The Bloomsbury Research Handbook of Vedanta - (Bloomsbury Research Handbooks in Asian Philosophy) (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

This handbook brings together a distinguished team of scholars from philosophy, theology, and religious studies to provide the first in-depth discussion of Vedanta and the many different systems of thought that make up this tradition of Indian philosophy.

Emphasizing the historical development of Vedantic thought, it includes chapters on numerous classical Vedantic philosophies as well as the modern Vedantic views of Sri Ramakrishna, Sri Aurobindo, and Romain Rolland. The volume offers careful hermeneutic analyses of how Vedantic texts have been interpreted, and it addresses key issues and debates in Vedanta, including religious diversity, the nature of God, and the possibility of embodied liberation. Venturing into cross-philosophical and cross-cultural territory, it also brings Vedanta into dialogue with Saiva Nondualism as well as contemporary Western analytic philosophy.

Highlighting current scholarly controversies and charting new paths of inquiry, this is an indispensable research guide for anyone interested in the past, present, and future of Vedanta and Indian philosophy.

Review Quotes

The Bloomsbury Research Handbook of Vedanta brings the work of scholars shaping the field of Indian philosophy into a volume that presses forward into the future of Vedanta scholarship. The book refutes misconceptions, and corrects for the historical imbalance in the coverage of this diverse set of traditions, by covering the philosphy of Visi advaita, Dvaitadvaita, Bhedabheda, and Advaita too, ranging from the earliest authoritative texts of the traditions to the most influential modern and contemporary thinkers. Ayon Maharaj's precise overview of Vedanta in the introduction makes the book accessible to the eager, beginning student of Indian philosophy, even as the articles push the reader into unexplored material, original theses, and innovative cross-cultural work. The book deserves a place among even small collections of contemporary research on Indian philosophy.
Christopher Framarin, Professor of Philosophy, University of Calgary, Canada

"Showcasing material from a commendably wide range of Vedantin traditions and time periods, this Research Handbook provides tantalising tasters of intra-Vedantin debates, ways of approaching texts, and modes of engaging Vedanta in cross-cultural conversations. With orienting introductions and bibliographies opening up the work of other important scholars in the field, this collection should provoke further specialist investigations and prove a rich source for those who are not specialists in Vedanta but would like to engage with these Indian examples of Asian Philosophy."
Jacqueline Suthren Hirst, Honorary Research Fellow in South Asian Studies, University of Manchester, UK

The extensive scope of The Bloomsbury Research Handbook of Vedanta, covering material as diverse as an inquiry into the true image of contemplation to Romain Rolland's dialogue with Sigmund Freud on the epistemology of devotion and devotional experience, will encourage scholars to investigate an array of philosophical concerns and their expression in art and culture.
Reading Religion

About the Author

Ayon Maharaj (Swami Medhananda) is Senior Research Fellow in Philosophy at the Vedanta Society of Southern California in Hollywood, USA.