Book Description
Explores the central role played by the galaxy in both ancient and modern times in the transformation of the human spirit.
• Extends Jenkins' groundbreaking research in Maya Cosmogenesis 2012.
• Reveals how the coming Galactic Alignment of era-2012 promises a renewal of human consciousness.
• Uncovers the galactic vision of Mayan, Egyptian, Greek, and Vedic cosmologies.
The Galactic Alignment is a rare astronomical event that brings the solstice sun into alignment with the center of the Milky Way galaxy every 12,960 years. Building on the discoveries of his book Maya Cosmogenesis 2012, Jenkins demonstrates that the end-date of 2012 does not signal the end of time but rather the beginning of a new stage in the development of human consciousness. He recovers a striking common thread that connects the ancient cosmological insights of the Maya not only to Egyptian thought and Vedic philosophy but also to the diversity of humankind's metaphysical traditions ranging from Celtic sacred topography and Medieval alchemy to the Kabbalah and Islamic astrology. His work presents us with a groundbreaking synthesis of lost wisdom once common to ancient cosmologies that will help us understand the significance of this transformative cosmic milestone.
Customer Reviews:
An acedemic inquiry.......2007-07-03
Clearly John Jenkins is extremely knowledgeable on his subject. The depth of detail in this book is quite amazing and is written concisely.
For me however, I found the detail a little too much. I couldn't help but think this kind of academic, intellectual inquiry was some attempt to justify the validity of the Mayan Calendar. It seems a distinct possibility to me that one could get lost in the detail of all this and miss the very essence of the Mayan Calendar. The point, in my mind at least, it is to turn inside to the intuitive Self, which is arising so obviously in these turbulent yet exciting years.
I can understand how an academic person would enjoy the deep analysis and mass of information, but a more "heart" directed person may find it all a bit heavy and drawn out.
I suppose the one thing I would simply suggest is that if you are a "heart" type of person, as I am, then maybe this isn't the book for you. As a matter of interest, I found Carl Calleman's books easier and more direct.
And in case you're wondering, I find the whole 2011 versus 2012 debate a little moot. That will show up soon enough. It isn't now. Be here now, in touch with your SELF. Practice that vigilantly, and the rest will follow perfectly naturally. Just like it's supposed to.
Another good book - 2012.......2007-03-09
For several years i was looking forward to get book such as this one. JMJ did as usuall great work. I like his style of writing. Filtered facts, returning to previous ideas, corection of the not well developed. Reviews of all passed parts. Great appendixies.
In fact JMJ guide us in 2012MAYA cosmogenesis to understand the meaning and purpose of the 2012. In this book JMJ shows us how the alignment is binded to Mayas time and to Ours. Where, When and What. So you can take some software and check your self if he tells us truth. Also if you take some other books related to this issue, you will be suprised by relationships between the facts. PopolVuh + this book + 2012 Maya Cosmogenesis + Orion Mystery + Hamlet Hill are really good combo to get quick overview about the 2012 issue.
I am not going to write and opose to the facts in the book, this review is just to guide other to buy or not to buy this book. So facts could be checked by orderer.
-keep it readin'-
DiaGnosis: Thought provoking to say the least!.......2007-02-18
Anyone who has read Hamlet's Mill, knows that knowledge of the precession of the equinoxes goes back into the mists of time, and has been encoded into mythology worldwide. Jenkins shows that, more than this, the ancients knew that there are certain times during the cycle of precession, when the earth-sun-galaxy relationship allows the influx of some kind of energy that triggers a transformational leap in mankind. There are 2 crossing points of the Galactic meridian, (centre-line of the Milky Way), and the ecliptic (path of sun and planets across the sky), or equally, the zodiac which lies behind the ecliptic. These crossing-points were known as "Gates" by the ancients. These celestial gates were described by Macrobius as the gates of Capricorn and Cancer, and were seen as doorways through which the soul descends to be reborn on earth and ascends following physical death.
