Sahaja ( Prakrit languages : সহজ Sanskrit : सहज sahaja ) means spontaneous enlightenment in Indian and Tibetan Buddhist spirituality. Sahaja practices first arose in Bengal during the 8th century among yogis called Sahajiya siddhas .
130-628: Ananda Coomaraswamy describes its significance as "the last achievement of all thought", and "a recognition of the identity of spirit and matter, subject and object", continuing "There is then no sacred or profane, spiritual or sensual, but everything that lives is pure and void." The Sanskrit [and the Tibetan, which precisely follows it] literally means: 'born or produced together or at the same time as. Congenital, innate, hereditary, original, natural (...by birth, by nature, naturally...)'. Etymologically, saḥ- means 'together with', and ja derives from
260-466: A Persian geographical term for the people who lived beyond the river Indus (Sanskrit: Sindhu )", more specifically in the 6th-century BCE inscription of Darius I (550–486 BCE). The term Hindu in these ancient records is a geographical term and did not refer to a religion. The word Hindu is found as heptahindu in Avesta – equivalent to Rigvedic sapta sindhu , while hndstn (pronounced Hindustan )
390-545: A doctor of science for his study of Ceylonese mineralogy , and prompted the formation of the Geological Survey of Ceylon which he initially directed. While in Ceylon, the couple collaborated on Mediaeval Sinhalese Art ; Coomaraswamy wrote the text and Ethel provided the photographs. His work in Ceylon fueled Coomaraswamy's anti- Westernization sentiments. After their divorce, Partridge returned to England, where she became
520-441: A "single world religious tradition" was also popularised by 19th-century proselytising missionaries and European Indologists, roles sometimes served by the same person, who relied on texts preserved by Brahmins (priests) for their information of Indian religions, and animist observations that the missionary Orientalists presumed was Hinduism. These reports influenced perceptions about Hinduism. Scholars such as Pennington state that
650-416: A Hindu life, namely acquiring wealth ( artha ), fulfilment of desires ( kama ), and attaining liberation ( moksha ), are viewed here as part of "dharma", which encapsulates the "right way of living" and eternal harmonious principles in their fulfilment. The use of the term Sanātana Dharma for Hinduism is a modern usage, based on the belief that the origins of Hinduism lie beyond human history, as revealed in
780-438: A Hindu". According to Wendy Doniger , "ideas about all the major issues of faith and lifestyle – vegetarianism, nonviolence, belief in rebirth, even caste – are subjects of debate, not dogma ." Because of the wide range of traditions and ideas covered by the term Hinduism, arriving at a comprehensive definition is difficult. The religion "defies our desire to define and categorize it". Hinduism has been variously defined as
910-492: A Hindu's class, caste, or sect, and they contrasted with svadharma , one's "own duty", in accordance with one's class or caste ( varṇa ) and stage in life ( puruṣārtha ). In recent years, the term has been used by Hindu leaders, reformers, and nationalists to refer to Hinduism. Sanatana dharma has become a synonym for the "eternal" truth and teachings of Hinduism, that transcend history and are "unchanging, indivisible and ultimately nonsectarian". Some have referred to Hinduism as
1040-557: A belief in the origin of the world in Non-being, in an origin of the world from Being, and finally in the conception of Brahman (the Absolute) as world-ground. The Water Cosmology, it is true, persists side by side with, and linked with these deeper views, even in post-Vedic literature; but it is typically not a creation of the Vedas and seems to belong to an even older stratum of ideas than that which
1170-421: A category with "fuzzy edges" rather than as a well-defined and rigid entity. Some forms of religious expression are central to Hinduism and others, while not as central, still remain within the category. Based on this idea Gabriella Eichinger Ferro-Luzzi has developed a 'Prototype Theory approach' to the definition of Hinduism. To its adherents, Hinduism is a traditional way of life. Many practitioners refer to
1300-689: A collection of essays that remain in print to this day. Deeply influenced by René Guénon , he became one of the founders of the Traditionalist School . His books and essays on art and culture, symbolism and metaphysics, scripture, folklore and myth, and still other topics, offer a remarkable education to readers who accept the challenges of his resolutely cross-cultural perspective and insistence on tying every point he makes back to sources in multiple traditions. He once remarked, "I actually think in both Eastern and Christian terms—Greek, Latin, Sanskrit, Pali, and to some extent Persian and Chinese." Alongside
1430-623: A critic of the reforms and author of Catholic Traditionalist works. He was also ordained a Traditionalist Roman Catholic priest, despite the fact that he was married and had a living wife. Rama Coomaraswamy studied in England and then in India, learning Hindi and Sanskrit . Became a psychiatrist in the United States, he was an opponent of Pope John Paul II and remain a wider correspondent of mother Teresa of Calcutta , whose first healing attribution
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#17328920875781560-543: A distinct Hindu identity in the interaction between Muslims and Hindus, and a process of "mutual self-definition with a contrasting Muslim other", which started well before 1800. Michaels notes: As a counteraction to Islamic supremacy and as part of the continuing process of regionalization, two religious innovations developed in the Hindu religions: the formation of sects and a historicization which preceded later nationalism ... [S]aints and sometimes militant sect leaders, such as
1690-581: A famous weaver and later married the writer Philip Mairet . By 1906, Coomaraswamy had made it his mission to educate the West about Indian art, and was back in London with a large collection of photographs, actively seeking out artists to try to influence. He knew he could not rely on museum curators or other members of the cultural establishment – in 1908 he wrote "The main difficulty so far seems to have been that Indian art has been studied so far only by archaeologists. It
1820-457: A form of tantric sex which was supposed to bring the female and male elements together in balance. Saraha and his disciples were also master practitioners of Mahamudra meditation, and Saraha composed a famous Mahamudra meditation text along with his 'Three Cycles of Doha', a series of yogic songs. Sahajayana Buddhism became very popular in the Pala Empire , especially among commoners. One of
1950-629: A great appeal in the West , most notably reflected in the popularisation of yoga and various sects such as Transcendental Meditation and the Hare Krishna movement . Hinduism is the world's third-largest religion, with approximately 1.20 billion followers, or around 15% of the global population, known as Hindus . It is the most widely professed faith in India , Nepal , Mauritius , and in Bali , Indonesia . Significant numbers of Hindu communities are found in
2080-414: A guide and resource for students of his work. Coomaraswamy made important contributions to the philosophy of art, literature, and religion. In Ceylon, he applied the lessons of William Morris to Ceylonese culture and, with his wife Ethel, produced a groundbreaking study of Ceylonese crafts and culture. While in India, he was part of the literary circle around Rabindranath Tagore , and he contributed to
