Unifying Hinduism: Philosophy and Identity in Indian Intellectual History (South Asia Across the Disciplines)

Drawing on the writings of philosophers from late medieval and early modern traditions—including Vijñanabhiksu, Madhava, and Madhusudana Sarasvati—Andrew J. Nicholson shows how influential thinkers portrayed Vedanta philosophy as the ultimate unifier of diverse belief systems. This project paved the way for the work of later Hindu reformers, such as Vivekananda, Radhakrishnan, and Gandhi, whose teachings promoted the notion that all world religions belong to a single spiritual unity. In his study, Nicholson also critiques the way in which Eurocentric concepts—like monism and dualism, idealism and realism, theism and atheism, and orthodoxy and heterodoxy—have come to dominate modern discourses on Indian philosophy. Some postcolonial theorists argue that the idea of a single system of belief known as "Hinduism" is a creation of nineteenth-century British imperialists. Andrew J. Nicholson introduces another perspective: although a unified Hindu identity is not as ancient as some Hindus claim, it has its roots in innovations within South Asian philosophy from the fourteenth to seventeenth centuries. During this time, thinkers treated the philosophies of Vedanta, Samkhya, and Yoga, along with the worshippers of Visnu, Siva, and Sakti, as belonging to a single system of belief and practice. Instead of seeing such groups as separate and contradictory, they re-envisioned them as separate rivers leading to the ocean of Brahman, the ultimate reality. Drawing on the writings of philosophers from late medieval and early modern traditions, including Vijnanabhiksu, Madhava, and Madhusudana Sarasvati, Nicholson shows how influential thinkers portrayed Vedanta philosophy as the ultimate unifier of diverse belief systems. This project paved the way for the work of later Hindu reformers, such as Vivekananda, Radhakrishnan, and Gandhi, whose teachings promoted the notion that all world religions belong to a single spiritual unity. In his study, Nicholson also critiques the way in which Eurocentric concepts—like monism and dualism, idealism and realism, theism and atheism, and orthodoxy and heterodoxy—have come to dominate modern discourses on Indian philosophy. Drawing On The Writings Of Philosophers From Late Medieval And Early Modern Traditions, Including Vijnanabhiksu, Madhava, And Madhusudana Sarasvati, Nicholson Shows How Influential Thinkers Portrayed Vedanta Philosophy As The Ultimate Unifier Of Diverse Belief Systems. This Project Paved The Way For The Work Of Later Hindu Reformers, Such As Vivekananda, Radhakrishnan, And Gandhi, Whose Teachings Promoted The Notion That All World Religions Belong To A Single Spiritual Unity. In His Study, Nicholson Also Critiques The Way In Which Eurocentric Concepts--like Monism And Dualism, Idealism And Realism, Theism And Atheism, And Orthodoxy And Heterodoxy--have Come To Dominate Modern Discourses On Indian Philosophy. Introduction -- Contesting The Unity Of Hinduism -- Vijñānabhikṣu And His Late Medieval Milieu -- Doxography And Method -- Premodern Philosophy In A Postcolonial World -- An Alternative History Of Vedānta -- Vedānta And Orientalist Historiography -- Early Bhedābheda Vedānta -- Bhedābheda Vedānta After Śaṅkara -- The Future Of Bhedābheda Vedānta -- Vijñānabhikṣu's Difference And Non-difference Vedānta -- The Meaning Of Bhedābheda -- Self And Brahman As Part And Whole -- Brahman's Causality In Advaita And Bhedābheda Vedānta -- Bhedābheda And The Unity Of Philosophies -- A History Of God In Sāṃkhya And Yoga -- Sāṃkhya : An Atheist Philosophy? -- Theism In Early Sāṃkhya And The Purāṇas -- Atheism And Theism In Classical Sāṃkhya -- Sāṃkhya And Yoga -- Reading Against The Grain Of The Sāṃkhyasūtras -- Atheism In The Sāṃkhyasūtras -- Kapila's Bold Assertion As Speech Act -- Degrees Of Deception In Sāṃkhya And The Purãṇas -- Disproving God In The Sāṃkhyasūtras -- Yoga, Praxis, And Liberation -- The Excellence Of The Yogic Path -- Karma And Embodied Liberation -- The Unity Of Yoga And Vedānta Soteriologies -- Vendānta And Sāṃkhya In The Orientalist Imagination -- Indian Philosophy And The Critique Of Orientalism -- Colebrooke And Gough : The Struggle For The Essence Of Vedānta -- Paul Deussen And The Influence Of German Idealism -- Richard Garbe : Sāṃkhya As The Foundation Of Indian Philosophy -- Orientalism And Modern Hindu Thought. Doxography, Classificatory Schemes, And Contested Histories -- Doxography As A Genre -- Early Models For Doxography In India : Cāttaṉār And Bhāviveka -- Haribhadra, Jainism, And The Six Systems -- Mādhava And The Influence Of Advaita Doxography -- Madhusūdana Sarasvatī : Foreignness And The Philosophical Other -- Affirmers (āstikas) And Deniers (nāstikas) In Indian History -- Toward A Comparative Heresiology -- The Meaning Of āstika And Nāstika -- Perspectives From The Jainas, Buddhists, And Grammarians -- Beyond Orthodoxy And Heterodoxy -- Āstika And Nāstika In The Late Medieval Period -- Hindu Unity And The Non-hindu Other -- Inclusivism And Hindu Toleration -- Decoding Late Medieval Doxography -- The Absence Of Islam -- Hinduism : A Modern Invention? -- Communalism, Universalism, And Hindu Identity. Andrew J. Nicholson. Includes Bibliographical References And Index.

