Sri Sukta : Text with Translation and Explanation/S K Ramachandra Rao

 

Sri Sukta : Text with Translation and Explanation

S K Ramachandra Rao, Divine Books, 2012, 2nd ed., 112 p, ISBN : 9381218552,   Rs.200=00. )

         

The Sri Sukta, which seems to be a later addition to the Vedic corpus is one of the most popular hymns and is recited daily by devotees. The present book contains the English translation of the Sri Sukta along with the copious explanatory notes which will facilitate better understanding of the Sri Sukta.

 

 

 

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Bhavanopanishad : Text with Translation and Explanation/S K Ramachandra Rao

 

Bhavanopanishad : Text with Translation and Explanation

S K Ramachandra Rao, Divine Books, 2012, 2nd ed., 268 p, ISBN : 9789381218563,  Rs.600-00. )

     

Sri Vidya refers essentially to the worship of Mother Goddess, and the Sri Chakra is the symbolic representation of the Sri Vidya. Among the various texts that deal with the concept and practice of Sri Vidya. Bhavanopanishad is one of the most ancient. It is a part of the Atharva Veda.

The book contains the translation of the text of Bhavanopanishad in addition to the translation of the well known commentary by Bhaskararayamakhin. This commentary, the Bhavanopanishad-bhasya is an indispensable aid to understand the practical and spiritual implications of Sri Chakra. The author has also given detailed explanations on various obscure aspects

 

 

 

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The Advaita Worldview=Anantanand Rambachan - Author

 

 

The Advaita Worldview God, World, and Humanity

Anantanand Rambachan - Author Price: Rs.400-00 Hardcover - 158 pages   Divine Books.Delhi Lala Murari Lal Chharia Oriental Series,     2007 CHOICE Outstanding Academic Title A new interpretation of Hindu tradition focusing on the nature of God, the value of the world, and the meaning of liberation. In this book, Anantanand Rambachan offers a fresh and detailed perspective on Advaita Vedanta, Hinduism's most influential and revered religious tradition. Rambachan, who is both a scholar and an Advaitin, attends closely to the Upanisads and authentic commentaries of Sankara to challenge the tradition and to reconsider central aspects of its current teachings. His reconstruction and reinterpretation of Advaita focuses in particular on the nature of brahman, the status of the world in relation to brahman, and the meaning and relevance of liberation. Rambachan queries contemporary representations of an impersonal brahman and the need for popular, hierarchical distinctions such as those between a higher (para) and lower (apara) brahman. Such distinctions, Rambachan argues, are inconsistent with the non-dual nature of brahman and are unnecessary when brahman's relationship with the world is correctly understood. Questioning Advaita's traditional emphasis on renunciation and world-denial, Rambachan expands the understanding of suffering (duhkha) and liberation (moksa) and addresses socioeconomic as well as gender and caste inequalities. Positing that the world is a celebrative expression of God's fullness, this book advances Advaita as a universal and uninhibited path to a liberated life committed to compassion, equality, and justice. "…a fine scholastic introduction to 'the understanding of Self.'" — Nonduality Highlights "With typical lucidity and stylistic elegance, Rambachan … makes a major contribution to the contemporary exegesis, exposition, and indeed evolution of Indian philosophy. A gifted thinker and writer, Rambachan here handles the heady and difficult concepts of classical nondualism with eminent clarity and ease." — CHOICE "This is a fine introduction to, and argument for a reinterpretation of, Advaita Vedanta by a scholar who is also an Advaitin. The book is thus constructive in two senses; it is theological and largely positive, while still solid scholarship. Such a combination, especially done well, is rare." — Andrew O. Fort, author of Jivanmukti in Transformation: Embodied Liberation in Advaita and Neo-Vedanta "This book embraces a fresh alternative to mainstream Advaita illusionism. Because of its novel understanding of the place and value of non-dualistic spirituality for contemporary societal needs, its plentiful illustrative examples, its practical spiritual guidance, its clear style, and overall brevity, it should be appreciated by both the novice and the trained scholar." — Bradley J. Malkovsky, editor of New Perspectives on Advaita Vedanta Anantanand Rambachan is Professor of Religion at St. Olaf College and is the author of several books, including The Limits of Scripture: Vivekananda's Reinterpretation of the Vedas. Table of Contents Abbreviations  Introduction  1.The Human Problem The Limits of Knowledge The Limits of Wealth The Limits of Pleasure The Reflective Life 2. The Requirements of Discipleship The Necessity of Virtue Viveka Vairāgya  Śamādisatkasampatti  Mumuksutva Sādhana Catustaya and the Immediacy of Knowledge Eligibility for Discipleship and the Caste System 3. The Nature of the Ātman Overcoming the Human Problem Who Am I? The Ātman and the Body The Ātman and the Mind The Ātman as Awareness The Ātman as Timeless The Ātman as Ānanda The Ātman as Non-dual 4. The Source of Valid Knowledge The Significance of a Valid Means of Knowledge The Limits of Perception and Inference The Vedas as the Means of Knowledge for Brahman Knowledge and the Attainment of Brahman The Self-Revealing Nature of Brahman Ignorance as Incomplete Knowledge of Brahman Knowledge and Experience The Dilemma of Knowing the Knower Non-dual Experience and Non-dual Knowledge The Teacher and the Text Brahman as Ultimate Mystery 5. Brahman as the World Denying the Reality and Value of the World The Origin of the World from Brahman Brahman as Intelligent and Material Cause The Universe as Non-different from Brahman The Doctrine of Māyā Asymmetrical Relationship between Brahman and World  Is the World an Illusion? World as Celebrative Expression of Brahman  Seeing the One and the Many 6. Brahman as God  Brahman as Nirgunand Saguna  Are Hierarchies in Brahman Necessary?  The Problem of Change and Activity in Brahman  The Problem of Substance and Attributes  The Problem of Purpose The Value of the Creation of Brahman   7. Liberation The Nature of Ignorance  Liberation as Identical with the Nature of Brahman  Embodied or Living Liberation Liberation as Freedom from Desire Liberation as the Attainment of Fullness of Self  Liberation as Freedom from Mortality Liberation as Freedom from the Cycles of Rebirth  Liberation as Freedom from Karma Liberation as Freedom in Action Liberation as Identification with All Beings Liberation as Knowing Brahman to be Self and God Notes Index

