Chattampi Swami An Intellectual Biography

Caṭṭampi Swami, 1853-1924, Hindu sage and social reformer from Kerala, India.

This book is about Pujya Swami Chinmayananda and the saints who ignited his spiritual quest. Rare anecdotes about his interactions with these saints and hitherto unpublished letters of Swami Tapovan Maharaj are presented in this authentic story about the formative years of Shri Swami Chinmayananda. A brief free-flowing life sketch of Shri Chattambi Swamigal, Shri Swami Sivananda Maharaj and Shri Swami Tapovan Maharaj recreates the spiritually charged atmosphere that nourished him. New information and details unearthed by Chinmaya Archives through its years of painstaking research are blended into this narrative. An ordinary reader will find an interesting story here. A newcomer in the spiritual arena will find this book to be an eye-opener. A mature seeker will be catapulted into the highest meditative states in the very process of reading this.

From the Wolfson History Prize–winning author of The Man on Devil’s Island, the definitive biography of Vivekananda, the Indian monk who shaped the intellectual and spiritual history of both East and West. Few thinkers have had so enduring an impact on both Eastern and Western life as Swami Vivekananda, the Indian monk who inspired the likes of Freud, Gandhi, and Tagore. Blending science, religion, and politics, Vivekananda introduced Westerners to yoga and the universalist school of Hinduism called Vedanta. His teachings fostered a more tolerant form of mainstream spirituality in Europe and North America and forever changed the Western relationship to meditation and spirituality. Guru to the World traces Vivekananda’s transformation from son of a Calcutta-based attorney into saffron-robed ascetic. At the 1893 World Parliament of Religions in Chicago, he fascinated audiences with teachings from Hinduism, Western esoteric spirituality, physics, and the sciences of the mind, in the process advocating a more inclusive conception of religion and expounding the evils of colonialism. Vivekananda won many disciples, most prominently the Irish activist Margaret Noble, who disseminated his ideas in the face of much disdain for the wisdom of a “subject race.” At home, he challenged the notion that religion was antithetical to nationalist goals, arguing that Hinduism was intimately connected with Indian identity. Ruth Harris offers an arresting biography, showing how Vivekananda’s thought spawned a global anticolonial movement and became a touchstone of Hindu nationalist politics a century after his death. The iconic monk emerges as a counterargument to Orientalist critiques, which interpret East-West interactions as primarily instances of Western borrowing. As Vivekananda demonstrates, we must not underestimate Eastern agency in the global circulation of ideas.

Neelakanta Theerthapada; disciple of Chattampi Swamikal was a great scholar, poet, and social and religious reformer and was a lead figures of renaissance in Kerala. He has composed numerous works in Sanskrit and Malayalam. They became the theoretical base for the movements of the marginalized and were the agents that heralded social reformers. His works formed the most important contributions from Kerala to the spiritual and philosophical literature in Sanskrit of the twentieth century. After Sankara, there was no other scholar from Kerala who has composed Sanskrit works in quality and quantity to the extent to which Neelakanta Theerthapada has done. Any serious observation of the works of Theerthapada can reveal that they excel Brhatkatha of Gunadhya, beautiful words of Murari, meaningfulness of Bharavi, compositions of Kalidasa, works of Mayura, and Magha. With the use of simple and direct words they outshine Naishadha of Sri Harsha and Karporamanjari of Rajasekhara. This is the first book in English on the life and work of Neelakanta Theerthapada.

Malayalam translation of ‘Chattampi Swami: An Intellectual Biography’ published earlier in English. Chattampi Swamikal was the harbinger of renaissance and reformation in Kerala. His thoughts and work resulted in the social, and political movements that later modernized Kerala. For the first time he gave voice to those who were marginalized. He made knowledge and spirituality integral to the social and democratic endeavor.The book adds new dimensions to the understanding of the extraordinary figure of the late nineteenth century renaissance in India . Documenting the aspects neglected by earlier biographers the authors make a remarkable contribution to our understanding of the man behind the myth. This is a translated and updated version of the earlier English work and contains three additional chapters and more than 250 illustrations which includes many rare photographs not earlier published. A comprehensive bibliography, which will be of help for further research and a detailed index, add value to the book.

Sanskrit Informatics is intended as a study guide for Sanskrit Students attending methodology courses on Informatics. It can create awareness about the available digital resources on Sanskrit and Indology, and introduce the basics of ICT skills for effectively accessing, processing and using such resources

The book covers the local history of Vanchiyoor ward in Thiruvanthapuram City. This book is organised into 23 chapters. Dr. Shashi Tharoor (Member of Parliment, India) has hailed the book as a breakthrough acheivement and a unique contribution. The book is divided into 23 chapters and start with a general overview of local Histoy and go on to cover the early and recent history of vanchiyoor, its place names and sketch important instituions in the area, which have crossed a century. Two famous agitations have taken place in Vanchiyoor (District court) which features in these chapters. the book also deals with thirteen Temples, Mosques and Churches some of which have are ancient. A brief study of communities is also portrayed in the books. In Chapter 17 , a study into 55 instutions having rich history of over 100 years can alos be seen. A biographical sketch of over 50 personalities can be seen in chapter 18. Chapter 19 is a unique one , it deals with flora, fauna and water bodies, a history of nature of sorts. The last chapter "Miscellany" is a confetti of nearly 50 brief notes on variety of matters, as varied as indigenous food like 'ada' and 'Seva', to noise pollution, to 'Kadathinna', to 'Hanuman Padaram'. "A minature picture of Travancore from collective memory, oral history and archival sources." - Manu Pillai

Hindu Nationalism in South India engages with a range of factors that shapes the trajectory of Hindu nationalism in Kerala, the southern state of India. Until recently, Kerala was considered a socio-political exception which had no room for Hindu nationalism. This book questions such Panglossian prognosis and shows the need to map the ideological and political growth of Hindu nationalism which has been downplayed in the academic discourse as temporary aberrations. The introduction to the book places Kerala in the context of South India. Arguing that Hindutva is a real force which needs to be contended within theoretical and empirical terms, the chapters in this book examine Hindu nationalism in Kerala in relation to themes such as history, caste, culture, post-truth, ideology, gender, politics, and the Indian national space. Considering the rise of Hindu nationalism in the recent years, this pioneering book will be of interest to a students and academics studying Politics, in particular Nationalism, Asian Politics and Religion and Politics and South Asian Studies.

With the emergence of positive psychology in the West, and the many fold discovery of the impact of psychology in one’s life, there is a need to understand spirituality, and to use its positive aspects to maintain a balance in hectic modern life. This book presents models for mapping basic psychological processes and their relationships. It covers basic constructs like cognition, emotion, behavior, desires, creativity, as well as applied topics like personal happiness, intercultural conflict handling, and world peace.