Del i serien SUNY series, McGill Studies in the History of Religions, A Series Devoted to International Scholarship

Destiny and Human Initiative in the Mahābhārata

Inbunden, Engelska, 2001

1 369 kr

Tillfälligt slut

Considers the questions of free will in the great India epic, the Mahabharata.Destiny and Human Initiative in the Mahabharata explores this epic's ongoing polemic regarding free will in the face of destiny. While the belief that human history is governed exclusively by external forces is evident in the Mahabharata, the epic also contains the commanding message of Kr's'n'a that the lives of individuals and societies may, and should indeed, be changed for the better through human initiative. Woods maintains that the resolution of this conundrum emerges from the epic's view of what it is to be a human being. We may harbor ideas about our self-determination and freedom, but the epic reveals that we are not at all free but trapped in a vicious cycle of birth and death that can be broken only when we realize that our precious ego-self with its sense of agency is a mental fiction. The Mahabharata admits to a modicum of freedom in everyday life which, from a higher perspective, is nothing but destiny in disguise.

Produktinformation

Utgivningsdatum2001-04-19
Mått156 x 235 x 18 mm
Vikt454 g
FormatInbunden
SpråkEngelska
SerieSUNY series, McGill Studies in the History of Religions, A Series Devoted to International Scholarship
Antal sidor247
FörlagState University of New York Press
ISBN9780791449813

Tillhör följande kategorier

Religion och tro inom Filosofi och religion

Preface 1. IntroductionThe Theme in Historical PerspectiveFocus of the AnalysisThe Epic Context 2. Hermeneutical Perspectives 3. Cosmic Destiny The Mythological BackgroundThe Epic Accounts 4. Personal DestinyProblems and AnomaliesSocial Manifestations of DaivaProphecies and PronouncementsKrsna as "Master of Yoga"Daiva and KarnaDaiva and DuryodhanaKrsna as Daiva 5. Destiny and Human Initiative Tricks and StrategemsDaiva in Human ExpressionPurusakaraMorality (Dharma) and Moral Conflict 6. Action and Contemplation The Mythological BackgroundKrsna's Transformation of Vedic ValuesSome Alternative Views 7. The Path of the Warrior Draupadı's ImpatieKuntı's ExhortationYudhisthira's GriefBhısma's Instructions 8. Action and Retribution Purusakara as Moral AutonomyVidura's "Wilderness of Life" 9. The Path of Self-Determination The Spiritual JourneyMoral ImplicationsThe Evolutionary Ladder 10. Conclusion The "Fate" of Human ActionThe Problem of AgencyThe Solution to the Antinomy of Providence Appendix: Some Notes on Scholarship Notes Figure: Family Connections in the Mahabharata Glossary of Proper Names Glossary of Sanskrit Terms Bibliography Index

"Woods demonstrates a genuine mastery of this immense epic and is thus able to present a convincing case on the moral ambiguities and doctrinal patterns of 'destiny' and 'human initiative' that runs throughout its mythical frame. I was particularly struck with Woods's eloquence. There is an almost imperceptible fusion of modern psychological insight and ancient Indian philosophy that makes Woods's language and insights particularly engaging, if not beautiful." — Jeffrey J. Kripal, author of Kali's Child: The Mystical and the Erotic in the Life and Teachings of Ramakrishna"Woods takes a question that is not traditionally Indian and uses it successfully to tell the stories of the Mahabharata to illustrate the interplay of destiny and human agency. The result is an insightful path into the great epic as it relates to a fascinating philosophical issue." — Robert Minor, author of The Religious, the Spiritual, and the Secular: Auroville and Secular India