Method of the Vedanta; a Critical Account of the Advaita Tradition [Hardcover]

Swami Satchidanandendra (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 5, 1997

Swami Satchidanandendra's treatise 'the method of vedanta' represents the first large scale critical history of Advaita Vedanta ever attempted. It seeks to establish the view of the traditional Advaita Vedanta based on the Upanishads, Brahma Sutras and Bhagavad Gita as systematised by Shankara and his close associates.

Editorial Reviews

Language Notes

Text: English (translation) --This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 975 pages
• Publisher: Motilal Banarsidass,India; 2 edition (February 5, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 8120813588
• ISBN-13: 978-8120813588
• Product Dimensions: 6 x 1 x 9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,408,883 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best book on Advaita history., October 18, 1997

By 

[e-mail] (United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Method Of The Vedanta (Hardcover)

Highly recommended for students of Advaita Vedanta. Explores the progression of Advaitic thought both before and after the time of Sankara. Presents a totally unique perspective.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The only true method of Vedanta; an incredible work of scholarship, September 17, 2005

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driverzhuang (Asia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Method of the Vedanta; a Critical Account of the Advaita Tradition (Hardcover)

In this historiographic and analytical history of Advaita Vedanta, Swami Satchidanandendra will settle for nothing less than the "true method to the study of Advaita Vedanta". That is, the method which unifies and harmonizes the three starting points of Vedanta: the Upanishads, the Bhagavad Gita, and the Brahma Sutras. After summarizing the essential elements of the three starting points, Swami Satchidanandendra admits that the average person, including himself, stands little chance of discovering this method simply from reading the Upanishads, Gita, and Sutras.

But Sankara is no ordinary person, and it is through Sankara that the true method shall be discovered. And in chapter three, we find the essence of Sankara's approach:

`For there is a saying of those that know the true tradition, "That which cannot be expressed is expressed through false attribution and subsequent recantation."' - Sankara on the Bhagavad Gita, 13.13.

And this, the only true method of Vedanta, will govern the rest of the book.

"The Method of the Vedanta: A Critical Account of the Advaita Tradition" is a groundbreaking achievement by Swami Satchidanandendra, and an incredible work of scholarship by the translator, Sanskrit and Vedanta scholar, Dr. A. J. Alston.