This unique work is an annotated collection and collation of Western writing on Indian dance from the period of Marco Polo’s travels to India to the formulation of the anti-devadasi bill in 1930, and a little beyond. The book reproduces more than 250 extracts from important texts, which provide examples of how dance in India was perceived as an art, as well its position in the broader cultural, religious, social, and ethical environment. Though some excerpts from these texts are cited in o...

The book is a wide-ranging collection of essays on Indian classical dance, which include writings on dance appreciation, the criticism, theory and philosophy of dance, as well as some historical and light controversial articles. Also included is a seminal and unique monograph on the contribution of Sanjukta Panigrahi to the development of Odissi. The book approaches the subject from an internationalist point of view and opens up new possibilities for the appreciation of Indian dance in the...

In this book Donovan Roebert provides a path for Christians and Buddhists who wish to better understand the essential, living tenets of their own faith while exploring how these two great religious paths can provide insights of real benefit to adherents of either. Without lapsing into syncretism or demanding a departure from orthodoxy, this book provides a sound and thorough basis on which Christians and Buddhists - and all those seeking greater insight into faiths other than their own - c...

A national bestseller and acclaimed guide to Buddhism for beginners and practitioners alikeIn this simple but important volume, Stephen Batchelor reminds us that the Buddha was not a mystic who claimed privileged, esoteric knowledge of the universe, but a man who challenged us to understand the nature of anguish, let go of its origins, and bring into being a way of life that is available to us all. The concepts and practices of Buddhism, says Batchelor, are not som...

This collection includes: In Ghostly Japan, Japan: An Attempt at Interpretation, Kwaidan: Stories and Studies of Strange Things, Some Chinese Ghosts, and The Romance of the Milky Way and Other Studies and Stories. According to Wikipedia: "Patrick Lafcadio Hearn (27 June 1850 – 26 September 1904), also known as Koizumi Yakum after gaining Japanese citizenship, was an author, best known for his books about Japan. He is especially well-known for his collections of Japanese legends and ghost s...

Krishnamurti is a leading spiritual teacher of our century. In The First and Last Freedom he cuts away symbols and false associations in the search for pure truth, perfect freedom, and profound self-knowledge. Through discussions on suffering, fear, the nature of thought, and other topics, Krishnamurti’s quest becomes the reader’s, an undertaking of tremendous significance.But how can we find freedom when the mind itself is a prison of the known?Choiceless Awa...

Scholar and travel writer Lafcadio Hearn spent decades in Japan, eventually adopting it as his home country. Perhaps more than any other single writer, Hearn is responsible for documenting and interpreting Japan for Western audiences. In this engrossing volume, Hearn undertakes his most comprehensive comparative analysis of Japanese culture.

Collected here in one edition are two of the most important books on the Samurai Way, Bushido: The Soul of Japan and The Book of Five Rings. Bushido: Chivalry is a flower no less indigenous to the soil of Japan than its emblem, the cherry blossom; nor is it a dried-up specimen of an antique virtue preserved in the herbarium of our history. It is still a living object of power and beauty among us. The Book of Five Rings: There are various Ways. There is the Way of salvation by the law of Bu...

Six revolutionary essays from "the perfect guide for a course correction in life, away from materialism and its empty promise" (Deepak Chopra), exploring the relationship between spiritual experience and ordinary life—and the need for them to coexist within each of us.

Set on a Bengali noble's estate in 1908, this is both a love story and a novel of political awakening. The central character, Bimala, is torn between the duties owed to her husband, Nikhil, and the demands made on her by the radical leader, Sandip. Her attempts to resolve the irreconciliable pressures of the home and world reflect the conflict in India itself, and the tragic outcome foreshadows the unrest that accompanied Partition in 1947.