Literary and Cultural Readings of Goddess Spirituality: The Red Shadow of the Mother
Anway Mukhopadhyay
Dec 2016 · Cambridge Scholars Publishing
Ebook
195
Pages
family_home
Eligible
info
reportRatings and reviews aren’t verified Learn More
About this ebook
This volume explores the potentials of Goddess spirituality in the field of cultural critique, and strings together innovative readings of already existing literary texts and cultural phenomena from the critical perspective of Goddess spirituality. The chapters explore a colourful array of texts and authors, and focus on issues as diverse as the persistence of the figure of the Magna Mater in the life, writing and thought of Swami Vivekananda and Sri Aurobindo, the inability of Advaita Vedanta to come out of the shadow of the Great Mother, the possibility of pluralizing the Eurocentric notion of the Muse by invoking the figure of Goddess Sarasvati in the field of English Studies, and a reappraisal of Kipling’s Kim from the perspective of the philosophical and spiritual discourses of Prajnaparamita, the Buddhist Goddess of Perfect Wisdom. The book also offers a comparative study of Minoan Goddess Spirituality and tantric philosophy with reference to Aphrodite, Diotima and the Indian Mother Goddesses, the possibility of simultaneously tantricizing notions of modernity and modernizing tantra itself with reference to the works of Lata Mani and William Schindler, and an investigation of the Mother-centric spiritual sensibilities in various religious discourses and devotional literatures, among other discussions. In short, this book investigates the possibilities of inserting the figure of the Great Mother into the critical domain of cultural pluralism, thereby celebrating a multiculturalism that is not based on violence and conflict (antagonism) but grounded in harmony. The Mother is seen by the discourse articulated here mainly as a middle ground between flesh and spirit, knowledge and passion, justice and compassion – and, in the red shadow of the Mother, social epistemologies and academic discourses are radically renegotiated.
About the author
Anway Mukhopadhyay is an Assistant Professor in the Department of English and Culture Studies at the University of Burdwan, West Bengal, India. Previously, he was an Assistant Professor in the Department of English at Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi. Mukhopadhyay has authored three academic books, all published in Germany, and his writings – both critical and creative – have been published in reputed national and international journals in India, the USA, and Australia. In 2016, the International Business Council honoured him with the prestigious Indira Gandhi Priyadarshini Award for his outstanding achievements in English literature. He is a member of the International Editorial Board of Ashvamegh Indian Journal of English Literature. His areas of interest include classical Western thought, feminist philosophy, Hindu studies, comparative literature, and twentieth century literature, among others.
Rate this ebook
Tell us what you think.
Reading information
Smartphones and tablets
Install the Google Play Books app for Android and iPad/iPhone. It syncs automatically with your account and allows you to read online or offline wherever you are.
Laptops and computers
You can listen to audiobooks purchased on Google Play using your computer's web browser.
eReaders and other devices
To read on e-ink devices like Kobo eReaders, you'll need to download a file and transfer it to your device. Follow the detailed Help Center instructions to transfer the files to supported eReaders.
