Lexington Books
Pages: 334
•
Trim: 6⅜ x 9
978-1-4985-6484-7 • Hardback • December 2019 • $142.00 • (£109.00)
978-1-4985-6485-4 • eBook • December 2019 • $134.50 • (£104.00)
Jeffery D. Long is professor of religion and Asian studies at Elizabethtown College and author of A Vision for Hinduism, Jainism: An Introduction and the Historical Dictionary of Hinduism.
Christopher Patrick Miller is the Bhagwan Mallinath assistant professor of Jainism and yoga studies at Loyola Marymount University.
Michael Reading is PhD candidate in comparative theology and philosophy at Claremont School of Theology, and an adjunct instructor of religious studies at Mt. St. Mary's University, Los Angeles
AcknowledgmentsIntroduction by Michael Reading and Christopher Patrick Miller- Service, Compassion and Humanitarianism
- “Tai Maharaj, Rebel with a Cause: Acharya Chandanaji’s Life of Compassion in Action” by Anne Vallely
- “Swami Vivekananda and Sister Nivedita: Beacons of Dharma for India and the West” by Jeffery D. Long
- “Sri Ramakrishna Paramahansa and the Flavors of Bhakti” by Rita Sherma
- “Swami Jyotirmayananda’s Integral Yoga: Methods Towards Service to Humanity and Enlightenment” by Priyanka Ramlakhan
- “Amma: Global Mother – Embracing the World with Compassionate Darshan” by Sreedevi Bringi
- “The North American Legacy of the Holy Mother, Sri Sarada Devi” by Suzanne Schier-Happell
- Ecology and Environmental Activism
- “Eremitic Engagement: The Religious Body Politic of Chatral Sangye Dorji Rinpoche” by Westin Harris
- “Sri Acharya Tulsi, Anuvrat, and Eco-conscious Living” by Michael Reading
- “Paramahansa Yogananda’s World Brotherhood Colonies: Models for Environmentally Sustainable and Socially Responsible Living” by Christopher Patrick Miller
- “Dharma and the Promise of Sustainable Eco-systems: Vandana Shiva’s Innovative Interpretation of Gandhi’s Principle of Swadeshi” by Veena Howard
- Peace, Knowledge and Social Justice
- “Opening the Heart in Anti-racism Activism: Pema Chodron and the Lojong Teachings” by Judith Simmer-Brown
- “Bhai Vir Singh: Local Sikh Poet, Global Resource” by Nikky-Guninder Kaur Singh
- “Sri Chinmoy’s Vision of Peace” by Kusumita P. Pedersen
- “Beacons of Dharma from the Biquini zhuan” by Tanya Storch
- “Singing Dharam: Transmission of Knowledge in the Sikh Sonic Path” by Nirinjan Kaur Khalsa-Baker and Francesca Cassio.
Conclusion by Jeffery D. LongAbout the Contributors
Beacons of Dharma: Spiritual Exemplars of the Modern Age is more than just a well-researched work of scholasticism -- it also blossoms with a practitioner-style devotion that invokes its reader to touch their own indefatigable potential to make a lasting impression on the world for the greater good of all.
— TARKA
Beacons of Dharma highlights important figures who have changed the course of religious history. Women figure prominently in this volume, both as contributors and as leaders being recognized for their good works, starting with Chinese Buddhist nuns in the 4th century right up to present-day teachers Acharya Chandanaji and Ammachi. Judith Simmer-Brown highlights Pema Chodron's response to contemporary issues posed by Black Lives Matter and Nikky-Guninder Singh brings to our attention the important interfaith work of Bhai Vir Singh (1872-1957), a strong voice in protest of all colonialist hegemonies. Every chapter brings new insight.... this is a treasure box to be shared with all students of religion!— Christopher Key Chapple, Loyola Marymount University