Becoming Vaishnava in an Ideal Vedic City centers on a growing multinational community of ISKCON (International Society for Krishna Consciousness) devotees in Mayapur, West Bengal. While ISKCON’s history is often presented in terms of an Indian guru ‘transplanting’ Indian spirituality to the West, this book focusses on the efforts to bring ISKCON back to India. Paying particular attention to devotees’ failure to consistently live up to ISKCON’s ideals and the ongoing struggle to realize the utopian vision of an ‘ideal Vedic city’, this book argues that the anthropology of ethics must account for how moral systems accommodate the problem of moral failure.

Religion in decline in an age of progress -- Untidy realms -- A Swadeshi Chaitanya -- Recovering Bishnupriya's loss -- Utopia and a birthplace.

Little has so far been written on the "Prataparudradeva, the last great suryavamsi king of Orissa". For the first time in this work attempt has been made to throw new light on this field and thereby filling up a very major gap in the study of Orissan History. Salient Features (i) This illuminating volume leads to fascinating revelations about the life and activities of the great king Prataparudradeva. (ii) It constitutes a unique asset in understanding how Prataparudradeva who more or less through out his life had a fight and fight against adversaries from the North from the South and from the West with both Hindu and Muslim powers and proved himself as a great emperor of Orissa. Not only did he show his persistence to fight out the enemy but also in diplomatic skill he was found well conversant. (iii) In the field of religion his contribution was on less. He was a respector of all the religions and was tolerant to all religious sect. The most remarkable event in the field of religion during his rule was steady growth of Oriya Vaishnavism as well as Goudiya Vaishnavism under his patronage. (iv) Economic life of Orissa received new turn during his rule. He allowed the Portuguese trades to establish a settlement at Pipli in Balasore District (Orissa). The industries of Orissa got a boost because of the Portuguese demand. (v) He himself was a poet and great patronised of literature. His court was adorned with galaxy of very important poets. In his region the contributions of Panchasakha to the Oriya Literature paved the way for further prosperity in later period. The Panchasakha’s also initiated a reformist movement which sought to remove social barriers and minimized the existing social problem of inequality between man and man. (vi) He was strong and efficient administrator. The key note of his administrative system was to bring peace and prosperity of the people. (vii) If people suffered from the baneful effect of natural calamities life famine and draught he war alert to do his best for welfare of the suffering mass. Hope this book from a variety of stand points will be popular for the scholars, students and the public.

Includes examples of Jarigan and related songs in original Bengali, with transliterations, English translations, and musical notations.

A free ebook version of this title is available through Luminos, University of California Press’s new open access publishing program for monographs. Visit www.luminosoa.org to learn more. Hindu devotional traditions have long been recognized for their sacred geographies as well as the sensuous aspects of their devotees' experiences. Largely overlooked, however, are the subtle links between these religious expressions. Based on intensive fieldwork conducted among worshippers in Bengal’s Navadvip-Mayapur sacred complex, this book discusses the diverse and contrasting ways in which Bengal-Vaishnava devotees experience sacred geography and divinity. Sukanya Sarbadhikary documents an extensive range of practices, which draw on the interactions of mind, body, and viscera. She shows how perspectives on religion, embodiment, affect, and space are enriched when sacred spatialities of internal and external forms are studied at once.

First published in 2000. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

The Bengali (Bangla) speaking people are located in the northeastern part of South Asia, particularly in Bangladesh and two states of India – West Bengal and Tripura. There are almost 246 million Bengalis at present, which makes them the fifth largest speech community in the world. Despite political and social divisions, they share a common literary and musical culture and several habits of daily existence which impart to them a distinct identity. The Bengalis are known for their political consciousness and cultural accomplishments The Historical Dictionary of the Bengalis provides an overview of the Bengalis across the world from the earliest Chalcolithic cultures to the present. This is done through a chronology, an introductory essay, and an extensive bibliography. The dictionary section has over 750 cross-referenced dictionary entries on politicians, educators and entrepreneurs, leaders of religious and secular institutions, writers, painters, actors and other cultural figures, and more generally, on the economy, education, political parties, religions, women and minorities, literature, art and architecture, music, cinema and other major sectors. This book is an excellent access point for students, researchers, and anyone wanting to know more about the Bengalis.