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RELIGION / HINDUISM In Shiva and the Primordial Tradition, Alain Danielou explores the relationship between Shaivism and the Western world. Shaivite philosophy does not oppose theology, cosmology, and science because it recognizes that their common aim is to seek to understand and explain the nature of the world. In the Western world, the idea of bridging the divide between science and religion is just beginning to touch the edges of mainstream thought. This rare collection of the late author's writings, selected and edited by Jean-Louis Gabin, contains several never-before-published articles and offers an extensive examination of the underpinnings of Shaivism. It provides an in-depth look at the many facets of the Samkhya, the cosmologic doctrines of the Shaivite tradition. Danielou provides important revelations on subjects such as the science of dreams, the role of poetry and sexuality in the sacred, the personality of the great Shankara, and the Shaivite influence on the Scythians and the Parthians (and by extension, the Hellenic world in general). Providing a convincing argument in favor of the polytheistic approach, he explains that monotheism is merely the deification of -individualism--the separation of humanity from nature--and that by acknowledging the sacred in everything, we can recognize the imprint of the primordial tradition. ALAIN DANIeLOU (1907-1994) spent more than fifteen years in the traditional society of India, using only the Sanskrit and Hindi languages and studying music and philosophy with eminent scholars. He was duly initiated into esoteric Shaivism, which gave him unusual access to texts transmitted through the oral tradition alone. He is the author or translator of more than thirty books on the religion, history, and arts of India and the Mediterranean, including The Complete Kama Sutra, The Myths and Gods of India, and A Brief History of India. JEAN-LOUIS GABIN, Ph.D., began collecting and editing the various texts in this volume in collaboration with Danielou while he was still alive. He is working on an additional Ph.D. in Philosophy of Religion and Indology on the subject "Tradition and Modernity in the works of Alain Danielou." He also has edited and published five posthumous collections of Alain Danielou's work in French as well as serving as editor of the English edition of India: A Civilization of Differences.
Inhaltsverzeichnis
An Introduction to Alain Daniélou and the Discovery of the Divine
Editor’s Preface: The Ferryman’s Task of Alain Daniélou by Jean-Louis Gabin
Shaivite Cosmology and Polytheism
The Shaivite Revival from the Third to the Tenth Centuries c.e.
The Symbolism of the Linga
The Three Doors
Shaivism and Third Nature
Insights into Initiation
The Science of Dreams
Poetry and Metaphysics
The Cock
The Nature of Beauty According to the Samkhya
Music: The Language of the Gods
The Secret of the Tantras
Shaivism and the Primordial Tradition
Appendix: Light on Samkhya and Poetry by Jean-Louis Gabin
Notes
Origin of the Texts
Related Works by Alain Daniélou
Index
Über den Autor / die Autorin
ALAIN DANIÉLOU (1907-1994) spent more than 15 years in the traditional society of India, using only the Sanskrit and Hindi languages and studying music and philosophy with eminent scholars. He was duly initiated into esoteric Shaivism, which gave him unusual access to texts transmitted through the oral tradition alone. He is the author or translator of more than 30 books on the religion, history, and arts of India and the Mediterranean, including
The Complete Kama Sutra,
The Myths and Gods of India, and
A Brief History of India.
JEAN-LOUIS GABIN, Ph.D., began collecting and editing the various texts in this volume in collaboration with Daniélou while he was still alive. He is working on an additional Ph.D. in Philosophy of Religion and Indology on the subject “Tradition and Modernity in the works of Alain Daniélou.” He also has edited and published five posthumous collections of Alain Daniélou’s work in French as well as serving as editor of the English edition of
India: A Civilization of Differences.
Zusatztext
". . . this book as a whole, like all other works by Daniélou, commends itself for the author’s original insights into various aspects of Hindu culture and spirituality."
