If You're Curious About These Questions...
You should listen to this audiobook
- Have you ever wondered how a devout Buddhist monk could reconcile his vows of non-violence with the necessity of picking up a gun to defend his homeland?
- What’s the secret behind a faith so powerful that it compels individuals to renounce every worldly comfort and even their own identities in pursuit of the divine?
- Did you know that in certain corners of contemporary India, the social outcasts of daily life are transformed into living, breathing deities through ancient, trance-like rituals?
Listen to Nine Lives — Free Audiobook
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Key Takeaways from Nine Lives
- Discover how India's vast geographical and religious diversity shapes the deeply personal, lived experiences of its modern spiritual practitioners.
- Understand why Jainism relies on extreme asceticism and bodily austerity—rather than traditional purity rituals—as the ultimate path to transcendent knowledge.
- Explore the profound Jain ritual of sallekhana, where believers voluntarily fast to death in an act celebrated as spiritual liberation rather than despair.
- Learn how the strict pursuit of ahimsa (non-violence) leads devoted monks and nuns to renounce all worldly possessions and emotional attachments.
- Uncover the stark contrast between Kerala's lush, world-renowned spice gardens and its deeply oppressive history of caste-based violence and enduring bigotry.
Nine Lives — Full Chapter Overview
Chapter 1: Recommendation
Chapter 2: Jainism is an intensely ascetic faith.
Chapter 3: The author learned about the modern beliefs of Jains from a nun in Karnataka.
Chapter 4: Kerala ranks among the most socially oppressive states in India.
Chapter 5: Theyyam rituals allow Dalits to express complaints against upper-caste Keralans publicly.
Chapter 6: Following a cave retreat, a Tibetan monastic student vowed to become a hermit.
Chapter 7: Tibetan monks abandoned their vows and took up arms to oppose the Chinese occupation.
Chapter 8: Bauls’ esoteric faith draws on ancient Indian religious traditions.
Chapter 9: A life marked by tragedy led a blind boy to join the Bauls.
Nine Lives Summary & Overview
Nine Lives (2009) is a study of spirituality and religion in contemporary India. Drawing on William Dalrymple’s in-depth interviews with religious practitioners, these blinks will whisk us from Tibet to Karnataka to Kerala and West Bengal as we explore four remarkable – and remarkably pious – lives. Along the way, we’ll unpack the social and historical context in which these believers’ faiths emerged and continue to be practiced.
Who Should Listen to Nine Lives?
- Globetrotters fascinated by the world’s diversity
- Atheists interested in what motivates the faithful
- History buffs
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