Customer Reviews

The Essence of Vedanta

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is a very well written book, both informative and readable. It covers considerable ground but, it should be noted, it is not solely related to Advaita - it also touches on dvaita and vishiShTAdvaita and there is a significant treatment of bhartRRihari's theory of language.
The connection with the School of Economic Science (School of Practical Philosophy) is obvious - from the influence of Plato and the importance of Sanskrit through to the quotes from Shantanand Saraswati and the particular books that are referenced and recommended. This means that correspondingly more emphasis is given to karma yoga and practical aspects of Vedanta and less to j~nAna yoga and the metaphysical truth of advaita. For example there is an entire chapter on nature and the guNa-s and another on time and the yuga-s, yet ajAtivAda is not mentioned at all. Similarly, the `elements' of the universe are explained at length but the fact that all of this is mithyA is not (indeed it is not at all clear that the author understands this concept).
He also tends to be over-literal with respect to the various prakriyA-s in advaita methodology and consequently pushes the metaphors beyond the point at which they cease to be useful. The attempts to reconcile Plato's philosophy with advaita cannot ultimately succeed. And he does tend to dwell on aspects that are ultimately irrelevant, such as conflicts between the various creation theories and evolution.
Nevertheless, there are some very clear descriptions of some aspects of advaita, such as upAdhi-s and sat; the section on karma yoga is very good indeed, as is that on the mind and reincarnation.
Overall, there is much to recommend this book for someone wishing to read generally on the subject of Vedanta and how the various philosophies relate to those of the West (the author is a teacher in Western philosophy). I actually enjoyed reading it, which is quite noteworthy for a book of this type. As long as it is realised that some of those aspects more directly relating to advaita may be hazy or misleading, I would certainly endorse it. The 5* reflect the fact that it does not claim to be writing only about advaita.

Dennis Waite - author of Back to the Truth: 5000 years of Advaita

It is the best book I have read on Vedanta, I have read many many books on Vedanta, the pinnacle of Indian spiritual insight. The autho's exposition is par excellence, in fact, no words can describe how great the book is. I would recommend it to everyone. The book is like a jewel, slowly unfolding the truths of Vedanta while relating them to Western philosophical tradition, intersperesed with relevant quotes from Western philosophers and the greats like Ramana Maharashi. I am savoring one or two pages at a time. It is the kind of book that you don't want to end soon, as you know you won't find anythig like this again. The author is very intelligent and unassuming as well. I came across the book by chance, and I am greatful that I did. I got hardcover edition and it is simply beautiful!

For western world this is a radical, out of the box view of the world, a profound philosophy about reality. The Author has done excellent work on bringing the essence of Vedanta to ordinary people.
To read this book the reader must remove the lense through which he/she perceives the material/objective world and must be curious about reality and consciousness.
This book will prepare for more advanced works of Adi Sankara - philsospher of the Advaita Vedanta school.