Description

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Finalist for the 2016 Book Award for Excellence in the Study of Religion, in the Constructive-Reflective category, presented by the American Academy of Religion

This engaging and accessible work provides an introduction to the Hindu tradition of Advaita Vedānta and brings it into discussion with contemporary concerns. Advaita, the non-dual school of Indian philosophy and spirituality associated with Śaṅkara, 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 book's second section considers the implications of Advaita for ethical and social challenges: patriarchy, homophobia, ecological crisis, child abuse, and inequality. Rambachan establishes how Advaita's 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.

About the Author

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Anantanand Rambachan is Professor of Religion at St. Olaf College and the author of The Advaita Worldview: God, World, and Humanity, also published by SUNY Press.