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Vedanta: Heart of Hinduism

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Torwesten has put together a survey of Vedanta along more or less historical lines. The first half of the book treats the teachings of the Upanishads and the Bhagavad Gita; the second half looks at Shankara's non-dualism, the swing back to theism in Ramanuja, and then the more recent developments of Ramakrishna, Vivekananda, Aurobindo, and Ramana Maharshi. This is a survey rather than strictly speaking an introduction; in my opinion it would be most useful to someone who has already had at least some exposure the material covered. The author's grasp and organization of the complex material is excellent, and his writing clear and at times witty. He does much more than general summarizing; he is a critical writer, he gets deeply into the difficulties of the material and conflicting points of view, points out the shades of meaning terms go through in the course of history, as well as the apparent and real contradictions, shortcomings and problems of various positions and doctrines. He illustrates constantly by comparing and contrasting Vedanta with western mystics and philosophers presumed to be better known to the reader. The final chapter is an essay on the relationship of Vedanta to western philosophy and theology and on their potential future as complementary and corrective of each other. This is a clear and concise summary of Vedanta in general, its history and main positions. It is useful to anyone who wants to know more about Hinduism, or to anyone interested in using eastern though to deepen and develop their own spiritual lives.

Overall, an excellent historical summation of Vedanta. Torwesten attempts to synthesize the various philosophies of Vedanta (especially Bhakta and Jnana yogas), and to reconcile the austere and intellectually dry views of Adi Shankaracharya with the broader views of Sri Ramakrishna and other Vedantic sages with similar or more "liberal" viewpoints, and does a pretty fair job of it.

Once seen as an esoteric, overly intellectual, and atheistic quasi-religious philosophy, Vedanta now has a solid spiritual following in the west. Though not as prevalent as Zen or Buddhism, a dozen or more centers have sprung up in the United States since Swami Vivekananda's daring and rocky 1893 visit. One system, Shankara's Advaita Vedanta, has even found a niche in comparative philosophy circles. But the most prevalent western form of India's mystical masterpiece remains the practice of yoga. Though watered down to a mere nano-morsel of its vast structure, today's monetized yoga industry originated with Vedanta. Regardless of these inroads, the intellectual girth of this mega system still has the power to intimidate newcomers. Anyone diving unprepared into the murky depths of the Upanishads or the Brahma Sutras will find a stultifying unfamiliar labyrinth that refuses to reveal any secrets. Hans Torwesten's short book, originally written in German, helps lift some of the cultural and philosophical veils that obscure Vedanta's inner core.

Nonetheless, though introductory in nature, "Vedanta, Heart of Hinduism" still contains challenges for the uninitiated. The first chapter, "Spirit of the Upanishads," shares some of the esoteric nature of the poetic mystical texts it attempts to elucidate. In a desultory manner, the discussion wavers from revelation to Brahama to the Vedas to the Atman to "Om." Laced with many digressions and sub-discussions, this chapter remains the book's biggest, but by no means insurmountable, hurdle. Regardless, the journey pays off as the foundation of the sometimes impenetrable Upanishads comes ever so slightly into focus. Building on that, the next section outlines the significance of the Bhagavad Gita. One of the world's undisputed religious classics, this tiny work extracted from the mammoth Mahabharata epic serves, along with the Upanishads, as Vedanta's other spiritual leg. Torwesten first deals with the sticky issue of war presented in the Gita's first section. There follows a delineation of Vedanta's major paths: jnana-yoga, or the path of knowledge, Karma-yoga, or the path of selfless action, bhakti-yoga, or the path of devotion, and raja-yoga, or the path of meditation. Jnana-yoga and bhakti-yoga get conjoined in the Gita through knowledge of the absolute Brahman and devotion to the avatar Krishna. The remainder of the book outlines Vedanta's historical development, starting with a delination of Shankara's Advaita Vedanta and the concept of maya. Some found this brainy realization of the absolute rather cold, so Ramanuja build a massive bhakhti-yoga structure in response. These seemingly opposed and irreconcilable viewpoints reigned until the nineteenth century. Then, almost out of nowhere, came a religious polymath, Ramakrishna. He saw the commonality in the world's religions, and even practiced Islam and Christianity. Shakti, or love of the Divine Mother, guided his spiritual practices. His disciple Vivekananda carried Ramakrishna's message to England and the United States. To stunned western audiences he proclaimed "You are all Gods!" Brief expositions of Sri Aurobindo and Ramana Maharishi round out the discussion of Shakti. Vedanta had come a long way from the sages in caves ideal of the first millenium.

An eye-brow raising discussion of Vedanta's relation to the West concludes the book. Torwesten runs the concepts of Vedanta through the history of western philosophy. He finds some convergence with Pythagoras, Plotinus, and Meister Eckhardt (who he calls "a master advaitan"). Then, according to Torwesten, somewhere after the enlightenment the spirituality left western philosophy. But this doesn't mean he finds Vedanta superior. On the contrary, he thinks the east and the west could learn from each other. The last pages of the book build on this notion and discuss a possible synthesis between impersonal Vedanta and the more "neighborly" Christian ethics. Here the infinite meets the mundane. The book thus closes, appropriately, in the spirit of Vedanta itself. In sharp contrast to the Abrahamic traditions, India's impressive religious and philosophical outlook encourages followers to question and seek within the system itself. Both traditions indeed have much to learn from each other. "Vedanta, Heart of Hinduism" provides a great starting point to explore not only the religions of India, but also one's own.

Hans Torwesten (born 1944) was a native of Germany, who studied art in Vienna, and Indian philosophy, meditation, and yoga in England. He is a writer (see his book "Ramakrishna and Christ"), lecturer, yoga teacher, and painter, who lives in Austria.

He wrote in the Introduction to this 1985 book, "Within a limited framework I am particularly addressing the reader who is looking for a first overall survey of Vedantic thought, but who at the same time would like to be led right into the heart of this spiritual view of life. The intention is neither to offer derivative or oversimplified concepts, nor to cause the reader to stumble continually over a mass of abstruse so-called source material..."

Here are some quotations from the book:

"To a certain extent the Upanishads represent 'secret teachings,' as the word in fact indicates... The Upanishads are secret teachings to the extent that they point to what eludes the human eye and ordinary waking consciousness." (Pg. 18)
"According to the teaching Advaita Vedanta, that is, the teaching of the one-without-a-second, or non-duality, the Brahman and our inmost being, the Atman, are identical. But... if we want to receive the illuminating gift of knowledge expressed by 'Tat tvam asi' (That thou art) it is not enough to rely merely on ultimate concepts; we must try instead to retrace the steps that led to them." (Pg. 50)
"Rather than hindering this sensitivity, the Atman teaching should bring us closer to it, compelling us, as it does, to identify with ALL beings. When Ramakrishna once had to look on when a man was being beaten, the first thing he saw was not the man's invulnerable Atman but his quite real wounds. (Ramakrishna) recoiled in pain, and on his back appeared the marks of the whip as though he himself had been beaten." (Pg. 86)
"...at the lower level of his philosophical system Shankara 'tolerated' the worship of a personal god. This is, however, not to say that the great jnani looked on the personal god Ishvara only as a concession to the faith of the simple folk, as mere superstition, something he would laugh at in private." (Pg. 151)
"The Hare-Krishna movement in the West is a latter-day offshoot of this Bengali bhakti-movement---with certain fanatical traits, long ago present in India, often being turned into caricaturelike exaggerations there." (Pg. 163)