Author : Sondra L. Hausner
Publisher : Indiana University Press
Page : 273 pages
File Size : 34,76 MB
Release : 2007
Category : Religion
ISBN : 0253349834
Intimate portraits of the life of Hindu Sadhus.
Author : B. D. Tripathi
Publisher : Pilgrims Book House
Page : 369 pages
File Size : 35,27 MB
Release : 2007-12
Category : Religion
ISBN : 9788177696318
Sadhus of India is a scholarly study of the mendicant sadhus (Hindu ascetics) of Uttar Pradesh, India, with the goal of evaluating the role and status of sadhus in modern Indian society.
Author : Dolf Hartsuiker
Publisher : Simon and Schuster
Page : 193 pages
File Size : 45,68 MB
Release : 2014-10-09
Category : Body, Mind & Spirit
ISBN : 1620554143
An in-depth photographic study of the ascetic holy men of India • Includes more than 100 striking color photographs of Sadhus, their extreme austerities, and their holy festivals, including the Kumbha Mela • Examines the practices and beliefs of Sadhus from several different sects • Traces the historical and mythological roots of the Sadhus and shows how they have fundamentally shaped Hinduism since remote antiquity Spiritual adventurers, philosophical monks, naked ascetics, or religious transvestites, the Sadhus of India form a vital and unbroken link between the birth of yoga millennia ago and its present-day expression. Numbering in the millions, these mystic holy men are worshipped by the Hindus as representatives of the gods, yet they remain largely unknown in the West because they often live in far-off places, hidden from everyday life. In this full-color study of Sadhus more than 20 years in the making, photographer Dolf Hartsuiker illustrates the Sadhus’ world of ancient magical rituals, religious symbols, and ascetic practices. In his photographic quest across India, the author visited many holy places, attended religious festivals including the Kumbha Mela, and encountered and photographed thousands of Sadhus, befriending several as he was drawn into their inner circle. Sharing more than 100 striking color photographs from his travels, he reveals the Sadhus’ utmost devotion to their spiritual path through meditation practices, yoga exercises, penance, and austerities--sometimes taken to the extreme of prolonged self-imposed silence, bodily mortification, such as holding an arm above the head for years, or even ritual suicide--as well as their profound involvement with the mundane world as healers and teachers or magicians and sorcerers. It is a path of knowledge and devotion, renunciation and realization, sexual energy and spiritual power, divine intoxication and mystical union. The author examines the different beliefs and behaviors of each Sadhu sect, including the “sky-clad” Naga Babas, and traces their historical and mythological roots to show how they have fundamentally shaped Hinduism since antiquity. Revealing the powerful “otherworldliness” of the Sadhus, the author also exposes the mystical beauty that emanates from those who have chosen the path of asceticism in pursuit of knowledge of the Absolute and liberation from all earthly bonds.
Author : John Campbell Oman
Publisher :
Page : 382 pages
File Size : 42,45 MB
Release : 1903
Category : Asceticism
ISBN :
Author : William Dalrymple
Publisher : A&C Black
Page : 305 pages
File Size : 14,30 MB
Release : 2010-06-07
Category : Travel
ISBN : 1408801248
A Buddhist monk takes up arms to resist the Chinese invasion of Tibet - then spends the rest of his life trying to atone for the violence by hand printing the best prayer flags in India. A Jain nun tests her powers of detachment as she watches her best friend ritually starve herself to death. Nine people, nine lives; each one taking a different religious path, each one an unforgettable story. William Dalrymple delves deep into the heart of a nation torn between the relentless onslaught of modernity and the ancient traditions that endure to this day. LONGLISTED FOR THE BBC SAMUEL JOHNSON PRIZE
Author : Ben 'baba' Viatte
Publisher :
Page : pages
File Size : 42,30 MB
Release : 2021-09
Category :
ISBN : 9781637542224
To you, what defines happiness? A fine balance between material comfort, physical health, financial stability, political safety, family life, and livelihood all carefully equalized on God's turntable? But... what if it had nothing to do with any of these?A simple yet timeless question that Yi and Ben naively set out to answer as they left their homes in the Indian Himalayas with exactly... none of those things. No money or bank card, no phone and not much at all really, other than a tarp to sleep under, a set of brown-orange robes, and the stubborn determination to make it entirely on foot to the world's largest Hindu gathering, 500 km away. The Kumbha Mela, known to reunite the most revered Babas and the wildest Sadhus who have been embracing simplicity and homelessness themselves since the beginning of time.
