Obscure Religious Cults: As a Background of Bengali Literature

Contents......Page 6
Preface......Page 24
Introduction......Page 32
PART I : The Buddhist Sahajiya cult and literature......Page 56
(i) Information about the Available Literature......Page 58
(ii) History of Buddhism in Bengal......Page 62
(iii) Origin and Development of Tantric Buddhism......Page 68
(iv) Mode of Transformation of the Main Ideas of Mahayana to those of Tantric Buddhism......Page 82
2. The general philosophical standpoint of the Carya-Padas......Page 94
(A) The Spirit of Protest and Criticism......Page 113
(B) Aversion lo reconditc scholarship......Page 115
(C) Scathing Criticism of the Formalities of Life and Religion......Page 117
(D) Possible Sources of the Spirit of Criticism of the Sahajiyas......Page 125
(ii) The Idea of Sahaja......Page 145
(v) The Yogic Sadhana of the Sahajiyas and the Female Force......Page 170
(iv) The Middle Path in the Esoteric Sadhana......Page 165
(vi) The Final State of Bodhi-citta or the State of Maha-sukha......Page 180
(i) The Guru-Vada......Page 156
[ii) The Importance of the Body in the Sadhana......Page 158
(iii) The Esoteric Practice......Page 163
PART II : The Mediaeval Sahajiya Schools......Page 184
(i) Transition from Buddhist Sahajiya to VaisnaVa Sahajiya......Page 186
(ii) The mode of Transformation......Page 194
(A) The Ideal of Love......Page 197
(B) The Theory of Aropa......Page 211
(C) The Stringency of Sahaja-Sadhana......Page 216
(iv) Sahaja-realisation of the Self and the Not-Self......Page 223
(i) The Purely Psychological Approach Apart FromThe Theological......Page 226
(ii) Criticism from The Yoga Point of View......Page 235
(i) General Nature of the Baul Sect......Page 238
(ii) The Bauls and the Sahajiyas......Page 242
(A) A Brief History of Sufism in India and particularlyin Bengal......Page 246
(b) Importance of the Murshid......Page 248
(c) Heterodoxy of the Bauls......Page 250
(d) Body as the Microcosm of the Universe......Page 253
(e) The Man of the Heart......Page 254
(iv) Poet Tagore and the Baul songs......Page 268
PART III. :  The Nath cult......Page 272
(i) Origin of the Nath Cult......Page 274
(iI) Traditions of the eighty-four Siddhas and the nine Nathas......Page 287
(i) General Air of Supernaturalism......Page 297
(ii) The final End of the Natha Siddhas......Page 305
(A) Ulta-sadhana or the Regressive Process......Page 318
(a) The Theory of the Sun and the Moon......Page 324
(b) The Sun and the Moon as Woman and Man......Page 335
(C) Points of Similarity and Difference in the Practical Aspect of Yoga between the Natha Cult and otherEsoteric Schools......Page 338
(iv) The Vedic Soma-sacrifice and the Drinking of Nectar in the Yogic Schools......Page 342
(v) The Rasayana School and the Natha Cult......Page 344
PART IV. : The Dharma cult and Bengali literature:......Page 350
10. General nature of the cult......Page 352
(i) Hindu Conceptions of Dharma......Page 363
(ii) Buddhistic Substratum of Dharma......Page 367
12. Dharma as described in the Dharma literature......Page 384
(i) Dharma—confusedly described as the Lord Supremein the liturgical works......Page 387
(ii) Dharma as ihe Sun-god......Page 391
(A) Dharma as Visnu in general......Page 394
(B) Dharma as Rama......Page 397
(iv) The Description of Dharma As All-White......Page 400
13. The theory of the Panditas, Kotalas, Aminis, etc.......Page 404
(i) A brief Exposition of the Theories......Page 414
(ii) Analysis of the ideas of Cosmogony and Cosmology found in the Vernacular Literature......Page 428
(A) The Primordial Nihil......Page 429
(B) The Conception Of Niranjana—a replica of Prajapati Brahma......Page 431
(C) The Primordial Goddess......Page 434
(iii) Buddhist Element in the Accounts of the Cosmogonyand Cosmology of the Vernaculars......Page 444
(iv) Similarity of the Descriptions of the Vernacularswith those of other Literatures......Page 450
Appendices......Page 452
APPENDIX (A): The Religious Tenets of the Non-Bengali Mediaeva Saints in Relation to the Earlier Bengali Sahajiyas......Page 454
(i) The Spirit of Revolt and Criticism......Page 455
(ii) Guru-Vada......Page 466
(iii) All Truth within......Page 467
(iv) The conception of Sahaja......Page 472
(v) Similarity in the Literary Form and Language......Page 476
APPENDIX (B) : General Informations about the Literature of the Nath Cult......Page 480
(i) Mina-nath......Page 497
(ii) Gorakh-nath......Page 502
(iii) Jalandhari-pa......Page 507
(iv)) Kanu-pa......Page 509
(v) Gopi-candra or Govinda-candra......Page 511
(vi) Mayanamati......Page 514
APPENDIX (D) : General Informations about the Dharma Literature of Bengal......Page 516
APPENDIX (E) : Enigmatic Language of the Old and Mediaeval Poets......Page 532
Index......Page 546
ex libris......Page 559