Ritual Worship of the Great Goddess

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Publisher : State University of New York Press
ISBN 13 : 0791488446
Total Pages : 434 pages
Book Rating : 4.7/5 (914 download)

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Book Synopsis Ritual Worship of the Great Goddess by : Hillary Rodrigues

Download or read book Ritual Worship of the Great Goddess written by Hillary Rodrigues and published by State University of New York Press. This book was released on 2012-02-01 with total page 434 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: During a nine-day period every autumn, Hindus in India and throughout the world worship the Great Goddess, Durgā--the formidable deity who is loved like a mother. One of the most dramatic and popular of these celebrations is the Durgā Pūjā, a rite noted for its visual pageantry, ritual complexity, and communal participation. In this book, Hillary Peter Rodrigues describes the Bengali style of Durgā Pūjā practiced in the sacred city of Banaras from beginning to end. A romanization of the Sanskrit litany is included along with an English translation. In addition to the liturgical description, Rodrigues provides information on the rite's component elements and mythic aspects. There are interpretive sections on puja, the Great Goddess, women's roles in the ritual, and the socio-cultural functions of the ritual. Rodrigues maintains that the Durgā Pūjā is a rite of cosmic rejuvenation, of empowerment at both the personal and social levels, and a rite that orchestrates manifestations of the feminine, both Divine and human.

Nine Nights of the Goddess

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Publisher : SUNY Press
ISBN 13 : 143847069X
Total Pages : 376 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (384 download)

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Book Synopsis Nine Nights of the Goddess by : Caleb Simmons

Download or read book Nine Nights of the Goddess written by Caleb Simmons and published by SUNY Press. This book was released on 2018-08-01 with total page 376 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Explores the contemporary nature and the diverse narratives, rituals, and performances of the Navar?tri festival. Nine Nights of the Goddess explores the festival of Navarātri—alternatively called Navarātra, Mahānavamī, Durgā Pūjā, Dasarā, and/or Dassain—which lasts for nine nights and ends with a celebration called Vijayadaśamī, or "the tenth (day) of victory." Celebrated in both massive public venues and in small, private domestic spaces, Navarātri is one of the most important and ubiquitous festivals in South Asia and wherever South Asians have settled. These festivals share many elements, including the goddess, royal power, the killing of demons, and the worship of young girls and married women, but their interpretation and performance vary widely. This interdisciplinary collection of essays investigates Navarātri in its many manifestations and across historical periods, including celebrations in West Bengal, Odisha, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, and Nepal. Collectively, the essays consider the role of the festival's contextual specificity and continental ubiquity as a central component for understanding South Asian religious life, as well as how it shapes and is shaped by political patronage, economic development, and social status.

Practicing the Presence of the Goddess

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Publisher : New World Library
ISBN 13 : 1608681351
Total Pages : 161 pages
Book Rating : 4.6/5 (86 download)

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Book Synopsis Practicing the Presence of the Goddess by : Barbara Ardinger

Download or read book Practicing the Presence of the Goddess written by Barbara Ardinger and published by New World Library. This book was released on 2011-12-21 with total page 161 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: More women than ever are incorporating some kind of spiritual practice into their daily lives, and not always in traditional religious form, but as alternative or hybrid practices. In Practicing the Presence of the Goddess, Barbara Ardinger offers a wide variety of meditations and personal rituals to help women honor the feminine spirit and commune with the Goddess. These include creating a sacred space at home, building a meaningful altar, using ritual and meditation to enrich awareness, and inventing new rituals to celebrate personal events. The author's wry, gentle humor and loving attitude shine through the text, which offers possibilities ranging from bringing love into one's life to having a heart-to-heart with the Goddess.

Goddesses And Women In The Indic Religious Tradition

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Publisher : BRILL
ISBN 13 : 9004124667
Total Pages : 183 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (41 download)

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Book Synopsis Goddesses And Women In The Indic Religious Tradition by : Arvind Sharma

Download or read book Goddesses And Women In The Indic Religious Tradition written by Arvind Sharma and published by BRILL. This book was released on 2005 with total page 183 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Following the lead of a "hermeneutics of surprise" the book identifies, indeed, surprising new material, and offers unexpected new insights essential to the debate on the position of goddesses and women in ancient India.

