Sudhir Kakar's Books

Mad and Divine

Spirit and Psyche in the Modern World

By: Sudhir Kakar

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Mad and Divine

Spirit and Psyche in the Modern World

By: Sudhir Kakar

Sudhir Kakar, India’s foremost practitioner of psychoanalysis, has focused his career on infusing this preeminently Western discipline with ideas and views from the East. In Mad and Divine, he takes on the separation of the spirit and the body favored by psychoanalysts, cautioning that a single-minded focus on the physical denies a person’s wholeness. Similarly, Kakar argues, to focus on the spirit alone is to hold in contempt the body that makes us human. Mad and Divine looks at the interplay between spirit and psyche and the moments of creativity and transformation that occur when the spirit overcomes desire and narcissism. Kakar examines this relationship in religious rituals and healing traditions— both Eastern and Western—as well as in the lives of some extraordinary men: the mystic and guru Rajneesh, Gandhi, and the Buddhist saint Drukpa Kunley. Enriched with a novelist’s felicity of language and an analyst’s piercing insights and startling interpretations, Mad and Divine is a valuable addition to the literature on the integration of the spirit and psyche in the evolving psychology of the individual.

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188

Publisher

University of Chicago Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0226422879

ISBN 13

9780226422879

Ecstasy

By: Sudhir Kakar

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Ecstasy

By: Sudhir Kakar

Ram Das Baba, as his devotees call him, is the son of a devout Brahmin family. He spends a lifetime seeking spiritual knowledge and his journey is filled with illuminating visions, severe tribulations, and an unwavering faith. His destiny as a highly evolved Sadhu is fulfilled through ordeals of monastic bliss, tantric awakening, madness, and transexuality. But as his life nears its end he meets a young man who belongs to a very different India and a profound relationship develops.

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Page Count

150

Publisher

Abrams

Published Date

ISBN 10

1468307770

ISBN 13

9781468307771

A Book of Memory

Confessions and Reflections

By: Sudhir Kakar

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A Book of Memory

Confessions and Reflections

By: Sudhir Kakar

Sudhir Kakar, India’s most celebrated psychoanalyst, an inspired observer of the Indian psyche and a distinguished novelist, was born in 1938 in Nainital. He spent his childhood in the many provincial towns of undivided Punjab, where his father was a magistrate in the colonial government. In a personal memoir that is woven into the loop of larger life-histories—of a nation and a people—Kakar paints a sensuously detailed portrait of an Indian childhood while reflecting on the complexities of family life. Abandoning a successful career at the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, Kakar trained as a psychoanalyst at the Sigmund Freud Institute, Frankfurt, and set up a clinic in Delhi in 1975. His simultaneous engagement in research, writing and clinical practice led him to embark on a lifelong search for the wellsprings of Indian identity and to establish the new discipline of cultural psychology. In keeping with Kakar’s belief in the primacy of desire, this memoir grapples with not only crises of identity and intellect, but also the ecstasies and vicissitudes of erotic pleasure and love. A Book of Memory is fearless and revelatory with regard to the self and its motivations, a rare candour illuminating the urbane prose. An elegant meditation on memory and desire

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318

Publisher

Viking Penguin

Published Date

ISBN 10

0670084115

ISBN 13

9780670084111

The Colors of Violence

Cultural Identities, Religion, and Conflict

By: Sudhir Kakar

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The Colors of Violence

Cultural Identities, Religion, and Conflict

By: Sudhir Kakar

For decades India has been intermittently tormented by brutal outbursts of religious violence, thrusting thousands of ordinary Hindus and Muslims into bloody conflict. In this provocative work, psychoanalyst Sudhir Kakar exposes the psychological roots of Hindu-Muslim violence and examines with grace and intensity the subjective experience of religious hatred in his native land. With honesty, insight, and unsparing self-reflection, Kakar confronts the profoundly enigmatic relations that link individual egos to cultural moralities and religious violence. His innovative psychological approach offers a framework for understanding the kind of ethnic-religious conflict that has so vexed social scientists in India and throughout the world. Through riveting case studies, Kakar explores cultural stereotypes, religious antagonisms, ethnocentric histories, and episodic violence to trace the development of both Hindu and Muslim psyches. He argues that in early childhood the social identity of every Indian is grounded in traditional religious identifications and communalism. Together these bring about deep-set psychological anxieties and animosities toward the other. For Hindus and Muslims alike, violence becomes morally acceptable when communally and religiously sanctioned. As the changing pressures of modernization and secularism in a multicultural society grate at this entrenched communalism, and as each group vies for power, ethnic-religious conflicts ignite. The Colors of Violence speaks with eloquence and urgency to anyone concerned with the postmodern clash of religious and cultural identities.

