Shows / New Books in Indian Religions
New Books in Indian Religions
This podcast is a channel on the New Books Network. The New Books Network is an academic audio library dedicated to public education. In each episode you will hear scholars discuss their recently published research with another expert in their field. Discover our 150+ channels and browse our 28,000+ episodes on our website: newbooksnetwork.com Subscribe to our free weekly Substack newsletter to get informative, engaging content straight to your inbox: https://newbooksnetwork.substack.com/…
Episodes
- New Books in Indian Religions
SOAS’ Yoga Studies Online
Raj Balkaran speaks with Jacqui Hargreaves & Ruth Westoby about SOAS’ exciting new online learning platform: Yoga Studies Online. Raj Balkaran is a scholar of…
- New Books in Indian Religions
Tenzan Eaghll and Rebekka King, "Representing Religion in Film" (Bloomsbury, 2021)
Tenzan Eaghll and Rebekka King's Representing Religion in Film (Bloomsbury, 2021) is the first full-length exploration of the relationship between religion…
- New Books in Indian Religions
Michael Slouber, "Early Tantric Medicine: Snakebite, Mantras, and Healing in the Garuda Tantras" (Oxford UP, 2016)
Michael Slouber's Early Tantric Medicine: Snakebite, Mantras, and Healing in the Garuda Tantras (Oxford UP, 2016) looks at a traditional medical system that…
- New Books in Indian Religions
Karen O'Brien-Kop, "Phiroz Mehta: A Zoroastrian Teacher of Indian Philosophy of Religion in 1970s-80s Britain"
Phiroz Mehta, was a self-taught philosopher of religion who became the revered core figure of a universal religion and philosophy centred on concepts of…
- New Books in Indian Religions
Manuela Ciotti, "Retro-modern India: Forging the Low Caste Self" (Routledge, 2020)
Manuela Ciotti's Retro-modern India: Forging the Low Caste Self (Routledge, 2020) is interesting engagement with Chamar identity and understanding it through…
- New Books in Indian Religions
Michael S. Allen, "The Ocean of Inquiry: Niscaldas and the Premodern Origins of Modern Hinduism" (Oxford UP, 2022)
Michael S. Allen's book The Ocean of Inquiry: Niscaldas and the Premodern Origins of Modern Hinduism (Oxford UP, 2022) focuses on a single remarkable work and…
- New Books in Indian Religions
Silvia Schwarz Linder, "Goddess Traditions in India: Theological Poems and Philosophical Tales in the Tripurarahasya" (Routledge, 2022)
Silvia Schwarz Linder's Goddess Traditions in India: Theological Poems and Philosophical Tales in the Tripurarahasya (Routledge, 2022) is a study of the…
- New Books in Indian Religions
Aniket De, "The Boundary of Laughter: Popular Performances Across Borders in South Asia" (Oxford UP, 2022)
Combining archival research with ethnographic fieldwork, Aniket De's book The Boundary of Laughter: Popular Performances Across Borders in South Asia (Oxford…
- New Books in Indian Religions
Vinayak Chaturvedi, "Hindutva and Violence: V. D. Savarkar and the Essentials of History" (SUNY Press, 2022)
Hindutva and Violence: V. D. Savarkar and the Essentials of History (SUNY Press, 2022) explores the place of history in the political thought of Vinayak…
- New Books in Indian Religions
Michael J. Altman, "Hinduism in America: An Introduction" (Routledge, 2022)
Hinduism in America: An Introduction (Routledge, 2022) is a concise introduction to the long history of religion in the encounter between America and India. It…
New Books in Indian ReligionsOn Yoga, Cultural Appropriation, and Racism
Shreena Gandhi is a multi-faceted cultural historian of religion with expertise in religion, race, the Americas and Hinduism. Trained at Swarthmore, Harvard…
- New Books in Indian Religions
Caleb Simmons, "Singing the Goddess Into Place: Locality, Myth, and Social Change in Chamundi of the Hill, a Kannada Folk Ballad" (SUNY Press, 2022)
Singing the Goddess Into Place: Locality, Myth, and Social Change in Chamundi of the Hill, a Kannada Folk Ballad (SUNY Press, 2022) demonstrates how folk…
- New Books in Indian Religions
Meenal Shrivastava, "Amma’s Daughters: A Memoir" (Athabasca UP, 2018)
Today I talked to about Amma’s Daughters: A Memoir (Athabasca UP, 2018). This book is available open access here. As a precocious young girl, Surekha knew very…
