Hindu Worldviews : Theories of Self, Ritual and Reality.

239 Pages·2017·18.062 MB·English

by  Jessica Frazier

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Hindu Worldviews
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Hindu Worldviews

Theories of Self, Ritual and Reality
JESSICA FRAZIER
Bloomsbury Academic
An imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
LONDON • OXFORD • NEW YORK • NEW DELHI • SYDNEY
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Bloomsbury Academic
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BLOOMSBURY and the Diana logo are trademarks of Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
First published 2017
© Jessica Frazier 2017
Jessica Frazier has asserted her right under the Copyright,
Designs and Patents Act, 1988, to be identified as the Author of this work.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or
transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical,
including photocopying, recording, or any information storage or retrieval
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British Library Cataloguing- in- Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
ISBN: HB: 978- 1- 4742- 5156- 3
PB: 978- 1- 4742- 5155- 6
ePDF: 978- 1- 4742- 5157- 0
ePub: 978- 1- 4742- 5158- 7
Library of Congress Cataloging- in- Publication Data
A catalog record for this book is available from the Library of Congress.
Cover design and illustration © Alice Marwick
Typeset by Newgen Knowledge Works (P) Ltd., Chennai, India.
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For Ann Ross Frazier
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Contents

Preface x
Acknowledgements xii
Note on texts and translations xiii
1 Introduction: Hindu worldviews and global theory 1
Thinking with India: the idea of a global theory 3
Forms of theory 7
Multicultural hermeneutics 10
Hindu worldviews as lived culture 16
The intellectual history of classical Hinduism 20
PART ONE The art of embodiment: The self
made of matter
29
2 Theories of self in classical Hinduism 31
The self as ‘pure’ consciousness 33
The self as the core of personhood 36
The open self 37
3 Bodies made of elements and structures 41
The elements of the Upanis￷adic body 41
The importance of structure 47
Structuring the universe 51
4 Bodies made of substances and modes 55
Transformations in nature, energy and substance 58
Sām￵khya and the modal worldview 60
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5 Agency and the art of the self 65
The fabric of embodiment 66
Hindu dualism: core and contingent selves 69
Creative agency 78
Rethinking self and embodiment 82
PART TWO Becoming the world: The self
made of thought
85
6 Theories of reason in classical Hinduism 87
Genealogies of reason 88
The growth of metaphysics 90
The challenge of scepticism 93
The search for transcendental foundations 94
Power and normative theory 96
7 Becoming the world through reason 99
The importance of knowledge 101
Language, liberation and the world of ideas 105
Anumān￷a and the inductive power of the mind 110
8 Theories of everything 121
Cosmological theories of everything 122
The new theories of everything 126
Validity and logic: the systematization of thought 130
Knowledge as embodiment: selves and truths made of thought 135
PART THREE Shaping the world: Classical
embodiment in practice
139
9 Theories of ritual and practice in Hindu culture 141
The importance of practice 141
Dharma and the structuring of society 143
Ritual as the art of shaping reality 145
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CONTENTS ix
10 Practices of materiality: Structuring and transformative
rituals 149
Vedic and dharmic patterns of practice 150
Structuring practices: celebrating the ordered cosmos 154
Transformative practices: the mutable cosmos 156
Tantra, mantra and divinization 157
Theories of transformation: shaping the world 161
11 Interactive practices: The community of selves 163
Divine agents and bodies 164
Worship as the communion of persons 167
Possession, gaze and intimate subjectivity 171
Theories of interaction: living in the trans- human community 177
12 Speculative practices: The reality of ideas 181
Metaphysics and creative theologizing 182
Scepticism, science and the shrinking of the speculative self 185
The modern theological imagination in Hinduism 187
Theory as a practice for becoming the world 192
13 Conclusion: The art of being human in the Hindu cosmos 195
The arts of self: Hindu dualism 196
The world of ideas: theory as visionary practice 198
Notes 203
Bibliography 207
Index 221