 

 

 

 

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The Teachings of the Odd-Eyed One=A Study and Translation of the Virupaksapancasika, with the Commentary of Vidyacakravartin

 

The Teachings of the Odd-Eyed One A Study and Translation of the Virupaksapancasika, with the Commentary of Vidyacakravartin
	David Peter Lawrence - Author Price: Rs.600-00 Hardcover - 208  Lala Murari Lal Chharia Oriental Series, Divine Books.Delhi

 

A study and translation of a tantric contemplative manual and the commentary on it. This book offers the first published translation of the contemplative manual Virūpāksapañcasikā, written circa the twelfth century CE, and the commentary on it, Vivrti by Vidyācakravartin. These late works from the Pratyabhijñā tradition of monistic and tantric Kashmiri Śaiva philosophy focus on means to deindividualize and disclose the primordial, divine essential natures of the human ego and body-sense. David Peter Lawrence situates these writings in their medieval, South Asian religious and intellectual contexts. He goes on to engage Pratyabhijñā philosophical psychology in dialogue with Western religious and psychoanalytic conceptions of identity and "narcissism," and also demonstrates the Śaiva tradition's strong concern with ethics. The richly annotated translation and glossary illuminate the texts for all readers. "…a very welcome contribution to both the scholarship on Saivism and to comparative theology or philosophy of religion and should be widely read and discussed." — Philosophy East & West "…Lawrence's effort to bring this text to light is praiseworthy, particularly for his ability to break opaque Sanskrit constructions into small, pellucid sentences that make the translation very readable and approachable to a wider audience … Lawrence demonstrates his ingenious scholarship in the first introductory chapters by expanding the discourse on self into the realm of contemporary psychoanalysis. The cursory analysis based on extensive research into the original text paves the path for future research in this direction." — Religious Studies Review "In Teachings of the Odd-Eyed One, Lawrence exhibits not only his mastery of Sanskrit sources, but also a refined ability to illumine the theosophical heart of the Pratyabhijna tradition via comparative reference to western psychological, epistemological, and theological sources … He is to be applauded for reminding us once again of the cross-cultural relevance of self-recognition, in all of its epistemological nuances." — Journal of the American Academy of Religion "If Lawrence's overall goal was 'an introduction to and a translation of' the VAP and VAPV, then his endeavor has been successful." — Journal of Asian Studies "I think this is a marvelous book, filled with original insights into the mystical dimensions of the divine-human subject and the cosmicization of the human body. I know of no other book about South Asian philosophy or comparative theology that so deftly addresses the themes of subjectivity and embodiment and is able to relate them to contemporary debates in the fields of religious studies, psychology, and philosophy. There are few real comparativists working today. David Lawrence is certainly one of them, and he is one of the most gifted."— Jeffrey J. Kripal, author of Esalen: America and the Religion of No Religion David Peter Lawrence is Associate Professor and Chair of the Department of Philosophy and Religion at the University of North Dakota. He is the author of Rediscovering God with Transcendental Argument: A Contemporary Interpretation of Monistic Kashmiri Śaiva Philosophy, also published by SUNY Press.

