Mircea Eliade

Mircea Eliade (March 9 1907, Bucharest - April 22 1986, Chicago, Illinois) was a Romanian historian of religions and writer (fantasy and autobiographical). He commanded eight languages fluently (Romanian, French, German, Italian, English, Hebrew, Persian and Sanskrit).

Related Topics:
March 9 - 1907 - Bucharest - April 22 - 1986 - Chicago, Illinois - Romanian - Fantasy - Autobiographical - Romanian - French - German - Italian - English - Hebrew - Persian - Sanskrit

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In 1928, at the University of Bucharest, he met Emil Cioran and Eugène Ionesco, and the three became, with short interruptions, lifelong friends. Since the 1970s he has been criticized for his pre-war sympathies with Garda de Fier (The Iron Guard), an extreme-right-wing political organization. However, his political views did not have any great influence on his scholarly production, which began after a long period of study in India at the University of Calcutta. Finding that the Maharaja of Kassimbazar sponsored European scholars to study in India, Eliade applied and was granted an allowance for four years. In 1928 he sailed for Calcutta to study Sanskrit and philosophy under Surendranath Dasgupta (1885-1952), a Cambridge educated Bengali professor at the University of Calcutta, and author of a five volume History of Indian Philosophy. He went on to marry Professor Dasgupta's daughter Uma.

Related Topics:
1928 - University of Bucharest - Emil Cioran - Eugène Ionesco - Garda de Fier - University of Calcutta - Maharaja - European - India - Cambridge - Bengal

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In his work on the history of religion, he is most regarded for his writings on shamanism, yoga and cosmological myths.

Related Topics:
Shamanism - Yoga

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His thinking has been partly influenced by Rudolf Otto, Gerardus van der Leeuw, Nae Ionescu and the work of the Traditionalist School.

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Mircea Eliade has had an decisive influence on many scholars, for instance Ioan Petru Culianu. In Romania, Eliade's legacy in the field of history of religions is mirrored by the journal "Archaeus" http://www.rahr.ro/" (founded 1997).

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