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Journal of Hindu-Christian Studies

| Issue 1Volume 13 Article 19

2000

Book Review: "Hindu Thought & CarmeliteMysticism"

Michael Stoeber

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Recommended CitationStoeber, Michael (2000) "Book Review: "Hindu Thought & Carmelite Mysticism","Journal of Hindu-Christian Studies: Vol. 13, Article19.

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50 Book Reviews

Hindu Thought & Carmelite Mysticism. Swami Siddheswarananda.William Buchanan (Tr.). Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass Publishers Private Limited,1998, xii + 172pp..SWAMI SIDDHESWARANANDA (b.1897) entered the Order of Rama1crishna in1920 under the auspices of SwamisBrahmananda and Shivananda, and went onto establish Centres for the Order in Mysore(1925) and Paris (1937). He headed theCentre in Paris until his death in 1957. Thisbook demonstrates clearly that his activitiesin Paris involved Hindu-Christian dialogueof some depth and scope. It is a relativelysophisticated and insightful comparativework that was originally presented aslectures at the Sorbonne between 1949and1953. The chapters have appearedseparately in various earlier publications,while this edition is a translation of PenseeIndienne et Mystique Carmelitaine (1974).The content and style of the bookreflect the fact that it is a collection oflectures. There is some repetition ofmaterialand much speculative and edifyingdiscourse. Swami Siddheswarananda wasobviously well versed in a wide variety ofHindu thought and he shows somefamiliarity with traditional Catholic mysticaltheology and Carmelite mysticism,especially the writings of St John of theCross, who he speaks of as "the Patanjali of .the West" (113).Siddheswarananda espouses anessentialist religious pluralism which hegrounds in a core metaphysical or "extrareligious truth" (85). He associates this truthwith the Advaitic experience of Brahman,and suggests that it underlies the doctrinalperspectives of the different n . ~ l i g i o u s traditions. The main focus of comparison inhis lectures is the mysticism of St John ofthe Cross and that of a rather eclectic Hinduspirituality, which includes various featuresdrawn from jnana, bhakti, karma and rajayoga. He uncovers correspondences in thefollowing key respects: i) significant aspectsof the affective dynamics and the mentaldisciplines involved in the spiritual paths; ii)the radical negative discrimination involved

in an infused, formless contemplation of theDivine; and iii) the practical, transformativeeffects of their mysticisms. But Siddheswarananda also remonstrates against HinduChristian comparisons that disregard thesignificant differences between faithorientations. "In the two traditioris spirituallife has neither the same perspective nor thesame foundation" (32).For example, whereas publicRevelation in Catholicism is viewed astemporal and historically focussed, a divinehuman dialogue that is grounded andcompleted in Christ, Siddheswaranandacharacterizes Hindu Revelation as"atemporal" and "vibrating eternally" (29).With respect to prayer, Catholics stress itspurifying role, while the Hindu views ofmantra and japa resemble more closely theCatholic view of the eucharist, where "[t]heLord remains in the mantra as in tabernacleof perpetual adoration" (7). Moreover,Siddheswarananda argues that mysticalexperience in Hinduism "is not limited byany a priori dogma", in contrast withCatholicism (17). S6, he suggests, doctrinalconsiderations lead St John to maintainsome level of differentiation in mysticalunion between God and the soul, as well asto aspire for perfection only in an otherworldly beatitude (videhamukti). Theseviews contrast with the Advaitic ideal ofidentity with the Absolute and the this-. worldly goal ofjivanmukti.

Dogmatic issues also relate closely toideas constellating around the view of divineincarnation. Hindus hold the view ofmultiple divine incarnations who play ahelpful role in removing the ignorance thatinhibits liberation. This includes the ideas ofdivine sacrifice and the vicarious expiationof sin, where "[t]he Incarnation takes on thekarma of the disciples" (92). But in theHindu tradition, Siddheswarananda observes, there is neither a sense of original sinnor the redemptive necessity of the passion

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and crucifixion of the divine being. Divineand human suffering is granted a spiritualsignificance in traditional Catholicism that isforeign to Hinduism, given the traditionalemphasis on the uniqueness of the incarnation and the essential nature of Christ'sredemptive suffering. So Siddheswaranandacan speak provocatively of Ramalcrishna's"non-Christian" experience of Christ incontrast with that of the Christian. Christianmystical experience requires "as an article offaith the dogmas and credo of the Church"(91). .In his critical reflections on these andother differences Swami Siddheswaranandaillustrates how a detailed understanding ofthe doctrinal context of one's dialoguepartner is crucial in fully appreciating her orhis spiritual view. He also underscores theextent to which the socio-religious contextof mystics enter into their experiences, thusinsightfully prefiguring contemporary contextual views of mystical experience. Yet heseems a bit naive and inconsistent in the wayin which he feels that certain Hindu mysticsare somehow free of their doctrinal contexts,while Christian mystics remain constrained

Book Reviews 51

by theirs. Indeed, one wonders just whereSiddheswarananda's own Hindu dogmas andcredos enter into those core "extra-religious"experiences which provide for him theunifying ground of the various mysticaltraditions. Moreover, it remains unclear inhis lectures just how those core Advaitictruths can provide, as he suggests, acoherent basis for bhakti yoga.But the book should prove to be aremarkably interesting and helpful resource.It touches on a wide variety of issues andthemes in quite thoughtful ways, including anotably eloquent comparative exploration ofmystical love, as well as an intriguinganalysis of the epistemological dynamics ofdifferent degrees of contemplation. WilliamBuchanan has also included in histranslation helpful glossaries of Sanskritwords, people, and sources, which adds tothe book's appeal as a text in upper-levelundergraduate or graduate seminars oncomparative mysticism.

Michael StoeberRegis College, Toronto

Dharma of the Twenty-first Century: Theological-EthicalParadigm Shift. Somen Das. Calcutta: Punthi Pustak, 1996.DR SOMEN DAS, currently Principal ofBishops College in Calcutta, will already beknown to many readers of the Hindu-Christian Studies Bulletin. He is the authorof many books and articles that address theChristian presence in India. He also has hada distinguished academic career, havingtaught for many years at Serampore Collegeand the United Theological College atBangalore, before moving back to his nativeCalcutta.The book under review contains hisrevised PhD thesis (University of Boston,1977) and ten separate major articles thathave appeared in various books and journalsover the years. In a sense this represents thegathering of a lifetime of thinking and writing about Christianity and its relationship to

India., This review cannot do justice to therichness and diversity of ideas offered in thebook but will concentrate on those sectionsthat deal directly with Hindu-Christiandialogue. The first five chapters - therevised PhD thesis - offer a thorough studyof the notion of dharma as understood in thepast and present in India. In a subsequentchapter, entitled "Towards a New Dharma:Dialogical Community Life" Somendas,after discussing the disruption of dialogicalthought in India through the emergence ofcommunalism and the disruption of dialogical thought and l i ~ e in the world at largedue to the monopoly of the ideology of theworld market economy, offers constructivesuggestions for building up a dialogical life

Journal of Hindu-Christian Studies, Vol. 13 [2000], Art. 19

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