2210-406: A paradigmatic example of Hinduism's mystical nature". Pennington, while concurring that the study of Hinduism as a world religion began in the colonial era, disagrees that Hinduism is a colonial European era invention. He states that the shared theology, common ritual grammar and way of life of those who identify themselves as Hindus is traceable to ancient times. All of religion is contained in
2340-417: A reason of spirit but fantasy and creative imagination, not conceptual but symbolical, not ethical but emotive, not rational or spiritual but of cognitive mysticism. This stereotype followed and fit, states Inden, with the imperial imperatives of the era, providing the moral justification for the colonial project. From tribal Animism to Buddhism, everything was subsumed as part of Hinduism. The early reports set
2470-550: A recent publisher's blurb expresses it: “The greatest force in civilization is the collective wisdom of a literate people." Like Franz Boas and a handful of others, Coomaraswamy waged a constant war against racism with the press and academic world. He was a strong advocate for Indian independence and was pressured to leave England for publicly suggesting that Indians not fight in the First World War. Unlike Rene Guenon and others who shared many of his understandings, Coomaraswamy
2600-450: A religion, a religious tradition, a set of religious beliefs, and "a way of life". From a Western lexical standpoint, Hinduism, like other faiths, is appropriately referred to as a religion. In India, the term (Hindu) dharma is used, which is broader than the Western term "religion," and refers to the religious attitudes and behaviours, the 'right way to live', as preserved and transmitted in
2730-488: A shared context and of inclusion in a common framework and horizon". Brahmins played an essential role in the development of the post-Vedic Hindu synthesis, disseminating Vedic culture to local communities, and integrating local religiosity into the trans-regional Brahmanic culture. In the post- Gupta period Vedanta developed in southern India, where orthodox Brahmanic culture and the Hindu culture were preserved, building on ancient Vedic traditions while "accommoda[ting]
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#17328920875782860-463: A single whole the diverse philosophical teachings of the Upanishads, epics, Puranas, and the schools known retrospectively as the 'six systems' ( saddarsana ) of mainstream Hindu philosophy." The tendency of "a blurring of philosophical distinctions" has also been noted by Mikel Burley . Hacker called this "inclusivism" and Michaels speaks of "the identificatory habit". Lorenzen locates the origins of
2990-416: A theistic ontology of creation, other Hindus are or have been atheists . Despite the differences, there is also a sense of unity. Most Hindu traditions revere a body of religious or sacred literature , the Vedas, although there are exceptions. These texts are a reminder of the ancient cultural heritage and point of pride for Hindus, though Louis Renou stated that "even in the most orthodox domains,
3120-440: A wide variety of cultures and time periods allowed him to see below the surface of local interpretations and religious exclusivism to locate the bedrock of tradition. By tradition, he meant that which has been handed down from time beyond memory. The folk has thus preserved, without understanding, the remains of old traditions that go back sometimes to the indeterminably distant past, to which we can only refer as “prehistoric”. Had
3250-443: A worldwide appeal, transcending national boundaries and, according to Flood, "becoming a world religion alongside Christianity, Islam and Buddhism", both for the Hindu diaspora communities and for westerners who are attracted to non-western cultures and religions. It emphasises universal spiritual values such as social justice, peace and "the spiritual transformation of humanity". It has developed partly due to "re-enculturation", or
3380-429: Is nirati , cessation of the mental flux, which implies cessation of all willed efforts. Nirati ( ni-rati ) is also cessation of attractions, since the object of attraction and the seeker are now one. In terms of layayoga , nirati is dissolution of the mind in "Sound," nāda . Ramana Maharshi distinguished between kevala nirvikalpa samadhi and sahaja nirvikalpa samadhi : Sahaja samadhi
3510-423: Is a state in which the silent awareness of the subject is operant along with (simultaneously with) the full use of the human faculties. Kevala nirvikalpa samadhi is temporary, whereas sahaja nirvikalpa samadhi is a continuous state throughout daily activity. This state seems inherently more complex than samadhi , since it involves several aspects of life, namely external activity, internal quietude, and
3640-639: Is commonly known can be subdivided into a number of major currents. Of the historical division into six darsanas (philosophies), two schools, Vedanta and Yoga , are currently the most prominent. The six āstika schools of Hindu philosophy, which recognise the authority of the Vedas are: Sānkhya , Yoga , Nyāya , Vaisheshika , Mimāmsā , and Vedānta . Classified by primary deity or deities, four major Hinduism modern currents are Vaishnavism (Vishnu), Shaivism (Shiva), Shaktism (Devi) and Smartism (five deities treated as equals). Hinduism also accepts numerous divine beings, with many Hindus considering
3770-418: Is developed in the Vedas. The ideas expressed by images were made explicit by writing, which allowed for a greater degree of abstraction and elaboration but since the concrete preceded the abstract, all philosophy started with images. In the absence of writing, the tribal cultures of the world have preserved a good deal of this older symbolism. Coomaraswamy also maintained that traditional technologies (like
3900-436: Is equally surprising that so many scholars, meeting with some universal doctrine in a given context, so often think of it as a local peculiarity. As a traditionalist, Coomaraswamy emphasized the continuity of culture. He was well aware of historical change but he felt that the connecting elements had been lost by the extreme emphasis placed on change and “progress”. Conflict between a new religion and an older one often obscured
4030-460: Is found in a Sasanian inscription from the 3rd century CE, both of which refer to parts of northwestern South Asia. In Arabic texts, al-Hind referred to the land beyond the Indus and therefore, all the people in that land were Hindus. This Arabic term was itself taken from the pre-Islamic Persian term Hindū . By the 13th century, Hindustan emerged as a popular alternative name of India , meaning
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4160-545: Is necessarily religious" or that Hindus have a universally accepted "conventional or institutional meaning" for that term. To many, it is as much a cultural term. Many Hindus do not have a copy of the Vedas nor have they ever seen or personally read parts of a Veda, like a Christian, might relate to the Bible or a Muslim might to the Quran. Yet, states Lipner, "this does not mean that their [Hindus] whole life's orientation cannot be traced to
4290-415: Is not archaeologists, but artists ... who are the best qualified to judge of the significance of works of art considered as art." By 1909, he was firmly acquainted with Jacob Epstein and Eric Gill , the city's two most important early Modernists, and soon both of them had begun to incorporate Indian aesthetics into their work. The curiously hybrid sculptures that were produced as a result can be seen to form
