All tagged book review

Book Review: Mapping the Complexities and Adaptability of Devotional Practices

Lalita Waldia, Project Coordinator, People For Himalayan Development, Himachal Pradesh, India, reviews the book "Clothing as Devotion in Contemporary Hinduism" by Urmila Mohan that explores the profound connection between material culture and religious devotion within the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON). The book delves into various elements of ISKCON’s practices, focusing on how clothing, body marks, japa beads, and other material artifacts are integral to the religious lives of its followers. The central thesis of Mohan’s work is that these material objects are not mere accessories but play a crucial role in expressing and cultivating devotion, encapsulated in the concept of “efficacious intimacy.”

Disrupting Individualism through the Intimate: A Review of 'The Efficacy of Intimacy and Belief in Worldmaking Practices' (Routledge, 2024)

From 2020-23, The Jugaad Project ran 3 virtual workshops with global participants. These workshops produced papers that were later edited into a book The Efficacy of Intimacy and Belief in Worldmaking Practices (Routledge, 2024). Now released to very positive endorsements, this edited volume showcases new, exciting work at the intersection of belief, intimacy, and material culture, and connects life-worlds across religion and politics. Emma Cieslik reviews this book to explore how it might be useful to scholars.