A Restatement Of Religion

In this third installment of his comprehensive history of "India's religion" and reappraisal of Hindu identity, Professor Jyotirmaya Sharma offers an engaging portrait of Swami Vivekananda and his relationship with his guru, the legendary Ramakrishna. Sharma's work focuses on Vivekananda's reinterpretation and formulation of diverse Indian spiritual and mystical traditions and practices as "Hinduism" and how it served to create, distort, and justify a national self-image. The author examines questions of caste and the primacy of the West in Vivekananda's vision, as well as the systematic marginalization of alternate religions and heterodox beliefs. In doing so, Professor Sharma provides readers with an incisive entryway into nineteenth- and twentieth-century Indian history and the rise of Hindutva, the Hindu nationalist movement. Sharma's illuminating narrative is an excellent reexamination of one of India's most controversial religious figures and a fascinating study of the symbiosis of Indian history, religion, politics, and national identity. It is an essential story for anyone interested in the evolution of one of the world's great religions and its role in shaping contemporary India.

Excerpt from The Old Faith Restated: Being a Restatement, by Representative Men, of the Fundamental Truths and Essential Doctrines of Christianity as Held and Advocated by the Disciples of Christ in the Light of Experience and Biblical Research On a chill autumn evening in 1889, the editor of this Volume sat alone 'n front of a cheerful grate, at his home, pondering over the state of current religious thought and the condition and needs of the religious movement with which his life and labors have been identified. His meditation at length took the form of an anxious inquiry as to what he could do to promote the welfare of the Current Reformation and to assist in guiding it safely through the perils which beset it from within and without. After much serious thought over this problem, and after availing himself of the promise, If any of you lack wisdom let him ask of God, who giveth to all men liberally and upbraideth not, and it shall be given him, he took up his pen and at once outlined the work substantially as it is herein presented. In such a mood of soul, superinduced by such conditions, this work, in its purpose, plan and scope, was conceived. The eminent men to whom was committed the several parts, all accepted the work assigned them, and, in God's good providence, were all spared to complete the same. The series of articles thus planned ran through the entire volume of the christian evangelist for the year 1890, awakening deep interest and exciting general comment. They have since been carefully revised by their respective authors, and are now presented to the public in the present form, as originally contemplated. The underlying thought of the book, as its title indicates, was to present a fresh and independent re-statement of the great truths and principles of Christianity as they are apprehended, held and advocated by representative men of the Current Reformation (0-day. It is believed that now, after the lapse of three-quarters of a century since the inauguration of this movement for the restoration of New Testament Christianity and the unity of Christians, when the bitterness engendered by the intellectual conflicts incident to our earlier history has been removed or greatly assuaged, and when there has been time to test the value of the doctrine, and to learn much in the school of actual experience, it is possible to present a calm and dispassionate statement of the whole ground of our movement, which will more fully and fairly represent the genius and spirit of our plea than any presentation made at an earlier date in our history. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

The truth is rarely simple. The common consensus is that Swami Vivekananda, as Sri Ramakrishna's chosen disciple, spread his master's message across the world. The fact, though, is that after Ramakrishna's death in 1886, Vivekananda not only shifted the devotional emphasis of the new monastic order from Kali to Shiva, he also embraced a world far removed from Ramakrishna's - a world that was rational, scientific, masculine, orthodox and nationalistic. The essays in this volume examine Vivekananda's formulation of Hinduism as religion: the most definitive restatement of Hinduism in modern history. Erudite yet accessible, consistently probing and sceptical of hoary traditions, controversial and thought-provoking, Cosmic Love and Human Apathy is an invaluable addition to the existing scholarship on one of India's greatest religious and social icons. Swami Vivekananda's Restatement of Religion 'A book of substance and importance written in an engaging, straightforward style, illuminated by flashes of wit and, of course, by the author's deep knowledge of the cultural background and historical record. [It] will become the classic statement about Vivekananda in this generation' - David Shulman