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232

Publisher

University of Chicago Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

022624928X

ISBN 13

9780226249285

Shamans, Mystics and Doctors

A Psychological Inquiry Into India and Its Healing Traditions

By: Sudhir Kakar

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Shamans, Mystics and Doctors

A Psychological Inquiry Into India and Its Healing Traditions

By: Sudhir Kakar

Sudhir Kakar, a psychoanalyst and scholar, brilliantly illuminates the ancient healing traditions of India embodied in the rituals of shamans, the teachings of gurus, and the precepts of the school of medicine known as Ayurveda. "With extraordinary sympathy, open-mindedness, and insight Sudhir Kakar has drawn from both his Eastern and Western backgrounds to show how the gulf that divides native healer from Western psychiatrist can be spanned."—Rosemary Dinnage, New York Review of Books "Each chapter describes the geographical and cultural context within which the healers work, their unique approach to healing mental illness, and . . . the philosophical and religious underpinnings of their theories compared with psychoanalytical theory."—Choice

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317

Publisher

University of Chicago Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0226422798

ISBN 13

9780226422794

Death and Dying

By: Sudhir Kakar

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Death and Dying

By: Sudhir Kakar

Billions have died in the thousands of years since human beings first developed language, but we do not have a single credible account of the subjective experience of dying and the afterlife. This is why death continues to be an immense mystery and a subject of eternal fascination. In Death and Dying, scholars and intellectuals illumine the major issues raised by the inevitable ending to life. The range is wide: from the dread that accompanies all notions of mortality to the objective evidence for the existence of an afterlife; from an exploration of the spiritual dimensions of mourning to analyses of how death was perceived and interpreted by geniuses like John Keats, Rabindranath Tagore and Carl Jung. Utterly compelling, these essays prompt us to question our fears and notions of death while enabling us to perceive this phenomenon with greater understanding and intelligence.

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Page Count

280

Publisher

Penguin UK

Published Date

ISBN 10

9351187977

ISBN 13

9789351187974

The Analyst and the Mystic

Psychoanalytic Reflections on Religion and Mysticism

By: Sudhir Kakar

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The Analyst and the Mystic

Psychoanalytic Reflections on Religion and Mysticism

By: Sudhir Kakar

Kakar goes beyond the traditional psychoanalytic interpretation of Ramakrishna's mystical visions and practices. He clarifies their contribution to the psychic transformation of a mystic and offers fresh insight into the relation between sexuality and ecstatic mysticism. Through a comparison of the healing techniques of the mystical guru and those of the analyst, Kakar highlights the difference in their healing objectives and reveals the positive psychological aspects of the religious experience.

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University of Chicago Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0226422836

ISBN 13

9780226422831

Culture and Psyche

Selected Essays

By: Sudhir Kakar

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Culture and Psyche

Selected Essays

By: Sudhir Kakar

In these essays renowned psychoanalyst Sudhir Kakar uses diverse sources, including case studies, Indian myths and legends, and fiction, to analyse various facets of Indian identity. He explores the Indian psyche through a cultural and psychoanalytical investigation of ideas concerning identity and sexuality. The second edition updates the role of culture in psychoanalytical thoughts, and includes discussions on culture and psychoanalysis, rumours and riots, and the psychology of Islamist terrorism. Culture and Psyche will appeal equally to scholars of social psychology, cultural studies, anthropology, and sociology, as well as general readers interested in the psychology of Indian imagination.

