The purpose of this book, "Hindu Scriptures and Their Profound Teachings," is to provide readers with an overview of the most important Hindu scriptures and the teachings contained within them. Each chapter is dedicated to a specific text or philosophical system and offers a concise yet comprehensive summary of its key ideas and teachings.
A selection of Gandhiji s articles drawn mainly from his contributions to young india, the Harijan and the Navjivan on Hinduism. Written on different occassions, these articles present a picture of hindu dharma I all its richness, comprehensiveness and sensitivity to the existential delimmas of human existence.
Discusses Hindu Advaita Ved?nta as a philosophy of social justice for the modern world. This expansive and accessible work provides an introduction to the Hindu tradition of Advaita Ved?nta and brings it into discussion with contemporary concerns. Advaita, the non-dual school of Indian philosophy and spirituality associated with ?a?kara, is often seen as other-worldly, regarding the world as an illusion. Anantanand Rambachan has played a central role in presenting a more authentic Advaita, one that reveals how Advaita is positive about the here and now. The first part of the book presents the hermeneutics and spirituality of Advaita, using textual sources, classical commentary, and modern scholarship. The books second section considers the implications of Advaita for ethical and social challenges: patriarchy, homophobia, ecological crisis, child abuse, and inequality. Rambachan establishes how Advaitas non-dual understanding of reality provides the ground for social activism and the values that advocate for justice, dignity, and the equality of human beings. Rambachan has written an original, creative, and provocative book that will assure that Hinduism has a greater voice in the general arena of interreligious dialogue. Paul F. Knitter, Union Theological Seminary This is an important contribution to the advancement of constructive work in Hindu theology, comparative theology, and the study of South Asian religious traditions. It has the potential to revolutionize how scholars view Hinduism generally, and Advaita Ved?nta in particular. Jeffery D. Long, Elizabethtown College
Visnuism has given rise to two very important schools of ritual and philosophy, namely Vaikhanasa and Pancaratra. Isvarasamhita is an important text of the Pancaratra school of Visnuism. Whereas Vaikhanasa is relatively archaic in character and leans more upon the Vedic tradition for its repertoire of Mantras used in religious rites and ceremonies, the Pancaratra is more liberal and open in its approach. It has a text tradition going back to some two thousand years- which has also been the main source of the Visistadvaita philosophy of Ramanuja (11th 12th c.). In most of the Vaisnava temples in South India, especially in Tamilnadu, worship is conducted in accordance with the prescription of one of the important Pancaratra Samhitas. Isvarasamhita is an important text of the Pancaratra School and is followed meticulously for conduction of daily Puja ceremony and performances of various religious festivals in the Narayanasvami temple of Melkote. It can safely be dated to 8th-9th Century at least on the basis of its reference in the Agama Pramanya of Shri Yamunacarya. It is supposed to be a simpler and smaller version of the older sattvatasamhita of this school which is the earliest available work of Pancaratra and is considered as one of three ratnas, (Jewels), along with Pauskara- and Jaya Samhitas. In 25 long Adhyayas the Isvarasamhita describes in great details the rites, rituals and ceremonies taking place ( or ought to take place) in a Vaisnava temple. Palm leaf Manuscripts of the Isvarasamhita were procured mainly from the Narayanasvami temple of Melkote for the sake of authenticity. We have also appended to the text the gloss of Alasimha Bhatta (early 19th C.) which shall be helpful in comprehending certain difficult or sectarian expressions. The English translation on the opposite (right) page has been provided for the facility of the modern scholars working on philosophy, Ritual and Iconography of Visnuism. A proper understanding of ritual is obviously indispensable for the study of Art.
Is There Hope in the Chaos? Our civilisation is unstable. Everyone can feel it. We face a looming mental health crisis. Slavery, censorship and superstition are back. Our politics are polarising. All the affluence in the world can’t seem to quench our thirst for meaning and purpose. But maybe there is hope—if we know where to look. In this timely book, Kurt Mahlburg shows how profoundly the West has been shaped by the life and teachings of Jesus—from our democratic freedoms and our pursuit of reason and science to our belief that every life is precious. Could rediscovering Jesus be the answer to our crisis?
Any divide between revelation and rationality, religion and logic has to be irrational. If religion and rationality cannot proceed hand in hand, there has to be something deeply wrong with either of the two. Does revelation play any vital role in human affairs? Is not rationality sufficient to guide man in all the problems which confront him? Numerous questions such as these are examined with minute attention. All major issues which intrigue the modern mind are attempted to be incorporated in this fascinatingly comprehensive statute. Whatever the intellectual or educational background of the reader, this book is bound to offer him something of his interest. It examines a very diverse and wide range of subjects including the concept of revelation in different religions, history of philosophy, cosmology, extraterrestrial life, the future of life on earth, natural selection and its role in evolution. It also elaborately discusses the advent of the Messiah, or other universal reformers, awaited by different religions. Likewise, many other topical issues which have been agitating the human mind since time immemorial are also incorporated. The main emphasis is on the ability of the Quran to correctly discuss all important events of the past, present and future from the beginning of the universe to its ultimate end. Aided by strong incontrovertible logic and scientific evidence, the Quran does not shy away from presenting itself to the merciless scrutiny of rationality. It will be hard to find a reader whose queries are not satisfactorily answered. We hope that most readers will testify that this will always stand out as a book among books – perhaps the greatest literary achievement of this century.
In this extraordinarily candid book, Umesh Patri presents a fresh reappraisal of the impact of Indian scriptures on American transcendentalism which flourished in New England in the 19th century. The major premise of the study is that other influences on the transcendentalists, such as Chinese, Persian, Sufi, Arabic, Neo-Platonism and German transcendentalism, are of less significance than that of Indian scriptures comprising of Hindu and Buddhist texts. In the writings of Emerson, Thoreau and minor transcendentalists like Alcott, Fuller, Channing, Johnson, Brownson, etc., the influence of Indian scriptures is clearly discernable. An attempt has been made here to show that Indian scriptures have not only influenced the philosophical thinking of these writers but also their lifestyle and social conduct. It also attempts to show that transcendentalism was not an isolated movement but was a part of a cultural renaissance which swept the entire nation in the wake of avid interest and curiosity in the ancient lore of other countries. Transcendentalism, it is suggested here, continues to affect the thinking of Americans and can be viewed as a continuing movement of thought in American intellectual history. This book draws attention to many aspects of transcendentalism which have not been adequately discussed so far.
