Showing titles in History

Why are Hindus so ritualistic? Why do they worship idols? Were Hindus always casteist? Are Hindus supposed to be vegetarian? Why is a Hindu prayer different from a Muslim or Christian prayer? Did the arrival of Muslim invaders a thousand years ago destroy Hindu culture?Answering key questions on...

This definitive and magnificent 10-volume unabridged translation is one of the rare English translations in full of the epic. Bibek Debroy makes the Mahabharata marvellously accessible to contemporary readers. Dispute over land and kingdom may lie at the heart of this story of war...

Buddhism is practiced by hundreds of millions of people worldwide, from Tibetan caves to Tokyo temples to redwood retreats. To an outside viewer, it might be hard to see what they all have in common. In Buddhism, His Holiness the Dalai Lama and American Buddhist nun Thubten Chodron map out with clarity the convergences and the divergences between the two major strains of Buddhism - the Sanskrit traditions of Tibet and East Asia and the Pali traditions of Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia.

This definitive and magnificent 10-volume unabridged translation is one of the rare English translations in full of the epic. Bibek Debroy makes the Mahabharata marvellously accessible to contemporary readers. Dispute over land and kingdom may lie at the heart of this story of war...

With all the narrative power and intellectual authority that have distinguished his earlier books, V.S. Naipaul explores the life, the culture, the ferment inside the nations of Islam–in a book that combines the fascinations of great travel literature with the insights of a uniquely sharp, original and idiosyncratic political mind.

The Hanuman Chalisa is a rich repertoire of the incredible deeds and acts of valour by Lord Hanuman. This enriching edition brings to you the same holy text only manifold more immersive as each word of the dohas comes alive, explained as it is by way of the stories from Valimiki’s Ramayana, Tulsidas’s Ramacharitramaanas, and the folklore of India.

As the intellectual fountainhead of the ideology of Hindutva, which is in political ascendancy in India today, Vinayak Damodar Savarkar is undoubtedly one of the most contentious political thinkers and leaders of the twentieth century. Accounts of his eventful and stormy life have oscillated...

The most accessible and informative version of the Buddhist classic available in English, with instruction in meditation, illuminating commentary, and guidance in the practical use of the prayers The so-called “Tibetan Book of the Dead” has been renowned for centuries as a cornerstone of...

We all need inspiration to lead lives that honor God. When our faith is weak or the pressures of the world seem overwhelming, remembering the great men and women of the past can inspire us to renewed strength and purpose. Our spiritual struggles are not new, and the stories of those who have gone before can help lead the way to our own victories.

According to the legend, Sage Vasugupta received a divine revelation in a dream where Lord Shiva instructed him to seek out a specific stone near a serene stream. To his amazement, the stone turned over at his touch, revealing the sacred Shiva Sutras etched upon its surface. These profound sutras, reserved for those deemed worthy of divine grace, unravel the mysteries of our true nature and the illusory existence we inhabit. Ranjit Chaudhri has translated some important texts of Kashmir Shaivism from Sanskrit into English.

Vedanta is the very heart of India’s mysticism and spirituality. It contains the most essential principles for life, leadership and success. This book distils the essence of Vedanta for truly successful living.

O Jerusalem! is the epic drama of 1948, when Arabs and Jews fought for control of the city of Jerusalem. This story traverses centuries and continents, covering the time between WWII and the creation of the independent state of Israel. Based on five years of intensive research and thousands of interviews, this is a story of courage, terrorism, heroism, and ultimately, war.

"The Greatest Story Ever ToldDispute over land and kingdom may lie at the heart of this story of war between cousins-the Pandavas and the Kouravas-but the Mahabharata is about conflicts of dharma. These conflicts are immense and various, singular and commonplace. Throughout the epic, characters...

Islam has been one of the most powerful religious, social, and political forces in history. Over the last 1,400 years, from origins in Arabia, a succession of Muslim polities, and later empires expanded to control territories and peoples that ultimately stretched from southern France to East Africa and South East Asia. Yet many of the contributions of Muslim thinkers, scientists, and theologians, not to mention rulers, statesmen, and soldiers, have been occluded. This book rescues from oblivion and neglect some of these personalities and institutions.

This book is a thoroughly researched primer on the 108 Upanishads, philosophical treatises that form a part of the Vedas, the revered Hindu texts. These Upanishads contain the most crystallized bits of wisdom gleaned from Hinduism. Roshen Dalal explains the concepts at the core of each Upanishad...

The companion to the Oscar-nominated documentary, an unparalleled look inside Israel's security establishment. Imagine the following situation: You have just received a tip that six suicide bombers are making their way into the heart of Israel's major cities, each one to a different city, to set off explosions in the most crowded centers of population. How far would you go to stop the attacks?

“A must read for anyone who wants to learn more about the history of the Islamic world” (San Francisco Chronicle) In Destiny Disrupted, Tamim Ansary tells the rich story of world history as it looks from a new perspective: with the evolution of the Muslim community at the center. His story...

Hinduism is an ancient religion, philosophy and way of life. Unlike other great religions that are based on a small set of books, there are hundreds of texts in Hinduism, most of which are very voluminous. They span not merely centuries, but millennia. And most importantly, these ancient...

The success of books such as Elaine Pagels’s Gnostic Gospels and Dan Brown’s The Da Vinci Code proves beyond a doubt that there is a tremendous thirst today for finding the hidden truths of Christianity--truths that may have been lost, buried, or even forbidden by institutional religion over...

This excellent audiobook is the first of its kind and has been selected by a number of organizations as a worthy introduction to the life of Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), including Muslim Welfare House, London, and the Muslim Council of Britain.