Since his death in 1950; Sri Aurobindo Ghose has been known primarily as a yogi and a philosopher of spiritual evolution who was nominated for the Nobel Prize in peace and literature. But the years Aurobindo spent in yogic retirement were preceded by nearly four decades of rich public and intellectual work. Biographers usually focus solely on Aurobindo's life as a politician or sage; but he was also a scholar; a revolutionary; a poet; a philosopher; a social and cultural theorist; and the inspiration for an experiment in communal living.Peter Heehs; one of the founders of the Sri Aurobindo Ashram Archives; is the first to relate all the aspects of Aurobindo's life in its entirety. Consulting rare primary sources; Heehs describes the leader's role in the freedom movement and in the framing of modern Indian spirituality. He examines the thinker's literary; cultural; and sociological writings and the Sanskrit; Bengali; English; and French literature that influenced them; and he finds the foundations of Aurobindo's yoga practice in his diaries and unpublished letters. Heehs's biography is a sensitive; honest portrait of a life that also provides surprising insights into twentieth-century Indian history.
#355398 in Books Richard W Bulliet 2006-02-01Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 8.26 x .43 x 5.58l; .51 #File Name: 0231127979192 pagesThe Case for Islamo Christian Civilization
Review
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. Important ReadBy Marion B CateThis is an important reality check on all the fear-based BS being said about Arabs and Islam.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. A different viewpointBy Anne RothThis Middle East scholar has offered a different view of how we might perceive the dialogue/wrangle between Islamic countries and "Western" countries based in a religious background. I agree with his understanding; since so much of the political rhetoric about Islamic countries has utterly ignored the bedrock of their faith tradition.2 of 3 people found the following review helpful. Very interestingBy Matthew SmithThis is a very nuanced approach at analyzing the evolution of these two religions. What makes the author's approach so interesting is that it looks at both religions together and juxtaposes the two so that the reader can see how both shaped and were shaped by history; culture; geography and each religions own idiosyncrasies that came with the growth of both religious movements. This method shows the reader that neither was isolated; but both were actually in constant contact which influenced the growth of both movements. Whether it was Chistianity (and Judiasm) laying the ground work by acclamating peoples to the idea of monotheism which eventually allowed for Islam to make a smooth transition within its eventual spheres of influence; or whether it was the technological inovations that helped lead Europe into the enlightenment; both movements have greatly influenced each other.The author's discussion of the differences between each religion's approach to governance actually goes a long way in explaining the differences between the two. Whereas Christianity directly confronted and faught wars with the political elites; Islam generally refrained from direct confrontation with the political establishment preferring an imperfect ruler to the potential anarchy of a civil war between the religious elite and the political elite. This meant that Europe was racked with the very anarchy and devastation that Islam's more acquiescent stance avoided in the Middle Ages. While Europe was languishing during the Thirty Years war; the areas under Islamic influence were flourishing. Of course later on these destructive wars helped Europe to centralize and create the first modern states later on that helped Europe to eventually move into ascendancy.On the other hand Islam has not decided its course; and instead their is an uneasy wedding of corrupt regimes propped up by religious legitimacy. The problem being that the religious elites lose their legitimacy by condoning these despotic and corrupt regimes; and since Islam lacks the centralization of religous authority; Islam is seeing a crisis of authority.The author looks at Middle East scholarship as well. He makes the case that most experts tend to look at the Middle East and Islam through the Western point of view. This often times has lead Western scholars to see only what they wanted to see from the beginning. The problem is this doesn't take into account that these societies have a different set of values and a different trajectory in their evolution. A Western-centric approach sees the Western style as the ideal and presupposes that Muslims will see this as well; and therefore will seek to emulate the West. This approach fails to understand that they may not see us as the ideal; but instead may seek to incorporate their own values and ideals into a synthesis with those Western ideals they find virtous. This means that; while Islam and societies with Islamic majorities are moving; the direction in all likely hood will not be the same direction as the West.In the end this is only one way to look at these two religious movements; and what I really like is that the author is honest in his approach. In the very title the author makes clear that this is not the only way to analyze these movements. The author is simply making a case; and his case is quite compelling. I highly recommend this book.
