Reading list

Devotion and Recognition

The bhakti poets and the non-dual Śaivism of Kashmir: two Indian paths of love and self-knowledge.

Intermediate. 6 steps

Devotion

Tradition
The bhakti movement
How loving devotion spread across India in the languages of the people.
Text
The Devotional Poems of Mīrābāī
Mīrābāī, tr. A. J. Alston, 1980
Mīrābāī’s songs of longing for Krishna, against the claims of family and rank.
Concept
Prema
Pure love of God, which Caitanya’s followers placed above liberation itself.

Tradition
Kashmir Śaivism
The non-dual Śaivism of Kashmir, and its affirmation of the world as consciousness.
Text
Śiva Sūtras
tr. Jaideva Singh, 1979
The foundational aphorisms, beginning “consciousness is the self”.
Text
Lalla-Vākyāni
Lal Ded, 1920
Lal Ded’s sayings, where Śaiva yoga becomes the poetry of devotion.

Cite this entry

Chicago (bibliography): “Devotion and Recognition.” Reading list. The Library, Unitive Knowledge Society. Last modified November 7, 2026. https://www.unitiveknowledge.org/reading-lists/devotion-and-recognition.
Chicago (note): “Devotion and Recognition,” reading list, The Library, Unitive Knowledge Society, last modified November 7, 2026, https://www.unitiveknowledge.org/reading-lists/devotion-and-recognition.
MLA: “Devotion and Recognition.” The Library, Unitive Knowledge Society, 7 Nov. 2026, www.unitiveknowledge.org/reading-lists/devotion-and-recognition.
BibTeX: @misc{reading-lists-devotion-and-recognition, title = {{Devotion and Recognition}}, howpublished = {The Library, Unitive Knowledge Society}, note = {Reading list. Last modified November 7, 2026}, year = {2026}, url = {https://www.unitiveknowledge.org/reading-lists/devotion-and-recognition} }