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Chapter Overview
Chapter 1: Jainism is an intensely ascetic faith.
Chapter 2: The writer learned the beliefs of modern Jains from a nun in Karnataka, India.
Chapter 3: Kerala is one of India’s most socially oppressive states today.
Chapter 4: Theyyam rituals allow Dalits to voice their grievances against upper-caste Keralans.
Chapter 5: Following a cave retreat, a Tibetan apprentice monk vowed to become a hermit.
Chapter 6: Tibetan monks abandoned their vows and took up arms to resist the Chinese occupation.
Chapter 7: Bauls’ mystical creed draws from ancient Indian religious traditions.
Chapter 8: A life scarred by tragedy drove a blind boy to join the Bauls.
Description
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
- Globetrotters fascinated by the world’s diversity
- Atheists interested in what motivates the faithful
- History buffs