Bhakti is a remarkable feature and tendency of human existence having to do with one's devoted involvement with a person, object, deity, or a creative project. Bhakti and Philosophy aims to trace the larger meanings and roles of bhakti as it historically emerged in some of the well-known thought systems of India, such as Vedanta and Buddhism.

We long for boundless love as we long for home. But how can we find our home our meaning and purpose if we don't know our self? Wise-Love is an exploration of the self, or consciousness, guided through the meditative eyes of saints, sages, seers, and mystics. We discover that the self's most charming characteristic -- part of its unchanging nature is that it is a lover, a lover only when ordinary love evolves into wise-love. Pranada, a devoted pilgrim and teacher, illuminates bhakti's wisdom school of heartfulness and shows why mindfulness can never satisfy the self. Joy comes from an awakened heart not a stilled mind.The first part of Wise-Love explores the nature of self/consciousness and how we interface in the world with our physical and subtle body (mind, intelligence, and ego). Understanding the distinctions between our real and false selves, we can answer the questions Who am I? What is my purpose? How can I be happy? The second half examines the nature of matter, the world of consciousness, karma, faith, mysticism, the efficacy of sacred sound, the maha-mantra, kirtan, humility, depth compassion, and how to culture wise-love. Each chapter unfolds with an understanding of matter and consciousness to present a key that unlocks our eternal nature so that we can experience the unbounded joy of the self in our daily lives.When we encounter the self, we're automatically introduced to our Divine Inner Suitor and our loving relationship. Filled with insight and fresh perspectives, Wise-Love offers a map for the journey to our home of eternal affection, where a porch light is always lovingly lit, and a warm embrace from our Divine Other awaits.Secretly nestled in the Upanishads and extolled in the Bhagavad Gita, bhakti yoga shines as the crown jewel on the head of India's timeless wisdom about consciousness and how to live one's meditation. Often over-simplified as devotion, bhakti is the method of experiencing the self and its Essence/Source. This concise, comprehensive handbook exploring the meaning of bhakti's sophisticated philosophy promises to enrich you wherever you are on the spiritual path.

Ramanuja's concept of bhakti (devotion) emphasised the practice of self-surrender through which a person realises his personality, strengths and weaknesses, and hidden powers. Bhakti, for him, acts as a link between mortals and the Ultimate Reality. This book examines the views of Vishishtadvaita of Ramanuja on bhakti and prapatti (self-surrender). It studies in-depth the meaning of God, the soul and the Supreme Soul, and the world; the concept of bhakti; the different stages of bhakti referring to numerous sources that include the Vedas, the Bhagavad-Gita, the Upanishads and the Puranas. It focuses on Ramanuja's teaching of bhakti, examining his philosophy in general and his sevenfold practice, Sadhana Saptaka to generate bhakti that expounds the qualities and significance of discrimination for viveka, freedom from sensual attachment or anger for securing vimoka, repeated reflection of God, performance of religious duty for inner mental strength, development of ethical virtues, freedom from despair and freedom from excessive joy. It understands the relevance of symbols in devotion and examines nature and use of symbols in Buddhism and Hinduism. The scholarly study discusses the importance and cultivation of peaceful emotions, and need for prayer and dietary regulations in devotion. The volume will prove an indispensable work for scholars of Indian philosophy and religious studies.

Contributed articles.

Vedanta is generally identified with the exposition of the system by Sri Sankaracharya and the followers of his tradition. This book attempts to treat in a brief compass the life and teachings of five other Vedantic Acharyas who differed from Sankara and interpreted Vedanta as essentially a system having God with infinite auspicious attributes whose grace alone can give salvation to the souls caught in the cycle of births and deaths. These Acharyas are in no way less deserving in recognition than Sri Sankara as Acharyas of Vedanta, as they all base their teachings on the three foundational texts of the system—the Upanishads, the Vedanta Sutras and the Bhagavad Gita. With Bhakti as the predominant feature, their systems are aptly categorised as the Bhakti schools of Vedanta. The author of this book, Swami Tapasyananda, was a Vice-President of the Ramakrishna Order and a great scholar-monk with vast erudition and deep thinking. He has also given a scholarly introduction to the book reconciling the differences and contradictions of different schools of Vedanta in the light of the experiences and expositions of Ramakrishna-Vivekananda.

Transrational Peaces is a new approach in contemporary Peace Research. It considers the rational and the spiritual sphere of human perception to be essential for the understanding of peace. In this book the Austrian-Indian researcher Samrat Schmiem Kumar presents the Indian tradition of Bhakti Yoga, and demonstrates the value of Indian philosophy for contemporary discussions on peace. In the philosophy of Bhakti, life is a playful and aesthetic relationship between human and the cosmos. The book opens the field of Peace Studies beyond the well-known horizons of the discipline in Europe and the United States.