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The Encyclopedia of Indian Religions offers a complete overview of Hinduism and all other religions found in India and the Diaspora, such as Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism, Islam, Christianity, Judaism and so on. It is strongly characterized by two special features, each pertaining to the fact that Hinduism is closely associated with India but has now become global in its reach. In relation to Hinduism in India, it views Hinduism not in isolation but in dynamic interaction, first with other religions of Indian origin and then with religions which did not originate in India but have been a lasting feature of its religious landscape, namely, Islam and Christianity and, to a lesser extent, Zoroastrianism and Judaism. Secondly, the encyclopedia seriously takes into account the phenomenon of Hinduism in the Diaspora. The Indian Diaspora is now beginning to make its presence felt, both in India and abroad. In India, the Indian government annually hosts a Diaspora event called Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (PBD), in recognition of the growing importance of the 20 million strong Diaspora. And the role it is playing in the computer software industry around the world is well known. Although not all Indians are Hindus, most are, both in India and abroad. A strong sense of Hindu identity is emerging among diasporic Hindus. This has lead to an increasing amount of research on Hindu traditions and Indian identity, and the relation of Hinduism with other world religions. The Encyclopedia of Indian Religions will fill the need for information and clarification of modern day Hinduism and Hindu history and traditions to Hindus in the Diaspora. Three main aspects of diasporic Hinduism have been kept in mind while preparing this reference work: firstly the active language of diasporic Hindus is English. Secondly diasporic Hindus need a rational rather than a devotional or traditional exposition of the religion, and thirdly they need information and arguments to address the stereotypes which characterize the presentation of Hinduism in the academia and the media, especially in the West. The above is covered in a comprehensive reference work that covers: (1) Hinduism in various parts of the world such as Africa, North America and so on, along with the description of it as practiced in India; (2) the various religious movements of a Hindu hue which have had international impact such as Hare Krishna, and (3) Hindu beliefs and practices as they are being understood and lived out in a modern ...

This article argues that the religious and social developments of seventeenth-century Jain communities in northern India can be characterized as vernacularization. This is a process in which religious expression turns towards the quotidian, the local and the practical, and is strongly intertwined with vernacular literature and art. The article makes its argument by discussing the Dharmapariksa-bhasa by the Digambara author Manohardas (seventeenth century). This so-far unstudied text is an Old Hindi version of Amitagati's Sanskrit Dharmapariksa (eleventh century) which criticizes by means of comical narration Brahmanical myths and beliefs. Presenting selections from this text, the article will highlight the intricate ways by which Manohardas's bhasa reframes the Dharmapariksa to express the complexity that is vernacular Jainism. This involves emphasizing the spiritual-mystical interpretation of Jainism that was in vogue, but also drawing attention to the religious praxis of Jains and their others. The transposition into the northern Indian vernacular idiom suggests the role literary language played in vernacularizing Jainism. The discussions in the article present a Jainism that, while reflecting on its own tradition, defines itself in terms of the everyday regional religious environment of northern India.

Understanding Jainism, by Lawrence A. Babb. Edinburgh: Dunedin, 2015. 198 pp., £12.50 (pb). ISBN 978-1-780-46032-1.
Jainism: A Guide for the Perplexed, by Sherry Fohr. London & New York: Bloomsbury, 2015. 176 pp., £54 (hb), £16.19 (pb and Ebook). ISBN 978-1-441-15116-2 (hb), 978-1-441-16594-7 (pb), 978-1-474-22755-1 (eBook).

Auf der Grundlage von umfangreicher ethnografischer Feldforschung in Großbritannien, den USA und Belgien sowie der Analyse einer Vielzahl digitaler Quellen stellt dieser Band das Digitale und die Diaspora als getrennte, aber miteinander verflochtene Grenzräume dar, in denen religiöser Wandel zu erwarten ist. Der Band berührt eine Vielzahl von Aspekten der sozioreligiösen Erfahrung und Praxis der Jains und schafft es, die Vielfalt jainistischer Erfahrungen und Praktiken in der Diaspora zu beleuchten. Er unterstreicht die verschiedenen Rollen, die digitale Medien bei der individuellen Religiosität und Identitätsbildung, beim Aufbau von Gemeinschaften und bei der Verbreitung traditioneller wie auch innovativer Ideen spielen können.

Introduction -- Learning to think like a Jain -- Aparigraha: understanding the nature and limits of finance -- Risk and return: careful action and relationships of trust -- Obligation and interdependency: towards a Jain theory of organic growth -- Ethical investment: social and environmental transformation and Jain business -- The implications of "many-sidedness" -- Faith beyond finance: cultivating detachment and humility -- Conclusion: Jainism's implications for finance research

AbstractPossession among Jains remains an almost unexplored field of study. Based on fieldwork at a Jain pilgrimage site in India, this paper presents ethnographical material on a hitherto unknown oracular possession cult. The paper looks at the ways in which Jains themselves understand and sometimes critique possessions, as a way of understanding Jainism itself. The ethnographic material is presented on the background of other cases of Jain possession, both in scriptures and other accounts, in an attempt to show how possessions challenge our understanding of Jainism as a religion. Furthermore, possession is not one thing. There are various types of possession—depending for instance on who possesses—and they have different implications in the Jain scheme of things.

"Environmental policy agendas, activism and academic research into ecological questions are all predominantly derived from the philosophical perspectives of the West. At national and global levels, environmental policy-makers tend to work according to Western-based methodologies. At the same time, emergent or developing economies are profoundly affected by the issues they address, including air pollution, rapid urban expansion, habitat loss and climate change.If environmental awareness, and the policies that stem from it, are to have a lasting global impact, it is important that non-Western voices are heard in their own right, and not merely as adjuncts of Western-led agendas. Jain thought is a useful case study of a system of values in which environmental protection and the idea of a web of life are central, but which has evolved in India independently of Western environmentalism. This book describes and explains Jain environmental philosophy, placing it in its cultural and historical context while comparing and contrasting with more familiar or mainstream forms of ecological thought. It will also show how this thought translates into practice, with an emphasis on the role of environmental concerns within the business and commercial practices of Jain communities. Finally, the book examines the extent to which Jain ideas about environmental protection and interconnectedness have universal relevance.This book will be of great interest to students and scholars of environmental ethics, sustainable business and economics, environmental policy, and Jainism."--Provided by publisher.

Religionhas long been seen as a conservative force in society across the globe. Religious beliefs serve to justify the existing, unequal social order and prevent societal change by making a virtue out of poverty and suffering. Religion also teaches people that it is pointless striving for a revolution to bring about social change in this life. Religion was primarily an ideological tool by means of which the ruling class legitimated its position and mystified those whom it exploited by conveying the conception that the prevailing social order was not simply a product of the ruthless exercise of a monopoly of power and profit in the interest of a particular social group, but rather a divinely ordained order .Religious ideas, thoughts and practices differed among the groups, along with transformations and developments took place in the various religious forms in course of time. Religion in India was never static in character but was driven by an inherent civil dynamic strength. Despite the consistency of core teachings [Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism] over the years, since the last decade or globalization has entered into the economic, social-cultural, and political spheres of Indian society, yet another dimension to social change in Indian society was added. In this respect, its practices had gradually changed. Otherwise, Indian spirituality is deeply rooted in ancient philosophical and religious traditions of the land.