Table of Contents

1. Setting the parameters; Part I. The Ascetic Self in Text and History: 2. The asceticism of work: Simone Weil; 3. The asceticism of action: The Bhagavad-gita and Yoga-sutras; 4. The asceticism of action: Tantra; 5. The asceticism of the Middle Way; 6. The asceticism of the desert; 7. The asceticism of love and wisdom; Part II. Theorising the Ascetic Self: 8. The ritual construction of the ascetic self; 9. Modernity and the ascetic self.

Promotional Information

A 2004 approach to comparing religions (Christianity, Buddhism and Hinduism), focusing on traditions of asceticism.

About the Author

Gavin Flood is Professor of Religion at the University of Stirling, and the author of An Introduction to Hinduism (CUP, 1996).