Specification:
- Publisher : Indica Books
- By : Stefano De Santis
- Cover : Hardcover
- Edition : 1 January 1995
- Pages : 485
- Weight : 500 gm.
- Size : 8.7 x 5.9 x 0.9 inches
- Language : English
- ISBN-10 : 8186117040
- ISBN-13 : 978-8186117040
- Product Code: BK14210
Description:
The present work is an important contribution towards understanding the cultural environment in which the corrupts of man and nature were conceived in ancient India. This study has two principal objectives:
1. To provide to the intellectuals presently involved in the search for a new “ecological” ethics a set of information regarding the traditional Indian conceptions of man and nature.
2. To review the philosophical values on which Hinduism is based from a viewpoint which in has intense intellectual and emotional resonance in the understanding of the present generation of university students.
Since the author explains the ancient ideas from a perspective which has contemporary relevance, the book has the rare virtue of presenting the Hindu philosophical systems in a style which is clearly intelligible even for neophytes. At the same time his scholastic review of esoteric topics like the “Psychology of Samkhya” a and the “Cosmology of Shaivism” makes the book a significant reading also for authorities on Indology.
About Author:
Stefano De Santis was born in Rome in the year 1957. By profession a cultural anthropologist, he has worked in India for more than five years as a development consultant for projects which aim at preserving the cultural and natural heritage while improving the economic standard of the people. “At a certain point of my life I realized that I could not understand the cultural values of Indian tradition without a deep study of the Hindu philosophical schools.” So for five years he left his anthropological fieldwork in the rural areas and went to study at Banaras. There he took his second doctorate at the Banaras Hindu University with a research on “The Relationship Between Man and Nature”. He also directed the documentary film “Into Our Nature”, produced by SociecoS for the Indian Television, which was telecast in different countries and made his field of research popular to a wider international audience.
Specification:
- Publisher : Indica Books
- By : Bithika Mukerji
- Cover : Paperback
- Edition : July 4, 2005
- Pages : 366
- Weight : 450 gm.
- Size : 8.2 x 5.4 x 0.9 inches
- Language : Hindi
- ISBN-13 : 978-8186569559
- ISBN-10 : 8186569553
- Product Code : BK14209
Description:
She would say in humility, l am a little girl only, I have not been educated at all ”, but I have heard the effervescence of Veda-Vedanta pouring forth from her divine lips.”
— Mahamandaleswar 1008 Sri Vidyanandaji Maharaj, Kailash Ashram, Rishikesh
For a span of more than fifty years Sri Ma Anandamayi dominated gracefully the spiritual horizon of India. The keepers of the Vedic heritage — the ascetics orders of India — were united in declaring her the quintessence of the Upanishadic Spirit. Eminent philosophers like Mahendra N. Sarkar and T.M.P. Mahadevan acknowledged her utterances as authoritative.
Much has been written about Sri Ma by erudite scholars as well as ordinary men and women. The present book is a lively and engaging account of Sri Ma’s enigmatic personality from the point of view of a single devoted family. It is an intimate and moving study of personal commitments. Yet through the author’s perspective an emerging modern society is glimpsed where orthodox rites, political upheavals, social changes create the shifting patterns of a kaleidoscope. Sri Ma and her entourage of visiting dignitaries, princes, scholars, village women and children, and renowned ascetics assume a three-dimensional image. According to Richard Lannoy, who has written the Foreword, the book is a valliant attempt at closing the distance between the known and the unfathomable.
“Trained in the highest rigours of academic discipline in renowned universities of India and Canada, Bithika Mukerji, being very close to Anandamayi Ma from early childhood, was able to observe from near rare dimensions of a surpassingly beautiful spiritual being. Her reminiscences of her days with the Mother consequently, have an authenticity, charm and insight difficult to come by.”
— Manas Mukul Das, Professor of English, University of Allahabad
Specification:
- Publisher : Indica Books
- By : Kāśīnātha Nyaupāne
- Cover : Paperback
- Edition : 1994
- Pages : 160
- Weight : 500 gm.
- Size :
- Language : Hindi
- ISBN-13 : 9788186117002
- Product Code : BK14208
Description:
Specification:
- Publisher : Indica Books
- By : Divyabandhu
- Cover : Paperback
- Edition : 2016
- Pages : 331
- Weight : 500 gm.
- Size :
- Language : English
- ISBN-13 : 978-8186117248
- ISBN-10 : 8186117245
- Product Code: BK14207
Description:
Specification:
- Publisher : Indica Books
- By : Agustin Lopez Tobajas
- Cover : Paperback
- Edition : January 1, 2008
- Pages : 117
- Weight : 150 gm.
