Savoring God is a comparative study that examines the creative interaction of poetry and theology in two mystical poems central to the Christian and the Hindu traditions, the sixteenth-century Spanish Cantico espiritual (Spiritual Canticle), by Saint John of the Cross, and the Sanskrit Rasa Lila (Dance of Love), which originated in the oral tradition. Alongside the poems, Gloria Maite Hernandez examines theological commentaries on the texts: the Comentarios, written by Saint John of the Cross on his own poem, and the foundational commentary on the Rasa Lila by Sridhara Svami as well as commentaries by the sixteenth-century theologian Jiva Gosvami, from the Gaudiya Vaisnava school, and other Gaudiya theologians. The phrase "savoring God" conveys the Spanish gustar a Dios (to savor God) and the Sanskrit madhura bhakti rasa (the sweet savor of divine love). In the Christian and Hindu commentaries these two concepts describe a way of approaching the poems that is simultaneously vulnerable to the emotions evoked by the poetical imagery and responsive to its theological demands. While "savoring" does not mean the precisely the same thing to the Christian and the Hindu theologians, Hernandez demonstrates that both traditions interpret the term to suggest poetry's power in mediating an encounter with the divine.

About the Author
Gloria Maite Hernandez is an Associate Professor of Spanish at West Chester University.

Reviews
Savoring God is an intensely personal book, the fruits of Gloria Maite Hernandez's mature investment in two poems that she knows so very well, the Cantico espiritual of Saint John of the Cross and the Bhagavata Purana's Rasa Lila. This book is an exemplary instance of comparative reading, remarkably sophisticated in its attentiveness to each poem, a savoring of each word and every verse as these contribute to a cumulative passion for God. Savoring God is thus too an exemplary instance of comparative theology, the reading of texts intensified by mastery of and surrender to poetic form and suggestion. * Francis X. Clooney, SJ, Parkman Professor of Divinity, Harvard University *
Although separated by great distances of time and geography, the Rasa Lila and the Spiritual Canticle * two classics of devotional love poetryilluminate each other in this extraordinary study by Gloria Maite Hernandez. Hernandez pays close attention to the rich tradition of commentary and theology that these texts have inspired, while never losing sight of their poetic and devotional power. As a work of both theological and poetic depth, Savoring God is a feast for all the senses.Ravi M. Gupta, Charles Redd Professor of Religious Studies, Utah State University *
Young women seek their hidden lovers in a forest. From this thematic coincidence in St. John of the Cross's Cantico espiritual and the Hindu Rasa Lila, Gloria Maite Hernandez weaves an appreciation of poetry's capacity through sensorial devices to suggest the 'savoring' of divine encounter. Her reading and comparison of texts in Spanish and Sanskrit elucidates the poetry and the dense commentary that accompanies it. I learned from this book, about a poet I thought I knew well, and about a religious and poetic tradition about which I knew very little. * Ignacio Navarrete, Professor of Spanish, University of California, Berkeley *


Awards
Winner of Co-Winner, Award for Excellence in the Study of Religion Textual Studies, American Academy of Religion.



Book Information
ISBN 9780190907365
Author Gloria Maite Hernandez
Format Hardback
Page Count 256
Imprint Oxford University Press Inc
Publisher Oxford University Press Inc
Weight(grams) 508g
Dimensions(mm) 244mm * 162mm * 20mm