Hindu and Muslim Mysticism (Religious Studies: Bloomsbury Academic Collections)

This book, based upon a Jordan Lecture in Comparative Religion of 1959, traces the development of mystical thought during the formative periods of the Hindu and Muslim traditions. The religions are discussed separately but comparisons are offered wherever appropriate. The part on Hinduism focuses on the classical Upanishads, the Yogasutras, the Bhagavad-Gita, and Ramanuja's commentary on them. For Islam, the focus is on the monistic revolution introduced by Abu Yazid, which Zaehner traces to the influence of Indian thought and through Junayd's restoration of the theistic balance to the monism of the late writings of Ghazali. "This work traces the development of mystical thought during the formative periods of the Hindu and Muslim traditions and provides comparisons between the two streams of mysticism. The author's discussion includes the classical Upanishads, the Yogasutras, the Bhagavad-Gita and their commentaries. His study of the Islamic tradition includes the Monastic revolution introduced by Abu Yazid, which the author traces to the influence of Indian thought and the later writings of Ghazali."--Bloomsbury Publishing. Cover 1 Half-title 3 Title 5 Copyright 6 Dedication 11 PREFACE 13 CONTENTS 15 LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS 16 I. TWO TRENDS 17 II. IN SEARCH OF AN ABSOLUTE 37 III. GOD AND BRAHMAN 57 IV. THE GOD OF LOVE 80 V. VEDANTA IN MUSLIM DRESS 102 VI. SELF-DEIFICATION 126 VII. THE TEACHING OF JUNAYD 151 VIII. GHAZALI AND AFTER 178 APPENDICES 205 INDEX 241