Offering a multidimensional approach to one of the most important episodes of the twentieth century, The Columbia Guide to the Holocaust offers readers and researchers a general history of the Holocaust while delving into the core issues and debates in the study of the Holocaust today.

Each of the book's five distinct parts stands on its own as valuable research aids; together, they constitute an integrated whole. Part I provides a narrative overview of the Holocaust, placing it within the larger context of Nazi Germany and World War II. Part II examines eight critical issues or controversies in the study of the Holocaust, including the following questions: Were the Jews the sole targets of Nazi genocide, or must other groups, such as homosexuals, the handicapped, Gypsies, and political dissenters, also be included? What are the historical roots of the Holocaust? How and why did the "Final Solution" come about? Why did bystanders extend or withhold aid?

Part III consists of a concise chronology of major events and developments that took place surrounding the Holocaust, including the armistice ending World War I, the opening of the first major concentration camp at Dachau, Germany's invasion of Poland, the failed assassination attempt against Hitler, and the formation of Israel.

Part IV contains short descriptive articles on more than two hundred key people, places, terms, and institutions central to a thorough understanding of the Holocaust. Entries include Adolf Eichmann, Anne Frank, the Warsaw Ghetto, Aryanization, the SS, Kristallnacht, and the Catholic Church. Part V presents an annotated guide to the best print, video, electronic, and institutional resources in English for further study.

Armed with the tools contained in this volume, students or researchers investigating this vast and complicated topic will gain an informed understanding of one of the greatest tragedies in world history.

Columbia University Press

Drawing on the writings of philosophers from late medieval and early modern traditions, including Vijnanabhiksu, Madhava, and Madhusudana Sarasvati, Nicholson shows how influential thinkers portrayed Vedanta philosophy as the ultimate unifier of diverse belief systems. This project paved the way for the work of later Hindu reformers, such as Vivekananda, Radhakrishnan, and Gandhi, whose teachings promoted the notion that all world religions belong to a single spiritual unity. In his study, Nicholson also critiques the way in which Eurocentric concepts -like monism and dualism, idealism and realism, theism and atheism, and orthodoxy and heterodoxy- have come to dominate modern discourses on Indian philosophy Provides a chronological history of immigration, race, and ethnicity in the United States from 1600 to 2000, covering such topics as migration, intergroup relations, identity formation, and nativism. This brief summary of the Holocaust begins by outlining the stages in which Nazi racial policies evolved.