While the gods play : Shaiva oracles and predictions on the cycles of history and the destiny of mankind
Alain Daniélou (Author), Barbara Bailey (Translator), Michael Baker (Translator), Deborah Lawlor (Translator)
"According to the early writings of the Shaiva tradition--still alive in India and dating back at least 6,000 years--the arbitrary ideologies and moralistic religions of modern society signal the last days of humanity heading toward destruction. This prediction is only a fragment of the vast knowledge of Shaivism, the religion of the ancient Dravidians. An initiate of the Shaiva wisdom, author Alain Daniélou has assimilated and reviewed essential concepts of the Shaiva philosophy and its predictions. Clearly expressed in the ancient teachings, these concepts are in accord with, yet surpass, the boldest scientific speculations about consciousness, time, the nature of life and matter, and the history and destiny of the human race. Inherent in this body of knowledge is an understanding of the cycles of creation and destruction which, in conjunction with astronomical phases, determine the life span of the species. Since 1939, humankind has been in the twilight of the Kali Yuga age, or at the end of a cycle. The impending cataclysm, Daniélou explains, is brought on by our own errors, and its date will be determined by our present and future actions. While the Gods Play examines how the visionaries of ancient times defined our role in creation. It explains why and how we have abandoned this role, and reflects on what action can be taken to consciously and creatively influence our own destiny. Included are chapters on The Religion of Nature and The Religion of the City, The Transmigrant Body, Sexual Rites, the Castes, Sacrifice, Magical Powers, Monastic Orders, and Forestalling the Final Day." -- Publisher's description
Print Book, English, 1987
First U.S. edition View all formats and editions
Inner Traditions International, Rochester, Vermont, 1987
xv, 284 pages ; 22 cm
9780892811151, 0892811153
15696932
Note on the transliteration of Sanskrit terms
Introduction to the American edition
Part one: the human adventure. Origins
The religions of the Kali Yüga
Rediscovered tradition
Part two: Shaiva philosophy. The ways of knowledge
Vaïshes̲h̲̲ikä and Nyâyä
The Sâmkhyä and the study of the macrocosm
The explorations of man's inner universe
The being of knowledge
Yogä
Part three: the Mîmânsâ: the religious, ritualistic, and mystical approach. The two Mîmânsâ
The doctrine of the Pâshupatä
Communities of monastic orders
Preliminary practices
Part four: social man. The individual and the species
The transmission of knowledge
Part five: the theory of cycles. The duration of the universe
The three cities
Part six: forestalling the end. Predictions
Forestalling the final day
Conclusions
Appendix I. Language: instrument for the transmission of knowledge
Appendix II. Chronology of the Kali Yugä
"While the Gods Play was first published in French under the title La Fantaisie des Dieux et L'Aventure Humaine by Editions du Rocher, Monaco, 1985." -- Title page verso
Text in English translated from the French