- New Books in Indian Religions
Koushiki Dasgupta, "Sadhus in Indian Politics: Dynamics of Hindutva" (Sage, 2021)
Koushiki Dasgupta's Sadhus in Indian Politics: Dynamics of Hindutva (Sage, 2021) maps the changing face of contemporary Hindu politics, evaluating the…
- New Books in Indian Religions
Marion (Mugs) McConnell, "Letters from the Yoga Masters" (North Atlantic Books, 2016)
This intimate and insightful account of the life of Dr. Harry (Hari) Dickman, referred to by Swami Sivananda as “the yogi of the West,” features more than…
- New Books in Indian Religions
Kajri Jain, "Gods in the Time of Democracy" (Duke UP, 2021)
In 2018 India's prime minister, Narendra Modi, inaugurated the world's tallest statue: a 597-foot figure of nationalist leader Sardar Patel. Twice the height…
- New Books in Indian Religions
Wendy Doniger, "After the War: The Last Books of the Mahabharata" (Oxford UP, 2022)
Wendy Doniger's After the War: The Last Books of the Mahabharata (Oxford UP, 2022) is a new translation of the final part of the Mahabharata, the great…
- New Books in Indian Religions
Suman Nath, "Democracy and Social Cleavage in India: Ethnography of Riots, Everyday Politics and Communalism in West Bengal (2012-2021)" (Routledge, 2022)
Suman Nath's book Democracy and Social Cleavage in India: Ethnography of Riots, Everyday Politics and Communalism in West Bengal (2012-2021) (Routledge, 2022)…
- New Books in Indian Religions
Naman P. Ahuja, "Marg Magazine: Readings on the Temple"
In October 1946, shortly before Independence, Mulk Raj Anand founded Marg, a magazine that soon became a pioneering forum for research on Indian and South…
- New Books in Indian Religions
Simran Jeet Singh, "The Light We Give: How Sikh Wisdom Can Transform Your Life" (Riverhead, 2022)
An inspiring approach to a happier, more fulfilling life through Sikh teachings on love and service. As a boy growing up in South Texas, Simran Jeet Singh and…
- New Books in Indian Religions
Antonio Rigopoulos, "The Hagiographer and the Avatar: The Life and Works of Narayan Kasturi" (SUNY Press, 2021)
In The Hagiographer and the Avatar: The Life and Works of Narayan Kasturi (SUNY Press, 2021), Antonio Rigopoulos explores the fundamental role of a…
- New Books in Indian Religions
Evan Berry, "Climate Politics and the Power of Religion" (Indiana UP, 2022)
How does our faith affect how we think about and respond to climate change? Climate Politics and the Power of Religion (Indiana University Press, 2022) is an…
- New Books in Indian Religions
Matthew Clark, "Botanical Ecstasies: Psychoactive Plant Formulas in India and Beyond" (Psychedelic Press, 2021)
In Botanical Ecstasies: Psychoactive Plant Formulas in India and Beyond, Dr Matthew Clark proposes that soma/hoama is instead an ayahuasca-like plant complex…
- New Books in Indian Religions
Robin Dunbar, "How Religion Evolved: And Why It Endures" (Oxford UP, 2022)
What is the evolutionary purpose of religion, and are some individuals more inclined than others to be religious? Our species diverged from the great apes six…
- New Books in Indian Religions
A Conversation with Sravana Borkataky-Varma
A candid conversation with Dr. Sravana Borkataky-Varma, historian, practitioner, educator, and social entrepreneur. Women and Gender in Hindu Tantra Tantra…
- New Books in Indian Religions
Radha Raghunathan, "Soaring with Bharati in the Wisdom-Chariot (Ñānaratam)" (Adyar Library, 2022)
Mahakavi Subramania Bharati was a multi-faceted genius, an innovative poet who initiated a new era in Tamil literature. He was the first writer to have…
- New Books in Indian Religions
Simon Atkinson, "Krishnamacharya on Kundalini: The Origins and Coherence of His Position" (Equinox Publishing, 2022)
Krishnamacharya on Kundalini: The Origins and Coherence of His Position (Equinox Publishing, 2022) explores a distinctive teaching of 'the father of modern…
- New Books in Indian Religions
Raj Balkaran, "The Stories Behind the Poses: The Indian Mythology That Inspired 50 Yoga Postures" (Leaping Hare, 2022)
Raj Balkaran's 200th podcast episode: Christa Kuberry interviews him on his beautifully written new book The Stories Behind the Poses: The Indian Mythology…
- New Books in Indian Religions