Author : Sri M
Publisher : Penguin Random House India Private Limited
Page : 378 pages
File Size : 11,61 MB
Release : 2022-07-18
Category : Biography & Autobiography
ISBN : 9354926134
In this tell-all autobiography, Sri M writes about his fascinating journey as a young man from the southern coast of India to the mystical Himalayan Mountains. At the age of nineteen and a half, he felt an irresistible urge to go to the Himalayas in quest for his great Master. He finally met his Master at the Vyasa Cave, beyond the Badrinath shrine. After spending three and half years with his Master, wandering freely across the length and breadth of the Himalayan ranges, he was instructed to go back to live in the plains and lead a normal life. He started working for a living, fulfilled his social commitments and prepared himself to teach others all that he had learned and experienced. This book reveals the spiritual journey of a young lad from Kerala, who by his sincerity and dedication evolved into a living yogi. Sri M shares his knowledge of the Upanishads and spiritual insights born out of first hand experiences in his autobiography. Apprenticed to a Himalayan Master will make for an engaging and riveting read for those interested in the life and teachings of Sri M.
Author : Sundar Singh
Publisher :
Page : 208 pages
File Size : 39,51 MB
Release : 2000
Category : Religion
ISBN : 9780874869989
Known in his lifetime as Indias most famous convert to Christianity, Sundar Singh (18891929) would not approve of that characterization. He loved Jesus and devoted his life to knowing and following him, but he never accepted Christianitys cultural conventions, even as he embraced its stark original teachings.
Author : Harley Rustad
Publisher : HarperCollins
Page : 373 pages
File Size : 24,15 MB
Release : 2022-01-11
Category : Biography & Autobiography
ISBN : 0062965980
"By patient accumulation of anecdote and detail, Rustad evolves Shetler’s story into something much more human, and humanly tragic, into a layered inquisition and a reportorial force....suffice it to say Rustad has done what the best storytellers do: tried to track the story to its last twig and then stepped aside." —New York Times Book Review In the vein of Jon Krakauer's Into the Wild, a riveting work of narrative nonfiction centering on the unsolved disappearance of an American backpacker in India—one of at least two dozen tourists who have met a similar fate in the remote and storied Parvati Valley. For centuries, India has enthralled westerners looking for an exotic getaway, a brief immersion in yoga and meditation, or in rare cases, a true pilgrimage to find spiritual revelation. Justin Alexander Shetler, an inveterate traveler trained in wilderness survival, was one such seeker. In his early thirties Justin Alexander Shetler, quit his job at a tech startup and set out on a global journey: across the United States by motorcycle, then down to South America, and on to the Philippines, Thailand, and Nepal, in search of authentic experiences and meaningful encounters, while also documenting his travels on Instagram. His enigmatic character and magnetic personality gained him a devoted following who lived vicariously through his adventures. But the ever restless explorer was driven to pursue ever greater challenges, and greater risks, in what had become a personal quest—his own hero’s journey. In 2016, he made his way to the Parvati Valley, a remote and rugged corner of the Indian Himalayas steeped in mystical tradition yet shrouded in darkness and danger. There, he spent weeks studying under the guidance of a sadhu, an Indian holy man, living and meditating in a cave. At the end of August, accompanied by the sadhu, he set off on a “spiritual journey” to a holy lake—a journey from which he would never return. Lost in the Valley of Death is about one man’s search to find himself, in a country where for many westerners the path to spiritual enlightenment can prove fraught, even treacherous. But it is also a story about all of us and the ways, sometimes extreme, we seek fulfillment in life. Lost in the Valley of Death includes 16 pages of color photographs.
Author : Swami Rama
Publisher : Himalayan Institute Press
Page : 488 pages
File Size : 49,10 MB
Release : 1999
Category : Philosophy
ISBN : 0893891568
Inspirational stories of Swama Rama's experiences and lessons learned with the great teachers who guided his life including Mahatma Gandhi, Tagore, and more.
