The Saktas
By Ernest A. Payne, 153 Pages, Paperback.
Many elements in Indian religion have been neglected, or adversely criticized, simply because they have been distasteful to Western students and no real effort has been made to understand them. Saktism is one of the phases of Indian religion which has received much condemnation and abuse; it is also one of the phases which has been little studied. Yet throughout India, and particularly in Bengal, there are hundreds of thousands of Saktas, and they are the product of one of the most important and widespread movements within Hinduism, a movement which, however dark some of its expressions may be, has produced some remarkable types of genuine piety, and a considerable literature, and which has in recent times had able apologists.
Many elements in Indian religion have been neglected, or adversely criticized, simply because they have been distasteful to Western students and no real effort has been made to understand them. Saktism is one of the phases of Indian religion which has received much condemnation and abuse; it is also one of the phases which has been little studied. Yet throughout India, and particularly in Bengal, there are hundreds of thousands of Saktas, and they are the product of one of the most important and widespread movements within Hinduism, a movement which, however dark some of its expressions may be, has produced some remarkable types of genuine piety, and a considerable literature, and which has in recent times had able apologists.
