The authors of the Devī-Bhāgavata Purāna endeavored to demonstrate the superiority of the Devī over competing masculine deities, and to articulate in new ways the manifold nature of the Goddess. Brown's book sets out to examine how the Purana pursues these ends. The Devī-Bhāgavata employs many ancient myths and motifs from older masculine theologies, incorporating them into a thoroughly "feminized" theological framework. The text also seeks to supplant older "masculine" canonical authorities. Part I of Brown's study explores these strategies by focusing on the Purana's self-conscious endeavor to supersede the famous VaisBhagavata Purana. The Devī-Bhāgavata also re-envisions older mythological traditions about the Goddess, especially those in the first great Sanskritic glorification of the Goddess, the Devi-Mahatmya. Brown shows in Part II how this re-envisioning process transforms the Devī from a primarily martial and erotic goddess into the World-Mother of infinite compassion. Part III examines the Devi Gita, the philosophical climax of the Purana modeled upon the Bhagavad Gita. The Devi Gita, while affirming that ultimate reality is the divine Mother, avows that her highest form as consciousness encompasses all gender, thereby suggesting the final triumph of the Goddess. It is not simply that She is superior to the male gods, but rather that She transcends Her own sexuality without denying it.
This book provides a translation, with introduction, commentary, and annotation, of the medieval Hindu Sanskrit text the Devi Gita (Song of the Goddess). It is an important but not well-known text from the rich SAakta (Goddess) tradition of India. The Devi Gita was composed about the fifteenth century C.E., in partial imitation of the famous Bhagavad Gita (Song of the Lord), composed some fifteen centuries earlier. Around the sixth century C.E., following the rise of several male deities to prominence, a new theistic movement began in which the supreme being was envisioned as female, known as the Great Goddess (Maha-Devi). Appearing first as a violent and blood-loving deity, this Goddess gradually evolved into a more benign figure, a compassionate World-Mother and bestower of salvific wisdom. It is in this beneficent mode that the Goddess appears in the Devi Gita. This work makes available an up-to-date translation of the Devi Gita, along with a historical and theological analysis of the text. The book is divided into sections of verses, and each section is followed by a comment explaining key terms, concepts, ritual procedures, and mythic themes. The comments also offer comparisons with related schools of thought, indicate parallel texts and textual sources of verses in the Devi Gita, and briefly elucidate the historical and religious background, supplementing the remarks of the introduction.
Providing new insights into the contemporary creationist-evolution debates, this book looks at the Hindu cultural-religious traditions of India, the Hindu Dharma traditions. By focusing on the interaction of religion and science in a Hindu context, it offers a global context for understanding contemporary creationist-evolution conflicts and tensions utilizing a critical analysis of Hindu perspectives on these issues. The cultural and political as well as theological nature of these conflicts is illustrated by drawing attention to parallels with contemporary Islamic and Buddhist responses to modern science and Darwinism. The book explores various ancient and classical Hindu models to explain the origin of the universe encompassing creationist as well as evolutionary—but non-Darwinian—interpretations of how we came to be. Complex schemes of cosmic evolution were developed, alongside creationist proofs for the existence of God utilizing distinctly Hindu versions of the design argument. After examining diverse elements of the Hindu Dharmic traditions that laid the groundwork for an ambivalent response to Darwinism when it first became known in India, the book highlights the significance of the colonial context. Analysing critically the question of compatibility between traditional Dharmic theories of knowledge and the epistemological assumptions underlying contemporary scientific methodology, the book raises broad questions regarding the frequently alleged harmony of Hinduism, the eternal Dharma, with modern science, and with Darwinian evolution in particular.
Doctor Stephen Forshaw belonged to one of London's oldest and wealthiest families. We learn that one day Doctor Forshaw simply vanished into thin air. Only to be followed one year later by his sons, Robert, Angus and Toby. No motive or clue to their disappearances was ever discovered by the Police and their bodies were never found. Despite this, the authorities secretly believed that all four were dead and were certain that it was only a matter of time before their bodies were discovered............. Almost ten years to the day Stephen was discovered missing, a boy matching Toby's description reappears at a disused farm in Hertfordshire. The boy has no memory of where he has been and doesn't even know his name. The Boy cannot understand why he hasn't aged one day in nearly a decade. He is only aware that his life is in grave danger.......
OUT OF DARKNESS is a showcase for a range of stories from a variety of authors. Escape from reality and plunge into a dark world where ghosts reside, the grim reaper takes form, children are taunted by witches, something dangerous lurks in a pit and more... Just remember one thing...don't be scared of the dark, it won't hurt you. Or will it?
OUT OF DARKNESS is a showcase for a range of short stories from a variety of new authors. Escape from reality and plunge into a dark world where ghosts reside, the grim reaper takes form, children are taunted by witches, something dangerous lurks in a pit and more... Just remember one thing...don't be scared of the dark, it won't hurt you. Or will it?
Renowned criminologist Delbert Walsh has spent five long years searching for his only son during the political upheaval of 1970's Liverpool. Walsh believes boys have been disappearing from the area for over twenty years, but the lack of a single clue has driven the retired policeman to flirt with alcoholism. Carol Blake and her three male friends find their lives in danger when they become acquainted with Walsh, as the net closes in on the perpetrator.
LOVE IS IN THE AIR is a showcase for a range of authors of romantic short stories. Some of the short stories featured in this anthology are related to Valentine's Day. This day instils fear in some and they will do anything to escape the dreaded cupid. Others are thrust into the world of romance by forces they cannot control, and some reminisce about times gone by. The range of romantic stories continues with the way a marriage is tested, how a difference in culture can bring people together over a simple meal, and how an inscription on a bench reminds people of a love two people shared. All in all, a wonderful collection to read at your leisure whilst travelling to work, waiting for a friend or unwinding after a busy day. Dip into our world of short stories...
In this anthology of contemporary eco-literature, the editors have gathered an ensemble of a hundred emerging, mid-career, and established Indigenous writers from Polynesia, Melanesia, Micronesia, and the global Pacific diaspora. This book itself is an ecological form with rhizomatic roots and blossoming branches. Within these pages, the reader will encounter a wild garden of genres, including poetry, chant, short fiction, novel excerpts, creative nonfiction, visual texts, and even a dramatic play—all written in multilingual offerings of English, Pacific languages, pidgin, and translation. Seven main themes emerge: “Creation Stories and Genealogies,” “Ocean and Waterscapes,” “Land and Islands,” “Flowers, Plants, and Trees,” “Animals and More-than-Human Species,” “Climate Change,” and “Environmental Justice.” This aesthetic diversity embodies the beautiful bio-diversity of the Pacific itself. The urgent voices in this book call us to attention—to action!—at a time of great need. Pacific ecologies and the lives of Pacific Islanders are currently under existential threat due to the legacy of environmental imperialism and the ongoing impacts of climate change. While Pacific writers celebrate the beauty and cultural symbolism of the ocean, islands, trees, and flowers, they also bravely address the frightening realities of rising sea levels, animal extinction, nuclear radiation, military contamination, and pandemics. Indigenous Pacific Islander Eco-Literatures reminds us that we are not alone; we are always in relation and always ecological. Humans, other species, and nature are interrelated; land and water are central concepts of identity and genealogy; and Earth is the sacred source of all life, and thus should be treated with love and care. With this book as a trusted companion, we are inspired and empowered to reconnect with the world as we navigate towards a precarious yet hopeful future.
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