- Size : 6.8 x 4.8 x 0.3 inches
- Language : English
- ISBN-10 : 8186569782
- ISBN-13 : 978-8186569788
- Product Code : BK14206
Description:
Born with the Industrial Revolution, the idea of “Progress” is a basic dogma in the ideology of modernity. Despising old religions as superstitions, worship of material “progress” has become the new religion of the world. But, behind its bright face, so-called “progress” and what came in its wake has thrust humanity into the core of a deep crisis. Science and technology continuously devise new ways of destruction that keep the world in a state of permanent danger; economic development condemns whole countries to utter poverty; art has renounced any search for meaning; ecologic catastrophes are a matter of routine; violence increases everywhere and human beings feel a growing dissatisfaction and emptiness in their lives. Where then is progress?
The nature of a manifesto is to create a direct impact on the reader by ushering in clear and forceful ideas without diluting them with secondary considerations. The author presents here a strong case to dismiss so-called progress and to cut asunder the allurement that it still may have for many of us. In this short but incisive, discerning, sarcastic, caustic, radical and uncompromising text, the author searches for the real face of modernity and progress behind its gleaming make-up and dares to declare for all that would hear that “the king is naked”. His judgement is clear-cut and categorical: from the spiritual point of view, which sees man as God-bound, so-called “progress” is an unmitigated disaster.
Specification:
- Publisher : Indica Books
- By : Kamalakar Mishra
- Cover : Paperback
- Edition : 2011
- Pages : 203
- Weight : 750 gm.
- Size : 8.9 x 5.8 x 1.3 inches
- Language : English
- ISBN-10 : 938112003X
- ISBN-13 : 978-9381120033
- Product Code : BK14205
Description:
Dr. Mishra’s comprehensive book is learned without being tedious; philosophical without being intellectually arid; and readable without being banal. Above all, it preserves the aroma of spiritual practice that is fundamental to the Pratyabhijna tradition. Anyone interested in the metaphysics of spiritual practice or in Yoga and Tantrism will read this book with immense profit.
— Georg Feuerstein, Ph.D.
(Author of Encyclopaedic Dictionary of Yoga)
In this work Mishra discusses the central themes woven throughout the whole of the Tantric system, making it accessible, practical, and inspiring as a means to self-realization. This book would be excellent reading for students of the Tantric tradition and philosophy.
— NAPRA Trade Journal Thorough exposition of the Tantric system. A full exploration of Kashmir Shaivism’s history and the special significance of Abhinavagupta whose brilliant and encyclopedic works established Kashmir Shaivism as an important philosophical school. Extensively referenced with notes to the text for source data or detailed elaboration. — Hinduism Today
A brilliant exposition of Tantric tradition. . . . Mishra profoundly explains a system which allows us to fully integrate spiritual inquiry and practice with the mundane goals of physical enjoyment [and] worldly involvement. For spiritual seekers of any sort, with a true interest in understanding the nature of Tantra... this book will finally provide true insight into the ways and means of Tantric philosophy.
— New Age Retailer
About Author:
Kamalakar Mishra, Ph.D., is a retired professor of the Department of Philosophy and Religion at Banaras Hindu University in Varanasi, India. He is also the author of The Significance of the Tantric Tradition.
Specification:
- Publisher : Indica Books
- By : Kashinath Nyaupane
- Cover : Paperback
- Edition : April 1, 2013
- Pages : 263
- Weight : 300 gm.
- Size :
- Language : English
- ISBN-10 : 8186117172
- ISBN-13 : 978-8186117170
- Product Code : BK14204
Description:
Specification:
- Publisher : Indica Books
- By : Gopinath Kaviraj
- Cover : Paperback
- Edition : July 1, 2014
- Pages : 103
- Weight : 150 gm.
- Size : 8.5 x 5.5 x 0.4 inches
- Language : English
- ISBN-10 : 8186117210
- ISBN-13 : 978-8186117217
- Product Code : BK14203
Description:
Jnanaganja is an oft-searched state indicated by all great yogis appeared on this earth. It is hard to find out and perceived by the ordinary eyes. The third or creative eye can have the eternal beauty of this place located somewhere in Himalayan valley assembled by all seers, sages and ascetics including one who has attained the supreme consciousness. This place truly exists and all spiritually enlightened yogis still remain there, known by yogis moving around in their mortal bodies. Only a yogi can tell us about this mystic place. And it was Pandit Gopinath Kaviraj who has written about for the first time about this place. Jnanaganja is appearing here for the first time in English. Gautam Chatterjee, great grandson of Pandit Ishwarchandra Vidyasagar is a poet and philosopher. Author of White Shadow of Consciousness, Gautam has translated the complete Tantraloka by Abhinavagupta for the first time in English. This book is translated from original Bengali for the first time.