Devi

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Publisher : Mapin
ISBN 13 : 9781890206161
Total Pages : 372 pages
Book Rating : 4.2/5 (61 download)

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Book Synopsis Devi by : Vidya Dehejia

Download or read book Devi written by Vidya Dehejia and published by Mapin. This book was released on 1999-04-01 with total page 372 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Devi, the Great Goddess of India is beautiful, beneficent, terrifying, all-powerful, and glorious. Ubiquitous in India's social and spiritual fabric, she has, over the millennia, been painted, sculpted, carved, and wrought from silver and bronze in a myriad of shapes and forms. Devi: The Great Goddess brings together one hundred and twenty of these diverse examples of Devi and a group of distinguished essayists who explore facets of Devi worship and tradition, including ritual, architecture, literature, history and contemporary issues such as feminism and gender politics. From a terra-cotta goddess figurine dating to 100 B.C. to "At the Hub of Things" (1987), a monumental contemporary sculpture by Anish Kapoor, to twentieth-century folk art figurines, the beauty and diversity of the art of the Great Goddess showcased here testify to her continual and powerful presence in the life of India. "India is a land of stories, " asserts Thomas Coburn, author of "The Threefold Vision of the Devi Mahatmya, " the principle sacred text devoted to worship of the Great Goddess. A land of stories, vibrant history, and extraordinary art, India is home to Devi, the Great Goddess, celebrated in this volume with stories, poems, scholarship, and lavish illustrations. The book will appeal to readers compelled by the exploration and interpretation of the art, religion, and history of India.

The Goddess

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Publisher : Reaktion Books
ISBN 13 : 1780235380
Total Pages : 224 pages
Book Rating : 4.7/5 (82 download)

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Book Synopsis The Goddess by : David Leeming

Download or read book The Goddess written by David Leeming and published by Reaktion Books. This book was released on 2016-03-15 with total page 224 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: For as long as we have sought god, we have found the goddess. Ruling over the imaginations of humankind’s earliest agricultural civilizations, she played a critical spiritual role as a keeper of nature’s fertile powers and an assurance of the next sustaining harvest. In The Goddess, David Leeming and Christopher Fee take us all the way back into prehistory, tracing the goddess across vast spans of time to tell the epic story of the transformation of belief and what it says about who we are. Leeming and Fee use the goddess to gaze into the lives and souls of the people who worshipped her. They chart the development of traditional Western gender roles through an understanding of the transformation of concepts of the Goddess from her earliest roots in India and Iran to her more familiar faces in Ireland and Iceland. They examine the subordination of the goddess to the god as human civilizations became mobile and began to look upon masculine deities for assurances of survival in movement and battle. And they show how, despite this history, the goddess has remained alive in our spiritual imaginations, in figures such as the Christian Virgin Mother and, in contemporary times, the new-age resurrection of figures such as Gaia. The Goddess explores this central aspect of ancient spiritual thought as a window into human history and the deepest roots of our beliefs.

Magic and the Power of the Goddess

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Publisher : Destiny Books
ISBN 13 : 9781594772351
Total Pages : 224 pages
Book Rating : 4.7/5 (723 download)

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Book Synopsis Magic and the Power of the Goddess by : Gareth Knight

Download or read book Magic and the Power of the Goddess written by Gareth Knight and published by Destiny Books. This book was released on 2008-03-27 with total page 224 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A manual of magical and mystical techniques for contacting the Goddess within • Draws from two thousand years of source material to demonstrate the ongoing reality of the feminine power and its relevance for today • Includes rituals, exercises, and techniques for evoking the Goddess • Explains how the dynamics of the sacred or magic circle serve as a guide to living harmoniously In this wide-ranging view of magic and ritual, Gareth Knight demonstrates the presence of the Goddess throughout Western esoteric traditions. From Greek myths and the Mysteries of Isis to the emergence of the cult of the Blessed Virgin and seventeenth-century Rosicrucian spiritual alchemy, he shows how the Goddess--the elemental consciousness of Earth--has revealed herself in different times and places. Honoring her many guises, Knight explores the powers of the Goddess as maiden, mother, initiator, protector, sorceress, and faery queen. Guided meditations on each of these qualities lead the practitioner into direct contact with the potent healing energy of the Divine Feminine. The author also offers rituals, exercises, and other practical tools for integrating the Western magical tradition with worship of the Goddess. He shows how we, and our planet, have suffered due to the repression of the feminine principle. For our own health, and that of our environment as well, we must recognize the power of the Goddess within to reconstitute and guide our existence.

