Vedanta: Heart of Hinduism

by Hans Torwesten

Book Overview

Vedanta is the most encompassing and open of the six orthodox systems of Hinduism and is considered the quintessence of Eastern thought and mysticism. At the center of Vedanta lie the texts of the Upanishads and the Bhagavad Gita. Beginning with the premise that man is a divine being whose greatest source of strength is his intuition, Vedanta seeks not merely the accumulation of knowledge but rather the annihilation of all knowledge. Its goal is an...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0802132626
• ISBN13: 9780802132628
• Release Date: January 1994
• Publisher: Grove Press
• Length: 240 Pages
• Weight: 0.65 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.5" x 8.2"

Customer Reviews

"Tat Tvam Asi!" Vedanta's origins and development...

Once seen as an esoteric, overly intellectual, and atheistic quasi-religious philosophy, Vedanta now has a solid spiritual following in the west. Though not as prevalent as Zen or Buddhism, a dozen or more centers have sprung up in the United States since Swami Vivekananda's daring and rocky 1893 visit. One system, Shankara's Advaita Vedanta, has even found a niche in comparative philosophy circles. But the most prevalent western form of India's mystical masterpiece remains the practice of yoga. Though watered down to a mere nano-morsel of its vast structure, today's monetized yoga industry originated with Vedanta. Regardless of these inroads, the intellectual girth of this mega system still has the power to intimidate newcomers. Anyone diving unprepared into the murky depths of the Upanishads or the Brahma Sutras will find a stultifying unfamiliar labyrinth that refuses to reveal any secrets. Hans Torwesten's short book, originally written in German, helps lift some of the cultural and philosophical veils that obscure Vedanta's inner core. Nonetheless, though introductory in nature, "Vedanta, Heart of Hinduism" still contains challenges for the uninitiated. The first chapter, "Spirit of the Upanishads," shares some of the esoteric nature of the poetic mystical texts it attempts to elucidate. In a desultory manner, the discussion wavers from revelation to Brahama to the Vedas to the Atman to "Om." Laced with many digressions and sub-discussions, this chapter remains the book's biggest, but by no means insurmountable, hurdle. Regardless, the journey pays off as the foundation of the sometimes impenetrable Upanishads comes ever so slightly into focus. Building on that, the next section outlines the significance of the Bhagavad Gita. One of the world's undisputed religious classics, this tiny work extracted from the mammoth Mahabharata epic serves, along with the Upanishads, as Vedanta's other spiritual leg. Torwesten first deals with the sticky issue of war presented in the Gita's first section. There follows a delineation of Vedanta's major paths: jnana-yoga, or the path of knowledge, Karma-yoga, or the path of selfless action, bhakti-yoga, or the path of devotion, and raja-yoga, or the path of meditation. Jnana-yoga and bhakti-yoga get conjoined in the Gita through knowledge of the absolute Brahman and devotion to the avatar Krishna. The remainder of the book outlines Vedanta's historical development, starting with a delination of Shankara's Advaita Vedanta and the concept of maya. Some found this brainy realization of the absolute rather cold, so Ramanuja build a massive bhakhti-yoga structure in response. These seemingly opposed and irreconcilable viewpoints reigned until the nineteenth century. Then, almost out of nowhere, came a religious polymath, Ramakrishna. He saw the commonality in the world's religions, and even practiced Islam and Christianity. Shakti, or love of the Divine Mother, guided his spiritual practices. His disciple Vivekana

Excellent And Useful Survey Of The Main Elements of Vedanta

Torwesten has put together a survey of Vedanta along more or less historical lines. The first half of the book treats the teachings of the Upanishads and the Bhagavad Gita; the second half looks at Shankara's non-dualism, the swing back to theism in Ramanuja, and then the more recent developments of Ramakrishna, Vivekananda, Aurobindo, and Ramana Maharshi. This is a survey rather than strictly speaking an introduction; in my opinion it would be most useful to someone who has already had at least some exposure the material covered. The author's grasp and organization of the complex material is excellent, and his writing clear and at times witty. He does much more than general summarizing; he is a critical writer, he gets deeply into the difficulties of the material and conflicting points of view, points out the shades of meaning terms go through in the course of history, as well as the apparent and real contradictions, shortcomings and problems of various positions and doctrines. He illustrates constantly by comparing and contrasting Vedanta with western mystics and philosophers presumed to be better known to the reader. The final chapter is an essay on the relationship of Vedanta to western philosophy and theology and on their potential future as complementary and corrective of each other. This is a clear and concise summary of Vedanta in general, its history and main positions. It is useful to anyone who wants to know more about Hinduism, or to anyone interested in using eastern though to deepen and develop their own spiritual lives.

Excellent summation of Vedanta

Overall, an excellent historical summation of Vedanta. Torwesten attempts to synthesize the various philosophies of Vedanta (especially Bhakta and Jnana yogas), and to reconcile the austere and intellectually dry views of Adi Shankaracharya with the broader views of Sri Ramakrishna and other Vedantic sages with similar or more "liberal" viewpoints, and does a pretty fair job of it.