 | This article needs additional citations for verification .(August 2009) |
 First edition cover | |
| Author | Christopher Pike |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Fantasy literature |
Publication date | 1990 |
| ISBN | 9780812510355 |
Sati is a fantasy novel by Christopher Pike. It was first published in September 1990. [1]
Michael is a trucker who picks up a blonde, blue-eyed, young female hitchhiker, Sati, in the Arizona desert. Sati claims that she is God, to Michael's disbelief, and sets out to prove this by spreading this message through organized meetings, and convinces many people of her divinity. She is challenged numerous times, once by a fundamentalist preacher, but emerges unscathed by his claims. Meanwhile, Michael sets out to find out where this "Sati" came from, only to find nothing. The book opens as such:
"I once knew this girl who thought she was God. She didn't give sight to the blind or raise the dead. She didn't even teach anything, not really, and she never told me anything I probably didn't already know. On the other hand, she didn't expect to be worshipped, nor did she ask for money. Given her high opinion of herself, some might call that a miracle. I don't know, maybe she was God. Her name was Sati, and she had blonde hair and blue eyes." [2]
Like many other books written by Pike, this book is clearly influenced by The Bible, and Hindu philosophy as well as modern day Christianity, Hinduism and Buddhism, as shown in Sati's philosophy and persona which is a mixture of these beliefs. The name may be derived from a Hindu goddess named "Sati", but it is never mentioned in the book.
There are similarities between the character Sati and the similarly named Sita from Pike's The Last Vampire series written later: both are blonde, blue-eyed young females with supernatural powers, and have beliefs similar to those of Hinduism (Sita practises Hinduism).
In Hinduism, Daksha is one of the prajapati, the agents of creation, as well as a divine king-rishi. His iconography depicts him as a man with a stocky body and a handsome face or the head of a goat.
Parvati, also known as Uma and Gauri, is the Hindu goddess of power, energy, nourishment, harmony, love, beauty, devotion, and motherhood. In her complete form, she is a physical representation of Mahadevi also known as Adi Shakti, the primordial power behind the creation of the universe, the creator and destroyer. She is one of the central deities of the goddess-oriented sect called Shaktism, and the supreme goddess in Shaivism. Along with Lakshmi and Sarasvati, she forms the Tridevi.
Lakshmi also known as Shri, is one of the principal goddesses in Hinduism. She is the goddess of wealth, fortune, power, beauty, fertility and prosperity, and associated with Maya ("Illusion"). Along with Parvati and Saraswati, she forms the Tridevi of Hindu goddesses.
Kevin Christopher McFadden, known by his pseudonym Christopher Pike, is an American author of children's fiction and for mystery-thrillers and supernatural horror fiction, mainly for young adults though he has also published adult fiction.
Svayamvara is a type of marriage mentioned in Hindu mythology where a woman chose a man as her husband from a group of suitors. The bride wishing to marry would select an auspicious time and venue and then broadcast her intentions. Kings typically sent messengers to outside lands, while commoners simply spread the news within the local community. On the appointed day, suitors would gather at the venue and declare their qualifications. The bride would place a garland on the man of her choice and a wedding ceremony was held immediately. However, this type of marriage is not attested in any Dharmaśāstra.
In the field of comparative religion, many scholars, academics, and religious figures have looked at the relationships between Hinduism and other religions.
Shaktism is one of the several major Hindu denominations wherein the metaphysical reality, or the godhead, is considered metaphorically to be a woman.
Hindu texts present diverse views on the position of women, ranging from feminine leadership as the highest goddess, to limiting gender roles. The Devi Sukta hymn of Rigveda, a scripture of Hinduism, declares the feminine energy as the essence of the universe, the one who creates all matter and consciousness, the eternal and infinite, the metaphysical and empirical reality (Brahman), the soul, of everything. The woman is celebrated as the most powerful and the empowering force in some Hindu Upanishads, Sastras and Puranas, particularly the Devi Upanishad, Devi Mahatmya and Devi-Bhagavata Purana.
Ramcharitmanas, is an epic poem in the Awadhi language, composed by the 16th-century Indian bhakti poet Tulsidas. It has many inspirations, the primary being the Ramayana of Valmiki.
Sati, also known as Dakshayani, is the Hindu goddess of marital felicity and longevity, and is worshipped as an aspect of the mother goddess Shakti. Sati was the first wife of Shiva, the other being Parvati, who was Sati's reincarnation after her death.
In Hinduism, there are diverse approaches to conceptualizing God and gender. Many Hindus focus upon impersonal Absolute (Brahman) which is genderless. Other Hindu traditions conceive God as bigender, alternatively as either male or female, while cherishing gender henotheism, that is without denying the existence of other gods in either gender.
The following list consists of notable concepts that are derived from Hindu culture and associated cultures’ traditions, which are expressed as words in Sanskrit or other Indic languages and Dravidian languages. The main purpose of this list is to disambiguate multiple spellings, to make note of spellings no longer in use for these concepts, to define the concept in one or two lines, to make it easy for one to find and pin down specific concepts, and to provide a guide to unique concepts of Hinduism all in one place.
Anasuya is an ascetic, and the wife of Sage Atri in Hinduism. She is the daughter of Devahuti and the Prajapati Kardama in Hindu texts. In the Ramayana, she lives with her husband in a small hermitage on the southern border of the Chitrakuta forest. A pious woman who leads an austere life, she is described as having miraculous powers.
Hindu atheism or non-theism, which is known as Nirīśvaravāda has been a historically propounded viewpoint in many of the Astika (Orthodox) streams of Hindu philosophy. Hindu spiritual atheists, agnostics or non-theists who affirm the sanctity of the Vedas and the concept of Brahman, as well as those who follow astika (orthodox) philosophies but reject personal god(s), are also called Dharmic atheists, Vedic atheists or Sanatani atheists.
Polytheism is the belief in or worship of more than one god. According to Oxford Reference, it is not easy to count gods, and so not always obvious whether an apparently polytheistic religion, such as Chinese Folk Religions, is really so, or whether the apparent different objects of worship are to be thought of as manifestations of a singular divinity. Polytheistic belief is usually assembled into a pantheon of gods and goddesses, along with their own religious sects and rituals. Polytheism is a type of theism. Within theism, it contrasts with monotheism, the belief in a singular God who is, in most cases, transcendent.
Rama is a major deity in Hinduism. He is the seventh and one of the most popular avatars of Vishnu. In Rama-centric traditions of Hinduism, he is considered the Supreme Being.
Devī is the Sanskrit word for 'goddess'; the masculine form is deva. Devi and deva mean 'heavenly, divine, anything of excellence', and are also gender-specific terms for a deity in Hinduism.
In some adaptations of the Hindu epic Ramayana, Maya Sita or Chaya Sita is the illusionary duplicate of the goddess Sita, who is abducted by the demon-king Ravana of Lanka instead of the real Sita.
Jainism and Hinduism are two ancient Indian religions. There are some similarities and differences between the two religions. Temples, gods, rituals, fasts and other religious components of Jainism are different from those of Hinduism.