4420-503: Is rather an umbrella term comprising the plurality of religious phenomena of India. According to the Supreme Court of India , Unlike other religions in the World, the Hindu religion does not claim any one Prophet, it does not worship any one God, it does not believe in any one philosophic concept, it does not follow any one act of religious rites or performances; in fact, it does not satisfy
4550-533: Is really unorthodox. For a complete bibliography, see James S. Crouch, A Bibliography of Ananda Kentish Coomarswamy . Indira Gandhi National Center for the Arts , Manohar, New Delhi, (2002). See also Corrigenda to A Bibliography of Ananda Kentish Coomaraswamy . Hinduism Traditional Hinduism ( / ˈ h ɪ n d u ˌ ɪ z əm / ) is an umbrella term for a range of Indian religious and spiritual traditions ( sampradaya s ) that are unified by
4680-404: Is still a form and not a figuration; not made as though to function biologically or as if to illustrate a text book of anatomy or dramatic expression. Still later, the form is sentimentalised; the features of the crucified are made to exhibit human suffering, the type is completely humanised, and where we began with the shape of humanity as an analogical representation of the idea of God, we end with
4810-403: Is still the legal definition of a Hindu today. Hindu beliefs are vast and diverse, and thus Hinduism is often referred to as a family of religions rather than a single religion. Within each religion in this family of religions, there are different theologies, practices, and sacred texts. Hinduism does not have a "unified system of belief encoded in a declaration of faith or a creed ", but
4940-477: Is that nature which, when established in oneself, brings the state of absolute freedom and peace. The concept of a spontaneous spirituality entered Hinduism with Nath yogis such as Gorakshanath and was often alluded to indirectly and symbolically in the twilight language ( sandhya bhasa ) common to sahaja traditions as found in the Charyapada and works by Matsyendranath and Daripada . It influenced
5070-562: Is the earliest self-designation of Hinduism. According to Arvind Sharma , the historical evidence suggests that "the Hindus were referring to their religion by the term vaidika dharma or a variant thereof" by the 4th-century CE. According to Brian K. Smith, "[i]t is 'debatable at the very least' as to whether the term Vaidika Dharma cannot, with the proper concessions to historical, cultural, and ideological specificity, be comparable to and translated as 'Hinduism' or 'Hindu religion'." Whatever
5200-687: Is the largest tradition of Hinduism. Vaishnavism is the devotional religious tradition that worships Vishnu and his avatars, particularly Krishna and Rama. The adherents of this sect are generally non-ascetic, monastic, oriented towards community events and devotionalism practices inspired by "intimate loving, joyous, playful" Krishna and other Vishnu avatars. These practices sometimes include community dancing, singing of Kirtans and Bhajans , with sound and music believed by some to have meditative and spiritual powers. Temple worship and festivals are typically elaborate in Vaishnavism. The Bhagavad Gita and
5330-401: Is then indispensable to an understanding of the history of art, insofar as the actual shapes and structures of works of art are determined by their real content. Christian art, for example, begins with the representation of deity by abstract symbols, which may be geometrical, vegetable, or theriomorphic, and are devoid of any sentimental appeal whatever. An anthropomorphic symbol follows, but this
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5460-704: The Agamas such as the Pancaratrika to be invalid because it did not conform to the Vedas. Some Kashmiri scholars rejected the esoteric tantric traditions to be a part of Vaidika dharma. The Atimarga Shaivism ascetic tradition, datable to about 500 CE, challenged the Vaidika frame and insisted that their Agamas and practices were not only valid, they were superior than those of the Vaidikas. However, adds Sanderson, this Shaiva ascetic tradition viewed themselves as being genuinely true to
5590-486: The Charyapada , a work of Buddhist tantric songs in the Abahaṭṭha languages written between the 8th and 12th centuries . The songs were often sung in tantric feasts called ganachakras which included dance, music and improvised songs or poems called caryagiti . Sahajiyas such as Saraha also believed that enlightenment could be achieved in this lifetime, by laypersons living in samsara . The sahajiyas also practiced
5720-456: The rasas or "flavours" of love. The two aspects of absolute reality were explained as the eternal enjoyer and the enjoyed, Kṛṣṇa and Rādhā, as may be realised through a process of attribution ( Aropa ), in which the Rasa of a human couple is transmuted into the divine love between Kṛṣṇa and Rādhā, leading to the highest spiritual realisation, the state of union or Yugala . The element of love,
5850-619: The Hindu tradition, he had a deep knowledge of the Western tradition as well as a great expertise in, and love for, Greek metaphysics, especially that of Plotinus, the founder of Neoplatonism . Coomaraswamy built a bridge between East and West that was designed to be two-way: among other things, his metaphysical writings aimed at demonstrating the unity of the Vedanta and Platonism. His works also sought to rehabilitate original Buddhism , as he believed that
5980-449: The Hindu texts . Sanātana Dharma refers to "timeless, eternal set of truths" and this is how Hindus view the origins of their religion. It is viewed as those eternal truths and traditions with origins beyond human history– truths divinely revealed ( Shruti ) in the Vedas , the most ancient of the world's scriptures. To many Hindus, Hinduism is a tradition that can be traced at least to
6110-439: The Hindu texts . Another endonym for Hinduism is Vaidika Dharma ( lit. ' Vedic dharma ' ). Hinduism entails diverse systems of thought, marked by a range of shared concepts that discuss theology , mythology , among other topics in textual sources. Hindu texts have been classified into Śruti ( lit. ' heard ' ) and Smṛti ( lit. ' remembered ' ). The major Hindu scriptures are
6240-545: The Nath sampradaya along with Svecchachara , Sama , and Samarasa . Sahaja meditation and worship was prevalent in Tantric traditions common to Hinduism and Buddhism in Bengal as early as the 8th–9th centuries. The British Nath teacher Mahendranath wrote: Man is born with an instinct for naturalness. He has never forgotten the days of his primordial perfection, except insomuch as
6370-467: The Theosophical Society , as well as various " Guru -isms" and new religious movements such as Maharishi Mahesh Yogi , BAPS and ISKCON . Inden states that the attempt to classify Hinduism by typology started in the imperial times, when proselytising missionaries and colonial officials sought to understand and portray Hinduism from their interests. Hinduism was construed as emanating not from
6500-560: The Vaidika dharma . The word 'Vaidika' in Sanskrit means 'derived from or conformable to the Veda' or 'relating to the Veda'. Traditional scholars employed the terms Vaidika and Avaidika, those who accept the Vedas as a source of authoritative knowledge and those who do not, to differentiate various Indian schools from Jainism, Buddhism and Charvaka. According to Klaus Klostermaier, the term Vaidika dharma
