Books : Search |
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Books : Search |
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The Sacred and The Profane: The Nature of Religion»rank: 32699by: Mircea Eliade
: :A noted historian of religion traces manifestations of the sacred from primitive to modern times, in terms of space, time, nature and the cosmos, and life itself. Index. Translated by Willard Trask. |
Shamanism: Archaic Techniques of Ecstasy (Bollingen Series (General))»rank: 128168by: Mircea Eliade
: :First published in 1951, Shamanism soon became the standard work in the study of this mysterious and fascinating phenomenon. Writing as the founder of the modern study of the history of religion, Romanian émigré--scholar Mircea Eliade (1907-1986) surveys the practice of Shamanism over two and a half millennia of human history, moving from the Shamanic traditions of Siberia and Central Asia--where Shamanism was first observed--to North and South America, Indonesia, Tibet, China, and beyond. In this authoritative survey, Eliade illuminates the magico-religious life of societies that give primacy of place to the figure of the Shaman--at once magician and medicine man, healer and miracle-doer, priest, mystic, and poet. Synthesizing the approaches of ... |
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The Myth of the Eternal Return: Cosmos and History (Princeton Classic Editions)»rank: 359606by: Mircea Eliade
: :This founding work of the history of religions, first published in English in 1954, secured the North American reputation of the Romanian émigré-scholar Mircea Eliade (1907-1986). Making reference to an astonishing number of cultures and drawing on scholarship published in no less than half a dozen European languages, Eliade's The Myth of the Eternal Return makes both intelligible and compelling the religious expressions and activities of a wide variety of archaic and 'primitive' religious cultures. While acknowledging that a return to the 'archaic' is no longer possible, Eliade passionately insists on the value of understanding this view in order to enrich our contemporary imagination of what it is to be human. Jonathan ... |
The Inner Journey: Myth, Psyche, and Spirit (PARABOLA Anthology Series)»rank: 108573from: Morning Light Press
: :Published since 1976 by the prestigious Society for the Study of Myth and Tradition, Parabola has become the preeminent magazine devoted to the myths, rituals, and art of the world's religious and cultural traditions. Its contributors have included such renowned writers as the Dalai Lama, Madeleine L'Engle, Thich Nhat Hanh, N. Scott Momaday, and many others. This rich collection of essays, stories, and meditations is culled from Parabola's entire history and unfolds for readers the majesty of the human task. From the opening chapter that asks “What Is Myth?” to the last exploring “The Marriage of Heaven and Earth,” readers are accompanied by the leading voices of the last and present centuries. ... |
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Yoga : Immortality and Freedom»rank: 78886by: Mircea Eliade
: :In this landmark book the renowned scholar of religion Mircea Eliade lays the groundwork for a Western understanding of Yoga, exploring how its guiding principle, that of freedom, involves remaining in the world without letting oneself be exhausted by such 'conditionings' as time and history. Drawing on years of study and experience in India, Eliade provides a comprehensive survey of Yoga in theory and practice from its earliest foreshadowings in the Vedas through the twentieth century. The subjects discussed include Patañjali, author of the Yoga-sutras; yogic techniques, such as concentration 'on a Single Point,' postures, and respiratory discipline; and Yoga in relation to Brahmanism, Buddhism, Tantrism, Oriental alchemy, mystical erotism, and shamanism. |
Images and Symbols»rank: 102127by: Mircea Eliade
: :Mircea Eliade--one of the most renowned expositors of the psychology of religion, mythology, and magic--shows that myth and symbol constitute a mode of thought that not only came before that of discursive and logical reasoning, but is still an essential function of human consciousness. He describes and analyzes some of the most powerful and ubiquitous symbols that have ruled the mythological thinking of East and West in many times and at many levels of cultural development. |
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The Forge and the Crucible: The Origins and Structure of Alchemy»rank: 235990by: Mircea Eliade
: :Primitive man's discovery of the ability to change matter from one state to another brought about a profound change in spiritual behavior. In The Forge and the Crucible, Mircea Eliade follows the ritualistic adventures of these ancient societies, adventures rooted in the people's awareness of an awesome new power. The new edition of The Forge and the Crucible contains an updated appendix, in which Eliade lists works on Chinese alchemy published in the past few years. He also discusses the importance of alchemy in Newton's scientific evolution. |
Bengal Nights: A Novel»rank: 153710by: Mircea Eliade
: :Set in 1930s Calcutta, this is a roman á clef of remarkable intimacy. Originally published in Romanian in 1933, this semiautobiographical novel by the world renowned scholar Mircea Eliade details the passionate awakenings of Alain, an ambitious young French engineer flush with colonial pride and prejudice and full of a European fascination with the mysterious subcontinent. Offered the hospitality of a senior Indian colleague, Alain grasps at the chance to discover the authentic India firsthand. He soon finds himself enchanted by his host's daughter, the lovely and inscrutable Maitreyi, a precocious young poet and former student of Tagore. What follows is a charming, tentative flirtation that soon, against all the proprieties and ... |
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History of Religious Ideas, Volume 2: From Gautama Buddha to the Triumph of Christianity (History of Religious Ideas)»rank: 336726by: Mircea Eliade
: :In volume 2 of this monumental work, Mircea Eliade continues his magisterial progress through the history of religious ideas. The religions of ancient China, Brahmanism and Hinduism, Buddha and his contemporaries, Roman religion, Celtic and German religions, Judaism, the Hellenistic period, the Iranian syntheses, and the birth of Christianity—all are encompassed in this volume. |
Myth and Reality (Religious Traditions of the World)»rank: 236493by: Mircea Eliade
: :An informative guide to the modern mythologies! This classic study, translated from the original French, deals primarily with societies around the world in which myth is--or was until very recently-- 'living,' in the sense that it supplies models for human behavior and, by that very fact, gives meaning and value to life. The author believes that understanding the structure and function of myths in these traditional societies serves to clarify a stage in the history of human thought: 'myths reveal that the World, man, and life have a supernatural origin and history, and that this history is significant, precious, and exemplary.' |