Wandering with Sadhus: Ascetics in the Hindu Himalayas Contributor(s): Hausner, Sondra L. (Author) |
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ISBN: 0253219493 ISBN-13: 9780253219497 Publisher: Indiana University Press OUR PRICE: $22.72 Product Type: Paperback - Other Formats Published: December 2007 |
Additional Information |
BISAC Categories: - Social Science | Anthropology - Cultural & Social - Social Science | Sociology Of Religion - Religion | Hinduism - General |
Dewey: 294.565 |
LCCN: 2007022645 |
Series: Contemporary Indian Studies |
Physical Information: 0.6" H x 6" W x 9.1" (0.85 lbs) 272 pages |
Themes: - Religious Orientation - Hindu - Cultural Region - Indian - Cultural Region - Asian |
Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
Publisher Description: In this moving ethnographic portrait of Hindu renouncers--sadhus or ascetics--in northern India and Nepal, Sondra L. Hausner considers a paradox that shapes their lives: while ostensibly defined by their solitary spiritual practice, the stripping away of social commitments, and their break with family and community, renouncers in fact regularly interact with householder society. They form a distinctive, alternative community with its own internal structure, but one that is not located in any single place. Highly mobile and dispersed across the subcontinent, its members are regularly brought together through pilgrimage circuits on festival cycles. Drawing on many years of fieldwork, Hausner presents intimate portraits of individual sadhus as she examines the shared views of space, time, and the body that create the ground for everyday experience. Written with an extraordinary blend of empathy, compassion, and anthropological insight, this study will appeal to scholars, students, and general readers alike. |