Named a 2012 PROSE Award Honorable Mention in the Nursing & Allied Health Sciences Category! Named a Choice Outstanding Academic Title! "This is an excellent resource for nurses to learn about the various religious beliefs and practices and ways to use this information therapeutically to enhance patient care. The consistent format of each chapter also helps readers compare and contrast the various religions. This is a must-have for any bedside nurse."Score: 97, 5 Stars--Doody's Medical Reviews [Taylor] handles a tough subject professionally and realistically. I highly recommend this practical book for students, nurses, and educators.--Journal of Christian Nursing ì...a highly nuanced and insightful collection that challenges readers to consider at a deeper level their own beliefs about the role of religion and spirituality in health care and how people practice their faith within a complex multicultural society. This reviewer finished the book hoping that non-nursing health care providers and administrators would look to this text for an extraordinarily comprehensive guide to respectful negotiation of religious (including atheistic) differences in settings of vulnerability...Essential.î--Choice: Current Reviews for Academic Libraries Religion is a significant aspect of human experience that can provide a framework for an individual's response to a health challenge or transition. Individual religious beliefs, or those of a patient's family or community, may influence health care decisions and provide a means for coping. This book provides accessible and comprehensive information about various religions, offering nurses insight into their patients' religious beliefs and practices and thereby enhancing therapeutic care. The centerpiece of this book is the compilation of information about diverse religions written by highly knowledgeable religionists. The reference includes information, formatted concisely and consistently, on a religion's history and theology; views on health and suffering; explanations for disease; beliefs and practices related to birthing, childrearing, and dying; healing rituals; corporate religious resources for the sick; and more. Prefacing this information are chapters discussing clinical aspects of addressing religion at the bedside. These include strategies for sensitive and respectful communication about religion with patients, assessing a patient's religious beliefs, supporting bedside rituals that are part of a patient's religion, and understanding ethical and legal considerations. The book also provides a comprehensive list of additional resources. Key Features: Provides quick access to information about the 20-plus families of religions most prevalent among Americans and others in English-speaking First World countries Presents practical and concise information about various religions in a succinct table format Offers detailed communication techniques for clinicians who are uncomfortable discussing religion with patients Includes techniques for self-assessment of religious views and values and how these can affect care Presents legal and ethical aspects of addressing religiosity in patient care

The third edition of this successful book, which applies the science of psychology to problems of religion. Dr Thouless explores such questions as: why do people believe? Why are their beliefs often held with irrational strength? How are changes in belief systems related to mental health? What are reasonable attitudes towards alternative belief systems? This edition includes samples of the experimental and statistical studies of religious problems, including the author's own study of the strength of religious beliefs. This edition also pays more attention to the problems of non-Christian religious systems, with special consideration given to the problems of mutual toleration. Finally Dr Thouless considers whether it is reasonable for modern man to adhere to any religious belief system. This is an excellent textbook for students of the social sciences, particularly psychology and theology, and will also interest the general reader who has an intellectual curiosity about religion.

"An incisive study of the Western world’s shift from institutional religion to more personal beliefs in the second half of the 19th century . . . This is intellectual history at its most comprehensive and convincing." —Publishers Weekly, starred review The late nineteenth century was an age of grand ideas and great expectations fueled by rapid scientific and technological innovation. In Europe, the ancient authority of church and crown was overthrown for the volatile gambles of democracy and the capitalist market. If it was an age that claimed to liberate women, slaves, and serfs, it also harnessed children to its factories and subjected entire peoples to its empires. Amid this tumult, another sea change was underway: the religious revolution. In The Religious Revolution, Dominic Green charts this profound cultural and political shift, taking us on a whirlwind journey through the lives and ideas of Ralph Waldo Emerson and Walt Whitman; of Éliphas Lévi and Helena Blavatsky; of Wagner and Nietzsche; of Marx, Darwin, and Gandhi. Challenged by the industrialization, globalization, and political unrest of their times, these figures found themselves connecting with the religious impulse in surprising new ways, inspiring others to move away from the strictures of religion and toward the thrill and intimacy of spirituality. The modern era is often characterized as a time of increasing secularism, but in this trenchant new work, Green demonstrates how the foundations of modern society were laid as much by spirituality as by science or reason. The Religious Revolution is a narrative tour de force that sweeps across several continents and five of the most turbulent and formative decades in history. Threading together seemingly disparate intellectual trajectories, Green illuminates how philosophers, grifters, artists, scientists, and yogis shared in a global cultural moment, borrowing one another’s beliefs and making the world we know today.