Specification:
- Publisher : Indica Books
- By : Kashinath Nyaupane
- Cover : Paperback
- Edition : October 1, 2012
- Pages : 112
- Weight : 120 gm.
- Size : 6.9 x 4.7 x 0.3 inches
- Language : English
- ISBN-13 : 978-8186117118
ISBN-10 : 8186117113 - Product Code : BK14200
Description:
Specification:
- Publisher : Indica Books
- By : Pancham Singh
- Cover : Paperback
- Edition : October 1, 2012
- Pages : 112
- Weight : 120 gm.
- Size : 6.9 x 4.7 x 0.3 inches
- Language : English
- ISBN-10 : 8186117156
- ISBN-13 : 978-8186117156
- Product Code : BK14199
Description:
The Hatha Yoga Pradipika is an important text in which the essentials of yoga is explained. It explains in clear terms the asanas, pranayama, mudras, and the samadhi which are essential in the practice of yoga. It describes the stages and the correct methods for practising yoga. Hatha Yoga Pradipika attempts to reconcile the raja-yoga of Patanjali with hatha-yoga. Hatha is considered to be made up of syllables ha, meaning the moon and tha meaning the sun. It corresponds to the breath which flows through the left and the right nostrils. Hatha-yoga is the preliminary step and ends of raja-yoga consciously or unconsciously. The Shaivagama urges not to give up the practice of asana and pranayama in order to keep the body beautiful and healthy. It also discusses deep philosophy underlying the yoga. It is also a manual of instructions for the students of yoga.
The importance of this text for teacher and student of yoga alike cannot be overestimated as this treatise is of immense practical value. The present work contains the original Sanskrit text and its translation into English along with an Introduction.
Specification:
- Publisher : Indica Books
- By : I.P. Meera Grimes
- Cover : Paperback
- Edition : January 1, 2008
- Pages : 184
- Weight : 180 gm.
- Size : 8.3 x 5.4 x 0.5 inches
- Language : English
- ISBN-13 : 978-8186569764
- ISBN-10 : 8186569766
- Product Code : BK14198
Description:
Harikatha (lit. stories of the Lord) is the exposition of a religious theme, usually the life of a saint or a story from one of India’s scriptural texts. Its purpose is to spread devotion to the Divine. Harikatha is a composite art containing story-telling, poetry, music, drama, dance, and philosophy. Any story about God, or scriptural incidents, or about saints, who are the living exemplars for the existence of God, is an appropriate subject matter for Harikatha.
The greatness of Harikatha lies in the fact that it provides one of the easiest; if not the easiest path to attaining lasting happiness and peace. Listening to stories about Divinity and divine individuals subtly makes the mind attached to, and permeated by Divinity. As one continues to listen to the stories of the Divine, one becomes pure in thought, word, and deed. As well, it cultivates one’s power of concentration and drives away doubt from a wavering mind. Not only does a katha please its listener, as other fine arts do, but it also comforts the mind and elevates the soul of the listener. Thus, as it entertains, it enlightens.
About Author:
Meera Grimes (also known as Balameera Chandra) is well known in India for her Harikatha performances. She is one of the leading artists in this field, an artist of the Music Academy, Air India Radio, and Television. At the age of twelve Meera gave her first public Harikatha performance on Saint Dhruva (Dhruvacaritra) and since then has been presenting kathas around the world, both in Tamil and in English. Meera is also a Bharata Natyam dancer and teacher.
Specification:7
- Publisher : Indica Books
- By : Nyaupane Kashinath
- Cover : Hardcover
- Edition : December 1, 2012
- Pages : 191
- Weight : 450 gm.
- Size : 8.7 x 5.8 x 0.9 inches
- Language : English
- ISBN-13 : 978-8186117101
- ISBN-10 : 8186117105
- Product Code : BK1419
Description:
Specification:
- Publisher : Indica Books
- By : Arvind Sharma
- Cover : Paperback
- Edition : December 31, 2007
- Pages : 170
- Weight : 240 gm.