In Joscelyn Godwin's book, Mystery Religions, the gate of reincarnation is called the Silver Gate, while the gate of ascension is called the Golden Gate, but he says that the Silver Gate is the way of reincarnation, while the Golden Gate is the Way of the Gods and leads "beyond the circle of Necessity, ie to release from the round of birth and death. These are the two routes from which the soul can exit from the world at death, and the Capricorn gate is the one through which the gods descend to earth."
It is clear from both Hamlet's Mill and from Jenkins' Galactic Alignment, that these gates don't actually lie in Cancer and Capricorn, but the neighbouring constellations of Gemini and Sagittarius. The Golden Gate lies at Galactic Center in Sagittarius, and the Silver Gate lies at Galactic Anti-Center in Gemini (see items 47 and 48). Following the work of Oliver Reiser, Jenkins makes a convincing case that the alignment of the Solstice Sun with the Galactic meridian, (close to Galactic center) which is flagged by the end of the 13-Baktun Cycle in 2012, marks the time-window when the divine influences descend;
"Precession changes our angular orientation to the larger magnetic field of the galaxy in which we are embedded. during regularly occurring eras in the precessional cycle, as indicated by the solstice-galaxy alignments (probably the equinox-galaxy alignments, too), the earth's protective magnetic shield becomes unstable and oscillates. Without a complete field reversal being required, this oscillation allows greater amounts of mutational rays to strike the surface of the earth. While this may result in mutations and a greater chance for "evolution", of greater significance is the possible transformative effect on human consciousness during alignment eras, when human beings are exposed to higher doses of high-frequency radiation."
Jenkins refers to Swami Sri Yukteswar's study of the Vedic Yuga system, (that may have originated as long ago as 7000 BC), and shows how that system is also flagging the galactic alignment. He concludes that there is a Galactic Chakra system, with the base chakra at Galactic Center, and the crown chakra in the direction of the Galactic Anti-center. Earth is at the level of the fifth (throat) chakra, evolving towards the sixth (ajna or third eye):
"The as yet unspoken message in this survey is that the galactic alignment opens a channel for the kundalini shakti to flow through the earth, cleanse (it) us, and excite it (us) into a higher level of being."
Like Hamlet's Mill, Galactic Alignment will probably inspire other researchers to dig further into the shadows illuminated by the book. This book has started connecting up many of the threads mentioned on the diagnosis2012 site, and has brought into sharp focus, the "underground stream" of knowledge encoded into virtually every religion you can think of...
They were all preparing us for the opening of the Golden Gate!
Very Interesting.......2007-01-16
So far, so good. I haven't finished it, but it encompasses a lot of what I have been researching over the last years... bottom line, let's see what happens in Dec. 21 2012...
Very misleading title. Reads like a boring technical manual.......2006-11-05
This book is analagous to buying a new elliptical, anxiously opening the user manual to find out how this new piece of equipment is going to benefit you, only to find page after page outlining the technical details of the inner workings of the machine with the last sentence or so briefly mentioning the effects the machine can have on your life. The author is obviously an expert on the subject of astronomy and how it relates to ancient historical monuments, but he is so caught up in the technical details that "the transformation of our consciousness" is brushed aside as an afterthought. Instead, the author drones on and on and on about monuments, angles, precessions, measurements etc. It's obviously necessary to briefly cover the technical aspects to build a foundation for the more exciting stuff to come, but this book never builds on that foundation. There were brief moments when I thought the book started to get really interesting, but the author would quickly revert back to the same old empirical, newtonian shallowness with more chapters that should have been titled, "who gives a [...]." John Major Jenkins is not really interested in the metaphysical side of this subject, and if you don't believe me, I quote page 239 of this book..."as a reminder, my work is not really to identify a mechanism that could empirically explain why a solstice-galaxy alignment might have transformative effects for life on Earth." My question is then why mention the transformation of consciousness in the title when it's hardly mentioned in the book? You would think that the benfits and effects of the sun aligning with the galactic center is going to have on our consciousness would be the main focus, since after all, it's what most of us should be most concerned with. If you are preparing for a test in astronomy, this book is for you. 2 stars for the misleading title.
