An Encyclopaedia Of Hindu Deities Demi Gods Godlings Demons And Heroes

This exhaustive volume catalogs nearly three thousand demons in the mythologies and lore of virtually every ancient society and most religions. From Aamon, the demon of life and reproduction with the head of a serpent and the body of a wolf in Christian demonology, to Zu, the half-man, half-bird personification of the southern wind and thunder clouds in Sumero-Akkadian mythology, entries offer descriptions of each demon's origins, appearance and cultural significance. Also included are descriptions of the demonic and diabolical members making up the hierarchy of Hell and the numerous species of demons that, according to various folklores, mythologies, and religions, populate the earth and plague mankind. Very thoroughly indexed.

Covering all aspects of Hinduism, this encyclopedia includes more ethnographic and contemporary material in contrast to the exclusively textual and historical approach of earlier works.

Swami Vivekananda Swami Vivekananda was born in Shimla Pally, Calcutta on 12 January 1863, during the Makara Sankranti festival in a traditional Kayastha family, and was given the name Narendranath Dutta. His father Vishwanath Dutta was an attorney of Calcutta High Court. He was considered generous and had a liberal and progressive outlook on social and religious matters. His mother Bhuvaneshwari Devi was pious and had practiced austerities and prayed to Vireshwar Shiva of Varanasi to give her a son. According to Vivekananda, the important teaching he received from Ramakrishna was that “Jiva is Shiva” (each individual is divinity itself). This became his Mantra, and he coined the concept of daridra narayana seva-the service of God in and through (poor) human beings. As the book addresses this crucial issue quite deftly, it is hoped that it would prove to be a source of great information for the reader. CONTENTS • Life Sketch of Swami Vivekananda • Birth and Early Years • Swami Vivekananda: Life and Teachings; Our Master and His Message • As Disciple of Ramakrishna; Bhakti Yoga • Training of the Disciple • A Wandering Monk • Swami and Parliament of Religions; Vivekananda in America • Vivekananda Experiences in the Western World • Sayings of Swami Vivekananda • Quotation of Swami Vivekananda • Last Days of Vivekananda

Spanning myth, history, and contemporary culture, a terrifying and illuminating excavation of the meaning of cannibalism. Every culture has monsters that eat us, and every culture repels in horror when we eat ourselves. From Grendel to medieval Scottish cannibal Sawney Bean, and from the Ghuls of ancient Persia to The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, tales of being consumed are both universal and universally terrifying. In this book, Kevin J. Wetmore Jr. explores the full range of monsters that eat the dead: ghouls, cannibals, wendigos, and other beings that feast on human flesh. Moving from myth through history to contemporary popular culture, Wetmore considers everything from ancient Greek myths of feeding humans to the gods, through sky burial in Tibet and Zoroastrianism, to actual cases of cannibalism in modern societies. By examining these seemingly inhuman acts, Eaters of the Dead reveals that those who consume corpses can teach us a great deal about human nature—and our deepest human fears.