Hindu practice / Gavin Flood.

"This history of Hindu religious practices examines traditions of asceticism, yoga, and devotion (bhakti), including dance and music, developed in Hinduism over a long period of time, placing the theme of practice within a broader trajectory of cultural history. Some of these practices, notably those denoted by the term yoga, are orientated towards salvation from the cycle of reincarnation and go back several thousand years, borne witness to in ancient texts called Upaniṣads, as well as in other traditions, notably early Buddhism and Jainism. Practices of meditation are also linked to asceticism (tapas) and its institutional articulation in renunciation (saṃnyāsa). There are devotional practices that might involve ritual, making an offering to a deity and receiving a blessing, dancing, or visualization of the master (guru) and a range of disciplines from ascetic fasting to taking a vow (vrata) for a deity in return for a favour. This whole range of meditative and devotional practices that have developed in the history of Hinduism are represented in this book"-- Provided by publisher.