Traditions of asceticism, yoga, and devotion (bhakti), including dance and music, developed in Hinduism over long periods of time. Some of these practices, notably those denoted by the term yoga, are orientated towards salvation from the cycle of reincarnation and go back several thousand years. These practices, borne witness to in ancient texts called Upaniṣads, as well as in other traditions, notably early Buddhism and Jainism, are the subject of this volume in the Oxford History of Hinduism. Practices of meditation are also linked to asceticism (tapas) and its institutional articulation in renunciation (saṃnyăsa). There is a range of practices or disciplines from ascetic fasting to taking a vow (vrata) for a deity in return for a favour. There are also devotional practices that might involve ritual, making an offering to a deity and receiving a blessing, dancing, or visualization of the master (guru). The overall theme--the history of religious practices--might even be seen as being within a broader intellectual trajectory of cultural history. In the substantial introduction by the editor this broad history is sketched, paying particular attention to what we might call the medieval period (post-Gupta) through to modernity when traditions had significantly developed in relation to each other. The chapters in the book chart the history of Hindu practice, paying particular attention to indigenous terms and recognizing indigenous distinctions such as between the ritual life of the householder and the renouncer seeking liberation, between 'inner' practices of and 'external' practices of ritual, and between those desirous of liberation (mumukṣu) and those desirous of pleasure and worldly success (bubhukṣu). This whole range of meditative and devotional practices that have developed in the history of Hinduism are represented in this book.
Acknowledgements List of Contributors Introduction to the Series Introduction: A History of Hindu Practice Gavin Flood I. TEXTUAL SOURCES 1. Ritual, Ascetic, and Meditative Practice in the Veda and Upani.sads Cezary Galewicz 2. Historical Context of Early Asceticism Johannes Bronkhorst 3. Religious Practices in the Sanskrit Epics John Brockington II. HISTORIES OF PRACTICE 4. The Early History of Renunciation Patrick Olivelle 5. The Later Institution of Renunciation Sondra L. Hausner 6. Measuring Innovation: Genesis and Typology of Early P=uj=a Natalia Lidova 7. Hath? ayoga's Early History: From Vajray=ana Sexual Restraint to Universal Somatic Soteriology James Mallinson 8. The Quest for Liberation-in-Life: A Survey of Early Works on Hat.ha- and R=ajayoga Jason Birch 9. Practice in the Tantric Religion of 'Siva Gavin Flood 10. Vai.s.nava Practice Rembert Lutjeharms 11. Theatre as Religious Practice Lyne Bansat-Boudon 12. Sounding Out the Divine: Musical Practice as Theology in Sam=aj G=ayan Richard David Williams 13. Women's Observances: Vratas Tracy Pintchman III.RELIGIOUS PRACTICE AND POLITICS IN MODERN HINDUISM 14. Gandhi, Hinduism, and Humanity Faisal Devji 15. Legal Yoga Sunila S. Kale and Christian Lee Novetzke 16. The Modern Spirit of Yoga: Idioms and Practices Elizabeth De Michelis 17. Gurus in Contemporary Hindu Practice Daniel Gold Index
Gavin Flood is Professor of Hindu Studies and Comparative Religion at Oxford University and a Senior Research Fellow of Campion Hall. He is also Senior Research Fellow at the Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies and Yap Kim Hao Visiting Professor of Comparative Religious Studies at Yale-NUS, Singapore. Before coming to Oxford, he taught at the universities of Stirling and Wales (Lampeter). He has research interests in Hindu tantric traditions, comparative religion, and phenomenology.
Reviews for The Oxford History of Hinduism: Hindu Practice
... a great contribution to the study of Hinduism and can serve many groups of readers. * Manasicha Akepiyapornchai, Reading Religion *
