Abstract:
This article analyzes the meanings of becoming a devotee, according to the Vedanta tradition, and some implications arising from this type of experience lived by the informants. It is based upon fieldwork of a group of Non-dualism Vedanta students that live in Rio de Janeiro. The meanings of this learning process will be portrayed, as well as its implications on the life style of the group. Furthermore, matters such as the trajectory of the Western individual, spiritual disenchantment, fundamental loss of the purpose of living will be discussed, with the aim of analyzing the kind of religious beliefs practiced by the group, thus contributing to the understanding of the meanings of being “religious” or “spiritualized” today.
Keywords:
urban anthropology; religiosity; spirituality; devotion