Sacred Spaces: Exploring Traditions of Shared Faith in India by Yoginder
Sikand
Publisher: Penguin India 0143029312 | Paperback Format: B | 288 pages
| List Price: Rs 250.00 Published : 1/15/2003 Territory : World
Rating : -->
A fascinating journey through the world of Sufi pirs, babas and rishis
The politics of communal hatred in recent times has brought under attack the
heterodoxy of our religious life. This book explores popular religious cults
from various parts of the country that defy the logic of communities as neatly
separated from and necessarily opposed to each other. Travelling from Kerala to
war-torn Kashmir, and from Punjab to Madhya Pradesh, through twenty-five places
of popular pilgrimageâdargahs, temples and shrinesâYoginder Sikand finds
followers from different communities flocking together in common worship.
At Hazrat Nund Rishi at Charar-e-Sharif, or the Wavar shrine at the Ayyappa
pilgrimage of Sabarimala, at the temple of Goddess Elamma of Sauditti, or the
dargah of Sarmad of Delhi, Sikand meets saints, keepers and devotees to
discover how traditions associated with these places have historically
challenged religious as well as secular elites, and offered their adherents a
powerful and deeply humanist vision of the sacred, freed from the narrow
boundaries of caste and creed. But it is also noteworthy that some of these
shrines, such as the Swami Dattatreya Budhan Baba in Karnataka, have been
transformed over time and become sites of communal contestation.
Weaving together legend, history, ethnography and reminiscences with critical
insights, Sacred Spaces affords us a rare glimpse of religious traditions
outside the mainstream. This rich legacy could well be invaluable in promoting
alternate ways of understanding religion and the notion of community identity,
a need that has never been more urgent than it is today.
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Sikand
Publisher: Penguin India 0143029312 | Paperback Format: B | 288 pages
| List Price: Rs 250.00 Published : 1/15/2003 Territory : World
Rating : -->
A fascinating journey through the world of Sufi pirs, babas and rishis
The politics of communal hatred in recent times has brought under attack the
heterodoxy of our religious life. This book explores popular religious cults
from various parts of the country that defy the logic of communities as neatly
separated from and necessarily opposed to each other. Travelling from Kerala to
war-torn Kashmir, and from Punjab to Madhya Pradesh, through twenty-five places
of popular pilgrimageâdargahs, temples and shrinesâYoginder Sikand finds
followers from different communities flocking together in common worship.
At Hazrat Nund Rishi at Charar-e-Sharif, or the Wavar shrine at the Ayyappa
pilgrimage of Sabarimala, at the temple of Goddess Elamma of Sauditti, or the
dargah of Sarmad of Delhi, Sikand meets saints, keepers and devotees to
discover how traditions associated with these places have historically
challenged religious as well as secular elites, and offered their adherents a
powerful and deeply humanist vision of the sacred, freed from the narrow
boundaries of caste and creed. But it is also noteworthy that some of these
shrines, such as the Swami Dattatreya Budhan Baba in Karnataka, have been
transformed over time and become sites of communal contestation.
Weaving together legend, history, ethnography and reminiscences with critical
insights, Sacred Spaces affords us a rare glimpse of religious traditions
outside the mainstream. This rich legacy could well be invaluable in promoting
alternate ways of understanding religion and the notion of community identity,
a need that has never been more urgent than it is today.
">Customers Who bought this book also bought Customers Reviews
-->