Book Description
Goddess worship has long been a significant aspect of Hinduism. In this book David Kinsley, author of The Sword and the Flute--Kali & Krsna: Dark Visions of the Terrible and the Sublime in Hindu Mythology, sorts out the rich yet often chaotic history of Hindu goddess worship.
Customer Reviews:
Hindu Goddeses:Vision of the Divine Feminine in the Hindu Religious Traditions .......2007-04-06
Great book for one who wants to learn about Hinduism and the feminine within the Indian traditions. Scholarship is excellent, but it isn't for those who have more New Age beliefs in general on goddeses such as Kali or Hindu/eastern concepts in general. I would suggest it for those who are actually into learning about the Hindu religion and not the Western idea of Indian culture and religion.
Good Book!.......2003-04-23
Great book about Hindu goddesses! A must read for those interested...
Good overview of Hindu Goddesses.......2003-04-21
This is a very good, scholarly overview of the major Goddesses of Hinduism. It is an academic work, and therefore not for one who is seeking to read about the Goddesses from a devotional perspective, but nonetheless it is full of insights. An essential book for those interested in Hindu Goddesses and/or world Goddess myth and religion, and one which will serve as both a useful introduction to the subject and an accurate source to be returned to in research again and again.
5 stars.......1998-12-02
An incredibly interesting book. This is the book that got me interested in Hinduism, that made me take an entirely new look at Parvati & Sati, & (with a *little* bit of help) got me hooked on religious studies. Very well-written, like every other Kinsley book I've read (with the exception of Hinduism: A Cultural Perspective).
Just not my cup of tea.......1998-07-31
I believe this book is strictly for scholars and Hindus. It is somewhat dry and unless you have an overwhelming interest in the subject can become quite dull. It does have excellent detail and structure for those interested in the subject but alas I have discovered I am not.
Book Description
Exploring the fundamental concepts of the caste system, Alain Danielou addresses issues of race, individual rights, sexual mores, marital practices, and spiritual attainments. In this light, the author explains how Hindu society has served as a model for the realization of human potential, and exposes the inherent flaws and hypocrisies of our modern egalitarian governments.
Customer Reviews:
Hindu Value System.......2004-12-23
This book is an explanation of the Hindu value system. Danielou is a very well-known musicologist and linguist who has published many important works explaining Indian music to Western audiences. In this book, he takes up the basic tenets of the Hindu religion and how they are played out in the culture of India. The book is organized into two parts. The first part consists of only two chapters, covering the early history of Hinduism and the development of Sanskrit, and the justification for the caste system. The second part begins with a brief description of Hindu cosmology, and then turns to the four aims of life: duty, success, pleasure, and liberation, and relates these to the four stages of life: study, family, retreat, and renunciation. The book contains two appendices: an enumeration of the thirty-two sciences and the sixty-four arts, a one-page description of sources, and an index.
I found this book quite easy to understand. Danielou's description of the four aims of life and corresponding four stages of life is very clear. Danielou points out how very different Hindu assumptions about the world, its organization and social structure are from Western assumptions. He notes that the enormity of the differences can make it practically impossible for members of one culture ever to understand the other culture completely, since their worldview is so different. He says "It is difficult to explain Hindu moral attitudes using a Western vocabulary fashioned by Christian scholasticism; it is not even easy to establish parallels between terms, postulates, and classifications. The very values are so contradictory that in passing from one of these worlds to the other, it is necessary to think on another plane and in another idiom..."
As Danelou writes, it can be hard to tell whether he is giving his own personal opinions, some of which might be objectionable if judged by Western ethical standards, or simply stating commonly-held Hindu beliefs. He supports his statements with numerous quotations from sacred Hindu texts. As a Western reader, I cannot vouch for the accuracy of his explanations, but logically, they make sense and shed light on many aspects of Hindu culture that appear incomprehensible to Westerners unfamiliar with Hindu beliefs.
