Nine Lives: In Search of the Sacred in Modern India
- ISBN13: 9780307272829
- Condition: New
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From the author of the last Mughal (“A compulsively readable masterpiece”-The New York Review of Books), an exquisite, mesmerizing book that the remarkable opportunities, traditional forms of religious life in India in the vortex of the transformed illuminated region rapid change- a book that distills the author 25 years of traveling in India, which are rooted in our life that we might otherwise never be known.
A Buddhist monk takes the fight back
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(out of 11 reviews)
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Review by rmsai for Nine Lives: In Search of the Sacred in Modern India
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The Bangalore bookshops are prominently showing this book and having read William Dalrymple before and liked his scholarship and easy style I bought it. I wasn’t disappointed, in fact i hated to see the book come to an end. The common theme of heartfelt devotion is told simply and openly through nine diverse and extraordinary lives. You feel that each one is a person you’ve come to know and like. I am an American living in South India and this book helps me appreciate living here even more. It helps me appreciate William Dalyrmple even more too. He writes wonderful books!
Review by webwiz99 for Nine Lives: In Search of the Sacred in Modern India
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Highly interesting, wonderfully researched, beautifully written, as are all of this author’s works.
A main question seems to be whether often-isolated, syncretistic, devotional religious practices will continue in the face of India’s burgeoning economy and, presumably, growing secularism and consumerism, on the one hand, and the exclusionary fanaticism of a militant segment of Hindus and Muslims, on the other. While much will be gained by greater educational opportunity and a higher/healthier standard of living for the rural and urban poor and powerless, rich, curious, sometimes bizarre religious practices in the name of the gods will probably fade away.
This book is not about mainstream religious practices or faiths of the great religions — or even of “smaller traditions” that have gained acceptance, if not understanding, because of their great age. The `Sacred” referred to in the title are approaches to gods/God that are, for all the integrity of those interviewed who practice them, mightily strange.
The book certainly shows that devout, faithful approaches to belief are common to all levels of people and a belief in a “greater power” is sustaining in the most difficult of situations. The book is a wondrous “read” about good people whom most of us will never otherwise hear.
Review by Donald L. Fink for Nine Lives: In Search of the Sacred in Modern India
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Extremely well written personal tales of individual’s spiritual path and practices that illuminates the larger Indian culture past and present.
Review by Author Nova for Nine Lives: In Search of the Sacred in Modern India
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Elegant and occasionally nostalgic William Dalrymple has written a beautiful and insightful book on the hidden India, a country at once capitalist and modern but also still spiritual and unique. Dalrymple said that the idea for this book was born 16 years ago in 1993 when he was corkscrewing up a Himalayan trail. He does not identify when his interviews took place. It is therefore difficult to envisage when and how India’s traditional forms of religious life have been transformed in the vortex of the region’s rapid change. I have always liked Dalrymple’s books as he has always been fantastic through his well researched writings. Nine Lives isn’t just another travel book. It’s a window to contemporary India – the one that remains forgotten or hidden, but is very much out there on the road, quite literally. As Dalrymple puts it, “The water moves on, a little faster than before, yet still the great river flows. It is as fluid and unpredictable in its moods as it has ever been, but it meanders within familiar banks.”
Review by GregJS for Nine Lives: In Search of the Sacred in Modern India
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Great reading! I became completely engrossed in each of the nine beautifully drawn portraits in Dalrymple’s Nine Lives – to the point where I wanted to go meet each one of the main characters and keep following their stories.
As a whole, the book gives a taste of the wide variety of spiritual experience/practice found in India. If you are not already familiar with Indian (including Muslim/Sufi, Jain, and Buddhist, not just Hindu) spirituality, some of the stories might seem shocking or even repulsive, so be warned; and other than providing some helpful and interesting historical context, Dalrymple does not go into much explanation or analysis of the underlying philosophy or metaphysics of the spiritual paths described in the book, so the unfamiliar westerner may also feel disoriented and confused or simply lost; but if you are open-minded or if you already have some understanding of concepts like bhakti, dharma, yoga, tantra, etc., then there is a good chance that you will find these stories fascinating, mind-expanding, and heart-opening. Personally, it does me good to see that there are so many people out there in the world pursuing their unique and distinct visions of truth, love, and the divine with such total commitment and dedication.
Maybe most importantly, I found the seekers described in Nine Lives to be role-models providing me with inspiration for my own seeking and encouragement to face my own obstacles and go beyond some of the more constricting boundaries imposed by modern, western values and mores. Part of the reason for this is that the characters I met in the book seemed so real. They are not big-name teachers and gurus from large, well-funded organizations which often represent “official” Indian spirituality in the west. These are very real people dealing with very real difficulties, but doing so with a great deal of humility and dignity, within their respective traditions. All of the stories are tinged with sadness (some stories more so than others), none of which is glossed over, and I felt that this contributed greatly to their power.
Only time will tell if India will manage to hold on to Her amazing spiritual heritage in the face of modernization, but Nine Lives gives the hopeful impression that She is managing to do so – at least for the time being.