ARIEL GLUCKLICH

In Dying for Heaven, Georgetown scholar and advisor to the defense community Ariel Glucklich explains the religious motivation of terrorism. This provocative work of political science argues that the very best qualities of religionits ability to make people feel good and bring them togetherare in fact its most dangerous. Glucklich, author of Sacred Pain and Climbing Chamundi Hill, offers a new understanding of religion and provides a vision for preventing further religiously-inspired violence.How can the search for holy pleasure and a place in heaven lead to such violent self-sacrifice?The Science of Pleasure (Hedonics): An examination of how religion manipulates natural human pleasuresturning selfish individuals into willing, even altruistic, members of a group ready for self-sacrifice. Evolutionary Psychology of Religion: A groundbreaking argument that the same biological impulses that make religion feel good are the ones that make it a threat, explaining the tenacity of modern religious violence. The Martyrs Theater: A deep dive into the performance of martyrdom, revealing why the pageantry of a glorious death can be more compelling than survival for a religious actor in a high-stakes crisis. The Prozac Effect: Discover the psychological misperception that allows mystics and martyrs alike to interpret intense internal feelings of pleasure as the transcendent love of Godwith potentially catastrophic results.

Peregrinos en Chamundi es un retrato de la India a través de más de treinta cuentos de cortesanos y reyes, santones y ladrones, animales parlantes y mágicos territorios.Un joven turista sale a hacer footing y se sienta a descansar junto a unos antiguos escalones de piedra. Al ver que se quita las zapatillas de deporte, un bibliotecario indio jubilado le pregunta si tambien el se dispone a hacer el peregrinaje a lo alto de la colina de Chamundi, dado que a menudo los peregrinos van descalzos. El anciano le ofrece contarle algunas historias para pasar el rato y analiza su significado espiritual para su nuevo amigo.De principio a fin, este libro es una estupenda guia para el dificil camino de la liberacion espiritual, y una ventana filosofica abierta al sentido de la vida.