Life purpose in ancient India.......2000-08-12
What is the purpose of human life? In tradition Hindu society, there are four answers - the right one depends on your stage in life. These four goals are: (1) *dharma* -- virtue, duty; (2) *artha* -- success, wealth, family life; (3) *kama* -- pleasure, sexuality, sensual enjoyment; and (4) *moksha* -- total spiritual liberation. Alain Danielou, one of the greatest scholars of ancient India, discusses the implications of a society based on these four goals. Danielou argues persuasively that this four-thousand year old system of the Four Aims of Life gives us deep insight into human nature, a level of insight sadly lacking in many modern conceptions. This small book is brief and clear, an accessible introduction for someone not familiar with Hinduism or traditional Indian society. I highly recommend it for anyone considering question of life purpose.
Average customer rating:
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Mrtyu--Concept of Death in Indian Traditions; Transformation of the Body and...
Gian Giuseppe Filippi
Manufacturer: DK Print World Pvt. Ltd, India
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
 General
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ASIN: 8124600724 |
Product Description
Rev. ed of a classic, on Yama, god of death, phases of birth, growth and aging. on customs, scriptures, rituals, based on interviews and visual material. color illus. excellent glossary. by Professor of History of Art of India, U. of Venice.
Book Description
This book provides a comprehensive survey of Hindu development from the Indus civilization to the present.
Customer Reviews:
Absolutely essential for students of religion.......2001-03-09
This book delivers exactly what it promises; I am using it in a course at Brown University and have found it to be a concise, yet thorough introductory guide. I think of this as a good book to use as a springboard into deeper research, or as a handy guide for looking up quick facts. Hopkins is a clear writer and - don't let the cover turn you off- an engaging one!
Entheogens: Professional Listing.......1999-04-29
"The Hindu Religious Tradition" has been selected for listing in "Religion and Psychoactive Sacraments: An Entheogen Chrestomathy" http://www.csp.org/chrestomathy
Average customer rating:
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The Tantric Body: The Secret Tradition of Hindu Religion
Gavin Flood
Manufacturer: I. B. Tauris
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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ASIN: 1845110110
Release Date: 2005-12-15 |
Book Description
In this book, David Kinsley sorts out the rich yet often chaotic history of Hindu goddess worship in a study that surveys the most important goddesses in the Hindu religious tradition. The author not only describes the main appearances and roles of the goddesses he has selected but also interprets the significance of each goddess within Hinduism and shows how she has come to exemplify important truths within the Hindu tradition. Each goddess is dealt with as an independent deity with a coherent mythology, theology, and in some cases, cult of her own. The book also includes an excellent bibliography. This is a valuable sourcebook and reference work for students and scholars of Hindu goddesses and of Hinduism in general.
Customer Reviews:
Mahavidays (she of great wisdom).......2002-12-16
This book deals with Goddesses not normally discussed in other Hindu related or Goddess related subjects. The information on the Mahavidyas is well researched and correct. the only thing about David Kinsley is that for the most part according to him Kali is wild and destructive. But he does give very good information about her. Many who are into goddess religion and spirituality have no clue about the Mahavidyas. So if you are interested in the Hindu Goddesses you will be pleased with your purchase of this wonderful book. Also he includes some real nice illustrations of the Gooddesses. The Mahavidyas are independent Goddesses, if they are with a male God, the male divinity is eighter in a submissive or in a humiliating position. But usually the Mahavidyas are seen without the male deities. I have seen Kali without Shiva. I have this book and I love it.