6630-572: The Vajrayana Buddhist Sahajayana movement, which flourished in Bengal and Odisha . Sahajiya mahasiddhas (great adepts or yogis) like Saraha, Kanha , Savari, Luipāda , Kukkuripāda , Kānhapāda and Bhusukupāda were tantric Buddhists who expounded their beliefs in songs and dohas in the Apabhraṃśa languages and Bengali . Many of the songs in this tradition are preserved in
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#17328920875786760-1253: The Vedas , the Upanishads , the Puranas , the Mahabharata (including the Bhagavad Gita ), the Ramayana , and the Agamas . Prominent themes in Hindu beliefs include karma (action, intent and consequences), saṃsāra (the cycle of death and rebirth) and the four Puruṣārthas , proper goals or aims of human life, namely: dharma (ethics/duties), artha (prosperity/work), kama (desires/passions) and moksha (liberation/freedom from passions and ultimately saṃsāra ). Hindu religious practices include devotion ( bhakti ), worship ( puja ), sacrificial rites ( yajna ), and meditation ( dhyana ) and yoga . Hinduism has no central doctrinal authority and many Hindus do not claim to belong to any denomination. However, scholarly studies notify four major denominations: Shaivism , Shaktism , Smartism , and Vaishnavism . The six Āstika schools of Hindu philosophy that recognise
6890-629: The bhakti movement through the Sant tradition, exemplified by the Bauls of Bengal , Namdev Dnyaneshwar , Meera , Kabir and Guru Nanak , the founder of Sikhism . Yoga in particular had a quickening influence on the various Sahajiya traditions The culture of the body ( kāya-sādhana ) through processes of Haṭha-yoga was of paramount importance in the Nāth sect and found in all sahaja schools. Whether conceived of as 'supreme bliss' ( Mahā-sukha ), as by
7020-457: The pizza effect , in which elements of Hindu culture have been exported to the West, gaining popularity there, and as a consequence also gained greater popularity in India. This globalisation of Hindu culture brought "to the West teachings which have become an important cultural force in western societies, and which in turn have become an important cultural force in India, their place of origin". The Hindutva movement has extensively argued for
7150-774: The " Swadeshi " movement, an early phase of the struggle for Indian independence. In the 1920s, he made discoveries in the history of Indian art, particularly some distinctions between Rajput and Moghul painting, and published his book Rajput Painting . At the same time, he amassed an unmatched collection of Rajput and Moghul paintings, which he took with him to the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, when he joined its curatorial staff in 1917. Through 1932, from his base in Boston, he produced two kinds of publications: brilliant scholarship in his curatorial field but also graceful introductions to Indian and Asian art and culture, typified by The Dance of Shiva ,
7280-487: The "land of Hindus". Among the earliest known records of 'Hindu' with connotations of religion may be in the 7th-century CE Chinese text Record of the Western Regions by Xuanzang , and 14th-century Persian text Futuhu's-salatin by 'Abd al-Malik Isami . Some 16–18th century Bengali Gaudiya Vaishnava texts mention Hindu and Hindu dharma to distinguish from Muslims without positively defining these terms. In
7410-539: The "orthodox" form of Hinduism as Sanātana Dharma , "the eternal law" or the "eternal way". Hindus regard Hinduism to be thousands of years old. The Puranic chronology , as narrated in the Mahabharata , Ramayana , and the Puranas , envisions a timeline of events related to Hinduism starting well before 3000 BCE. The word dharma is used here to mean religion similar to modern Indo-Aryan languages , rather than with its original Sanskrit meaning. All aspects of
7540-604: The 18th century, the European merchants and colonists began to refer to the followers of Indian religions collectively as Hindus. The use of the English term "Hinduism" to describe a collection of practices and beliefs is a fairly recent construction. The term Hinduism was first used by Raja Ram Mohan Roy in 1816–17. By the 1840s, the term "Hinduism" was used by those Indians who opposed British colonialism, and who wanted to distinguish themselves from Muslims and Christians. Before
7670-536: The 1920s, Coomaraswamy and his wife were part of the bohemian art circles in New York City, Coomaraswamy befriended Alfred Stieglitz and the artists who exhibited at Stieglitz's gallery. At the same time, he studied Sanskrit and Pali religious literature as well as Western religious works. He wrote catalogues for the Boston Museum of Fine Arts and published his History of Indian and Indonesian Art in 1927. After
7800-566: The 19th and 20th centuries by Hindu reform movements and Neo-Vedanta, and has become characteristic of modern Hinduism. Beginning in the 19th century, Indian modernists re-asserted Hinduism as a major asset of Indian civilisation, meanwhile "purifying" Hinduism from its Tantric elements and elevating the Vedic elements. Western stereotypes were reversed, emphasising the universal aspects, and introducing modern approaches of social problems. This approach had great appeal, not only in India, but also in
7930-591: The Brahmanic-Sanskritic Hinduism and Folk religion typology, whether practising or non-practicing. He classifies most Hindus as belonging by choice to one of the "founded religions" such as Vaishnavism and Shaivism that are moksha-focussed and often de-emphasise Brahman (Brahmin) priestly authority yet incorporate ritual grammar of Brahmanic-Sanskritic Hinduism. He includes among "founded religions" Buddhism , Jainism , Sikhism that are now distinct religions, syncretic movements such as Brahmo Samaj and
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#17328920875788060-466: The British began to categorise communities strictly by religion, Indians generally did not define themselves exclusively through their religious beliefs; instead identities were largely segmented on the basis of locality, language, varna , jāti , occupation, and sect. "Hinduism" is an umbrella-term, referring to a broad range of sometimes opposite and often competitive traditions. The term "Hinduism"
8190-674: The Buddhist Sahajiyās, or as 'supreme love' (as with the Vaiṣṇava Sahajiyās), strength of the body was deemed necessary to stand such a supreme realisation. The Vaishnava-Sahajiya sect became popular in 17th century Bengal. It sought religious experience through the five senses . The divine relationship between Krishna and Radha (guises of the divine masculine and divine feminine) had been celebrated by Chandidas (Bangla: চন্ডীদাস ) (born 1408 CE), Jayadeva (circa 1200 CE) and Vidyapati (c 1352 - c 1448) whose works foreshadowed
8320-463: The Formless, "when surati merges in nirati , japa is lost in ajapā " ( Sākhī , Parcā ko Aṅga, d.23). The meeting of surati and nirati is one of the signs of sahaja-siddhi ; surati is an act of will even when the practitioner struggles to disengage himself from worldly attachments. But when his worldliness is totally destroyed with the dissolution of the ego, there
8450-458: The Marathi poet Tukaram (1609–1649) and Ramdas (1608–1681), articulated ideas in which they glorified Hinduism and the past. The Brahmins also produced increasingly historical texts, especially eulogies and chronicles of sacred sites (Mahatmyas), or developed a reflexive passion for collecting and compiling extensive collections of quotations on various subjects. The notion and reports on "Hinduism" as
