Tag Archives: readings/research

Tamils

Posted on May 15, 2026 | Leave a comment

“Tamils: People originally of South India who speak the Tamil language. The Tamils have a long history of achievement; sea travel, city life, and commerce seem to have developed early among them. They traded with the ancient Greeks and Romans. They have the oldest cultivated Dravidian language and a rich literary tradition. They are mostly Hindus (the Tamil area of India is a center of traditional Hinduism). In Sri Lanka there are two separate Tamil populations, the Ceylon Tamils and the Indian Tamils. Tensions between the Ceylon Tamils and the Sinhalese Buddhist majority prompted a Tamil guerilla insurgency in the 1980s and 90s. The Tamils number about 57 million, with 3.2 million living in Sri Lanka.”

Excerpted from: Stevens, Mark A., Ed. Merriam Webster’s Collegiate Encyclopedia. Springfield, Massachusetts: Merriam-Webster, 2000.

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Bhakti

Posted on May 15, 2026 | Leave a comment

“bhakti: South Asian devotional movement, particularly in Hinduism, emphasizing the love of the devotee for his or her personal god. In contrast to Advaita, bhakti assumes a dualistic relationship between devotee and deity. Though Vishnu, Shiva, and Shakti (see shakti) all have cults, bhakti characteristically developed a around Vishnu’s incarnations as Rama and Krishna. Practices include reciting the god’s name, singing hymns, wearing his emblem, and making pilgrimages. The fervor of South Indian hymnists in the 7th-10 centuries spread bhakti and inspired much poetry and art. Poets such as Mirabai conceived of the relationship between the worshiper and the god in familiar human terms (e.g. the lover the beloved), while more abstract poets such as Kabir and Nanak portrayed the divinity as singular and ineffable.”

Excerpted from: Stevens, Mark A., Ed. Merriam Webster’s Collegiate Encyclopedia. Springfield, Massachusetts: Merriam-Webster, 2000.

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Bhagavata

Posted on May 15, 2026 | Leave a comment

“Bhagavata: Member of the earliest recorded Hindu sect, representing the beginnings of theistic, devotional worship and modern Vaishnavism. The Bhagavata sect originated in the Mathura region c.3rd—2nd century BC and spread through western, northern, and southern India. The faith centers on devotion to a personal god, variously called Vishnu, Krishna, Hari, or Narayana. The Bhagavadgita (1st—2nd century AD) is the earliest exposition of the Bhagavata system, but it central scripture is the Bhagavata Purana. The sect was prominent within Vaishnavism until the 11th century, when bhakti (devotional worship) was revitalized by Ramanuja.”

Excerpted from: Stevens, Mark A., Ed. Merriam Webster’s Collegiate Encyclopedia. Springfield, Massachusetts: Merriam-Webster, 2000.

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The Weekly Text, 15 May 2026, Asian Pacific American Heritage Month Week III: A Reading and Comprehension Worksheet on Sikhism

Posted on May 15, 2026 | Leave a comment

For the third Friday of Asian Pacific American Heritage Month 2026, the Weekly Text is this reading on Sikhism along with its accompanying vocabulary-building and comprehension worksheet. Like just about everything I post during themed history months, this article derives from one of the books (the first one, actually) in the Intellectual Devotional series. Basically, these documents are a miniature research assignment.

And, like just about everything you’ll find on this website, these documents are formatted in Microsoft Word for ease of adaptation and other manipulation.

If you find typos in these documents, I would appreciate a notification. And, as always, if you find this material useful in your practice, I would be grateful to hear what you think of it. I seek your peer review.

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Babylon

Posted on May 8, 2026 | Leave a comment

“Babylon An ancient city in Mesopotamia, first prominent under Hammurabi who made it capital of the kingdom of Babylonia. The city (now in ruins) lay on the Euphrates 55 miles south of present-day Baghdad and was noted for its luxury, its fortifications, and particularly for the ‘Hanging Gardens,’ which were one the Seven Wonders of the World.”

Excerpted from: Wright, Edmund, Ed. The Oxford Desk Encyclopedia of World History. New York: Oxford University Press, 2006.