- Size : 8.5 x 5.5 x 0.4 inches
- Language : English
- ISBN-13 : 978-8186569696
- ISBN-10 : 8186569693
- Product Code : BK14196
Description:
Godesses and Women in the Indic Religious Tradition goes beyond the traditional sources that lie at the basis for determining the position of goddesses and women in India. Following the lead of a “hermeneutics of surprise” the book identifies, indeed, surprising new material — and conclusions; for example the analysis of Vedic Shrauta ritual. Or by offering surprising conclusions, when the location is obviously one involving women and goddesses, or anthropology discovers that the worship of the Great Goddess temporarily elevates the position of women. Other examples of the effectivity of the “hermeneutics of surprise” are seen when applied to the role of dakinis, Shakti worship, the Marathi Sant tradition, and to Shankara’s commentaries.
About Author:
Arvind Sharma, Ph.D. (1978) in Sanskrit and Indian Studies, Harvard University, is Birks Professor of Comparative Religion in the Faculty of Religious Studies at McGill University, Montreal, Canada. He has edited several volumes on the position of women in the world’s religions.
Specification:
- Publisher : Indica Books
- By : Translated by Rai Bahadur Srisa Chandra Vasu
- Cover : Paperback
- Edition : January 9, 2012
- Pages : 111
- Weight : 300 gm.
- Size : 6.9 x 4.7 x 0.4 inches
- Language : English
- ISBN-13 : 978-8186117149
- ISBN-10 : 8186117148
- Product Code : BK14195
Description:
Hatha-yoga is one of the most important forms of yoga in which attempt is made to attain concentration or samadhi by purification of the body and physical exercises. The Tantrik Sanskrit text Gheranda Samhita, which is in the form of dialogue between the sage Gheranda and on inquirer Chanda Kapali, teaches yoga under heads or sadhanas. The book, containing three hundred and fifty verses, is divided into seven chapters, in each of which are given the directions for the purification of the body, asanas or postures, mudras, pratyahara, pranayama, dhyana, and samadhi. The present translation of the Gheranda Samhita from original Sanskrit into English is an important contribution to the literature on yoga and should be of great use to those interested in the subject.
Specification:
- Publisher : Indica Books
- By : Jagmohan Mahajan
- Cover : Paperback
- Edition : January 1, 2003
- Pages : 152
- Weight : 300 gm.
- Size : 8.3 x 5.5 x 0.4 inches
- Language : English
- ISBN-10 : 8186569405
- ISBN-13 : 978-8186569405
- Product Code : BK14194
Description:
The Ganga occupies an unrivalled position among the rivers of the world. No other river is so closely identified with a country as the Ganga is with India. Nor has any river elsewhere in the world influenced to a greater extent the life of the country through which it flows. Cities and pilgrimage centres teeming with temples and shrines have sprung up all along its course — milestones in the history of the land and the growth of Indian civilization. The Gangetic plain has indeed been the pole towards which the political, economic and religious life of the country has gravitated.
It is little wonder, therefore, that the river should have caught the imagination of the multitude of foreign visitors to the country through the ages. Travellers of different nationalities and religions visiting India from abroad could not but take note of the Ganga. They have left fascinating accounts of the river scene observed for over two millenia. The information provided by them is vast and varied, and we find detailed and delightful descriptions of customs and ceremonies, periodical fairs and festivals, flora and fauna and the picturesque spots and pilgrimage centres which they came across in the course of their travels along the Ganga.
Besides exhaustive extracts from the foreign travellers’ accounts included in this anthology, the book is also illustrated with some of the fascinating sketches of the river scene made by the landscape artists among them as they went up and down the river.
About Author:
Jagmohan Mahajan has been engaged in a study of the Ganga for the last several years. He is the author of The Ganga Trail: Foreign Accounts and Sketches of the River Scene and the text of the illustrated The Eternal Ganga, besides several articles in various well-known magazines and newspapers in India and abroad. His other main interest is the work of British landscape artists in India. He has written extensively on this subject, and his publications include Picturesque India: Sketches and Travels of Thomas and William Daniell; The Raj Landscape: British Views of ndian Cities; The Grand Indian Tour. Travels and Sketches of Emily Eden, Annexation of the Punjab; and Splendid Plumage: Indian Birds by British Artists.
Specification:
- Publisher : Indica Books
- By : Atmananda, Ram Alexander (Editor)
- Edition : 2004
- Pages : 570
- Weight : 900 gm.
- Size : 8.7 x 1.4 x 5.8 inches
- Cover : Paperback
- Language : English
- ISBN-10 : 8186569324
ISBN-13 : 978-8186569320 - Product Code : BK14193
Description:
“Looking at Her I felt that she is not a body, but just light. She seemed to see through me with all my shortcomings. All night I prayed to Her: Take possession of me completely, don’t let a particle of me remain.”
