The Advaita Worldview

Anantanand Rambachan

Description

2007 CHOICE Outstanding Academic Title

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.

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

Sujets

• East Asian religions
• Hinduism

Informations

• Publié par: State University of New York Press
• Date de parution: 01 février 2012
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9780791481318
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 2 Mo

Extrait

the A D VA I T A worldview

God, World, and Humanity

Anantanand Rambachan

T H E A DVA I TA WO R L DV I E W

SUNY series in Religious Studies

Harold Coward,editor

THE ADVAITA WORLDVIEW

God, World, and Humanity

Anantanand Rambachan

STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK PRESS

Published by State University of New York Press Albany

© 2006 State University of New York

All rights reserved

Printed in the United States of America

No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission. No part of this book may be stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means including electronic, electrostatic, magnetic tape, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise without the prior permission in writing of the publisher.

For informa tion, address State University of New York Press 194 Washington Avenue, Suite 305, Albany, NY 12210-2384

Production, Laurie Searl Marketing, Susan M. Petrie

Library of Congress CataloginginPublication Data

Rambachan, Anantanand, 1951– The Advaita worldview : God, world, and humanity / Anantanand Rambachan.  p. cm. — (SUNY series in religious studies) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN-13: 978-0-7914-6851-7 (hardcover : alk. paper) ISBN-13: 978-0-7914-6852-4 (pbk. : alk. paper) ISBN-10: 0-7914-6851-8 (hardcover : alk. paper) ISBN-10: 0-7914-6852-6 (pbk. : alk. paper) 1. Advaita. 2. Philosophy, Hindu. I. Title. II. Series. B132.A3R36 2006 181'.482—dc22

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

2005029977

matr³devo bhava

pitr³devo bhava

ācāryadevo bhava

atithidevo bhava

for my wife, Geeta

and our children

Ashesh, Akshar and Ishanaa

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Abbreviations

Introduction

Contents

Chapter One The Human Problem The Limits of Knowledge The Limits of Wealth The Limits of Pleasure The Reflective Life

Chapter Two The Requirements of Discipleship The Necessity of Virtue Viveka Vairāgya Śamādis³atkasampatti Mumuks³utva Sādhana Catus³t³ayaand the Immediacy of Knowledge Eligibility for Discipleship and the Caste System

Chapter Three The Nature of theĀtman Overcoming the Human Problem Who Am I? TheĀtmanand the Body TheĀtmanand the Mind TheĀtmanas Awareness TheĀtmanas Timeless TheĀtmanasĀnanda TheĀtmanas Non-dual

vii

xi

1

9 10 11 13 15

19 19 21 22 23 25 26 27

31 31 33 34 35 36 38 40 43

v i i i

C O N T E N T S

Chapter Four 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 forBrahman Knowledge and the Attainment ofBrahman The Self-Revealing Nature ofBrahman Ignorance as Incomplete Knowledge ofBrahman Knowledge and Experience The Dilemma of Knowing the Knower Non-dual Experience and Non-dual Knowledge The Teacher and the Text Brahmanas Ultimate Mystery

Chapter FiveBrahmanas the World Denying the Reality and Value of the World The Origin of the World fromBrahman Brahmanas Intelligent and Material Cause The Universe as Non-different fromBrahman The Doctrine ofMāyā Asymmetrical Relationship betweenBrahmanand World Is the World an Illusion? World as Celebrative Expression ofBrahman Seeing the Oneandthe Many

Chapter SixBrahmanas God BrahmanasNirgun³aandSagun³a Are Hierarchies inBrahmanNecessary? The Problem of Change and Activity inBrahman The Problem of Substance and Attributes The Problem of Purpose The Value of the Creation forBrahman

Chapter Seven Liberation The Nature of Ignorance Liberation as Identical with the Nature ofBrahman Embodied or Living Liberation Liberation as Freedom from Desire Liberation as the Attainment of Fullness of Self

47 47 48 49 50 51 53 54 55 61 62 64

67 67 69 70 71 72 74 76 78 80

83 84 85 86 88 91 96

99 99 100 101 102 103

C O N T E N T S

Liberation as Freedom from Mortality Liberation as Freedom from the Cycles of Rebirth Liberation as Freedom fromKarma Liberation as Freedom in Action Liberation as Identification with All Beings Liberation as KnowingBrahmanto be Self and God

Notes

Bibliography

Index

i x

104 104 106 107 109 111

117

133

139