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Adana

Posted on May 8, 2026 | Leave a comment

“Adana: City (population 2019: 1,769,000) south central Turkey, on the Seyhan River. An agricultural and industrial center and one of Turkey’s largest cities, it probably overlies a Hittite settlement that dates from c.1400 BC. Conquered by Alexander the Great in 335-334 BC, it was later a Roman military station. It came under the rule of the Abbasid Arabs at the end of the 7th century AD and changed hands intermittently until the establishment of the Turkmen dynasty in 1378. Adana’s prosperity has long derived from the fertile valleys behind it and its position as a bridgehead on the Anatolian-Arabian trade routes.”

Excerpted from: Stevens, Mark A., Ed. Merriam Webster’s Collegiate Encyclopedia. Springfield, Massachusetts: Merriam-Webster, 2000.

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9 Rasa

Posted on May 8, 2026 | Leave a comment

“9 Rasa: Sengaram * Hasyam * Raudram * Karunyam * Bibhatsam * Bhayanakam * Viram * Abduhtam * Santam

The Nine Rasa are a culture refrain underlying Indian popular art, music, theater, comics, and cinema. They are noisy, plebeian, and fun-loving.

Sengaram (love, attractiveness, and the erotic) is presided over by Lord Vishnu and colored light green. Hasyam (laughter, mirth, and comedy) is presided over by Pramata and colored white. Raudram (fury) is presided over by Rudra and colored red. Karunyam (compassion and tragedy) has Yama as its presiding deity and is colored grey. Bibhatsam (disgust, aversion, and the pathetic) is presided over by Shiva and colored blue. Bhayanakam (horror) is presided over by Kali and colored black. Viram (heroic endeavor) has as its presiding deity Indra, and is colored yellow. Abdhutam (wonder and amazement) has Lord Brahma and is colored bright yellow. Santam (peace and tranquility) has the presiding deity of Vishnu and is colored blue.”

Excerpted from: Rogerson, Barnaby. Rogerson’s Book of Numbers: The Culture of Numbers–from 1,001 Nights to the Seven Wonders of the World. New York: Picador, 2013.

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The Weekly Text, 8 May 2026, Asian Pacific American Heritage Month Week II: A Reading and Comprehension Worksheet on Sufism

Posted on May 8, 2026 | Leave a comment

OK, for the second week of Asian Pacific American Heritage Month 2026, Mark’s Text Terminal offers as its Weekly Text this reading on Sufism and its accompanying vocabulary-building and comprehension worksheet. Sufism, as you may know, is a mystical sect of Islam.

Are you aware that there are as many as 73 sects in Islam? And that there are a group of Muslims known as “non-denominational Muslims?” We Americans tend to think of Islam as homogenous–and, alas, in the view of far too many people in the United States, sinister.

It behooves us to know, understand, and respect our neighbors.

If you find typos in these documents, I would appreciate a notification. And, as always, if you find this material useful in your practice, I would be grateful to hear what you think of it. I seek your peer review.

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Yamazaki Ansai

Posted on May 1, 2026 | Leave a comment

“Yamazaki Ansai: (1619-1682) Japanese exponent of the philosophy of the Chinese Neo-Confucianist Zhu Xi. Early in life he was a Buddhist monk, but he gradually rejected Buddhism in favor of Confucianism, which he began to teach to thousands of students. He reduced Neo-Confucianism to a simple moral code, which he then blended with native Shinto religious doctrines. He equated Neo-Confucian principles and theories with Shinto legends and divinity, creating a philosophical system that took on greater authority that its sources possessed alone. His thought was one of the sources of the extreme nationalism and emperor worship that developed later in Japan.”

Excerpted from: Stevens, Mark A., Ed. Merriam Webster’s Collegiate Encyclopedia. Springfield, Massachusetts: Merriam-Webster, 2000.

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Buddha

Posted on May 1, 2026 | Leave a comment

“Buddha A title given to successive teachers (past and future) of Buddhism, although it usually denotes the founder of Buddhism, Siddartha Gautama (c. 563 BC-c. 489 BC). Although born an Indian prince (in what is now Nepal), he renounced his kingdom, wife, and child to become an ascetic, taking religious instruction until he attained enlightenment (nirvana) through meditation beneath a bo tree in the village of Bodhgaya. He then taught all who wanted to learn, regardless of sex, class or caste, until his death. ‘Buddha’ means ‘enlightened’ in Sanskrit.”

Excerpted from: Wright, Edmund, Ed. The Oxford Desk Encyclopedia of World History. New York: Oxford University Press, 2006.

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