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This book presents in the words of Swami Vivekananda (1863-1902) a history of Vedanta, the deep exploration of the inner human world going back to the most ancient rishis or seers whose testimony is still revered in India. He traces the tradition up to the beginning of the twentieth century, showing how the dynamics of social structures within Vedanta and the appearance from within Vedanta of traditions such as Jainism, Buddhism, Hinduism and Sikhism influenced and molded the tradition. In addition, he studies the impact of the Western, Abrahamic invasions of India that began around the eleventh century CE. These brought to bear on Vedanta a worldview which operated on the assumption that the physical world was the primary reality and that the kind of radical exploration of the inner world embraced by Vedanta was highly suspect and not valid. The Vedantic tradition adapted in many different ways, producing a variety of philosophical positions that are still extant today. Along with these traditions went various forms of yoga or self-transformation, in Vedanta the key to experiencing the inner meaning of not only philosophy, but also of our human condition, and of reality itself. This tradition presents four contexts of experience (chatushpad), suggesting the “right brain” mode of approach as described by Iain McGilchrist (2009). Under the influence of Shri Ramakrishna (1836-1886) Vivekananda gained access to vijnana or a knowledge higher than those classically described and known in the chatushpad. Vijnana permitted the acceptance of not only the traditional, deeply experiential truths of Vedanta, but also of the validity of Western materialism when seen as related to each other on a continuum of consciousness to be traversed by contemporary forms of yoga. I see the result as a resolution of “right-left” brain conflict à la McGilchrist and thereby a model for universal human understanding, conciliation and co-operation. In my introduction I attempt to show how the whole picture can be related both experientially and conceptually to matrices of consciousness developed in India as far back as the early medieval period. A large glossary and index-cum concordance indicate the various contexts and depths of thought that emerge from Vivekananda’s multi-contextual vijnana.
This book presents original research on the controversies surrounding animal sacrifice in South Asia through the lens of court cases. It focuses on the parties involved in these cases: on their discourses, motivations, and contrasting points of view. Through an examination of judicial files, court decisions and newspaper articles, and interviews with protagonists, the book explores how the question of animal sacrifice is dealt with through administrative, legislative, and judicial practice. It outlines how, although animal sacrifice has over the ages been contested by various religious reform movements, the practice has remained widespread at all levels of society, especially in certain regions. It reveals that far from merely being a religious and ritual question, animal sacrifice has become a focus of broader public debate, and it discusses how the controversies highlight the contrast between ‘traditional’ and ‘reformist’ understandings of Hinduism; the conflict between the core legal and moral principles of religious freedom and social progress; and the growing concern with environmental issues and animal rights. The Introduction, Chapter 1, Chapter 2, and Chapter 7 of this book are available for free in PDF format as Open Access from the individual product page at www.taylorfrancis.com. It has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 4.0 International license. Funded by Centre National de la Recherche Scientific.
Swami Vivekananda’s name is becoming more and more popular across the globe. However, even today many know very little about him. Some understand and adore him, some others misunderstand and misrepresent him. Who was he really? What did he do? What were his ideas and contribution to the welfare of the individual and the collective, of India and the rest of the world? This book, authored by Revered Swami Tapasyananda Maharaj, former vice-president of the Order, powerfully and impressively answers to these questions in a nutshell.
This book starts by establishing that all believers in Christ are already, in fact, one with each other in Christ. This leaves us with the challenge, not of creating unity where it does not exist, but of living consistently with the oneness that already exists. The first section explains why living consistently with our oneness is important, including God’s commands and expectations, the benefits of living in oneness and the hazards of living contrary to the truth. Part two explains what oneness is and is not, including the concepts that oneness is a harmony of diverse believers each doing their own part, not unison, unanimity or strict conformity to the same mold. The third section deals with practical barriers to living in oneness—selfishness, misunderstandings, heresy, and incorrect understanding of the origin of the organizational divisions in the universal Church—and suggests how to overcome them.
Swami Vivekananda’s towering personality influenced innumerable persons in India and abroad in various ways. The impress which his life and character made on those persons who were about him and the recounting of those memories by them, reveal the multiple facets of Swamiji’s magnanimous personality. This book published by Advaita Ashrama, Publication house of Ramakrishna Math, Belur Math, contains some of those reminiscences which would be not only interesting, but also a revelation to all the admirers of the great Swami. Twenty-two new reminiscences have been added in this edition – Swamis Shivananda, Turiyananda, Saradananda, Akhandananda, Vijnanananda, Achalananda, Atulananda, Virajananda, and Sadananda, as also Brajendranath Seal, C. Ramanujachari, Kumudbandhu Sen, Lillian Montgomery, Mohanlal Shah, Mary Tapan Wright, Sacchindranath Bose, Manmathanath Chowdhury, Harbilas Sarda, G.G. Narasimhachari, Ella Wheeler Wilcox, Shailendranath Bandopadhyay and Alice Hansbrough.
If one asks, how Vedanta can be made practical in our day-to-day life, here is a book published by Advaita Ashrama, a publication centre of Ramakrishna Math, Belur Math, India, which provides the answer. It contains some of the most important lectures delivered by Swami Vivekananda in London regarding the application of Vedanta in our daily lives. Highly practical, this book helps the readers to bring about a deep transformation in their lives by spiritualizing their every moment and movement.
Aldous Huxley and Alternative Spirituality offers an incisive analysis of the full range of Huxley’s spiritual interests, spanning both mysticism (neo-Vedanta, Taoism, Mahayana and Zen Buddhism) and Western esotericism (mesmerism, spiritualism, the paranormal). Jake Poller examines how Huxley’s shifting spiritual convictions influenced his fiction, such as his depiction of the body and sex, and reveals how Huxley’s use of psychedelic substances affected his spiritual convictions, resulting in a Tantric turn in his work. Poller demonstrates how Huxley’s vision of a new alternative spirituality in Island, in which the Palanese select their beliefs from different religious traditions, anticipates the New Age spiritual supermarket and traces the profound influence of Huxley’s ideas on the spiritual seekers of the twentieth century and beyond.