8580-457: The Vedanta, that is, in the three stages of the Vedanta philosophy, the Dvaita, Vishishtâdvaita and Advaita; one comes after the other. These are the three stages of spiritual growth in man. Each one is necessary. This is the essential of religion: the Vedanta, applied to the various ethnic customs and creeds of India, is Hinduism. — Swami Vivekananda This inclusivism was further developed in
8710-458: The Vedas or that it does not in some way derive from it". Though many religious Hindus implicitly acknowledge the authority of the Vedas, this acknowledgment is often "no more than a declaration that someone considers himself [or herself] a Hindu," and "most Indians today pay lip service to the Veda and have no regard for the contents of the text." Some Hindus challenge the authority of the Vedas, thereby implicitly acknowledging its importance to
8840-446: The Vedas, or were invalid in their entirety. Moderates then, and most orthoprax scholars later, agreed that though there are some variations, the foundation of their beliefs, the ritual grammar, the spiritual premises, and the soteriologies were the same. "This sense of greater unity", states Sanderson, "came to be called Hinduism". According to Nicholson, already between the 12th and the 16th centuries "certain thinkers began to treat as
8970-403: The Vedic period, between c. 500 to 200 BCE , and c. 300 CE , in the period of the second urbanisation and the early classical period of Hinduism when the epics and the first Purānas were composed. It flourished in the medieval period , with the decline of Buddhism in India . Since the 19th century, modern Hinduism , influenced by western culture , has acquired
9100-467: The Vedic tradition and "held unanimously that the Śruti and Smṛti of Brahmanism are universally and uniquely valid in their own sphere, [...] and that as such they [Vedas] are man's sole means of valid knowledge [...]". The term Vaidika dharma means a code of practice that is "based on the Vedas", but it is unclear what "based on the Vedas" really implies, states Julius Lipner. The Vaidika dharma or "Vedic way of life", states Lipner, does not mean "Hinduism
9230-721: The West's view of Hinduism". Central to his philosophy is the idea that the divine exists in all beings, that all human beings can achieve union with this "innate divinity", and that seeing this divine as the essence of others will further love and social harmony. According to Vivekananda, there is an essential unity to Hinduism, which underlies the diversity of its many forms. According to Flood, Vivekananda's vision of Hinduism "is one generally accepted by most English-speaking middle-class Hindus today". Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan sought to reconcile western rationalism with Hinduism, "presenting Hinduism as an essentially rationalistic and humanistic religious experience". This "Global Hinduism" has
9360-547: The ancient Vedic era. The Western term "religion" to the extent it means "dogma and an institution traceable to a single founder" is inappropriate for their tradition, states Hatcher. Sanātana Dharma historically referred to the "eternal" duties religiously ordained in Hinduism, duties such as honesty, refraining from injuring living beings ( ahiṃsā ), purity, goodwill, mercy, patience, forbearance, self-restraint, generosity, and asceticism. These duties applied regardless of
9490-469: The attendant idea of progress. It was possible for Aristotle, starting from the premise that a man, being actually cultured, may also become literate, to ask whether there is a necessary or merely an accidental connection of literacy with culture. Such a question can hardly arise for those to whom illiteracy implies, as a matter of course, ignorance, backwardness, unfitness for self-government: for you, unlettered people are uncivilized peoples and vice versa—as
9620-447: The authority of the Vedas are: Samkhya , Yoga , Nyaya , Vaisheshika , Mīmāṃsā , and Vedanta . While the traditional Itihasa-Purana and its derived Epic-Puranic chronology present Hinduism as a tradition existing for thousands of years, scholars regard Hinduism as a fusion or synthesis of Brahmanical orthopraxy with various Indian cultures, having diverse roots and no specific founder. This Hindu synthesis emerged after
9750-508: The case, many Hindu religious sources see persons or groups which they consider as non-Vedic (and which reject Vedic varṇāśrama – 'caste and life stage' orthodoxy) as being heretics (pāṣaṇḍa/pākhaṇḍa). For example, the Bhāgavata Purāṇa considers Buddhists, Jains as well as some Shaiva groups like the Paśupatas and Kāpālins to be pāṣaṇḍas (heretics). According to Alexis Sanderson ,
9880-435: The central deity worshipped, the traditions and the soteriological outlook. The denominations of Hinduism, states Lipner, are unlike those found in major religions of the world, because Hindu denominations are fuzzy with individuals practising more than one, and he suggests the term "Hindu polycentrism". There are no census data available on demographic history or trends for the traditions within Hinduism. Estimates vary on
10010-566: The classic texts associated with the Sahajiya Buddhists is the Hevajra Tantra . The tantra describes four kinds of Joy (ecstasy): From Joy there is some bliss, from Perfect Joy yet more. From the Joy of Cessation comes a passionless state. The Joy of Sahaja is finality. The first comes by desire for contact, the second by desire for bliss, the third from the passing of passion, and by this means
10140-424: The classical "karma-marga", jnana-marga , bhakti-marga , and "heroism", which is rooted in militaristic traditions . These militaristic traditions include Ramaism (the worship of a hero of epic literature, Rama , believing him to be an incarnation of Vishnu) and parts of political Hinduism . "Heroism" is also called virya-marga . According to Michaels, one out of nine Hindu belongs by birth to one or both of
10270-435: The colonial polemical reports led to fabricated stereotypes where Hinduism was mere mystic paganism devoted to the service of devils, while other scholars state that the colonial constructions influenced the belief that the Vedas , Bhagavad Gita , Manusmriti and such texts were the essence of Hindu religiosity, and in the modern association of 'Hindu doctrine' with the schools of Vedanta (in particular Advaita Vedanta) as
10400-545: The commonalities that linked them. The opposition of religion to folklore is often a kind of rivalry set up as between a new dispensation and an older tradition, the gods of the older cult becoming the evil spirits of the newer. He pointed out that the Greek word daimon , which at root indicates something given, was synonymous with the Christian Holy Spirit, God's gift of life. If Christian propagandists chose to emphasize
10530-442: The concept of dharma , a cosmic order maintained by its followers through rituals and righteous living, as first expounded in the Vedas . The word Hindu is an exonym , and while Hinduism has been called the oldest religion in the world, it has also been described by the modern term Sanātana Dharma ( lit. ' eternal dharma ' ), based on the belief that its origins lie beyond human history , as revealed in
10660-465: The continuity of tradition reveals itself best in art, which expresses ideas. Even when religious philosophies developed with writing, a continuity of meaning could be observed often because the change was gradual and the old and the new existed side by side. In the Vedas, the belief {that all life began in the “Waters”} appears in the form of an old popular theory, for which are substituted the successively more philosophical concepts of Space Cosmology, of
