A Dictionary of Advaita Vedanta

Advaita Vedanta is the pinnacle of Indian thought. According to many scholars it is the most logical system of Indian Philosophy, and the Sanskrit texts dealing with Advaita Vedanta are the crest jewel of Sanskrit literature. What had once been a philosophy known only to the elite in India, was made available to all throughout the world when Swami Vivekananda’s illuminating lectures in the West on Advaita Vedanta were published. Many non-Indian scholars have in recent time been fascinated by the philosophy of Advaita Vedanta and have set about studying it in earnest, thought the Sanskrit language stands as a barrier to many of them. A Dictionary of Advaita Vedanta is a humble endeavour to help such scholars have easy access to the basic ideas of Advaita Vedanta. This book, however, is not the first in this genre. But while the most of the existing books are either very short or very elaborate, the present dictionary is free from both over coverage and under coverage. By no account this book may be called an encyclopaedia but it is surely handy and should serve as a ready reckoner to those students of Advaita Vedanta who do not know Sanskrit but understand English. The book is the fruit of combined labour of a few competent scholars, headed by Prof Nirod Baran Chakraborty, formerly Head of the Department of Philosophy, Presidency College, Kolkata, over seven years.