the culture of North India and the performance arts will find breadth of subject, careful scholarship, and engaging presentation in this unique and beautifully illustrated examination of Hindi culture. The most popular and influential text of Hindi-speaking North India, the epic Ramcaritmanas is a sixteenth century retelling of the Ramayana story by the poet Tulsidas. This masterpiece of pre-modern Hindi literature has always reached its largely illiterate audiences primarily through oral performance including ceremonial recitation, folksinging, oral exegesis, and theatrical representation. Drawing on fieldwork in Banaras, Lutgendorf breaks new ground by capturing the range of performance techniques in vivid detail and tracing the impact of the epic in its contemporary cultural context.

The nautanki performances of northern India entertain their audiences with often ribald and profane stories. Rooted in the peasant society of pre-modern India, this theater vibrates with lively dancing, pulsating drumbeats, and full-throated singing. In Grounds for Play, Kathryn Hansen draws on field research to describe the different elements of nautanki performance: music, dance, poetry, popular story lines, and written texts. She traces the social history of the form and explores the play of meanings within nautanki narratives, focusing on the ways important social issues such as political authority, community identity, and gender differences are represented in these narratives. Unlike other styles of Indian theater, the nautanki does not draw on the pan-Indian religious epics such as the Ramayana or the Mahabharata for its subjects. Indeed, their storylines tend to center on the vicissitudes of stranded heroines in the throes of melodramatic romance. Whereas nautanki performers were once much in demand, live performances now are rare and nautanki increasingly reaches its audiences through electronic media—records, cassettes, films, television. In spite of this change, the theater form still functions as an effective conduit in the cultural flow that connects urban centers and the hinterland in an ongoing process of exchange.