10790-810: The countries of South Asia , in Southeast Asia , in the Caribbean , Middle East , North America , Europe , Oceania , Africa , and other regions . The word Hindū is an exonym , and is derived from the Sanskrit root Sindhu , believed to be the name of the Indus River in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent . The Proto-Iranian sound change *s > h occurred between 850 and 600 BCE. According to Gavin Flood , "The actual term Hindu first occurs as
10920-495: The couple divorced in 1930, they remained friends. Shortly thereafter, on 18 November 1930, Coomaraswamy married Argentine Luisa Runstein , 28 years younger, who was working as a society photographer under the professional name Xlata Llamas. They had a son, Coomaraswamy's third child, Rama Ponnambalam (1929-2006), who became a physician and convert at age 22 to the Roman Catholic Church . Following Vatican II , Rama became
11050-609: The cultural influences such as Yoga and Hare Krishna movement by many missionaries organisations, especially by ISKCON and this is also due to the migration of Indian Hindus to the other nations of the world. Hinduism is growing fast in many western nations and in some African nations . Hinduism has no central doctrinal authority and many practising Hindus do not claim to belong to any particular denomination or tradition. Four major denominations are, however, used in scholarly studies: Shaivism , Shaktism , Smartism , and Vaishnavism . These denominations differ primarily in
11180-463: The deep and not infrequently difficult writings of this period, he also delighted in polemical writings created for a larger audience—essays such as "Why exhibit works of art?" (1943). In his book The Information Society: An Introduction (Sage, 2003, p. 44), Armand Mattelart credits Coomaraswamy for coining the term 'post-industrial' in 1913. Coomaraswamy was a firm believer in the comparative method. The analysis of both texts and symbols across
11310-648: The deities to be aspects or manifestations of a single impersonal absolute or ultimate reality or Supreme God , while some Hindus maintain that a specific deity represents the supreme and various deities are lower manifestations of this supreme. Other notable characteristics include a belief in the existence of ātman (self), reincarnation of one's ātman, and karma as well as a belief in dharma (duties, rights, laws, conduct, virtues and right way of living), although variation exists, with some not following these beliefs. June McDaniel (2007) classifies Hinduism into six major kinds and numerous minor kinds, in order to understand
11440-484: The demonic at the expense of the daimon it was only to further their own cause. Ideas like this did not go over well with other scholars and his correspondence has its share of angry or condescending responses to his work which he deflected with a combination of erudition, tact, and humor. A third issue that raised his ire was the racism inherent in the Western world's criticism and misinterpretation of traditional and tribal cultures, attitudes tied closely to literacy and
11570-475: The distance (i.e. differences) between Buddhism and Hinduism was artificially created by Western Indologists. In his book, Hinduism and Buddhism , he wrote: The more superficially one studies Buddhism, the more it seems to differ from the Brahmanism in which it originated; the more profound our study, the more difficult it becomes to distinguish Buddhism from Brahmanism, or to say in what respects, if any, Buddhism
11700-469: The early Sanskrit texts differentiate between Vaidika, Vaishnava, Shaiva, Shakta, Saura, Buddhist and Jaina traditions. However, the late 1st-millennium CE Indic consensus had "indeed come to conceptualize a complex entity corresponding to Hinduism as opposed to Buddhism and Jainism excluding only certain forms of antinomian Shakta-Shaiva" from its fold. Some in the Mimamsa school of Hindu philosophy considered
11830-628: The establishment of a Hindu self-identity took place "through a process of mutual self-definition with a contrasting Muslim Other". According to Lorenzen, this "presence of the Other" is necessary to recognise the "loose family resemblance" among the various traditions and schools. According to the Indologist Alexis Sanderson , before Islam arrived in India, the "Sanskrit sources differentiated Vaidika, Vaiṣṇava, Śaiva, Śākta, Saura, Buddhist, and Jaina traditions, but they had no name that denotes
11960-449: The expression of emotions among the Hindus. The major kinds, according to McDaniel are Folk Hinduism , based on local traditions and cults of local deities and is the oldest, non-literate system; Vedic Hinduism based on the earliest layers of the Vedas, traceable to the 2nd millennium BCE; Vedantic Hinduism based on the philosophy of the Upanishads , including Advaita Vedanta , emphasising knowledge and wisdom; Yogic Hinduism, following
12090-637: The first Puranas were composed. It flourished in the medieval period , with the decline of Buddhism in India . Hinduism's variations in belief and its broad range of traditions make it difficult to define as a religion according to traditional Western conceptions. Hinduism includes a diversity of ideas on spirituality and traditions; Hindus can be polytheistic , pantheistic , panentheistic , pandeistic , henotheistic , monotheistic , monistic , agnostic , atheistic or humanist . According to Mahatma Gandhi , "a man may not believe in God and still call himself
12220-646: The first five of these as a collective entity over and against Buddhism and Jainism". This absence of a formal name, states Sanderson, does not mean that the corresponding concept of Hinduism did not exist. By late 1st-millennium CE, the concept of a belief and tradition distinct from Buddhism and Jainism had emerged. This complex tradition accepted in its identity almost all of what is currently Hinduism, except certain antinomian tantric movements. Some conservative thinkers of those times questioned whether certain Shaiva, Vaishnava and Shakta texts or practices were consistent with
12350-419: The folk beliefs not indeed been once understood, we could not now speak of them as metaphysically intelligible, or explain the accuracy of their formulations. His extensive knowledge of ancient languages allowed him access to primary sources and his understanding of metaphysics helped him discern the deeper meanings that other scholars often missed. Given the specialization and compartmentation of knowledge that
12480-464: The fourth [Sahaja] is realized. Perfect Joy is samsara [mystic union]. The Joy of Cessation is nirvana. Then there is a plain Joy between the two. Sahaja is free of them all. For there is neither desire nor absence of desire, nor a middle to be obtained. The siddha, Indrabhuti, wrote a commentary on Sahaja teachings called the Sahajasiddhipaddhati . Sahaja is one of the four keywords of
12610-558: The history of Hinduism, states Lipner. Bal Gangadhar Tilak gave the following definition in Gita Rahasya (1915): "Acceptance of the Vedas with reverence; recognition of the fact that the means or ways to salvation are diverse; and realization of the truth that the number of gods to be worshipped is large". It was quoted by the Indian Supreme Court in 1966, and again in 1995, "as an 'adequate and satisfactory definition," and
