Revisiting Bhakti

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The work seeks to establish on the basis of a detailed analysis of the original literature that the true sentiment of bhakti may be traced back to Vedic times and seeks to elucidate the various stages through which it developed and reached its complete maturity in the Bhagavata. It analyzes the obstacles the challenges which stood in the way of this development, whether in the shape of Mimamsa formalism or Vedantic gnosticism or Buddhist impersonalism, and also how these were overcome through the evolving notion of a personal Godhead and its involvement in the history of humanity especially in terms of the doctrine of incarnation. So powerful was this notion of a personal deity deigning to assume a human form that Sankhya and Mimamsa, Vaisesika and Vedanta, all tended to move in a visibly theistic direction and even Buddhism and Jainism remained atheistic more in abstract theory than in concrete practice. The present work thus not only includes the analysis and interpretation of doctrine as well as cult practices but it also essays to go beyond these to discover the subterranean stream of the experience and feeling of bhakti which gradually came to surface and finally swept away obstacles as a mighty river.

The revised and enlarge edition also includes new researches on historiography of Bhakti, Vaisnavism and Pancaratra cult, spiritual humanism of Ramayana, philosophical thoughts in the Siva Purana and fresh light on the date of Lakulisa.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Susmita Pande

Dr. Susmita Pande was born at Allahabad in 1950 in the illustrious family of Professor G.C. Pande and was educated at Jaipur where in 1971 she obtained from the Rajsthan University her Master’s degree in History with first class first position. For her research work she migrated to the Panjab University, and earned her Ph.D. in 1979. Since then she is actively engaged in post-doctoral research and independent writing with several papers to her credit. Her work ‘Birth of Bhakti in Indian Religions and Art’ has been highly acclaimed by scholars like Professor G.M. Bongard-Levin of Moscow and Professor V.C. Pande of Chandigarh. Her cultural interests include music in particular which she has formally studied, and practices. She is also interested in art, generally. Presently she is teaching at Prachya Niketan, Bhopal.

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Bibliographic information

Title
Revisiting Bhakti
Author
Edition
1st. ed.
Publisher
ISBN
9789350502365
Length
468p., 25 B/W; Colour Illustrations; 9 inch X 6.5 inch
Subjects