PDF Performative Politics and the Cultures of Hinduism: Public Uses of Religion in Western India (Anthem South Asian Studies) by Raminder Kaur in History

Description

Jainism evokes images of monks wearing face-masks to protect insects and mico-organisms from being inhaled. Or of Jains sweeping the ground in front of them to ensure that living creatures are not inadvertently crushed: a practice of non-violence so radical as to defy easy comprehension. Yet for all its apparent exoticism; Jainism is still little understood in the West. What is this mysterious philosophy which originated in the 6th century BCE; whose absolute requirement is vegetarianism; and which now commands a following of four million adherents both in its native India and diaspora communities across the globe? In his welcome new treatment of the Jain religion; Long makes an ancient tradition fully intelligible to the modern reader. Plunging back more than two and a half millennia; to the plains of northern India and the life of a prince who--much like the Buddha--gave up a life of luxury to pursue enlightenment; Long traces the history of the Jain community from founding sage Mahavira to the present day. He explores asceticism; worship; the life of the Jain layperson; relations between Jainism and other Indic traditions; the Jain philosophy of relativity; and the implications of Jain ideals for the contemporary world. The book presents Jainism in a way that is authentic and engaging to specialists and non-specialists alike.