Description
Springer \ Bsp Books Living Mantra - Mantra Deity And Visionary Experience Today by Mani Rao
Living Mantra Is An Anthropology Of Mantra-Experience Among Hindu-Tantric Practitioners. In Ancient Indian Doctrine And Legends Mantras Perceived By Rishis (Seers) Invoke Deities And Have Transformative Powers. Adopting A Methodology That Combines Scholarship And Practice Mani Rao Discovers A Continuing Tradition Of Visionaries (Rishis/Seers) And Revelations In South India’S Andhra-Telangana. Both Deeply Researched And Replete With Fascinating Narratives The Book Reformulates The Poetics Of Mantra-Practice As It Probes Practical Questions. Can One Know If A Vision Is Real Or Imagined? Is Vision Visual? Are Deity-Visions Mediated By Culture? If Mantras Are Effective What Is The Role Of Devotion? Are Mantras Language? Living Mantra Interrogates Not Only Theoretical Questions But Also Those A Practitioner Would Ask: How Does One Choose A Deity For Example Or What Might Bind One To A Guru? Rao Breaks Fresh Ground In Redirecting Attention To The Moments That Precede Systematization And Canon-Formation Showing How Authoritative Sources Are Formed. About The Author: Mani Rao Phd Is A Poet And Independent Scholar. She Has Nine Poetry Books And Two Books In Translation From Sanskrit Including The Bhagavad Gita And Kalidasa For The 21St Century Reader. See Manirao.Com For Links And Updates.