Advaita Vedanta and Vaisnavism: The Philosophy of Madhusudana Sarasvati

by Sanjukta Gupta

Overview

In Indian philosophy and theology, the ideology of Vedanta occupies an important position. Hindu religious sects accept the Vedantic soteriology, which believes that there is only one conscious reality, Brahman from which the entire creation, both conscious and non-conscious, emanated.

Madhusudana Sarasvati, who lived in sixteenth century Bengal and wrote in Sanskrit, was the last great thinker among the Indian philosophers of Vedanta. During his time, Hindu sectarians, rejected monistic Vedanta. Although a strict monist, Madhusudana tried to make a synthesis between his monistic philosophy and his theology of emotional love for God.

Sanjukta Gupta provides the only comprehensive study of Madhusudana Sarasvati's thought. She explores the religious context of his extensive and difficult works, offering invaluable insights into Indian philosophy and theology.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780415864602
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	09/09/2013
Series:	Routledge Hindu Studies Series
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	192
Product dimensions:	6.12(w) x 9.19(h) x (d)

About the Author

Sanjukta Gupta taught at Visva Bharati University, Calcutta University and Jadavpur University in India, as well as Utrecht University in the Netherlands. At present she is a member of the Oriental Institute at the University of Oxford. She specialises in Indian philosophy with a focus on the system of Vedanta in Hindu theology, in particular Vaisnavism and Tantra.

Table of Contents

1. Introduction 2. Illusion (Avidya) 3. Knowledge and Epistemology 4. Brahman and the Sentient World 5. Material World and Cosmogony 6. Advaita-Vedanta Salvation 7. Bhakti, the Theology of Aesthetics and Divine Love