The Ginans are religious lyrics which have long been a central part of the religious life of the Indian Mizari Ismaili community (known as Khojas), and continue to form their living poetic tradition. Aziz Esmail's translation is suggestive of the depth of religious thought, feeling and imagination out of which this poetry was born, and the lyrical beauty of the form in which this experience found a voice. The poetry of the Ginans illustrates an historically and culturally specific conception of the world, and of the norms peculiar to that culture, as well as a religious perception that forms a significant part of the religious experience of mankind. This volume will appeal both to specialists and more general readers, including Indologists, scholars of Islam in the Subcontinent, students of Comparative Religion, Comparative Literature, and those with an interest in mystical or devotional poetry.

Originally published in 1972, Themes and Images in the Medieval English Religious Lyric discusses themes and images in religious lyric poetry in Medieval English poetry. The book looks at the affect that tradition and convention had on the religious poetry of the medieval period. It examines the background of the lyrics, including the Latin tradition which was inherited by medieval vernacular and shows how religious lyric poetry presents, through a rich variety of images, the significant incidents in the scheme of Christ’s redemption, such as the Annunciation, the Nativity, the Passion and the Resurrection. It also considers the lyrics which were designed to assist humanity in the task of living in a Christian life, as well as those which prepared them for death.

Preliminary Material /John A. Ramsaran -- Preface /John A. Ramsaran -- Introduction /John A. Ramsaran -- The European Background /John A. Ramsaran -- The Indian Background /John A. Ramsaran -- Religious Practice and Poetic Expression /John A. Ramsaran -- Middle English Lyrics and Saguṇa Bhakti /John A. Ramsaran -- The Baroque in English and Hindi Religious Poetry /John A. Ramsaran -- Divine Infatuation /John A. Ramsaran -- The Metaphysical Vision /John A. Ramsaran -- English Metrical Psalms, Donne's Holy Sonnets and Tulasī Dāsa's Vinaya Patrikā /John A. Ramsaran -- Allegory and the Religious Epic /John A. Ramsaran -- Conclusion /John A. Ramsaran -- Bibliography /John A. Ramsaran -- Index /John A. Ramsaran.