The Hidden Lives of Brahman: Śakara's Vedānta through His

The Hidden Lives of Brahman: Śakara's Vedānta through His Upaniad Commentaries, in Light of Contemporary Practice (Religious Studies)

FINALIST - 2014 American Academy of Religion Best First Book Award in the History of Religions

Uses both textual and ethnographic sources to demonstrate that in Åšaá¹…karaâ€™s vedÄnta, brahman is an active force as well as a transcendent ultimate.

Åšaá¹…karaâ€™s thought, advaita vedÄnta or non-dual vedÄnta, is a tradition focused on brahman, the ultimate reality transcending all particular manifestations, words, and ideas. It is generally considered that the transcendent brahman cannot be attained through any effort or activity. While this conception is technically correct, in The Hidden Lives of Brahman, JoÃ«l AndrÃ©-Michel Dubois contends that it is misleading.

Hidden lives of brahman become visible when analysis of Åšaá¹…karaâ€™s seminal commentaries is combined with ethnographic descriptions of contemporary Brahmin students and teachers of vedÄnta, a group largely ignored in most studies of this tradition. Dubois demonstrates that for Åšaá¹…kara, as for Brahmin tradition in general, brahman is just as much an active force, fully connected to the dynamic power of words and imagination, as it is a transcendent ultimate.

â€œThe central idea of a multifaceted brahman in Åšaá¹…karaâ€™s thought is original and will be well received.â€ â€” Frederick Smith, coeditor of Modern and Global Ayurveda: Pluralism and Paradigms

â€œThe authorâ€™s detailed descriptions of the actual pedagogical practices of contemporary Brahmin training is a welcome contribution. One gets a real sense of the teacher-student relationship from this book.â€ â€” Andrew O. Fort, author of JÄ«vanmukti in Transformation: Embodied Liberation in Advaita and Neo-VedÄnta

â€œ[Dubois] captures the sounds, sights, and tastes of Indiaâ€™s Brahmin schools and centers of study, conveying a sense of what he calls the â€˜hidden livesâ€™ of young people who later emerge to carry on the tradition of advaita vedÄnta. In elegant, descriptive language, Dubois evokes the mood and energy of the daily life followed by these young men as they prepare for highly specialized careers.â€ â€” from the Foreword by Christopher Key Chapple
Country USA
Brand State University of New York Press
Manufacturer State University of New York Press
Binding Paperback
ItemPartNumber Refer to Sapnet.
UnitCount 1
EANs 9781438448060
ReleaseDate 2015-01-02

Country	USA
Brand	State University of New York Press
Manufacturer	State University of New York Press
Binding	Paperback
ItemPartNumber	Refer to Sapnet.
UnitCount	1
EANs	9781438448060
ReleaseDate	2015-01-02

The Hidden Lives of Brahman: Śakara's Vedānta through His Upaniad Commentaries, in Light of Contemporary Practice (Religious Studies)

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