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Page Count

215

Publisher

Oxford University Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0199087997

ISBN 13

9780199087990

The Seeker

A Novel

By: Sudhir Kakar

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The Seeker

A Novel

By: Sudhir Kakar

It is 1925 and India’s struggle for independence is in disarray, impeded by factionalism among its leaders and rising incidents of unrest across the country. Meanwhile, having withdrawn himself from active politics, Mahatma Gandhi is in an ashram immersed in what he considers the most important undertaking of his life—the creation of a community that is wholly dedicated to the highest standards of self-discipline, tolerance, and austerity. Into this world comes a young British woman named Madeline, the daughter of a British admiral. Madeline has set her heart on becoming Gandhi’s greatest disciple. Madeline’s wish to serve him soon becomes an all-consuming desire to be near him at all times. Because her adoration of the great teacher is in direct conflict with his exacting moral and spiritual codes, Gandhi struggles with wanting to distance himself from her, yet wanting not to let go of her love and friendship. Using words preserved in their letters and diaries, and drawing on the reminiscences of others, the author has created a compelling fictional narrative based on the extraordinary friendship that lasted over two decades between these two people. To learn more about the author, Sudhir Kakar, go to www.sudhirkakar.com.

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Page Count

271

Publisher

Shambhala Publications

Published Date

ISBN 10

1590305256

ISBN 13

9781590305256

The Colors of Violence

Cultural Identities, Religion, and Conflict

By: Sudhir Kakar

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The Colors of Violence

Cultural Identities, Religion, and Conflict

By: Sudhir Kakar

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240

Publisher

University of Chicago Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0226422852

ISBN 13

9780226422855

Shamans, Mystics, and Doctors

A Psychological Inquiry into India and Its Healing Traditions

By: Sudhir Kakar

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Shamans, Mystics, and Doctors

A Psychological Inquiry into India and Its Healing Traditions

By: Sudhir Kakar

Shamans, Mystics and Doctors is a detailed and thoroughly fascinating account of the many ways in which the ancient healing traditions of India—embodied in the rituals of shamans, the teachings of gurus and the precepts of the school of medicine known as Ayurveda—diagnose and treat emotional disorder. Drawing on three years of intensive fieldwork and his own psychoanalytic training and experience, Sudhir Kakar takes us into a world of Islamic mosques and Hindu temples, of assembled multitudes, and dingy, out-of-the-way consultation rooms… a world where patients and healers blame evil spirits for emotional disturbances… where dreams and symptoms that would be familiar to Freud are interpreted in terms of a myriad of deities and legends… where trance-like “dissociation states” are induced to bring out and resolve the conflicts of repressed anger, lust and envy… where proper grooming, diet, exercise and conduct are (and have been for centuries) seen as essential to the preservation of a healthy mind and body. As he witnesses the practitioners and their patients, as he elucidates the therapeutic systems on which their encounters are based, as he contrasts his own Western training and biases with evidence of his eyes (and the sympathies of his heart), Kakar reveals the universal concerns of these individuals and their admittedly foreign cultures—people we can recognize and feel for, people (like their Western counterparts) trying to find some balance between the pressures and rewards of the external world and the fantasies and desires of the internal. This is a major work of cultural interpretation, a book that challenges (and should enhance) our understanding of therapy, mental health and individual freedom.

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Page Count

393

Publisher

Knopf

Published Date

ISBN 10

0307831795

ISBN 13

9780307831798

Indian Identity

By: Sudhir Kakar

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Indian Identity

By: Sudhir Kakar

As A Commentator On The Worlds Of Love And Hate , India S Foremost Psychoanalyst Sudhir Kakar Has Isolated The Ambivalence, Peculiarly Indian, To Matters As Various And Connected As Sex, Spirituality And Communal Passions. In Intimate Relations, The First Of The Well-Known Books In This Edition, He Explores The Nature Of Sexuality In India, Its Politics And Its Language Of Emotions. The Analyst And The Mystic Points Out The Similarities Between Psychoanalysis And Religious Healing, And The Colours Of Violence Is His Erudite Enquiry Into The Mixed Emotions Of Rage And Desire That Inflame Communalism.

