Gavin Flood

Este libro proporciona una sucinta introducción al hinduismo, tanto en su vertiente cultural como histórica. Partiendo de la pregunta «¿qué es el hinduismo?», el autor, reconocido especialista mundia

Equilibrada introducción temático-histórica al hinduismo en la que se estudia este conjunto de filosofías del espíritu, tanto en su vertiente religiosa como en su vertiente vital. El libro describe minuciosamente los origenes, el desarrollo y las distintas variantes del hinduismo.

An ideal resource for courses on Hinduism or world religions, this accessible volume spans the entire field of Hindu studies. It provides a forum for the best scholars in the world to make their views and research available to a wider audience. Comprehensively covers the textual traditions of Hinduism Includes material on Hindu folk religions and stresses the importance of region in analyzing Hinduism Reflects the current move away from essentialist understandings of Hinduism towards tradition and regional-specific studies Features four coherent sections covering theoretical issues, textual traditions, science and philosophy, and Hindu society and politics. This "Companion" presents the most recent scholarly thinking about Hinduism in an accessible way. It provides a forum for the best scholars in the world to make their views and research available to a wider audience. Presents the most recent scholarly thinking about Hinduism in an accessible way. Leading scholars make their views and research available to a wider readership. Divided into four sections covering theoretical issues, textual traditions, systematic thought, and Hindu society and politics. Reflects the trend away from essentialist understandings of Hinduism towards tradition and regional-specific studies. Ideal for use on university courses.

In this book, distinguished scholar of Hinduism and Comparative Religion Gavin Flood provides a general introduction to the subject of Tantra: what it is, where it fits into the history of South Asia and beyond, what its links are to Hinduism and Buddhism, and how contemporary Tantra transforms the older tradition.Tantra has become a topic of wide interest, associated in the popular imagination with improving ones love life or with sensational magic and nefarious goings on. Both have a tenuous link with the historical reality of Tantra, its long history and traditions of practice and belief. In Tantric Knowledge, Gavin Flood sets out to correct these common misrepresentations, offering a balanced and engaging thematic introduction to the ideas, practices, and history of Hindu Tantra. Tantric Knowledge explores what the Tantric traditions are, their origin and formation, and what they mean for us today. Tantric traditions claim to possess knowledge about the nature of the universe, the nature of ourselves as human beings, and how we fit into the wider cosmos around us. This book is about this Tantric knowledge in the texts and traditions that profess it. The study of these traditions raises important questions of both historical and existential importance.

Una interesante introducción a la tradición tántrica. El tantra ¿es sólo una práctica sexual esotérica o es algo más? Este libro original y fascinante nos desvela sus misterios, exponiendo la concepción del cuerpo en el pensamiento y la práctica hindú en la India. El autor nos explica que, en el tantra, el cuerpo es un vehículo para la espiritualidad, un aspecto fundamental en la vida de las personas, y que el cuerpo tántrico no puede comprenderse fuera de las tradiciones y los textos que lo originaron.

Over five lectures, Gavin Flood, professor of Hindu Studies and Comparative Religion in the Theology and Religion Faculty at Campion Hall at Oxford University, gives an overview of the history, theory and practice of Tantra. He explores aspects from the aiva Siddhnta tradition to the Non-Saiddhntika, to Buddhist tantra. He gives an overview of the many developments in thought, cosmologies and the varied and fascinating practices that have emerged over the centuries. Session 1 Tantra in history, an overview Session 2 The aiva Siddhnta Tradition, rituals, cosmology, initiation and liberation Session 3 The Non-Saiddhntika traditions including the path of purity and the path of power Session 4 Tantric aiva views of the self, the porous self & the gnostic self, Tantric meditation Session 5 Buddhist Tantra Vajrayna and the influence of aivismGavin Flood is a Professor of Hindu Studies and Comparative Religion in the Theology and Religion Faculty and academic director of the Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies.Gavin read Religious Studies and Social Anthropology at Lancaster University and taught at the universities of Wales (Lampeter) and Stirling before coming to Oxford. He was elected to membership of the British Academy in 2014. His research interests are in medieval Hindu texts (especially from the traditions of Shiva), comparative religion, and phenomenology. Two recent books are The Importance of Religion: Meaning and Action in Our Strange World (Oxford: Blackwell, 2013) and The Truth Within: A History of Inwardness in Christianity, Hinduism and Buddhism(Oxford University Press, 2014).