- Continue Browsing
- Your Basket is Empty
Categories:
Hindu Philosophy & Religion,
Yoga
Sonic Liturgy: Ritual and Music in Hindu Tradition - by Guy. L.Beck
£17.99
Sonic Liturgy: Ritual and Music in Hindu Tradition builds on the foundation of Guy L. Beck's earlier work, which described the theoretical role of sound in Hindu thought. Sonic Liturgy continues the discussion of sound into the realm of Hindu ritual and musical traditions of worship.
Beginning with the chanting of the Sama-Veda alongside the fire sacrifices of the ancient Indo-Aryans and with the classical Gandharva music as outlined in the musicological texts of Bharata and Dattila, Beck establishes a historical foundation for an in-depth understanding of the role of music in the early Puja rituals and Indian theater in the vernacular poetry of the Bhakti movements in medieval temple worship of Siva and Vishnu in southern India, and later in the worship of Krishna in the northern Braj region. By surveying a multitude of worship traditions, Beck reveals a continuous template of interwoven ritual and music in Hindu tradition that he terms "sonic liturgy," a structure of religious worship and experience that incorporates sound and music on many levels.
In developing the concept and methods for understanding the phenomenon of sonic liturgy, Beck draws from liturgical studies and ritual studies, broadening the dimensions of each, as well as from recent work in the fields of Indian religion and music. As he maps the evolution of sonic liturgy in Hindu culture, Beck shows how, parallel to the development of religious ritual from ancient times to the present, there is a less understood progression of musical form, beginning with Vedic chants of two to three notes to complicated genres of devotional temple music employing ragas with up to a dozen notes. Sonic liturgy in its maturity is manifest as a complex interactive worship experience of the Vaishnava sects, presented here in Beck's final chapters.
If you like this, you might also like:
Tantric Physics Vol. 1 & 2 (paperback edition) by Craig Williams
£34.99
First explored in Tantric Physics Vol. I: Cave of the Numinous, the new release from Anathema Publishing, Tantric Physics II: Sacred Body, Sacred Space continues to express the haunting inner realizations of initiatic perceptions. Embracing both the Right-Hand and Left-Hand Paths, the text reveals a unique vision of a Tantric Physics utilizing all branches of Vaidika sciences: Yoga, Ayurveda, Jyotish, Vedanta, and Tantra.
Paperback edition.
Be Here Now by Ram Dass
£14.99
When Be Here Now was first published in 1971, it filled a deep spiritual emptiness, launched the ongoing mindfulness revolution, and established Ram Dass as perhaps the preeminent seeker of the twentieth century.
Just ten years earlier, he was known as Professor Richard Alpert. He held appointments in four departments at Harvard University. He published books, drove a Mercedes and regularly vacationed in the Caribbean. By most societal standards, he had achieved great success. . . . And yet he couldn't escape the feeling that something was missing.
Psilocybin and LSD changed that. During a period of experimentation, Alpert peeled away each layer of his identity, disassociating from himself as a professor, a social cosmopolite, and lastly, as a physical being. Fear turned into exaltation upon the realization that at his truest, he was just his inner-self: a luminous being that he could trust indefinitely and love infinitely.
And thus, a spiritual journey commenced. Alpert headed to India where his guru renamed him Baba Ram Dass--"servant of God." He was introduced to mindful breathing exercises, hatha yoga, and Eastern philosophy. If he found himself reminiscing or planning, he was reminded to "Be Here Now." He started upon the path of enlightenment, and has been journeying along it ever since.
Be Here Now is a vehicle for sharing the true message, and a guide to self-determination.
The Bijak of Kabir by Linda Hess & Sukhdev Singh
£7.99
Kabir was an extraordinary poet whose works have been sung and recited by millions throughout North India for half a millennium. He was perhaps illiterate (I don`t touch ink or paper, this hand never grasped a pen), and he preached an abrasive, sometimes shocking, always uncompromising message exhorting his audience to shed their delusions, pretensions and empty orthodoxies in favor of an intense, direct personal confrontation with truth.
The Bijak is one of the most important anthologies, being the sacred book of the Kabir Panth and the main representative of the Eastern tradition of Kabir`s verses. Shukdev Singh and Linda Hess have accomplished a translation of real grace and remarkable accuracy. The introduction and notes explore Kabir`s work, place it in its initial context, and explore its meaning for modern time.
© 2025 Watkins Books. WATKINS MEDIA LIMITED. COMPANY REGISTRATION NUMBER: 9171151. COMPANY REGISTRATION ADDRESS: SHEPPERTON HOUSE UNIT 11, 89 SHEPPERTON ROAD, LONDON, ENGLAND, N1 3DF.
