Indian Religions
Indian
Religions is an anthology of
written and oral texts by spiritual teachers from South Asia. The period
covered is some 3500 years – from the period of the Rig Veda to the 1980s. Extracts from the works of about a
hundred mystics are included. All the major traditions (Hindu, Jain, Buddhist,
Sufi, Sikh), as well as heterodox and transgressive traditions, are
represented. While scholarly in its presentation and based on the most
up-to-date literature, the book is clearly written and intended to be
accessible to students as well as general readers.
Publisher’s description
Indian Religions is an expansive collection of the key written and
oral texts by spiritual teachers from South Asia, covering 3,500 years and all
the major traditions-Buddhism, Jainism, Hinduism, Islam, Sikhism, and new
Indian religions.
The volume provides clear translations of
extracts from original documents and texts from most of the well-known and many
of the lesser-known individuals and traditions. Overlapping parts and sections
each comprise a historically and thematically defined stage of a tradition. The
reader is thus able to follow the chronological development of the various
traditions without isolating them from one another. Each section includes a
context-setting introduction which provides historical, cultural, and textual
background. A general introduction lays the foundations for the text's
theoretical framework and approach.
Indian Religions is the most complete and best-organized anthology
of Indian religious/spiritual texts published to date. It serves as an
introduction to the history of religions in South Asia, and will appeal to
readers interested in India and Eastern religions as well as students of
religion and South Asian culture.
Reviews
The volume is both well researched and
organized. Heehs has structured the book lucidly, first outlining the major
belief systems originating in the subcontinent – Vedic, Vedantic, Jainism,
Vedantic, Jainism, Theravada Buddhism, Samkhya and Yoga – in the section titled
“Foundations”. Having established the basic operating tenets and principles in
brief introductions to each, Heehs then includes a number of extracts from the
scriptures and literature.
Madhumita
Bhattacharyya, The Telegraph
(Kolkata)
In this smart anthology . . . each part
takes us on a stimulating tour with an allure of further discovering uncharted
alleys.
Romain
Maitra, Sunday Statesman (Kolkata)
Very well presented. . . . A must for all
libraries.
Dipankar
Khanna, Deccan Herald (Bangalore)
Heehs includes selections and
transcriptions of about 200 texts, both written and oral, from all over the
South Asian subcontinent. The selections represent a great diversity of spiritual
perspectives. . . . The introductions and the texts themselves combine to make
this book useful for scholars as well as spiritual seekers drawn to Indian
religious thought.
Stephen
Joseph, Library Journal
Heehs’s Indian Religions provides a
comprehensive and detailed map to allow readers to navigate the often
difficult, often bewildering terrain of Indian religious literature for
themselves.
Andrew
McGarrity, Asian Studies Review
Many will find Indian Religions a useful teaching aid whose contents and
introductory sections are clear, concise and eminently readable.
Nile
Green, Contemporary South Asia
A lot of factors combine to make the book
very rich in content and contributions. The richness includes the fact that
Heehs, as its editor, is an authority on the subject that is eloquently treated
in the publication. . . . Indian
Religions is a very useful introduction to the history of religions
in the southern part of Asia. Also, it should serve as a very important
research tool for professors/researchers and students, who are very much
interested in Eastern religions generally but, in particular, Indian religions,
which form the bulk of this impressive publication.
Dorothy
V. Smith, African and Asian Studies
Peter Heehs’ Historical Reader is another worthwhile
attempt in its effort to encompass Indian religion as spiritual experience
within the covers of a single book. . . . . Works such as these succeed when they dispel
narrow-mindedness and inform. Let us hope that this anthology does just that.
Julius Lipner, Times
Higher Education