Religious Traditions in Modern South Asia

This book offers a contemporary approach to the study of religion in modern South Asia. It explores the development of religious ideas and practices in the region, giving students a clear and critical understanding of social, political and historical context. Part One takes a fresh look at some familiar themes in the study of religion, such as deity, authoritative texts, myth, worship, teacher traditions and caste, and helps students understand diverse ways of approaching these themes. Part Two focuses on some of the key ways in which Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam and Sikhism in South Asia have been shaped in the modern period. Overall the book considers the impact of gender, politics, and the way religion itself is variously understood. The chapters contain a compelling range of primary source materials and a series of geographical and historical 'snapshots' to orientate readers to South Asia. Valuable features for students include images, task boxes, discussion points, suggestions for further reading, a timeline and glossary of terms. "This book offers a fresh approach to the study of religion in modern South Asia. It uses a series of case studies to explore the development of religious ideas and practices, giving students an understanding of the social, political and historical context. It looks at some familiar themes in the study of religion, such as deity, authoritative texts, myth, worship, teacher traditions and caste, and some of the key ways in which Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam and Sikhism in South Asia have been shaped in the modern period. The book points to the diversity of ways of looking at religious traditions and considers the impact of gender, politics, and the way religion itself is variously understood."--Publisher's description.

Kabir was an extraordinary oral poet whose works have been sung and recited by millions throughout North India for half a millennium. He may have been illiterate and he preached an abrasive, sometimes shocking, always uncompromising message that exhorted his audience to shed their delusions, pretentions, and empty orthodoxies in favor of an intense, direct, and personal confrontation with the truth. Thousands of poems are popularly attributed to Kabir, but only a few written collections have survived over the centuries. The Bijak is one of the most important, and is the sacred book of those who follow Kabir.

Preface 1. Introducing South Asia, Re-Introducing 'Religion' 2. Deity 3. Texts and Their Authority 4. Myth 5. Ritual and Worship 6. Teachers and Their Traditions 7a. Caste: Social Relations, Cultural Formations 7b. The Confluence of Caste and Religion 8. Encounters with the West 9. The Construction of Religious Boundaries 10. Public and Private Space 11. Conflicting Paradigms 12. Twisting the Kaleidoscope: Reflections in Conclusion. Timeline. Glossary. Bibliography.