Death Must Die gives an intimate first-hand account of a courageous woman’s spiritual quest in close association with several of India’s greatest modern saints. Unfolding against the back-drop of Banaras in the1940s, where she lived as a teacher and musician, we are given an in-depth picture of her intense relationship with the extraordinary woman who becomes her guru — Sri Anandamayee Ma.
Atmananda, as she came to be known, was also closely associated with J. Krishnamurti, and a unique picture is given of him here in comparison with his peers and contemporaries within India. In her almost obsessive desire to “understand” J.K., as she calls him, she was driven ever deeper into the heart of Indian spirituality, encountering Sri Ramana Maharshi, as well as other outstanding Indian sages, before ultimately coming to the feet of Anandamayee Ma.
Although written in a diary format, Atmananda’s story reads almost like a novel, beginning with her youthful involvement with Theosophy in the Vienna of the 1920s, followed by her coming to Banaras to teach at Krishnamurti’s school. Here we encounter several of her friends and fellow travellers, in particular the English poet and mystic Lewis Thompson who exerted a profound influence on her. In 1945 she came in contact with Anandamayee Ma with whom she embarks on the great spiritual adventure of her life as told here-in, culminating in sannyasa, the ultimate renunciation. In particular, this book gives a true darshan (an experience of the presence) of Anandamayee Ma and the unique way in which she guided people to self-illumination. Ram Alexander, who was a close friend of Atmananda’s and a fellow disciple of Anandamayee Ma, writes with insight into the guru–disciple relationship and the particular problems that arise when a Westerner enters into this within a traditional Indian context.
Specification:1
- Publisher : Indica Books
- By : Rana P. B. Singh
- Cover : Hardcover
- Edition : June 15, 2004
- Pages : 370
- Weight : 650 gm.
- Size : 8.3 x 5.4 x 0.5 inches
- Language : English
- ISBN-10 : 8186569456
- ISBN-13 : 978-8186569450
- Product Code : BK1419
Description:
This book expounds in a colourful way the diverse literary images that Banaras, the city known as the Cultural Capital of India and the holiest city for Hindus, has inspired and continues to inspire in different writers in the course of history. Few other cities in the world have so sparked the imagination of the artists as this paradoxical and undescribable city which seems to integrate all contradictions.
Kabir, Tulsidas, Mirza Ghalib, Bhartendu Harishchandra, Rudra Kashikeya, Bishma Sahni, Raja Rao, Shivprasad Singh, Abdul Bismillah, Kashinath Singh and Pankhaj Mishra, all wrote about the Banaras of their time or of the past. Rana P.B. Singh analyses their literary images and the cultural traditions described therein, interpreting them in the purview of cultural symbols and lived traditions which have maintained their continuity since the ancient past. Each of the fifteen essays describes a time in the history of the city along with its culture, illustrated with Puranic sources. This work will certainly be helpful to understand the complexity and multiplicity of belief systems, and the historical perspectives of metaphor, symbolism and milieu.
About Author:
Rana P.B. Singh is Professor of Cultural Geography at the Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, India, and Founding President of the Society of Heritage Planning and Environmental Health, as also of the Society of Pilgrimage Studies. He has been studying the city of Banaras/Varanasi/Kashi for most of his life, and is today an undisputed authority on the culture, geography and history of the city.
Specification:
- Publisher : Indica Books
- By : Richard Lannoy
- Cover : Hardcover
- Edition : 2002
- Pages : 419
- Weight : 650 gm.
- Size : 8.6 x 5.7 x 1.3 inches
- Language : English
- ISBN-10 : 8186569251
- ISBN-13 : 978-8186569252
- Product Code : BK14190
Description:
This major contribution to the study of urban culture, first published in 1990 as the magnificent photographic book Benares Seen from Within, is now issued in a more accessible format, its text substantially revised.
This book is the most inclusive presentation of this extraordinary city ever attempted. It is the fruit of a lifelong interest in Benares from 1953 until the present day by an author well known for his unusual combination of reflective thought, scholarship and poetic sensibility.
Lannoy shows how the populace of Benares lives within a historical environment spanning at least three millennia of continuous habitation. Though now beset with all the characteristic urban ills of the age, it is arguably the oldest living city in the world to retain its original cosmic orientation. A centre of learning since antiquity, its way of life has not essentially changed until the last few years.