Table of Contents List of Illustrations Preface List of Abbreviations PART I: Introduction 1. The Texts in their Religious and Intellectual Contexts 2. The Instruction of Indra 3. The Odd-Eyed One's Teachings on the Tantric Self and its Universal Body 4. Comparative Reflections:Cosmic Narcissism and Divine Self-Satisfaction 5. On the Translation PART II: Translation of the Virūpāksapañcāśikā with the commentary of Vidyācakravartin Book 1 Book 2 Book 3 Book 4 Notes Glossary Bibliography Index

 

 

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Jivanmukti in Transformation

Jivanmukti in Transformation Embodied Liberation in Advaita and Neo-Vedanta

Examines the Hindu concept of liberation while living from the perspective of the Advaita Vedanta school from the Upanisads to modern times. Liberation (mukti) is a central concern in Hinduism, particularly in Advaita (nondual) Vedanta, perhaps the best known school of Hindu thought. There has been vigorous debate and analysis about the possibility and nature of liberation while living (jivanmukti) in Advaita from the time of Sankara, the school's founder, to the present day. While the general conclusion seems to be that one can achieve living liberation, members of the Advaita tradition also regularly express reservations about, or describe limitiations to, full liberation while embodied. Jivanmukti in Transformation examines the development and transformation of the concept of jivanmukti from the Upanisads to the modern era. It gives the most thorough treatment of the scholastic Advaita tradition on liberation while living, makes the novel argument for a distinct "Yogic Advaita" tradition found in the Yogavasistha and Jivanmuktiviveka, and explores the modern "neo-Vedanta" view of jivanmukti, which has been influenced by modern Western concepts like global ecumenism and humanistic social concern for all. The book includes analysis of the views of modern Hindu figures such as Swami Vivekananda, Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, Ramana Maharshi, and Sankaracaryas of Kanchi and Sringeri, and considers these thinkers in the context of current academic discussions about the encounter of India and the West. "This book is very strong in its historical treatment of the notion of the jivanmukta. The author clearly establishes the concept to be a dynamic and changing one. He does so by working closely with the central texts of the Advaita tradition and the presentation is enriched by a discussion of recent figures. His textual analysis is rich and detailed." -- Anantanand Rambachan, Saint Olaf College Andrew O. Fort is Professor of Asian Religions at Texas Christian University. His previous publications include Living Liberation in Hindu Thought (coedited with Patricia Y. Mumme), also published by SUNY Press and The Self and Its States: A States of Consciousness Doctrine in Advaita Vedanta. Table of Contents Preface and Acknowledgments Abbreviations Introduction: What Kind of Liberation is Liberation While Living? Part 1. Embodied Liberation in Traditional Advaita Vedanta 1. The Development of the Idea of Embodied Liberation before Sankara: The Early Upanisads, the Brahmasutras, Gaudapada, and the Bhagavad-Gita 2. Knowing Brahman While Embodied: Sankara on Jivanmukti 3. Mandana Misra and  Sankara's Disciples on Jivanmukti: Suresvara, Sarvajnatman, and Vimuktatman 4. Jivanmukti in Later Scholastic Advaita: Prakasatman, Citsukha, Madhusudana Sarasvati, Prakasananda, Sadananda, and Dharmaraja Part 2. Jivanmukti in "Yogic Advaita" 5. Ramanuja and Samkhya/Yoga on Liberation While Living 6. Yogic Advaita I: Jivanmukti in the Yogavasistha 7. Yogic Advaita II: Liberation While Living in the Jivanmuktiviveka 8. Yogic Advaita III: Jivanmukti in the Pancadasi, the "Minor" Upanisads, and Madhusudana's Gudarthadipika Part 3. Embodied Liberation in Neo-Vedanta: Adaptation and Innovation 9. Neo-Vedanta and the Transformation of Advaitic Jivanmukti 10. A Liberated Being Being Liberated: The Case of Ramana Maharshi 11. Candrasekharendra Sarasvati: Sankaracarya and Jivanmukta? 12. The Liberated Being and Social Service: Vivekananda, Radhakrishnan, and the Neo-Vedantic JIvanmukta Notes Bibliography Index

Andrew O. Fort - Author Lala Murari Lal Chharia Oriental Series, Divine Books.Delhi. Rs.600-00

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Singing Krishna/A. Whitney Sanford

 

Singing Krishna Sound Becomes Sight in Paramanand's Poetry
	A. Whitney Sanford - Author Price: Rs.600-00 Hardcover - 218 pages Divine Books.Delhi   Lala Murari Lal Chharia Oriental Series,

