Review by Choice Review
This new introduction to the religious tradition of the Vedas focuses on the primary issues of artistic imagination and creativity as ways of unlocking the secrets of these most ancient texts of Indian culture. Beginning with the concept of the Vedic gods as themselves artists, Mahony (Davidson College) describes a Rgvedic cosmology in which active gods like Indra, Agni, and Varu^D.na bring a cosmological order of immense beauty, harmony, and power into being, developed around the foundational term rta. In this interpretation, divine imagination is key, especially as it is linked with the power of the divine word, and the role of the visionary poet as seer (r^D.si) becomes one of powerful facilitator. Inspired by the drink Soma, the Vedic poet uses his skills of linguistic creation to express fully the reality of the cosmic order within the ritual setting. The centrality of the word in Vedic visionary experience, and the resulting interiorization of the ritual, culminate in the Upani^D.sadic literature with the concept of an inward seer and the power to liberate through contemplative imagination. This readable, informative, and elegant book would make an excellent introduction to the Vedic tradition for undergraduates and graduates alike. Good notes, bibliography, and index. E. Findly Trinity College (CT)
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Mahony, a professor of religion at Davidson College in North Carolina, offers a lively introduction to the 3500-year-old Vedic tradition, which has played a formative role in Indian civilization in general and Hinduism in particular. Central to the Vedic religion, Mahony contends, are the ideas of "transcendent universal order and harmony" expressed through ritual performances and mythic narratives. Using selections from the Vedic writings, especially the Rig Veda and the Upanishads, Mahony demonstrates how the Vedic imagination represents the principle of harmony in the construction of a meaningful world. In three particularly enlightening chapters, Mahony focuses on the poet as the "visionary artist of the verbal imagination," the priest as the "artist of universal drama and the liturgical imagination" and the "inward seer as enacting the liberating power of the contemplative imagination." Although Mahony uses sometimes complex literary and philological approaches to the Vedic texts, his thoughtful prose is engaging and draws readers into the practices and history of an ancient religion. (Feb.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