Srilata Raman, "The Transformation of Tamil Religion: Ramalinga Swamigal and Modern Dravidian Sainthood" (Routledge, 2022)
Srilata Raman's book The Transformation of Tamil Religion: Ramalinga Swamigal and Modern Dravidian Sainthood (Routledge, 2022) analyses the religious ideology…
- New Books in Indian Religions
Mark Siderits, "How Things Are: An Introduction to Buddhist Metaphysics" (Oxford UP, 2021)
Mark Siderits’ How Things Are: An Introduction to Buddhist Metaphysics (Oxford University Press, 2022) is a wide-ranging survey of how Buddhist philosophers…
- New Books in Indian Religions
Karen O'Brien-Kop, "Rethinking 'Classical Yoga' and Buddhism" (Bloomsbury, 2021)
Rethinking 'Classical Yoga' and Buddhism (Bloomsbury, 2021) revisits the early systemic formation of meditation practices called 'yoga' in South Asia by…
New Books in Indian ReligionsOn Early American Yoga
Philip Deslippe is a historian of American religion with a background in American Studies and literature. His research focuses on Asian, metaphysical, and…
- New Books in Indian Religions
Roger R. Jackson, "Rebirth: A Guide to Mind, Karma, and Cosmos in the Buddhist World" (Shambhala, 2022)
Although Buddhism is one of the religious traditions best known for asserting rebirth, the history and scope of Buddhist approaches to the idea has not…
- New Books in Indian Religions
Richard G. Marks, "Jewish Approaches to Hinduism: A History of Ideas from Judah Ha-Levi to Jacob Sapir (12th-19th Centuries)" (Routledge, 2021)
Richard G. Marks's book Jewish Approaches to Hinduism: A History of Ideas from Judah Ha-Levi to Jacob Sapir (12th-19th Centuries) (Routledge, 2021) explores…
- New Books in Indian Religions
Peter Scharf, "Sabdanugamah: Indian Linguistic Studies in Honor of George Cardona; Volume 1: Vyakarana and Sabdabodha" (Sanskrit Library, 2021)
Sabdanugamah (Sanskrit Library, 2021) is the first of two volumes of studies in honor of Professor George Cardona, the preeminent authority on Paninian grammar…
- New Books in Indian Religions
Emma Natalya Stein, "Constructing Kanchi: City of Infinite Temples" (Amsterdam UP, 2021)
Emma Natalya Stein's book Constructing Kanchi: City of Infinite Temples (Amsterdam UP, 2021) traces the emergence of the South Indian city of Kanchi as a major…
- New Books in Indian Religions
Banu Subramaniam, "Holy Science: The Biopolitics of Hindu Nationalism" (U of Washington Press, 2019)
In Holy Science: The Biopolitics of Hindu Nationalism (University of Washington Press, 2019), Banu Subramaniam examines how science and religion have come…
New Books in Indian ReligionsOn Interfaith Activism, Sikhism, and Hinduism
Tahil Sharma grew up in an interfaith family and practices Sikhism and Hinduism. He is a Program Manager for Faith Outreach at Brave New Films and an…
- New Books in Indian Religions
South Asian Studies in Canada
Raj Balkaran speaks with Julie Vig (York University) and Andrea Pinkney (McGill University) about the Canadian South Asian Studies Association, a new…
- New Books in Indian Religions
The Importance of Pali, the Language of Ancient Buddhism
Core Buddhist teachings are preserved in the ancient Indian language Pali. Listen in as Aleix Ruiz-Falqués speaks about its structure, its significance, and…
- New Books in Indian Religions
Aditya Pratap Deo, "Kings, Spirits and Memory in Central India: Enchanting the State" (Routledge, 2021)
Part anthropological history and part memoir, this book is a study of the polity of the colonial-princely state of Kanker in central India. The author, a scion…
- New Books in Indian Religions
Gregory M. Clines, "Jain Rāmāyaṇa Narratives: Moral Vision and Literary Innovation" (Routledge, 2022)
Gregory M. Clines' book Jain Rāmāyaṇa Narratives: Moral Vision and Literary Innovation (Routledge, 2022) traces how and why Jain authors at different points in…
- New Books in Indian Religions
Anthony Cerulli, "The Practice of Texts: Education and Healing in South India" (U California Press, 2022)
In this interdisciplinary study, Anthony Cerulli probes late- and postcolonial reforms in ayurvedic education, the development of the ayurvedic college, and…
New Books in Indian ReligionsOn Sikhism
This episode introduces Sikhism, including an overview of the basic beliefs, practices, important people, and specific goals of the Sikh religion, practiced by…
