Learn about India's fascinating religions, history, and folklore from Ganesh to Gandhi in this illuminating text.

A selection of Gandhiji s articles drawn mainly from his contributions to young india, the Harijan and the Navjivan on Hinduism. Written on different occassions, these articles present a picture of hindu dharma I all its richness, comprehensiveness and sensitivity to the existential delimmas of human existence.

Learn about the folklore and beliefs associated with natural rites around the world in this richly illustrated text.

Find a path to the future as you discover the great traditions of fortune telling of the past.

Learn about the beliefs and folklore of death, the apocalypse, and the afterlife of societies around the globe, including articles on heaven and hell, our fascination with the dead, the quest for immortality, and so much more.

Illustrations: Numerous B/w Illustrations Description: Symbols have great significance for understanding early Indian religion, beliefs, art and culture. Of these symbols, some were widely current and continued to be in use for several centuries and are found delineated in sculpture, architecture, pottery, coins, paintings, etc. Rai Govind Chandra in his Indian Symbolism: Symbols as Sources of Our Customs and Beliefs has taken up for study twelve symbols, the Purna Kumbha or Purna Ghata, Svastika, Srivatsa, Nandipada, Cakra, Vardhamanaka, Matsya or Matsyayugma, Bhadrasana, Caturbhuja Cinha, Triratna, Vaijayanti, and the Kalpataru and the Kalpalata. Each of these symbols is important particularly from the point of view of art and iconoraphy. Rai Govind Chandra has discussed in great detail about the origin, meaning and diffusion of all these symbols. Having traced their occurrence in different periods and cultures as well as in different mediums, both in India and outside, the author has been able to demonstrate their primitive and naturalistic beginnings. Rai Govind Chandra's Indian Symbolism is an extremely important contribution and is an indispensable work for scholars and researchers of Indian art, culture and religion.

Who or what is God? In this Very Short Introduction John Bowker considers questions like these. Exploring how the major religions interpret the idea of God, and have established their own distinctive beliefs about his existence, Bowker shows how and why our understanding of God continues to evolve.