Sixteenth-century Hindu theologian Rupa Gosvamin established a technique by which, in imitating one of the significant figures in Krsna’s dramatic world, a devotee might actually come to inhabit the world of the character whose part he or she was playing. Acting As a Way of Salvation shows that the Hindu view of reality accepts such role playing, called Raganuga Bhakti Sadhana, as a natural part of human experience-the pre-eminent way to salvation. Haberman challenges the assumption that Hindu devotionalism or bhakti is a religion of grace which requires no discipline or effort. According to Gaudiya Vaisnavism, whose religious activities center around Raganuga Bhakti Sadhana, there is a whole world of which we are normally unaware, and that each of us has a “double.†Haberman investigates this extraordinary double called the “perfected body†and the disciplined transformation techniques used in taking on the role. Throughout the book, Haberman explores Indian dramatic theory, Rupa’s unique application of that theory of devotionalism, developments in the practice of this technique, its contemporary manifestations, and finally, the technique’s significance to religious experience in general.
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