The Madness of the Saints: Ecstatic Religion in Bengal

by June McDaniel

Although ecstasy has been explored in several Indian contexts, surprisingly little scholarship has been devoted to its central role in Bengali devotion. In The Madness of the Saints , June McDaniel undertakes the first comprehensive study of religious ecstasy in Bengal, examining the texts that describe it, the people who experience it, and the traditions that support it.

Genres: Religion, Hinduism

343 pages, Paperback

First published December 15, 1989

About the author

June McDaniel, Ph.D. (History of Religions, The Divinity School at the University of Chicago, 1986; M.T.S., Candler Seminary at Emory University, 1980; B.A., Studio Art, SUNY Albany, 1974) is Professor Emerita in the Department of Religious Studies at the College of Charleston.

Reviews

[Charlie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think one would have to be interested in Hindu or Indian culture to want to read this one. It is written for the popular press by an academic who clearly has done a lot of academic writing and is at home with the compound/ complex sentence structure of over stated redundancy.
However I can think of another reason you might want to read this book.
Have you ever had an ecstasy so intense that you were laughing and crying at once, felt so close to spirit that you wanted to smash any icon you see and felt that nothing but this spiritual release could mean anything to you? Have you been touched? You might like this one, maybe.

[Randall · Rating 5 out of 5]

For me, the most interesting parts of the book were the introduction and the section on Gaudiya Vaishnavism and Gaura Kishore das Bhabaji. I found her insight that much of the imagery in Gaudiya Vaishnavism is based around liquids. She's absolutely correct and something I'd never noticed about this type of devotional yoga. Anyone with any interest in this somewhat obscure topic will no doubt enjoy this scholarly work.