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Page Count

703

Publisher

Penguin UK

Published Date

ISBN 10

8184750730

ISBN 13

9788184750737

Young Tagore

The Makings Of A Genius

By: Sudhir Kakar

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Young Tagore

The Makings Of A Genius

By: Sudhir Kakar

A seamless blend of intelligent analysis with real empathy, Young Tagore is a firstofitskind psychobiography that deepens our understanding of Rabindranath Tagore. By carefully reconstructing the crucial years of Tagore’s childhood and youth, preeminent psychoanalyst Sudhir Kakar examines the young prodigy’s formative experiences and unravels how they shaped his creative genius. In laying bare the inner workings of Tagore’s brilliance, Kakar reveals the real man behind the luminary.

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249

Publisher

Penguin UK

Published Date

ISBN 10

9351182916

ISBN 13

9789351182917

The Kipling File

By: Sudhir Kakar

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The Kipling File

By: Sudhir Kakar

In the cultural hub of 1880s' Lahore Kay Robinson has taken over as editor of the Civil and Military Gazette. Assisting him is the young and impressionable Rudyard Kipling, a lonely, impulsive man who dreams of becoming a writer. Kipling's literary pursuits have been dismissed as fanciful and foolish by his previous boss. But Robinson is different. He encourages the young 'Ruddy', allowing him greater creative freedom at the Gazette. As he becomes Ruddy's friend and confidant, Robinson gains access to intimate glimpses of the Kipling family, where he is smitten by Ruddy's sister Trix. Narrated by Robinson, The Kipling File is a moving story of doomed friendship and difficult love recounted against the powerful backdrop of Anglo-Indian life in a Punjab that has begun to stir with anti-colonial sentiment. Through his eyes unfold the turmoils that shaped the author of beloved classics like The Jungle Book and Kim. In Sudhir Kakar's luminous prose, Kipling emerges as a man of compelling contradictions-a mercurial genius whose immense talent was in pitched battle with his inner demons.

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Page Count

196

Publisher

Penguin Random House India Private Limited

Published Date

ISBN 10

9353051932

ISBN 13

9789353051938

Mad and Divine

Spirit and Psyche in the Modern World

By: Sudhir Kakar

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Mad and Divine

Spirit and Psyche in the Modern World

By: Sudhir Kakar

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Page Count

188

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University of Chicago Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0226422879

ISBN 13

9780226422879

Culture and Psyche

Selected Essays

By: Sudhir Kakar

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Culture and Psyche

Selected Essays

By: Sudhir Kakar

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215

Publisher

Oxford University Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0199087997

ISBN 13

9780199087990

The Indian Psyche

By: Sudhir Kakar

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The Indian Psyche

By: Sudhir Kakar

This Volume Comprises Sudhir Kakar`S Three Most Significant Books. Also Included Is An Autobiographical Essay In Which Kakar Traces The Roots Of His Passion For Psychoanalysis.

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Page Count

814

Published Date

ISBN 10

0195640608

ISBN 13

9780195640601

The Crimson Throne

By: Sudhir Kakar

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The Crimson Throne

By: Sudhir Kakar

Three decades into Emperor Shah Jahan's reign, while the monarch indulges in the pleasures of the flesh to divert himself from the travails of his ageing body, the country is bracing itself for the brutal-and inevitable-war of succession to the Peacock Throne. At this time of tumult, European travellers Niccolao Manucci and Francois Bernier arrive in India, and find their way into the innermost circles of the royals. While Manucci revels in his new-found fame as miracle healer to princesses and concubines, and Bernier records his cerebral interactions with the Omrah in the imperial court, they conjure up an enthralling panorama of an empire in crisis. Little escapes their discerning eye-fabled cities now spinning into decay; harems rife with gossip, lust and venereal afflictions; wily courtiers whose hearts breed malice even as they enjoy the luxuries of privilege; the tenuous ties that bind Hindu subjects to their Muslim rulers. And, most of all, the chief contenders to the throne of Hindustan: Dara Shikoh, the charismatic heir apparent with a predilection for diverse spiritual beliefs, and his younger brother, the austere Aurangzeb, self-proclaimed defender of the true Faith. Set amid the grandeur and intrigue of seventeenth-century India, The Crimson Throne masterfully probes the continuities of imperial expansion and a splintered Islam. Eloquent, richly imagined, riveting, it reaffirms Sudhir Kakar's acclaimed craftsmanship.

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Page Count

262

Publisher

Penguin Books India

Published Date

ISBN 10

0670084107

ISBN 13

9780670084104

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