Average customer rating:
- Read this for a critical view of yoga
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Yoga and the Hindu Tradition
Jean Varenne
Manufacturer: University Of Chicago Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
Yoga
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Tanita BC533 Glass Innerscan Body Composition Monitor
ASIN: 0226851168 |
Book Description
A popular and critical success when it first appeared in France, Yoga and the Hindu Tradition has freed Yoga from the common misconceptions of the recent Yoga vogue. Jean Varenne, the distinguished French Orientalist, presents the theory of classical Yoga, in all its richness, as a method—a concrete way to reach the Absolute through spiritual exercises—which makes possible the transition from existence to essence.
This excellent translation, including line drawings and charts, a glossary of technical terms, and a complete translation of the Yoga Darshana Upanishad, begins with a brief description of the metaphysical and religious history on which Yoga is based. Varenne discusses the theoretical conception of Yoga as the search for liberating knowledge, concluding with a brief indication of the physical practices and extra Yogic themes such as Kundalini and Tantrism. It is the author's hope that "those who read [this book] will come to realize that it is in fact dishonest to reduce Yoga to some sort of physical training, or to just an occult doctrine; it is a 'world view' a Weltanschauung that comprehends reality in its totality."
"The straightforward, well-organized presentation makes the book itself a microcosm of what Varenne singles out as a dominant feature of classical Hindu thought—a bringing of the complex and multitudinous into a unity."—Judith Guttman, Yoga Journal
Customer Reviews:
Read this for a critical view of yoga.......2002-12-17
Varenne's "Yoga and the Hindu Tradition" will appeal to you if, like me, you tire of the two dominant Western approaches to yoga: Uncritical, banal spiritualism and rah-rah therapeutic yoga -- yoga as a school of physical fitness. Varenne's book will NOT TEACH YOGA, rather it TEACHES ABOUT YOGA.
It's a fascinating review and clearly presented, if a bit academic. The reader learns how yoga relates to Hindu society and religious belief, and how yoga's teachings are essentially theological in nature.
Putting yoga in a social context will give it character and deepen one's appreciation for this practice. It will, however, be a bit disturbing for some Americans, and will threaten some of their deeply-held new age assumptions.
If you're serious about yoga, read this, then read the Bhagvad-gita.
Book Description
The essays in this collection address the problem of Hindu women's relationship to authority, both within and without the textual traditions of Sanskrit, Tamil, Hindi, and English. The authors adopt a method of close textual and ethnographic reading, which results in some surprisingly new and subtle ways of interpreting older, more "classical" discourses, such as Veda and Mimamsa, as well as newer discourses, such as the RSS use of the Devimahatmya.
Book Description
• A stunning guide to the spiritual power of Indian art with over 100 color photographs
• Shows the splendor and diversity of an art form that has enriched every stage of human life in India
• Reveals the inward-seeking quality of relationship with the divine that exemplifies Indian ritual art
The splendor and diversity of India's ritual arts are beyond compare. From the celebration of the household fires to the marriage ceremony and the rites of the cremation ground, every stage of human life in India is marked by rituals accompanied by an astounding array of icons and symbols. In the Indian countryside, ritual is still vigorous and prolific, and visual symbols are simple, vital, and immediate. Everywhere the splash of scarlet sindura on a wayside stone or shrine signals the approach to sacred space.
Unlike Western religious art, which too often presents institutionally established stock images, Indian ritual art draws us into a relationship, a state in which we can realize our oneness with the universe by collaborating with the creative rhythms of the world. It helps us to reach the center at which all experience, all being, is compacted into its utmost concentration--the point (bindu), the ultimate goal of all spiritual disciplines. It is precisely this inward-seeking quality that the Ritual Art of India reveals so brilliantly.
Books:
- Getting Excited About Data Second Edition: Combining People, Passion, and Proof to Maximize Student Achievement
- God: The Failed Hypothesis. How Science Shows That God Does Not Exist
- God without Religion: Questioning Centuries of Accepted Truths
- Having a Mary Spirit: Allowing God to Change Us from the Inside Out
- Healing the Whole Man Handbook: Effective Prayers for the Body, Soul, And Spirit
- Heroes, Gods and Monsters of the Greek Myths
- History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)
- History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)
- History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)
- History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)
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