Kali's Child

Kali's Child: The Mystical and the Erotic in the Life and Teachings of Ramakrishna
AuthorJeffrey J. Kripal
LanguageEnglish
SubjectHindu studies
PublisherUniversity of Chicago Press
Publication date
1995
Publication placeUnited States
Media typePrint (Hardback & Paperback)

Kali's Child: The Mystical and the Erotic in the Life and Teachings of Ramakrishna is a book on the Indian mystic Ramakrishna by Hindu studies scholar Jeffrey J. Kripal, published in 1995 by the University of Chicago press.[1][2] It argues for a homoerotic strain in Ramakrishna's life, rituals, and teachings.

The book won the American Academy of Religion's History of Religions Prize for the Best First Book of 1995.[2] It has been criticised by Ramakrishna's followers and several scholars, and became the object of an intense controversy among both Western and Indian audiences.[3][4] Critics have argued that the book's conclusions were arrived at through mistranslation of Bengali, misunderstanding of tantra, and misuse of psychoanalysis.[3][4][5] Two attempts have been made to have the book banned in India, in 1996 and 2001, but did not pass in the Parliament.[6] Kripal published a second edition in 1998[7][8] and several essays and rebuttals,[6][9] to which critics have also responded.[10][11]

  1. ^ Jeffrey J. Kripal (1995), Kali's Child: The Mystical and the Erotic in the Life and Teachings of Ramakrishna. First edition. University of Chicago Press.
  2. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference pkur was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ a b Urban, Hugh B (April 1998). "Reviewed work(s): Kali's Child: The Mystical and the Erotic in the Life and Teachings of Ramakrishna by Jeffrey J. Kripal". The Journal of Religion. 78 (2). The University of Chicago Press: 318–320. doi:10.1086/490220. JSTOR 1205982.
  4. ^ a b Roland, Alan (March 1998). "Ramakrishna: Mystical, Erotic, or Both?". Journal of Religion and Health. 37 (1). Springer Netherlands: 31–36. doi:10.1023/A:1022956932676. S2CID 21072291. ... Kali's Child still swirls around in controversy
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference spivak was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference kritant was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ Jeffrey J. Kripal (1998), Kali's Child: The Mystical and the Erotic in the Life and Teachings of Ramakrishna. Second edition. University of Chicago Press.
  8. ^ Jeffrey J. Kripal (January 1998), Pale Plausibilities: A Preface for the Second Edition [of Kali's Child]. University of Chicago Press. Online version available at Kripal's Rice University website, accessed on 2010-01-13.
  9. ^ Cite error: The named reference kaltex was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  10. ^ Cite error: The named reference revisited2010 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  11. ^ Cite error: The named reference Goldberg2010 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).