Book Description

The exercise of comparing one philosophy to another is a difficult intellectual task, but there are many precedents for it. This book attempts something perhaps unprecedented - comparing a philosophy to a personality. Here in Namámi Krśńasundaram ("Salutations to Krśńa the Beautiful"), Shrii Shrii Ánandamúrti has compared not just one philosophy, but at least ten, to the life and personality of Lord Krśńa.The author sets out here the two distinct facets of Lord Krśńa's personality: Vraja Krśńa, the lord of devotion, and Párthasárathi Krśńa, the lord of karma yoga, ceaselessly engaged in the battle against injustice. Taken together, the two aspects of Krśńa's life symbolize the dharma of all humanity: spiritual realization fused with selfless service and the fight for justice.Though Krśńa did not during His lifetime attempt to create a formal system of philosophy, the author's basic premise is that the deepest understanding of Krśńa must implicitly bring with it a correct and sublime philosophy; and that the essence of that philosophy will be advaetadvaetádvaetaváda - non-dualistic dualistic non-dualism.So the author herein presents, if not a system of philosophy as such, then a system of philosophy as embodied in the personality of Lord Krśńa; and in order to fully elaborate that philosophy, the author has compared Krśńa the historical personality, Krśńa the Sadguru of His age, Krśńa the human being, to most of the important philosophical trends of India.