Guests at God's Wedding

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Publisher : SUNY Press
ISBN 13 : 9780791465950
Total Pages : 262 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (659 download)

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Book Synopsis Guests at God's Wedding by : Tracy Pintchman

Download or read book Guests at God's Wedding written by Tracy Pintchman and published by SUNY Press. This book was released on 2005-08-25 with total page 262 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A fascinating look at women’s rituals honoring the god Krishna.

At the Feet of the Goddess

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Publisher :
ISBN 13 : 9788187138716
Total Pages : 242 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (387 download)

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Book Synopsis At the Feet of the Goddess by : Lynn Foulston

Download or read book At the Feet of the Goddess written by Lynn Foulston and published by . This book was released on 2003 with total page 242 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Nowhere is the feminine dimension of the divine more omnipresent, vibrant and alive than in Hinduism. Lynn Foulston's work stands out through its great attention to local details relating to their diverse locations, their rich phenomenology, here documented by new visual evidence, their presence and power in people's lives, and the joyous celebration of their existence and influence through numerous rituals and festivities. It is a joy to read this book, and it is a challenge to ponder its evidence, for many of its nuanced observation and conclusions raise questions about earlier goddess research and invite us to new evaluation of the significance of dynamic goddess beliefs and practices in Indian culture . Professor Ursula King university of Bristol. Huddled under trees, at the edge of a water tank or at the center of a busting settlement, the divine feminine in the form of local goddesses pervades and characterizes local Hindu religion. Found in a variety than the lofty orthodox goddess, supply the daily spiritual sustenance that keeps heart and soul together for the mass of the Hindu population. At the feet of the Goddess: the divine feminine in local Hindu religion is an investigation of local Hinduism. It embraces ritual, worship and iconography, rather than philosophy and metaphysics, in two communities. In each of these sites, as is common within many local worship is based in ritual and grounded in tradition that may not be fully comprehended by its adherents, it is female deities that predominate. Although local worship is based on ritual and grounded in tradition that may not be fully comprehended by its adherents, it is also partly based in, and is a reflection of, a more complex metaphysical undercurrent. Local goddesses, in particular, while representing anthropomorphized figures for the majority of their devotes, are concurrently the personifications of the abstract concept of sakti-female energy. This book, which contains colour plate illustrations of temple shrines and goddess, is a major event in the study of goddess belief and practice India.

Making Virtuous Daughters and Wives

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Publisher : State University of New York Press
ISBN 13 : 0791487652
Total Pages : 145 pages
Book Rating : 4.7/5 (914 download)

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Book Synopsis Making Virtuous Daughters and Wives by : June McDaniel

Download or read book Making Virtuous Daughters and Wives written by June McDaniel and published by State University of New York Press. This book was released on 2012-02-01 with total page 145 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Exploring the folk religion of India and the role of girls and women within it, author June McDaniel focuses on the brata (vrata) ritual in which moral lessons are taught and goddesses are revealed. Bratas are performed to gain such goals as a healthy family, a good husband, and a happy life. They are also performed so that the performers (bratinis) develop such virtues as devotion, humility, and compassion.This book presents data from fieldwork, along with brata stories, songs, poems, and ritual activities. It discusses Bengali folk religion, offers an example of ritual worship in folk Hinduism, and surveys a variety of bratas. The author analyzes the similarities and differences among these rituals in low-caste village life and in high-caste Hindu tradition, and notes that the development of these rituals involves a form of continuing divine revelation with women as the primary transmitters. Bratas act to maintain traditional Hindu values, but also emphasize the power of women, whose virtues can save their husbands from hell worlds and their families from disasters.

