Many people have confused notions of Hindu spirituality. In thiscompact book, Dr. Nalini Kanta Brahma, an erudite scholar and awell-known exponent of Hindu spirituality, captures its essence, asembedded in the Vedas and the Upanishads.
Divided into three parts-Part I, Essence of Hindu Spirituality;Part II, Vedantic Transcendence; and Part III, Studies inBrihadaranyaka Upanishad, the book gives a clear analysis of theteachings of the Hindu scriptures.
It starts with an Introduction which shows the greatness of theBrihadaranyaka Upanishad and the validity of the Upanishads, whichShankaracharya unmistakably showed to be part of the Vedas. Thebook then goes on to give, in the next three sections, studies onKarma Yoga (performing selfless action as a path of realization of emancipation), Bhakti Yoga (philosophy and practice of devotion), and JananaYoga (knowledge as a means for realization of the Absolute, thatis, Brahmavidya).Part II is devoted to a detailed discussion onVedantic Transcendence and Vedantic monism as expounded byShankaracharya. Finally, Part III delves deep into the teachingscontained in the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad.
This well-researched and clearly enunciated study would bevaluable for postgraduate and senior undergraduate students ofPhilosophy and students of Comparative Religion. It would also bevery useful to anyone who has an abiding interest in Hinduspirituality. |