The variety and range of themes is remarkable. Lannoy explains the metaphysical substructure of the city orgazised as a microcosm of the universe. He shows how the extremely ancient cults of the pillar and the sun-wheel survive and continue to underpin the society’s ritual calendar in unbroken continuity for millennia, and gives a vivid account of how the Buddha’s life and teaching two thousand five hundred years ago had a profound influence on Benares. The city’s association with Yoga as well as with thriving commerce and weaving, the location of the uniquely central burning ghat — all under the aegis of Shiva and Kala Bhairava — the importance to the city’s economy of the pilgrim trade, are shown here to foster a distinctive blend of spirituality and worldliness.
Lannoy’s survey extends right up to the present, with a searching critique of the city’s troubled history of conflict between Hindus and Muslims, the politicization of the crisis between religion and secularism, and a lively account of leading personalities from Shankara to Kabir and Tulsidas, Gandhi and Anandamayi Ma. Lannoy has pondered deeply over a lifetime the significance of this venerable city, infusing these pages with the sagacity of lived experience.
Illustrated with many photographs by the author.
About Author:
Richard Lannoy is the author of several books on India, including The Speaking Tree: A Study of Indian Culture and Society, published by Oxford University Press in 1971 and still in print in India. He was on the founding staff of the ICA, London (1950-52), where he set up a celebrated forum, the Independent Group. He became a freelance photographer working for various international magazines, and on assignment for United Nations to the Palestinian refugee camps in Gaza (1952). He became seriously interested in India back in 1947, but began his work there, and particularly in Benares, in 1953, and on several subsequent visits until 1960, returning again in the Eighties, but completing his magnum opus on Benares in 1999. His thinking on Benares has never ceased for close on half a century, despite the infrequency of opportunities to reside there. He lives in Bath, and equally regards his work as author, photographer and painter as ways to advance a holistic view of life.
Specification:
- Publisher : Indica Books
- By : Dilip Kumar
- Cover : Hardcover
- Edition : September 10, 2014
- Pages : 220
- Weight : 650 gm.
- Size : 8.3 x 5.4 x 0.5 inches
- Language : English
- ISBN-13 : 978-8186117187
- ISBN-10 : 8186117180
- Product Code : BK14189
Description:
Banaras: Cosmic Space of Life, Light and Twilight presents a short survey of a unique city which can be seen as various dimensions — A place of oldest civilization, A kingdom of Hindu pilgrimage, the River Ganga, A Centre for Oriental and Sanskrit studies, etc. It gives useful quantity of information and insight on the city, its history, culture; daily activities of typical inhabitants of Banaras and many more. As other tourist points located in other parts in India or the world are very much visible, in Kashi/Varanasi/Banaras people need to dive deep into its occult ocean of knowledge for true experience of ever vibrant settlement on this planet. No matter it is fade out or luminous. Enjoy Banaras!
About Author:
Dilip Kumar heretically the inhabitant of Kashi studied in Banaras Hindu University presently running a prestigious bookshop in Varanasi. Proud to say that his greatest grandfather’s family have been building contractors and helped making many of Grand Mansions and Forts in those times for those kings and Royal families of Banaras by bringing stones and boulders from Chunar mountains.
Specification:
- Publisher : Indica Books
- By : Rana P.B. Singh
- Cover : Hardcover
- Edition : January 1, 2009
- Pages : 457
- Weight : 650 gm.
- Size : 8.5 x 5.2 x 1.1 inches
- Language : English
- ISBN-13 : 978-8186569856
- ISBN-10 : 8186569855
- Product Code : BK14188
Description:
This book describes various facets of geography, history and heritage of Varanasi, the heritage city of India, on/about which a vast historical literature is available. The section on Geography covers the general background of the topography, climate, soils, vegetation, and human landscape. The History section gives a general brief outline of history, from the ancient to the modern, including a chronological chart. The issue of inscribing the heritagescapes, especially of the riverfront ghats, on the line of UNESCO Heritage criteria, has also been fully described.
The Bibliography, by far the most complete up to day, contains 1,276 entries classified into 16 groups: Books, mostly in English; Research papers & essays; Persian works; Urdu sources; Sanskrit sources; Books/articles in Hindi; Marathi sources; Bengali sources; Published reports/ Government documents; Electronic publications; Films (English); Japanese sources; Unpublished dissertations; Unpublished reports; Unpublished reports (Varanasi: Inscribing Heritage Zones for WHL UNESCO); Unpublished (Undergraduate) fieldwork projects.
