The description for this book, Hindu Polytheism, will be forthcoming.

Hindu Polytheism (Bollingen Series, 397)

Religion & Spirituality

Daniélou, Alain

Hinduism

Princeton University Press

The author, a musician, artist, linguist, and traveler, explains how he became attracted to Hinduism and shares his impressions of India, where he has lived for twenty years

The Way to the Labyrinth: Autobiography

Biographies & Memoirs

New Directions

A second-century Tamil verse epic reflects the ancient culture of India in the story of a beautiful young dancer who abandons her future as a courtesan in order to dedicate her life to the pursuit of "the bright light of knowledge"

Manimekhalai: The Dancer With the Magic Bowl

Literature & Fiction

Cattanar

Shattan, Merchant-Pri

Kopalayyar, Ti. Ve

Poetry

Introduction to the Study of Musical Scales

Arts & Photography

Music

South Asia Books

Physical description; 250 p., [6] p. of plates : ill. ; 22 cm. Subjects; Siva (Hindu deity). Dionysus (Greek deity). Saivism History.

Shiva and Dionysus

London : East-West Publications

The Gods of India: Hindu Polytheism

Inner Traditions

According to the early writings of the Shaiva tradition--still alive in India and dating back at least 6,000 years--the arbitrary ideologies and moralistic religions of modern society signal the last days of humanity heading toward destruction. This prediction is only a fragment of the vast knowledge of Shaiva wisdom, author Alain Danielou as assimilated and reviewed essential concepts of the Shaiva philosophy and its predictions. Clearly expressed in the ancient teachings, these concepts are in accord with, yet surpass, the boldest scientific speculations about consciousness, time, the nature of life and matter, and the history and destiny of the human race. Inherent in this body of knowledge is an understanding of the cycles of creation and destruction which, in conjunction with astronomical phases, determine the life span of the species. Since 1939, humankind has been in the twilight of the Kali Yuga age, or at the end of a cycle. The impending cataclysm, Danielou explains, is brought on by our own errors, and its date will be determined by our present and future actions. While the Gods Play examines how the visionaries of ancient times defined our rose in creation. It explains why and how we have abandoned this role, and reflects on what action can be taken to consciously and creatively influence our own destiny. Included are chapters on The Religion of Nature and The Religion of the City, The Transmigrant Body, Sexual Rites, the Castes, Sacrifice, Magical Powers, Monastic Orders, and Forestalling the Final Day.

While the Gods Play: Shaiva Oracles and Predictions on the Cycles of History and the Destiny of Mankind

Self-Help

Personal Transformation

What is the Nature of the social order that unquestionably produced one of the greatest and longest lasting civilizations known to humankind? Alain Daniélou, distinguished Orientalist, musicologist, and linguist, reveals the foundations of India's culture and the four aims of human life as they are viewed in the traditional Hindu society: virtue on a moral plane; success on the material and social planes; pleasure on a sensual plane; and liberation on a spiritual plane. Coexistent with these aims are the four stages of life: quest for knowledge, family life, retreat into the forest, and renunciation. A four-fold division can be found in all traditional societies throughout the world, symbolically representing the progression of creative consciousness into physical reality. In India, this division is reflected in the caste system, a social order that differs profoundly from those accepted in the contemporary Western world. Exploring he fundamental concepts of the caste system, the author addresses issues of race, individual rights, sexual mores, martial practices, and spiritual attainments. In this light, he exposes the inherent flaws and hypocrisies of our modern egalitarian governments and shows how the shadow side of the ancient caste system persists, disguised and unacknowledged, beneath contemporary economic regimes. Daniélou explains how Hindu society has served as a model for the realization of human potential on many levels, addressing sociological and human problems that are both timeless and universal.

Virtue, Success, Pleasure, and Liberation: The Four Aims of Life in the Tradition of Ancient India

Based on original Sanskrit sources, this book gives an authentic account of the methods of yoga in its different forms, including the challenging "left-hand" paths, as well as practices best suited to Western students.

Yoga: Mastering the Secrets of Matter and the Universe

Health, Fitness & Dieting

Exercise & Fitness

Music has always been esteemed for its power to speak directly to our higher consciousness, a power founded in the purity of simple harmonic ratios. In this book, Alain Danielou traces the development of musical scales and tuning from their origins in both China and India, through their merging in ancient Greece, and on to the development of the Western traditions of modal and polyphonic music. Understanding these potent harmonic relationships offers a way for today's musicians to transcend the limitations of overly rationalistic music by drawing on its metaphysical roots.

Music and the Power of Sound: The Influence of Tuning and Interval on Consciousness

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Books by Daniélou, Alain