Introduces Paramānand, one of India's poet-saints, his work, and this work's use in ritual. Singing Krishna introduces Paramānand, one of north India's greatest medieval poet-saints, whose poetry has been sung from the sixteenth century to the present in ritual service to the Hindu deity Krishna. A. Whitney Sanford examines how hearing Paramānand's poetry in ritual context serves as a threshold for devotees between this world and Krishna's divine world. To "see Krishna" is a primary goal of the devotee, and Paramānand deftly constructs a vision through words. Sanford employs the dual strategies of interpreting Paramānand's poems—which sing the cycles of Krishna's activities—and illustrating the importance of their ritual contexts. This approach offers insight into the nature of the devotional experience that is not accessible by simply studying the poetry or rituals in isolation. Sanford shows that the significance of Paramānand's poetry lies not only in its beauty and historical importance but finally in its capacity to permit the devotee to see through the ephemeral world into Krishna's world. "Singing Krishna is a densely packed combination of beautiful translations and complex literary deconstruction, analyzing the meanings, metaphors and effects of Paramānand's poetry. Sanford has added not only to the body of translated devotional poetry of Braj, but also to the ongoing efforts of scholars of religion to clarify a particular type of religious experience." — International Journal of Hindu Studies "…Sanford's analysis of Paramānand's work is certainly valuable and goes a long way toward unpacking the intense devotional experience of bhakti and the traditions of the Vallabha Sampraday." — Religion "The beautiful lyrics of Paramānand's poetry are a welcome addition to the growing body of Indic poetry in translation. Sanford's excellent book guides us through the poetry and takes us right to its sources." — Constantina Rhodes Bailly, author of Shaiva Devotional Songs of Kashmir: A Translation and Study of Utpaladeva's Shivastotravali A. Whitney Sanford is Assistant Professor of Religion at the University of Florida.

Table of Contents Acknowledgments Introduction A Critical Perspective The Research Context The Experience of the Temple Situated Poetry: Sound Becoming Sight Plan for the Book: Following the Cycles 1. Paramānand's Poetic World About Paramānand's Poetry Paramānand's Poetic Environment Serving Krishna Synaesthesia, Metaphor, and Transformation 2. The End of the Night: Poetry, Memory, and Culture Śayan: While Braj Sleeps Paramānand's World Theater of Memory Mangalā—Krishna Rises Śrngār—Ornamentation 3. Krishna's Morning Games: Creating Intimacy through Treachery Gvāl—Boyhood Play The Gopī's Complaints to Yaśodā Mixed Bhāvas Shattered Boundaries and Spilled Milk: Metonymies of Love 4. Afternoon: Experiencing the Food of Love Rājbhog—A Lunchtime Tryst in the Forest Mahātmya: Separation during the Afternoon Watch Public and Private Līlā Utthāpan—Āvanī: Krishna's Arrival in Braj Exemplars of Bhāva: The Cows and the Gopīs Bhog and Sandhyāratī—The Connoisseur of Rasa Eats and Goes to Bed 5. Night: Playing the Game of Love Śayan Māna—Divine Jealousy The Sakhī's Counsel to Rādhā about Her Sulking and Pride Setting the Stage: A Romantic Evening and the Beauty of the Lovers The Sakhī's Warning The Sakhī's Message to Krishna The Resolution of Māna Krishna's Māna The Sakhī in Māna Poems 6. Autumn to Spring: Gopīs, Birds, and the Moon Śarad: The Autumn Full Moon Hemant: Vows of the Cold Winter Vasant: Spring and Holī 7. Summer—Seeing Reality: The Synaesthetic Transformation Grīsma: The Hot Season Vars: The Rainy Season   Back to the Beginning Notes Works Cited Index

 

 

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The Philosophy of Sadhana

The Philosophy of Sadhana With Special Reference to the Trika Philosophy of Kashmir Lala Murari Lal Chharia Oriental Series      Rs.450-00  ISBN.Divine Books. Delhi

After presenting a general survey of spiritual practice in the different schools of Indian philosophy, the author focuses on the Trika School, popularly called Kashmir Shaivism. He deals clearly and exhaustively with such topics as Shaktipat (the descent of Divine Grace), Diksha (initiation), and the role of the Guru. His treatment of the various paths (upayas) appropriate for the different types of practitioners is especially useful. The book ends with a chapter on enlightenment (jivanmukti). This chapter not only presents the meaning of self-realization-in-this-lifetime, but offers material on this topic for the first time in English. Deba Brata SenSharma, now a Senior Research Fellow of the Asiatic Society (Calcutta), was a student of Gopinath Kaviraj. He was a Professor at Benaras Hindu University and at Kurukshetra University. He is the author of dozens of articles in learned journals and of several books. Table of Contents Foreword Preface Abbreviations Introduction The Metaphysics of the Trika School The Origin and Nature of Man The Status of Man in Creation The Way to Ultimate Self-Realization The Ways of Spiritual Discipline The Perfect Integral Self-Realization, Sivatva Jivanmukti and Related Issues Glossary Select Bibliography Index

Deba Brata SenSharma - Author Paul E. Muller-Ortega - Foreword by

 

 

 

 

 

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