This book will serve as a major resource for Banaras studies, urban history, cultural geography, and heritage studies, and can also be used as model frame for similar heritage cities in other parts of the world.
About Author:
Prof. Rana P.B. Singh (b. 1950), PhD (1974), Professor of Cultural Geography & Heritage Studies since January 1999 at Banaras Hindu University, has been involved in studying, performing and promoting heritage planning, sacred geography and cultural astronomy, pilgrimage studies, eco-tourism and development in the Varanasi region for the last three decades, as consultant, project director, collaborator and organiser. He is widely recognized as one of the main authorities on the city of Banaras.
Specification:
- Publisher : Indica Books
- By : Rana P.B Singh, Pravin S. Rana
- Cover : Paperback
- Edition : January 1, 2006
- Pages : 401
- Weight : 550 gm.
- Size : 8.4 x 5.6 x 0.9 inches
- Language : English
- ISBN-13 : 978-8186569245
- ISBN-10 : 8186569243
- Product Code : BK14187
Description:
This book is the first compendium of cultural sites in and around Varanasi. It covers a very wide range of places and subjects and provides a huge quantity of information, being a veritable small encyclopaedia of the Banaras region.
The first section includes Setting, Historical background, Religious landscape, Cosmogony, Festivities, Riverside landscape, and seven detailed Area walks along the ghats and the old city. There are also sections on the cosmic circuit of Panchakroshi, Ramanagar, Sarnath, the Jain places, the Muslim sacredscapes, and the rural landscape.
The second section “Around Banaras” covers the sites lying at less than 80 km, like Chunar and its medieval fort; Ahraura, with an Ashokan inscription; Lekhania, having pre-historic rock paintings; Vindhyachal, the Goddess’s area; Kaithi, an ancient Shiva temple; Shitala Dham, a site of a folk goddess; Jakhini, the site of a pre-Aryan goddess; Bhadohi, a centre of carpet weaving; Sitamarhi, a site of Puranic antiquity; Jaunpur with its important Muslim monuments; Chandraprabha and Kaimur Wild life sanctuaries.
The third part covers the places in the range of 100-300 km, like: Allahabad, the city of the Kumbha Mela festival; Ayodhya, the place of Sri Rama; Chitrakut, Lord Rama’s halting site; Khajuraho, the city of lived monuments; Banvasi Seva Ashram, an NGO; Mundeshvari, a seventh century goddess temple; Sasaram, with a sixteenth century royal tomb; Ballia and Sonepur, sites of sacred bath and cattle fairs; Varanasi to Vaishali by road — via Ballia, Sonepur and Hajipur; Deo and Madanpur, the twelfth century Sun temples; Gaya the City of Ghostscape; Baijanath Dham, city of Shiva.
Rana P. B. Singh is professor in the Dept. of Geography, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, and Founding President, Society of Heritage Planning & Environmental Health.
Pravin S. Rana is a visiting faculty in the Dept. of History of Art & Tourism Management, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi.
Specification:
- Publisher : Indica Books
- By : Rai Anand Krishna, Manu Krishna, Anand Krishna
- Cover : Hardcover
- Edition : 2003
- Pages : 24
- Weight : 550 gm.
- Size : 11.8 x 7.6 x 0.6 inches
- Language : English
- ISBN-10 : 8186569294
ISBN-13 : 978-8186569290 - Product Code : BK14186
Description:
The riverside of the holy city of Banaras has always attracted the attention of people. From the late eighteenth century onwards, both amateur and professional European painters were drawn to paint the panoramic scenic beauty of its ghats (“holy landing places”, used also for ritualistic bathing). The ghats are a vast area of space for the religious and cultural life of the city, serving also as the “lungs” of the thick population of the city which they fringed. These were gradually stone-paved and steps leading to the river were built; this trend mainly started in the second half of the sixteenth century. This great architecture movement was initiated by the Rajputs and subsequently followed by Maratha donors. In the present illustration folder, the core of this chain of ghats was already built while the flanks were yet to come.
Pilgrims taking ablution in the holy waters of the Ganga, dhobis washing clothes, corpses being cremated, cows and horses roaming, and such daily scenes as can still be seen today on the banks of the river have been treated with rare insight and humour. The river is replete with many types of boats, a principal mode of locomotion, such as goods-laden boats, ferry boats, pleasure boats of different denominations with liveried boatsmen, rowing boats, sail boats, boats drawn upstream by ropes. . . .
These paintings are the work of a “Company School” local painter, working in a localized tradition of British landscape water colour. The scenes are mostly naturalistic and present an authentic account of the riverfront.
