Theology after Vedanta

Francis X. Clooney, S.J.

Written by a Jesuit priest and, therefore, to some extent an outsider to the Vedic tradition, but his read is one that demonstrates a sensitivity to and admiration for Advaita. His title is Theology After Vedanta precisely because of the transformative value he finds in its study. Advaita philosophy is familiar territory to most your readership because most of them are long time students of it, primarily due to Shankara's relation to Maharishi's background.

I found the book enormously informative on a topic that has remained to me quite opaque over the many years of my involvement with Advaita: the chronological development of the Vedas and the various aspects of Vedic literature, and the chronology of the development and the inter-relationship of the systems of Indian philosophy, including (of course) Buddhism. Clooney traces this arc as he explores Shankara's commentaries that set down the tenants of Advaita in the context of those competing philosophical views.

What are the Vedas, how does Indian philosophy develop afterward, who were Jaimini and the Mimamsakas, when and how were the Upanishads authored, who was Veda Vyasa, when and in what context did he write the Brahma Sutras. All that as the backdrop to an erudite look at Vedanta philosophy. As they might say on QVC, "that and more". Satsang of the highest order and intellectually fascinating.

Review by Carey Turnbull