[INDOLOGY] Book announcement

[Nicole Karapanagiotis]

Congrats, Michael! Looks awesome! Nicole

On Tue, Jun 28, 2022 at 8:32 AM Allen, Michael S (msa2b) via INDOLOGY <
indology at list.indology.info> wrote:

> Dear Colleagues,
>
> I am happy to announce the publication of my book, *The Ocean of Inquiry:
> Niścaldās and the Premodern Origins of Modern Hinduism, *which came out
> last month from Oxford University Press
> <https://global.oup.com/academic/product/the-ocean-of-inquiry-9780197638958?cc=us&lang=en&#>.
> It is part of the South Asia Research Series, edited by Martha Selby. Below
> is a description of the book.
>
> Best wishes,
> Michael
>
> Michael S. Allen
> Assistant Professor
> Department of Religious Studies
> University of Virginia
>
>
> Advaita Vedānta is one of the best-known schools of Indian philosophy, but
> much of its history--a history closely interwoven with that of medieval and
> modern Hinduism--remains surprisingly unexplored. This book focuses on a
> single remarkable work and its place within that history: *The Ocean of
> Inquiry*, a vernacular compendium of Advaita Vedānta by the North Indian
> monk Niścaldās (ca. 1791 - 1863). Though not well known today, Niścaldās's
> work was once referred to by Vivekananda (himself a key figure in the
> shaping of modern Hinduism) as the most influential book in India.
>
> The present book situates *The Ocean of Inquiry* as representative of
> both a neglected genre (vernacular Vedānta) and a neglected period (ca.
> 17th-19th centuries) in the history of Indian philosophy. It argues that
> the rise of Advaita Vedānta to a position of prestige began well before the
> period of British rule in India, and that vernacular texts like *The
> Ocean of Inquiry* played an important role in popularizing Vedāntic
> teachings. It also offers a new appraisal of the period of late Advaita
> Vedānta, arguing that it should not be seen as one of barren scholasticism.
> For thinkers like Niścaldās, intellectual “inquiry” (*vicāra*) was not an
> academic exercise but a spiritual practice--indeed, it was the central
> practice on the path to liberation. The book concludes by arguing that
> without understanding both vernacular Vedānta and the scholasticism of the
> period, one cannot fully understand the emergence of modern Hinduism.
>
>
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-- 
Dr. Nicole Karapanagiotis, Ph.D. (she/her/hers)
Associate Professor and Chair
Department of Philosophy and Religion
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
Camden College of Arts and Sciences
429 Cooper St., Room #303
Camden, NJ 08102
nicole.karapanagiotis at rutgers.edu
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