Purifying the Earthly Body of God: Religion and Ecology in Hindu India
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Examining the relation between religion and ecological concern in Hinduism from textual, theological, anthropological, feminist, and eco-activist approaches, this volume brings together an international, interdisciplinary group of scholars. The book covers the most relevant aspects of the Hindu tradition, searching out the ecological implications of pilgrimage and sacred geography, earth and river goddesses, the beliefs and ritual practice of villagers, caste consciousness, and Vedanta, Tantra, and Goddess theologies. Booknews Examines the relationship between religion and ecological concern in Hinduism. The 12 contributions explore the issues from textual, theological, anthropological, feminist, and eco-activist points of view. Representative paper topics include the ecological implications of Karma theory, attitudes to nature in the early Upanishads, reflections of ecofeminism in Hindu tantra, moral ecology in rural North India, and theology and ecology at the birthplace of Krishna. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.
AcknowledgmentsIntroduction1Pt. ITheological and Textual Perspectives111Toward an Indigenous Indian Environmentalism132The Ecological Implications of Karma Theory393Attitudes to Nature in the Early Upanisads514The Dualism of Nondualism: Advaita Vedanta and the Irrelevance of Nature615Sacred Immanence: Reflections of Ecofeminism in Hindu Tantra896Models and Images for a Vaisnava Environmental Theology: The Potential Contribution of Srivaisnavism133Pt. IIViews from the Field1637Sin and Rain: Moral Ecology in Rural North India1658On the Ethics and Aesthetics of Recycling in India1979Learning the Story of the Land: Reflections on the Liberating Power of Geography and Pilgrimage in the Hindu Tradition22510Theology and Ecology at the Birthplace of Krsna24711The Earth as Goddess Bhu Devi: Toward a Theory of "Embedded Ecologies" in Folk Hinduism26912Idioms of Degeneracy: Assessing Ganga's Purity and Pollution297Conclusion331Contributors345Index349
