Ramnuja

On the life and works of Rāmānuja, 1017-1137, Vaishnavite leader and propagator of the Viśishtādvaita school in Hindu philosophy.

This is the first attempt to understand Ramanuja in the context of his religious and philosophical tradition. It is the only work which establishes his indebtedness to his immediate predecessor Yamuna and which identifies his actual opponents. It is accordingly a contribution to the wider history of classical Indian thought and not just a consideration of a single individual and his tradition.

Srimad Bhagavad Gita is now widely recognised as a scriptural text of worldwide importance. Sri Ramanuja is one of the noted commentators on the Vedanta Sutras of Badarayana and the Bhagavad Gita. This has brought him recognition as one of the greatest exponents of Vedanta from the Vaishnava point of view. Swami Adidevananda, one of the distinguished scholarly monks of the Ramakrishna Order who retained his inherent Sri Vaishnava heritage, has translated the original verses and Sri Ramanuja’s commentary into English. This book is of special importance because it is the only English translation now available with the original Sanskrit commentary as well. The book opens with meditation on the Gita followed by the Gitartha-sangraha of Sri Yamunacharya with English translation. Swami Tapasyananda, who was a scholarly monk with deep devotional temperament and one of the Vice-Presidents of the Ramakrishna Order, has written a scholarly introduction to this work.

Can the comparison of two theologians vastly separated in space and time help contemporary theologians to think better? This book compares two preeminent theologians, Sri Ramanuja of the Hindu tradition and Friedrich Schleiermacher of the Christian tradition. Each argues that God sustains the universe at every moment of its existence, but they work out the divine sustenance in very different ways.

Rare and blessed is the occasion when a saint, an illumined soul, Swami Ramakrishnananda, a direct-disciple of Sri Ramakrishna, undertakes the task of writing a biography of an Acharya, a world-teacher, Sri Ramanuja. No writer, however erudite and accomplished, can bring to his work that revealing insight which a saint does by virtue of his illumination. From this point of view, the biography of Sri Ramanuja in Bengali, authored by Swami Ramakrishnananda, is a unique work. Whether one belongs to the ranks of orthodox followers or to those of the heterodox, going through the pages of this book, one would surely feel the devotional fervour the author had for Sri Ramanuja. The book was translated into English by Swami Buddhananda, Interspersed with more than 150 colour photographs, annotated with many additional notes, and additional material appended, this new edition of the book, brought out to commemorate Sri Ramanuja’s 1000th Birth Year, will surely communicate the transforming power of the great life of a mighty and magnanimous world-teacher written by an illustrious apostle of another great world-teacher.

During the last two decades there has been a renaissance in the field of Christian philosophy. Unfortunately, most of this excellent work has not reached general readers. Reason for the Hope Within was produced specifically to make available the best of contemporary Christian philosophy in a clear, accessible -- and highly relevant -- manner. Fourteen of America's rising Christian philosophers here cover many of the traditional themes of Christian apologetics (arguments for the existence of God, the problem of evil, the possibility of miracles) as well as topics of special relevance to today's world (Eastern religions, Christianity and science, Christianity and ethics, the existence of heaven and hell).

The Face of Truth examines in depth the Vedantic theology of Rāmānuja, the most important and well-known of the classical Hindu theologians. Julius Lipner clearly analyzes Rāmānuja's theory of sacred language and divine predication, his views on the nature of the self, God, and the relationship between infinite and finite being. In addition to offering new insights into and analyses of religious matters, The Face of Truth exposes the theology of language — the understanding of religious language and God. This is consistent with Lipner's other purpose — the furthering of inter-religious dialogue, especially between Hindu and Christian points of view. Lipner has also translated several technical Sanskrit terms into English, making his point intelligible to non-Sanskrit readers. Drawing together the complex strands of Rāmānujan thought, Lipner succeeds in increasing inter-religious understanding.

Life and teachings of a Śrīvaiṣṇavite leader and exponent of Viśiṣṭādvaita school in Hindu philosophy.