Eschatology in the Indo-Iranian Traditions

Ara, Mitra:
Eschatology in the Indo-Iranian traditions : the genesis and transformation of a doctrine / Mitra Ara. - New York [u.a.] : Lang, 2008 [laut Verlag: 2009]. - XIV, 258 S. - (American university studies : Series 7, Theology and religion ; 275)
ISBN 978-1-433-10250-9
EUR 51,00
DDC: 202.30935

Beschreibung
Eschatology in the Indo-Iranian Traditions traces the roots of the belief in life after death from the earliest religious beliefs of the Indo-European people, through its first textual emergence among the Indo-Iranians. Tracing the Indo-Iranian concepts of the nature and constitution of man, with special reference to the doctrine of the Soul and its transmigration, the book demonstrates the profound nature of the physical, ethical, spiritual, and psychological ideals embodied in these thought systems as preserved in the Indian and Iranian scriptures. The central issue was death and the journey to the afterlife. Exploring the characteristic features of Indo-Iranian religions provides a better understanding of the development of eschatological beliefs in later religions in the same way that the Zoroastrian apocalyptic beliefs point to genetic historical relations among Judaism, Zoroastrianism, Christianity, and Islam. This comparative study enriches our understanding of the antecedents of afterlife beliefs and creates enthusiasm for further in-depth research into the Indo-Iranian religion as a system, acknowledging its genetic historical connections with both earlier and subsequent traditions. Eschatology in the Indo-Iranian Traditions has wide-ranging appeal to upper undergraduate and graduate courses in comparative religion, Asian studies, philosophy, and Indian and Iranian studies. [Verlagsinformation]

Inhalt
Preface. ix
Acknowledgments. xi
List of Abbreviations and Symbols. xiii
Introduction. 1
PART 1: DEATH AND AFTERLIFE AMONG INDO-IRANIANS AND THEIR PREDECESSORS
1. Indo-Europeans: A Humanistic Approach. 15
2. Old Europe: Theoretical Perspectives. 41
3. Emergence of Indo-Iranians. 55
PART 2: VEDIC INDIANS
4. Vedic Religion. 83
5. Cosmogony and Eschatology. 97
6. Vedic Ethical World. 115
7. World Beyond. 133
PART 3: ZOROASTRIAN IRANIANS
8. Good and Evil. 177
9. Last Things and Apocalypse. 195
Afterword. 219
Bibliography. 227
Index. 253

Autorin

MITRA ARA received her B.A. in religious studies, her M.A. in South Asian studies (concentrating on the religions and languages of South Asia and Iran), and her Ph.D. in Asian studies from the University of California, Berkeley. Dr. Ara currently lectures on Persian language at San Francisco State University and at the department of modern languages and literatures at California State University, East Bay, where she also lectures on Asian religions in the department of philosophy. Profile.

Quellen: Peter Lang Verlag; Buchhandel.de; Deutsche Nationalbibliothek; WorldCat; Amazon [Deutschland].