12740-492: The innovation of the Vaiṣṇava Sahajiyā school, "is essentially based on the element of yoga in the form of physical and psychological discipline". Vaisnava-Sahajiya is a synthesis and complex of traditions that, due to its tantric practices, was perceived with disdain by other religious communities and much of the time was forced to operate in secrecy. Its literature employed an encrypted and enigmatic style. Because of
12870-557: The memory became buried under the artificial superstructure of civilization and its artificial concepts. Sahaja means natural... The tree grows according to Sahaja , natural and spontaneous in complete conformity with the Natural Law of the Universe. Nobody tells it what to do or how to grow. It has no swadharma or rules, duties and obligations incurred by birth. It has only svabhava - its own inborn self or essence - to guide it. Sahaja
13000-432: The multiple demands of Hinduism." The notion of common denominators for several religions and traditions of India further developed from the 12th century CE. Lorenzen traces the emergence of a "family resemblance", and what he calls as "beginnings of medieval and modern Hinduism" taking shape, at c. 300–600 CE, with the development of the early Puranas, and continuities with the earlier Vedic religion. Lorenzen states that
13130-463: The necessity of privacy and secrecy, little is definitively known about their prevalence or practices. The sahaja-siddhi or the siddhi or 'natural accomplishment' or the 'accomplishment of the unconditioned natural state' was also a textual work, the Sahaja-Siddhi revealed by Dombi Heruka (Skt. Ḍombi Heruka or Ḍombipa) one of the eighty-four Mahasiddhas . The following quotation identifies
13260-500: The needle or the fire drill) were applications of metaphysical ideas, just as modern technology is an expression of scientific principles. Primitive man knew nothing of a possible divorce of function and meaning: all his inventions were applied meaning. The American art historian, Carl Schuster , who corresponded with Coomarawamy and learned much from him, would go on to identify some of the Paleolithic sources of this symbolism. He
13390-504: The pattern in which these meanings are united. His criticism of the academic world was centered around a number of related issues. First, the academic method, by itself, was ill-equipped to deal with the way in which ideas where transmitted in non-literate cultures, due to an over-reliance on written documentation. Too much was left out. By “folklore” we mean the whole and consistent body of culture which has been handed down, not in books but by word of mouth and in practice, from time beyond
13520-508: The portrait of the artist's mistress posing as the Madonna and a representation of an all-too-human baby; the Christ is no longer a man-God, but the sort of man we can approve of. In keeping with his traditionalist stance, he saw this process as one of gradual decay in which the human life world began to encroach gradually on the divine with an attendant growth of sentimentality and loss of meaning. He
13650-570: The reach of historical research, in the form of legends, fairy tales, ballads, games, toys, crafts, medicine, agriculture, and other rites, and forms of social organization, especially those that we call “tribal.” This is a cultural complex independent of national and even racial boundaries, and of remarkable similarity throughout the world. A second point of conflict was the obsessive tendency of Western scholarship to divide cultures, religions, and time periods into discrete categories in order to fit into academic organizational and mental structures. It
13780-425: The relation between them. It also seems to be a more advanced state, since it comes after the mastering of samadhi . Ananda Coomaraswamy Ananda Kentish Muthu Coomaraswamy ( Tamil : ஆனந்த குமாரசுவாமி , Āṉanta Kentiś Muthū Kumāracuvāmi ; Sinhala : ආනන්ද කුමාරස්වාමි Ānanda Kumārasvāmī ; 22 August 1877 − 9 September 1947) was a Ceylonese metaphysician , historian and a philosopher of Indian art who
13910-468: The relationship of the 'mental flux' ( mindstream ) to the sahaja-siddhi . Moreover, it must be remembered that though Sundararajan and Mukerji (2003: p. 502) use a masculine pronominal the term siddha is not gender-specific and that there were females, many as senior sadhakas , amongst the siddha communities: The practitioner is now a siddha , a realized soul. He becomes invulnerable, beyond all dangers, when all forms melt away into
14040-451: The relative number of adherents in the different traditions of Hinduism. According to a 2010 estimate by Johnson and Grim, the Vaishnavism tradition is the largest group with about 641 million or 67.6% of Hindus, followed by Shaivism with 252 million or 26.6%, Shaktism with 30 million or 3.2% and other traditions including Neo-Hinduism and Reform Hinduism with 25 million or 2.6%. In contrast, according to Jones and Ryan, Shaivism
14170-400: The reverence to the Vedas has come to be a simple raising of the hat". Halbfass states that, although Shaivism and Vaishnavism may be regarded as "self-contained religious constellations", there is a degree of interaction and reference between the "theoreticians and literary representatives" of each tradition that indicates the presence of "a wider sense of identity, a sense of coherence in
14300-404: The root jan , meaning 'to be born, produced, to occur, to happen'. The Tibetan lhan cig tu skye ba is an exact etymological equivalent of the Sanskrit. Lhan cig means 'together with', and skye ba means 'to be born, to arise, to come about, to be produced'. The Tibetan can function as a verbal phrase, noun, or adjective. The siddha Saraha (8th century CE) was the key figure of
14430-617: The text of Yoga Sutras of Patanjali emphasising introspective awareness; Dharmic Hinduism or "daily morality", which McDaniel states is stereotyped in some books as the "only form of Hindu religion with a belief in karma, cows and caste"; and bhakti or devotional Hinduism, where intense emotions are elaborately incorporated in the pursuit of the spiritual. Michaels distinguishes three Hindu religions and four forms of Hindu religiosity. The three Hindu religions are "Brahmanic-Sanskritic Hinduism", "folk religions and tribal religions", and "founded religions". The four forms of Hindu religiosity are
14560-447: The tradition and scholarly premises for the typology of Hinduism, as well as the major assumptions and flawed presuppositions that have been at the foundation of Indology . Hinduism, according to Inden, has been neither what imperial religionists stereotyped it to be, nor is it appropriate to equate Hinduism to be merely the monist pantheism and philosophical idealism of Advaita Vedanta. Some academics suggest that Hinduism can be seen as
14690-461: The traditional features of a religion or creed. It is a way of life and nothing more". Part of the problem with a single definition of the term Hinduism is the fact that Hinduism does not have a founder. It is a synthesis of various traditions, the "Brahmanical orthopraxy, the renouncer traditions and popular or local traditions". Theism is also difficult to use as a unifying doctrine for Hinduism, because while some Hindu philosophies postulate
14820-458: The unity of Hinduism, dismissing the differences and regarding India as a Hindu-country since ancient times. And there are assumptions of political dominance of Hindu nationalism in India , also known as ' Neo-Hindutva '. There have also been increase in pre-dominance of Hindutva in Nepal , similar to that of India . The scope of Hinduism is also increasing in the other parts of the world, due to
