This book explores a number of concepts of God in Vaiṣṇavism, which is commonly referred to as one of the great Hindu monotheistic traditions. By addressing the question of what attributes God possesses according to particular Vaiṣṇava textual sources and traditions, the book locates these concepts within a global philosophical framework. The book is divided into two parts. The first part, God in Vaiṣṇava Texts, deals with concepts of God found in some of the more prominent canonical Vaiṣṇava texts: the Bhagavad-Gītā, the Bhagavata-Purāṇa, the Jayākhya-Saṃhitā as representative of the Pāñcarātras, and the Mahābhārata. The second part, God in Vaiṣṇava Traditions, addresses concepts of God found in several Vaiṣṇava traditions and their respective key theologians. In addition to the Āḻvārs, the five traditional Vaiṣṇava schools—the Śrī Vaiṣṇava tradition, the Madhva tradition, the Nimbārka tradition, the Puṣṭimārga tradition, and the Caitanya Vaiṣṇava tradition—and two contemporary ones—those of Ramakrishna (who has Vaiṣṇava leanings) and Swami Bhaktivedanta—are considered. The book combines normative, critical, and descriptive elements. Some chapters are philosophical in nature, and others are more descriptive. Each unpacks a specific Vaiṣṇava concept of God for future philosophical analysis and critique. Written by experts who break new ground in this presentation and representation of the diversity of Vaiṣṇava texts and traditions, the book provides approaches that reflect the amount of philosophical and historical deliberation on the specific issues and divine attributes so far considered in the field of Hindu Studies. This book will be of interest to researchers in disciplines including philosophy of religion and Indian philosophy, cross-cultural and comparative philosophy, analytic philosophy of religion, Hindu Studies, theology, and religious studies.

With few exceptions, the field of Eastern Christian studies has primarily been concerned with historical-critical analysis, hermeneutics, and sociology. For the most part it has not attempted to bring Eastern Christian philosophy into serious engagement with contemporary thought. This volume seeks to redress the matter by bringing the Eastern Christian tradition into a meaningful dialogue with contemporary philosophy. It boasts a diverse group of scholars—specialists in ancient philosophy, analytic philosophy, and continental philosophy—who engage with a wide range of pressing issues. Among other things, it addresses such topics as contemporary atheism, the metaphysics of action, religious epistemology, the philosophy of language, bioethics, the philosophy of race, and human rights. In so doing, it aims to introduce contemporary readers to unique perspectives and novel arguments often overlooked by mainstream anglophone philosophy.

This constitues the first volume of the series. It indicates the scope of the project and provides a list of sources which will be surveyed in the sebsequent volumes, as well as provide a guide to secondary literature for further study of Indian Philosophy. It lists in relative chronological order, Sanskrit and Tamil works. All known editions and translations into European languages are cited; where puplished versions of the text are not known a guide to the location of manuscripts of the work is provided.

This volume examines the role of divine grace in the non-dualist soteriology of Śaṃkara. The author argues that grace is an essential but generally overlooked feature in Śaṃkara’s enlightenment spirituality. Introductory chapters summarize recent developments in Śaṃkara research, Śaṃkara’s epistemology and ontology, ancient Vedāntic teachings on grace, and modern scholarly disagreement about grace in Śaṃkara’s Advaita system. The heart of the book consists of two lengthy exegetical chapters examining Śaṃkara’s key passages on grace from his dozen genuine works. The final chapter presents for the first time a systematic summary of Śaṃkara’s understanding of the operation and necessity of divine grace. This book provides a useful summary of Śaṃkara’s system as a whole besides offering a radical revision of the standard understanding of Śaṃkara’s soteriology. It also reveals that Śaṃkara was much more indebted in his thinking to his Vedantic predecessors than had hitherto been thought.

In the sixteenth century, the saint and scholar Sri Caitanya set in motion a wave of devotion to Krishna that began in eastern India and has now found its way around the world. Caitanya taught that the highest aim of life is to develop selfless love for God Krishna, the blue-hued cowherd boy who spoke the Bhagavad Gita. Although only a handful of poetry is attributed to Caitanya, his devotional theology was expounded and systematized by his followers in a vast array of poetical, philosophical, and ritual literature. This book provides a thematic study of Caitanya Vaishnava philosophy, introducing key thinkers and ideas in the early tradition, using Sanskrit and Bengali sources that have seldom been studied in English. The book addresses major areas of the tradition, including epistemology, ontology, aesthetics, ethics, and history, and every chapter includes relevant readings from primary sources.

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