Specification:
- Publisher : Indica Books
- By : Debabrata SenSharma
- Cover : Hardcover
- Edition : January 1, 2007
- Pages : 162
- Weight : 200 gm.
- Size : 8.4 x 5.4 x 0.4 inches
- Language : English
- ISBN-10 : 8186569677
- ISBN-13 : 978-8186569672
- Product Code : BK14185
Description:
The distinguishing feature of all schools of Indian philosophy in general is that these do not remain content with merely enunciating the metaphysical tenets of the particular school, but they also set up the spiritual goal before the seekers, prescribing the modes of spiritual discipline to reach it. Spiritual discipline or Yoga therefore constitutes an inseparable part of the philosophy of every school. This is very true especially in the case of Tantric schools, in which spiritual practices or sadhana kriya dominate. The performance of kriya in the prescribed manner forms an integral part of all texts dealing with Tantra Yoga.
This book opens with an account of the nature, origin and development of Saiva-Sakta Tantras, their classification under different schools, the wealth of literature available belonging to these schools, etc. It also sheds light on the principal metaphysical tenets of Saiva and Sakta Tantras, relevant to the study of Tantra-Yoga. The topics covered in this book are the concepts of divine Grace or saktipata, guru and his different kinds, the process of initiation (diksa) and its varieties, mantra’s nature and place in sadhana kriya, different modes of spiritual discipline, Kundalini Yoga, the highest spiritual goal, etc.
This book attempts to remove the misconceptions widespread in the academic world about the theory and practice of Tantra-Yoga, which have been deliberately kept secret by the practitioners to prevent their misuse by unscrupulous persons.
About Author:
Dr. Debabrata Sen Sharma, a well-known scholar of sanskrit and Indian Philosophy and Religion, has spent more than half a century in studying, teaching and writing on the Advita Shiava thought of Kashmir. Retired as Professor of Sanskrit and Director of the Institute of Sanskrit and Indological Studies from the Kurukshetra University of Haryana, now settled down in Kolkata, he is devoting all his time to read in depth, write and translate Sanskrit texts on Shaivism. He had the rare privilege of studying abstruse Sanskrit texts on Shaivism and Tantra with Mahamahopadhyaya Dr. Gopinath Kaviraj, an acknoledged authority on Saiva-Sakta Tantras and a spiritual, for eight long years at Varanasi.
Specification:
- Publisher : Indica Books
- By : Debabrata SenSharma
- Cover : Hardcover
- Edition : January 1, 2009
- Pages : 180
- Weight : 450 gm.
- Size : 8.6 x 5.5 x 0.7 inches
- Language : English
- ISBN-13 : 978-8186569894
- Product Code : BK14184
Description:
Ancient Indian tradition traces the origins of the Shaiva cult to the Agamic thought current. The emergence of the Trika school of Shaivism in Kashmir marks the climax in the development of the Advaita Shaiva thought, being backed up by a rich Sanskrit literature. The doctrine of recognition (pratyabhijna) constitutes the cardinal doctrine in the philosophy of the Advaita Shaiva School. The sadhaka (spiritual seeker) has to try to discover his real being by removing the various veils, to thereafter recognize his true essence.
The Advaita Shaivas describe the nature of the Supreme Reality, one without a second, in two different ways namely, as Caitanya or Samvid as an abstract metaphysical principle (nirakara tattva) as well as Parama Shiva and Parameshvara possessing a form (sakara Being). They also describe the Supreme Reality as the transcendent Absolute (anuttara) and at the same time as all-pervasive Reality (vishvatmaka)
The Advaita Shaiva philosophers have not only shed light on the process of the world manifestation in the conventional way, they have added a new dimension to it by describing it in terms of involution on the part of Caitanya to the gross level of matter; or as the unfoldment on the part of the Supreme Lord out of His free will, exercising His svatantrya shakti, or as His self-extension in the aspect of His Shakti. They mention seven different kinds of experients or subjects (embodied, unembodied, and disembodied), a concept unique in the annals of Indian philosophy.
The concept of purnahanta (pure I-experience) symbolizing the fullness-nature of the Supreme Experient, i.e. Shiva pramata different from the ego-experience (ahamkara) of the limited embodied beings, has been explained in this book in esoteric terms as it marks a unique contribution of Kashmir Shaivism to Indian philosophical thought.
About Author:
Dr. Debabrata Sen Sharma, a well-known scholar of Sanskrit and Indian philosophy and Religion, has spent more than half a century in studying, teaching and writing on the Advaita Shaiva thought of Kashmir.