14950-482: The universal principles, Coomaraswamy's works are very different in form. By vocation, he was a scholar who dedicated the last decades of his life to "searching the Scriptures". He offers a perspective on the tradition that complements Guénon's. He was extremely perceptive regarding aesthetics and wrote dozens of articles on traditional arts and mythology. His works are also finely balanced intellectually. Although born in
15080-440: The various traditions collectively referred to as "Hinduism." The study of India and its cultures and religions, and the definition of "Hinduism", has been shaped by the interests of colonialism and by Western notions of religion. Since the 1990s, those influences and its outcomes have been the topic of debate among scholars of Hinduism, and have also been taken over by critics of the Western view on India. Hinduism as it
15210-509: The very roots of what is now considered British Modernism. Coomaraswamy then met and married a British woman Alice Ethel Richardson and together they stayed on a houseboat in Srinagar in Kashmir. Commaraswamy studied Rajput painting while his wife studied Indian music with Abdul Rahim of Kapurthala. When they returned to England, Alice performed Indian song under the stage name Ratan Devi . Alice
15340-460: The west. Major representatives of "Hindu modernism" are Ram Mohan Roy , Swami Vivekananda , Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan and Mahatma Gandhi . Raja Rammohan Roy is known as the father of the Hindu Renaissance . He was a major influence on Swami Vivekananda, who, according to Flood, was "a figure of great importance in the development of a modern Hindu self-understanding and in formulating
15470-596: Was a "metaphysician", referring to the concept of perennial philosophy , or sophia perennis . Along with René Guénon and Frithjof Schuon , Coomaraswamy is regarded as one of the three founders of Perennialism , also called the Traditionalist School . Several articles by Coomaraswamy on the subject of Hinduism and the perennial philosophy were published posthumously in the quarterly journal Studies in Comparative Religion alongside articles by Schuon and Guénon among others. Although he agrees with Guénon on
15600-628: Was an early interpreter of Indian culture to the West. He has been described as "the groundbreaking theorist who was largely responsible for introducing ancient Indian art to the West". Ananda Kentish Coomaraswamy was born in Colombo, British Ceylon, now Sri Lanka , to the Ceylon Tamil legislator and philosopher Sir Muthu Coomaraswamy of the Ponnambalam–Coomaraswamy family and his English wife Elizabeth Beeby. His father died when Ananda
15730-470: Was coined in Western ethnography in the 18th century and refers to the fusion, or synthesis, of various Indian cultures and traditions, with diverse roots and no founder. This Hindu synthesis emerged after the Vedic period, between c. 500 –200 BCE and c. 300 CE , in the period of the Second Urbanisation and the early classical period of Hinduism, when the epics and
15860-514: Was described by Heinrich Zimmer as "That noble scholar upon whose shoulders we are still standing." While serving as a curator to the Boston Museum of Fine Arts in the latter part of his life, he devoted his work to the explication of traditional metaphysics and symbolism. His writings of this period are filled with references to Plato , Plotinus , Clement , Philo , Augustine , Aquinas , Shankara , Eckhart , Rumi and other mystics. When asked how he defined himself foremost, Coomaraswamy said he
15990-506: Was fond of quoting the curator, John Lodge: “From the Stone Age until now, quelle dégringolade .” Coomaraswamy spent a lot of his time documenting themes and images that appeared to be very old, given their widespread distribution. Major areas of study included: Coomaraswamy observed these symbols in different cultures and time periods, both in religious writings and in folklore. He saw little opposition between religion and folklore. Folklore
16120-478: Was in his study of the language of symbolism contained in images. To have lost the art of thinking in images is precisely to have lost the proper linguistic of metaphysics and to have descended to the verbal logic of “philosophy. His study of traditional symbols had taught him that symbols were meant to express ideas and not emotions and that a study of “styles” and “influences” would reveal little of significance. An adequate knowledge of theology and cosmology
16250-586: Was not content to describe traditional ideas from the inside out, in metaphysical terms alone.. He did not believe that science and metaphysics were in opposition, but were two different ways of looking at the world. Coomaraswamy was critical of the writings of Carl Jung and of Theosophy, which he believed distorted the meaning of traditional ideas. The comparative method has achieved a good deal of success in linguistics but its application to culture had rarely gone beyond mere documentation before Ananda Coomaraswamy. One of Coomaraswamy's most important contributions
16380-408: Was part of the Western academic tradition, his efforts were not always appreciated. He expressed some of his feelings in a letter to Graham Carey: What the secular mind does is to assert that we (symbolists) are reading meaning into things that originally had none: our assertion is that they are reading out the meaning. The proof of our contention lies in the perfection, consistency and universality of
16510-503: Was recognized by John Paul II in 2002. During his long career, Coomaraswamy was instrumental in bringing Eastern art to the West. While at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, he built the first substantial collection of Indian art in the United States. In 1933, Coomaraswamy's title there changed from curator to Fellow for Research in Indian, Persian , and Mohammedan Art. After Coomaraswamy's death, his widow, Doña Luisa Runstein, acted as
16640-652: Was successful and both went to America when Ratan Devi did a concert tour. While they were there, Coomaraswamy was invited to serve as the first Keeper of Indian art in the Boston Museum of Fine Arts in 1917. The couple had two children, a son, Narada, and daughter, Rohini. Coomaraswamy divorced his second wife after they arrived in America. He married the American artist Stella Bloch , 20 years his junior, in November 1922. Through
16770-559: Was transmitted in the vernacular as compared to the sacred languages in which scripture was delivered and interpreted. Folklore was less moralistic but its themes shared a common source with those of religion; Jack's beanstalk was Jacob's ladder. Religion was not “contaminated” by folklore but used it to express the same ideas in a more rationalized and moralized setting, just as Plato used myths to explain his philosophy. The designs we found in Neolithic times were derived from older images. Thus
16900-591: Was two years old, and Ananda spent much of his childhood and education abroad. Coomaraswamy moved to England in 1879 and attended Wycliffe College , a preparatory school in Stroud, Gloucestershire , at the age of twelve. In 1900, he graduated from University College London (UCL), with a degree in geology and botany. On 19 June 1902, Coomaraswamy married Ethel Mary Partridge , an English photographer, who then traveled with him to Ceylon. Their marriage lasted until 1913. Coomaraswamy's field work between 1902 and 1906 earned him
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