Sixteenth-century Hindu theologian Rupa Gosvamin established a technique by which, in
imitating one of the significant figures in Krishna's dramatic world, a devotee might actually
come to inhabit the world of the character whose part he or she was playing. Haberman here
demonstrates that the Hindu view of reality accepts such role playing, called raganuga bhakti
sadhana, as a preeminent way to salvation. He argues that Hindu devotional religion is not
entirely a religion of grace, as many scholars have held, but one which requires discipline and
effort. Throughout the book, Haberman explores Indian dramatic theory, Rupa's unique
application of that theory to devotionalism, developments in the practice of this technique, and
its contemporary manifestations.

David L. Haberman is a professor of Religious Studies at Indiana University. He has been
making frequent visits to the region of Braj for over forty years, studying and writing about the
religious culture of this important pilgrimage center. Since initially publishing Acting as a Way
of Salvation: A Study of Rāgānugā Bhakti Sādhana (Oxford University Press, 1988), he has
published five related books: Journey Through the Twelve Forests: An Encounter with Krishna
(Oxford University Press, 1994), an annotated translation of Rūpa Gosvāmin’s
Bhaktirasāmṛtasindhu (Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts, 2000), River of Love in an
Age of Pollution: The Yamuna River of Northern India (University of California Press, 2006),
People Trees: Worship of Trees in Northern India (Oxford University Press, 2013), and Loving
Stones: Making the Impossible Possible in the Worship of Mount Govardhan (Oxford University
Press, 2020). His fondness for the sacred land and religious culture of Braj remains strong.