The Goddess Lives in Upstate New York: Breaking Convention and Making Home at a North American Hindu Temple

 

 

 

Review

"Highly recommended." --Choice

"Dempsey's study of an unconventional, but successful, Hindu temple community in upstate New York reveals important dynamics of diaspora Hinduism. These include issues of gender and caste, ethnic community, and spiritual enthusiasm -- the last of which, especially, has been little treated in current studies of the South Asian diaspora. Just as important, by demonstrating vividly both the logic of tantric ritual and the power devotees see in it, Dempsey offers important insights into Hindu tradition generally. Her engaging writing, together with the perceptive questions she raises, should make her book one that will absorb students and scholars alike."--Daniel Gold, author of Aesthetics and Analysis in Writing on Religion: Modern Fascinations

"Corinne Dempsey's study of the Rush Temple in Rochester, New York makes a valuable contribution to our understanding of the fluidity of modern religious life amongst dispora Hindus. For the scholar of religion, the book is full of interesting and illuminating examples of rituals, beliefs, and temple practices that make the Rush Temple unique and an important case study."--Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion

"Dempsey illuminates how this particular congregation negotiates domestic and foreign sensibilities, religious and scientific worldviews, and intergenerational expectations. Her historic, comparative, and self-reflexive insights help locate this temple not only in the history of Hinduism but in contemporary North American religiosity and religious studies more generally." --Journal of Religion

"The Goddess Lives in Upstate New York provides an engaging and accessible portrait of a thriving Hindu temple in Rush, New York, foregrounding the ethos of its charismatic founder through a thoughtful discussion of key topics. ...[A] fine study." --Journal of Asian Studies

Product Description

The Goddess Lives in Upstate New York is a profile of a flourishing Hindu temple in the town of Rush, New York. The temple, established by a charismatic nonbrahman Sri Lankan Tamil known as Aiya, stands out for its combination of orthodox ritual meticulousness and socioreligious iconoclasm. The vitality with which devotees participate in ritual themselves and their ready access to the deities contrasts sharply with ritual activities at most North American Hindu temples, where (following the usual Indian custom) ritual is performed only by priests and access to the highly sanctified divine images is closely guarded. Drawing on several years of fieldwork, Dempsey weaves traditional South Asian tales, temple miracle accounts, and devotional testimonials into an analysis of the distinctive dynamics of diaspora Hinduism. She explores the ways in which the goddess, the guru, and temple members reside at cultural and religious intersections, noting how distinctions between miraculous and mundane, convention and non-convention, and domestic and foreign are more often intertwined and interdependent than in tidy opposition. This lively and accessible work is a unique and important contribution to diaspora Hindu Studies.

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