Rituals, Mantras and Science: An Integral Perspective

In this book the author discusses the place of science in rituals and mantras. Using structural analysis he show that rituals in general, whether religious, political, social or otherwise have common structural patterns. These patterns are shared by poetry, music, dance and gymnastics, but not by language. Consideration of animal rituals and pathological (compulsive) rituals leads him to propose a general theory which unifies all ritual-like activities. He also introduces the concept of ritual instinct which can be make the theory simpler and more elegant. He shows how knowledge can divided into science, non-science and pseudo-science to understand the true status of such strange phenomena as miracles, supernatural powers, siddhis, samadhi, rebirth and ESP.

About the Author:

Jayant Burde received his M.Sc. degree in mathematics from Bombay University and a law degree from Bangalore University. He is also a Certificated Associated of the Indian Institute of Bankers. He was in business before he joined a bank where he worked for nearly 20 years. His published papers contain mathematical models in finance, costing and organizational structure.