The Cosmic Play of Power

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Publisher : Motilal Banarsidass
ISBN 13 : 8120835425
Total Pages : 494 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (28 download)

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Book Synopsis The Cosmic Play of Power by : Sanjukta Gupta

Download or read book The Cosmic Play of Power written by Sanjukta Gupta and published by Motilal Banarsidass. This book was released on 2013-01-01 with total page 494 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In Hindu theology, Divine Power is conceived as a divine woman-the Goddess. Sometimes she is wholly autonomous and sometimes she is the divine spouse of the creator God, Siva or Visnu. She is also held to be the evolving material source of every created phenomenon. Religious texts like Puranas and Tantras have thoroughly investigated the mysterious nature of the Cosmic Goddess. Tantra as a religious practice endeavoured to show how through ritual and Yoga one may achieve the realization of the mystery of the Supreme Goddess. Authors in Sanskrit and modern Indian languages have poured out their ecstatic devotion to the Goddess. She is close to the heart of the passionate devotee, who adores her as mother or daughter - a mortal emotional bond with the divine so peculiar to Hindus. She is also sovereign Power a little part of which reigning royalties covet to possess in order to be good rulers. AS the divine woman she is represented in all women. Therefore women should be holding a high position amongst Hindus. But the question is, do they? In spite of the obvious contrary evidence, women do succeed in carving out a very important position in Hindu religious practices by having their alternative religious rituals highly valued by Hindu women have a very complex interrelationship. The book focuses on the great cosmic Goddess and her ritual worship, Tantric theology and praxis in a wider sense, the attitude of her devotees towards her authority and the social character of the Tantric practitioners, and the position of Bhakti. It also figures out the position of women inside the Tantric and non-Tantric Hindu religious milieu. The Goddess symbolizes the supreme divine authority that activates the creation, protection and governance and necessary dissolution of the world in accordance with the ancient Indian concept of cyclical time. But She also discharges the divine sovereign privilege of punishing evil-doers and rewarding true devotees. Finally, the relevant forms of the Cosmic Goddess in this book are Sri/Tripurasundari/ Lalita; Goddess Kali and Her various emanations; and Laksmi and Her powers in the Pancaratra canonical texts.

Entranced by the Goddess

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Publisher : Heart of Albion Press
ISBN 13 : 9781905646081
Total Pages : 205 pages
Book Rating : 4.6/5 (46 download)

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Book Synopsis Entranced by the Goddess by : Sudha Chandola

Download or read book Entranced by the Goddess written by Sudha Chandola and published by Heart of Albion Press. This book was released on 2007 with total page 205 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Mother Goddess has been worshiped in India for at least three thousand years. Although often known as 'Mata' or 'Devi', she is also known by a myriad of names, with every village having its own local manifestation. Her devotees have established a rich tradition of ritual, lore and song. However few English-speaking people know the details of Indian goddess worship. Dr Chandola combines her north Indian origins with her training in anthropology to provide a unique insight into the millennia-old beliefs, lore, songs, pilgrimages and rituals. Even within India few people have direct experience of the trance rituals associated with goddess worship. During these seemingly-impossible acts are accomplished, such as licking red-hot metal without causing injury. Dr Chandola attended several of these trance rituals and provides a dramatic account of licking a red-hot metal ladle without harm. Some aspects of traditional Indian goddess worship have been known about in the West for over 200 years. Indeed, in a very confused way, this knowledge underlies modern pagans' veneration of a Great Goddess. Some modern pagans also seek trance states - although few, if any, with the dramatic consequences of these north Indian traditions! The final section of the book looks at how these traditional beliefs are adapting in the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries, both within Indian and among international Hindu communities. Entranced by the Goddess is essential reading for all those interested in Hinduism - both traditional and modern-day - or goddess worship - whether Indian or Western.

