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The metaphysical poetry of the English Romantics is characterised by an interest in esoteric wisdom, and the exploration of Hinduism and Neoplatonism during the period formed a significant part of this 'abstruse research'. This thesis will investigate the role of two central strands of 'Romantic esotericism', Neoplatonism and Hinduism, in the work of Samuel Taylor Coleridge and Percy Bysshe Shelley, and examine how it is manifested in their poetry, philosophy and expression of visionary experience and spiritual transcendence. This study considers the way in which Coleridge and Shelley drew upon the ideas, symbols, mythology, theology and philosophy contained in the earliest English translations of Hindu sacred texts and Thomas Taylor's Neoplatonic translations, during their poetic explorations of transcendental experience. It will demonstrate how this material was a significant source of inspiration to both Coleridge and Shelley when formulating their own poetic vocabulary capable of expressing the ineffable divine. The first chapter deals with the early influence of Hinduism and Neoplatonism on Coleridge's poetic output from 1793-1802, and the second chapter considers his shifting response from this point onwards, which coincides with his poetic development and the apparent loss of his former visionary insight. His expression of visionary experience in his early work is evidently influenced by both Hindu and Neoplatonic texts and, despite his later criticism, Coleridge continues to make use of their 'symbolic potential' before dismissing them entirely in his later years. Shelley shares Coleridge's preoccupation with the esoteric unknown and the final chapter examines the influence of Hinduism and Taylor's Neoplatonic translations, as well as the symbolic legacy of Coleridge, on Shelley's poetical explorations of visionary pursuit and divine insight. Like Coleridge, Shelley synthesises Neoplatonic and Hindu influences to create his own divine symbolism, and both poets were greatly inspired by their engagement with these ancient traditions.

The broad purpose of ‘In A City Like Delhi’ is to make an argument in favour of the positive link between spirituality and sustainability. Sustainability, at its core, requires an ethical commitment, and the thesis proposes that spirituality may be that vital means through which sustainability may be truly animated, in theory and in practice. The thesis is particularly preoccupied with considering the yet fully unrealised competence of spirituality to enrich the understanding and practise of sustainability in the urban space. To this end, it uses a very particular case study to make a modest exploration of such a conceptual association – the city of Delhi. The concept of sustainability, as articulated in the West, is primarily a secular notion. While international religious and spiritual organisations have taken up the sustainability challenge, the reverse is less true – sustainability planning is rarely conducted in a dialogue with religious or spiritual institutions and resources. In this context the case study of an Indian megacity to examine the relationship between religion, spirituality, secularism and development, is particularly interesting. The thesis explores, as one example of the potential interface, how Hindu spirituality as interpreted by Mahatma Gandhi, may usefully inform a spiritual philosophy to enliven a sustainability consciousness in Delhi. The theoretical speculations of the thesis are grounded in the local context by seeking the perspectives of twenty primary informants from Delhi who are all associated with various levels of planning and implementing development in the city. I specifically chose my interviewees from secular development backgrounds (rather than religious and spiritual representatives) because this would enrich critical understanding of how spirituality may be viewed within a secular sustainability discourse. I use their views on spirituality, sustainable development, and any affinities between the two notions to balance my own perspective, derived from both my research and my personal experience of the city of my birth. The interviews gave added depth to the environmental, economic and social challenges confronting the city of Delhi, which were already evident in the literature review. Additionally however, the interviews confirmed the hypothesis that sustainable development and spirituality together could have a productive, coherent and an even inseparable grounding union in Delhi and that spirituality may be vital in facilitating that essential shift in consciousness that a sustainable mindset requires. These findings are crucial to any study or strategy considering comprehensive sustainable development for Delhi.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Open University. BLDSC no. DX79626.

Thesis--Münster. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 246-257) and index.

Abhishiktananda described himself as a “Hindu-Christian monk”, and spent much of his life blurring the religious boundaries between being Hindu and being Christian. There are many others like him who have claimed or been assigned religious identities which might seem paradoxical. In contemporary theological speak, they can be seen as having a ‘double religious identity’; that is, they are believed to be engaging with both simultaneously. Indeed a ‘theology of double religious identity’ tends to attribute this to cultural norms, family ties, syncretism or even a consumerist approach, and has explored it mostly through Buddhist-Christian examples. Whilst a few references have been made to ‘Hindu-Christian identity’, this thesis has chosen to widen the demographic and draw on a set of case studies solely located within the interfaith sphere of Hindu-Christian dialogue (These include Robert de Nobili, Abhishiktananda and Brahmabandhab Upadhyay). By exploring it outside of the Buddhist-Christian paradigm, this thesis hopes to aid a better theological understanding of double religious identity, by examining both how and why such identities occur. The shift into Hindu-Christian dialogue uncovers further reasons as to why double religious identity might arise, which includes aesthetics, politics, theology and inculturation. Inculturation is a means of mission and dialogue which involves suitably adapting another religious culture to ground the Church in a different context. This use of religious symbolism has led, at times, to perceptions of its practitioners as both Hindu and Christian. Indeed, this thesis concludes that perception plays a large role in the designation and understanding of people’s double religious identities. It hopes that this research will aid further interest in the interactions between religious identities, particularly within Hindu-Christian dialogue. By taking a broader approach to what constitutes and influences a person’s religious identity, such identities as ‘Hindu-Christian’ can be better understood.

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The purpose of this paper is to examine how gender in Islam and Hinduism are described in textbooks for high school. The study was conducted using a qualitative content analysis and also using a feminist gender theory and postcolonial feminist theory. All textbooks are written or revised after 2011 when The Swedish National Agency for Educations’ new curriculum came into force. Previous research in this area shows that it is most common that gender is treated in isolated parts within the chapters, but that there are textbooks that allows the gender perspective permeate the entire text. It also shows that the male perspective has been allowed to become the starting point or the neutral perspective in religion, while the female perspective has been described as the exception. In this paper the results shows that some textbooks describe gender in isolated sections of the chapters and other textbooks let the gender perspective permeates entire chapters. The textbook authors are in most cases consistent with explaining the different gender aspects based on other factors, such as traditions and geographical areas. However, there are exceptions where gender is not connected to external factors. There are descriptions in which the female is described on the basis of the male, just like the results of previous research. The discussion may need not only be about what is written about gender in textbooks, but also how it is presented in them.