The Aga Khans have long played a prominent part on the international stage, but much less tends to be understood about the most important group of their followers, the Khoja Ismailis of South Asia, who are now also settled in many other parts of the world. Even less is generally known about the hymns, called ginans, which have historically formed so central an element in the religious life and rituals of the Ismaili community. The principal aim of this anthology is to fill this gap by prov...

A modern translation of verses by Bullhe Shah, the iconic eighteenth-century Sufi poet, treasured by readers worldwide to this day.Bullhe Shah’s work is among the glories of Panjabi literature, and the iconic eighteenth-century poet is widely regarded as a master of mystical Sufi poetry. His verses, famous for their vivid style and outspoken denunciation of artificial religious divisions, have long been beloved and continue to win audiences around the world. This s...

A landmark English translation of Sindhi literature’s most famous classic.Shah Abdul Latif’s Risalo, loosely translated as “the message,” is widely regarded as the pinnacle of Sindhi literature, cherished across South Asia and the diaspora. This collection of Sufi verses, originally crafted for musical performance in the eighteenth century, weaves a rich tapestry of mystical and divine love, drawing on both Islamic tradition and local Sindhi culture. Latif...

This book brings together new approaches to the study of Sikh religion, culture and ethnicity being pursued in the diaspora by Sikh academics in western universities in Britain and North America. An important aspect of the volume is the diversity of topics that are engaged - including film and gender theory, theology, hermeneutics, deconstruction, semiotics and race theory - and brought to bear on the individual contributors' specialism within Sikh studies, thereby helping to explode previ...

Examining materials from early modern and contemporary North India and Pakistan, Tellings and Texts brings together seventeen first-rate papers on the relations between written and oral texts, their performance, and the musical traditions these performances have entailed. The contributions from some of the best scholars in the field cover a wide range of literary genres and social and cultural contexts across the region.The texts and practices are contextualized in relation to the b...

A dervish guide to life and love for the twenty-first centuryPart meditation book, part oracle, and part collection of Sufi lore, poetry, and stories, this handbook offers a fresh interpretation of the fundamental spiritual practice found in all ancient and modern Sufi schools—the meditations on the 99 Qualities of Unity.Unlike most books on Sufism, which are primarily collections of translated Sufi texts, The Sufi Book of Life explains how to appl...

It has been suggested that 'spirituality' has become a word that 'can define an era'. Why? Because paradoxically, alongside a decline in traditional religious affiliations, the growing interest in spirituality and the use of the word in a variety of contexts is a striking aspect of contemporary western cultures. Indeed, spirituality is sometimes contrasted attractively with religion, although this is problematic and implies that religion is essentially dogma, moralism, institutions, buildi...

Michael Carrithers guides us through the complex and sometimes conflicting information that Buddhist texts give about the life and teaching of the Buddha. He discusses the social and political background of India in the Buddha's time, and traces the development of his thought. He also assesses the rapid and widespread assimilation of Buddhism and its contemporary relevance. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in alm...

In this powerful, compassionate work, one of anthropology’s most distinguished ethnographers weaves together rich fieldwork with a compelling critical analysis in a book that will surely make a signal contribution to contemporary thinking about violence and how it affects everyday life. Veena Das examines case studies including the extreme violence of the Partition of India in 1947 and the massacre of Sikhs in 1984 after the assassination of then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. In a major de...

Within this fascinating volume the author explores the history of the Sumerians in light of contemporary archaeological discoveries at Indus Valley. The author examines these discoveries and explains how they hint to the fact that the “Sumerians” were the long lost 'Early Aryans', and that the people who colonised and civilised India, the Mediterranean, Northwestern Europe and Britain were also Aryans—specifically the Phoenician branch. “The Indo-Sumerian Seals Deciphered” is highly recomm...

The Sikh religion has a following of over 20 million people worldwide. However,events such as the verbal and physical attacks on Sikhs just after September 11, where Sikhs were being mistaken for Muslims, suggest that the Sikh faith still remains mysterious to many. This Very Short Introduction introduces newcomers to the meaning of the Sikh religious tradition, its teachings, practices, rituals and festivals. Eleanor Nesbitt highlights and contextualizes the key threads in the hi...

Gandhi (1869-1948) was one of the few men in history to fight simultaneously on moral, religious, political, social, economic, and cultural fronts. During his time as a lawyer in South Africa he developed his strategy of non-violence: the idea of opposing unjust laws by non-violent protest, which he made the basis of his successful struggle against British rule in India. In this Very Short Introduction to Gandhi's life and thought, Bhikhu Parekh outlines both Gandhi's major philosophical i...