The Goddess Path

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Publisher : Llewellyn Worldwide
ISBN 13 : 9781567184679
Total Pages : 294 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (846 download)

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Book Synopsis The Goddess Path by : Patricia Monaghan

Download or read book The Goddess Path written by Patricia Monaghan and published by Llewellyn Worldwide. This book was released on 1999 with total page 294 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Now you can find more meaning and joy in your life, journey inward, find the divine, and become transformed, when you read The Goddess Path by Patricia Monaghan. The Goddess Path can be your guide to speed you on your spiritual quest. Think of this book as a signpost on your spiritual travels, designed to help you nurture your own connection to the goddess and share in her boundless wisdom. Call her into your life with beautiful and ancient invocations. Create your own rituals to honor the lessons she has to teach. As you ponder life-changing questions and venture on brave new experiments, you fan the divine spark into flame--and, in that fire, you are transformed. The Goddess Path includes myths, symbols, feast days, ancient invocations, and suggestions for connecting with the following goddesses for these purposes and more: Amaterasu for clarity Aphrodite for passion Artemis for protection Athena for strength Brigid for survival The Cailleach for power Demeter and Persephone for initiation Gaia for abundance Hathor for affection Hera for dignity Inanna for inner strength Isis for restorative love Kali for freedom Kuan-Yin for mercy The Maenads for ecstasy The Muses for inspiration Oshun for healing love Paivatar for release Pomona for joy Asule and Saules Meita for family health In The Goddess Path, Monaghan presents a means to work with the goddess, using ancient and modern techniques that will thrill and amaze you.

Goddess Traditions in Tantric Hinduism

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Author :
Publisher : Routledge
ISBN 13 : 1317585224
Total Pages : 186 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (175 download)

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Book Synopsis Goddess Traditions in Tantric Hinduism by : Bjarne Wernicke Olesen

Download or read book Goddess Traditions in Tantric Hinduism written by Bjarne Wernicke Olesen and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2015-09-16 with total page 186 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Hinduism cannot be understood without the Great Goddess and the goddess-orientated Śākta traditions. The Goddess pervades Hinduism at all levels, from aniconic village deities to high-caste pan-Hindu goddesses to esoteric, tantric goddesses. Nevertheless, the highly influential tantric forms of South Asian goddess worship have only recently begun to draw scholarly attention. This book addresses the increasing interest in the Great Goddess and the tantric traditions of India by exploring the history, doctrine and practices of the Śākta tantric traditions. The highly influential tantric forms of South Asian goddess worship form a major part of what is known as ‘Śāktism’, and is often considered one of the major branches of Hinduism next to Śaivism, Vaiṣṇavism and Smārtism. Śāktism is, however, less clearly defined than the other major branches, and the book looks at the texts of the Śākta traditions that constitute the primary sources for gaining insights into the Śākta religious imaginative, ritual practices and history. It provides an historical exploration of distinctive Indian ways of imagining God as Goddess, and surveys the important origins and developments within Śākta history, practice and doctrine in its diversity. Bringing together contributions from some of the foremost scholars in the field of tantric studies, the book provides a platform for the continued research into Hindu goddesses, yoga, and tantra for those interested in understanding the religion and culture in South Asia.

Goddess Spirituality Book

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Author :
Publisher : Daughters of Moon Pub.
ISBN 13 : 9781880130063
Total Pages : 196 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (3 download)

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Book Synopsis Goddess Spirituality Book by : Ffiona Morgan

Download or read book Goddess Spirituality Book written by Ffiona Morgan and published by Daughters of Moon Pub.. This book was released on 1995 with total page 196 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Seeking Mahadevi

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Publisher : SUNY Press
ISBN 13 : 9780791450079
Total Pages : 272 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (5 download)

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Book Synopsis Seeking Mahadevi by : Tracy Pintchman

Download or read book Seeking Mahadevi written by Tracy Pintchman and published by SUNY Press. This book was released on 2001-06-21 with total page 272 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Explores the identity of the Hindu Great Goddess and how it relates to the many goddesses worshipped in India.

The Great Goddess

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Publisher : Inner Traditions / Bear & Co
ISBN 13 : 9780892817153
Total Pages : 274 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (171 download)

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Book Synopsis The Great Goddess by : Jean Markale

Download or read book The Great Goddess written by Jean Markale and published by Inner Traditions / Bear & Co. This book was released on 1999-09 with total page 274 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Patriarchal societies forced the preeminent power of the feminine into an obscure and subservient position, yet the Great Goddess did not simply disappear when her position was usurped. This book provides evidence of the extraordinary permanence of her worship--even at the heart of those religions that tried to destroy her.