- New Books in Indian Religions
Perry Myers, "Spiritual Empires in Europe and India: Cosmopolitan Religious Movements from 1875 to the Interwar Era" (Palgrave, 2021)
Spiritual Empires in Europe and India: Cosmopolitan Religious Movements from 1875 to the Interwar Era (Palgrave MacMillan, 2021) provides a comparative…
New Books in Indian ReligionsOn Sita's Ramayana
Samhita Arni is the author of the NYT Bestselling graphic novel, Sita's Ramayana, (collaboration with Patua artist Moyna Chitrakar) available from Tara Books…
- New Books in Indian Religions
Patrick Olivelle, "Grhastha: The Householder in Ancient Indian Religious Culture" (Oxford UP, 2019)
Today I talked to Patrick Olivelle about his book Grhastha: The Householder in Ancient Indian Religious Culture (Oxford UP, 2019). For scholars of ancient…
- New Books in Indian Religions
Partha Chatterjee, "The Truths and Lies of Nationalism: As Narrated by Charvak" (SUNY Press, 2021)
Written in the voice of the mythical atheist, naysayer, and general all-purpose heretic of Indian philosophy, The Truths and Lies of Nationalism: As Narrated…
- New Books in Indian Religions
The Spalding Symposium on Indian Religions
What is the Spalding Symposium on Indian Religions all about? Who is it for? What is it’s past, present, and future? Find out as Raj Balkaran speaks with…
- New Books in Indian Religions
M. K. Raghvendra, "The Hindu Nation: A Reconciliation with Modernity" (Bloomsbury, 2021)
In The Hindu Nation: A Reconciliation with Modernity (Bloomsbury, 2021), M. K. Raghavendra examines what being a Hindu means and asks whether its practices are…
New Books in Indian ReligionsOn Ashram Life, the Bhagavad Gita, and Teaching Yoga
Raghunath tours the world, leading yoga workshops, yoga teacher trainings, kirtans, and the practical applications of yogic philosophy. He annually takes a…
- New Books in Indian Religions
Swami Medhananda, "Swami Vivekananda's Vedantic Cosmopolitanism" (Oxford UP, 2022)
Vivekananda, Swami Vivekananda's Vedantic Cosmopolitanism (Oxford UP, 2022) argues, is best understood as a cosmopolitan Vedantin who developed novel…
- New Books in Indian Religions
Deepra Dandekar, "Baba Padmanji: Vernacular Christianity in Colonial India" (Routledge, 2020)
Baba Padmanji: Vernacular Christianity in Colonial India (Routledge, 2020)is a critical biography of Baba Padmanji (1831-1906), a firebrand native Christian…
New Books in Indian ReligionsOn Punk, Meditation, and Yoga
Miguel Chen is the bass player for long-running Fat Wreck Chords punk rock band Teenage Bottlerocket. He is the author of I Wanna Be Well (Wisdom…
- New Books in Indian Religions
Samuel Wright, "A Time of Novelty: Logic, Emotion, and Intellectual Life in Early Modern India, 1500-1700 C.E." (Oxford UP, 2021)
Samuel Wright's A Time of Novelty: Logic, Emotion, and Intellectual Life in Early Modern India, 1500-1700 C.E. (Oxford UP, 2021) argues that a philosophical…
- New Books in Indian Religions
Jeffery D. Long and Michael G. Long, "Nonviolence in the World's Religions: A Concise Introduction" (Routledge, 2021)
Jeffery D. Long and Michael G. Long's Nonviolence in the World's Religions: A Concise Introduction (Routledge, 2021) introduces the reader to the complex…
- New Books in Indian Religions
Nupurnima Yadav, "Astrology in India: A Sociological Inquiry" (Taylor & Francis, 2021)
Astrology in India: A Sociological Inquiry (Taylor & Francis, 2021) critically examines the larger world of astrology in India, its ubiquity and relationship…
- New Books in Indian Religions
Ira Mukhoty, "Song of Draupadi" (Aleph Book Company, 2021)
The Mahabharata is one of the central works of Indian literature—its characters, lessons, and tropes are widely known and referenced in Indian popular culture…
- New Books in Indian Religions
James McHugh, "An Unholy Brew: Alcohol in Indian Religion and History" (Oxford UP, 2021)
The first book on alcohol in pre-modern India, James McHugh's An Unholy Brew: Alcohol in Indian Religion and History (Oxford UP, 2021) uses a wide range of…
- New Books in Indian Religions
Mythopolitics in South Asia
India has been caught in a question for almost a decade now: is it a secular democracy or is it a Hindu nation? The struggles over this question goes from the…