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The Spiritual Heritage of India
A clear summary of Indian philosophy and religion. This selection gives excerpts from the scriptures that best explain the philosophy.
Included are discussions on The Bhagavad Gita: The Song of God, How To Know God: The Yoga Aphorisms of Patanjali, The Upanishads: Breath of the Eternal. There are also chapters on the Vedas, Tantras, and other scriptures and famous teachers of India.
With the assistance of Frederick Manchester
374 pages, Paperback
First published December 1, 1962
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225 people want to read
About the author
Prabhavananda
76 books65 followersSwami Prabhavananda was an Indian philosopher, monk of the Ramakrishna Order, and religious teacher.
Born in India, he joined the Ramakrishna Order after graduating from Calcutta university in 1914. He was initiated by Swami Brahmananda.
In 1923, he was sent to the United States of America. Initially he worked as an assistant minister of the Vedanta Society of San Francisco. After two years, he established the Vedanta Society of Portland. In December 1929, he moved to Los Angeles where he founded the Vedanta Society of Southern California in 1930.
Under his administration the Vedanta Society of Southern California grew over the years to become the largest Vedanta Society in the West, with monasteries in Hollywood and Trabuco Canyon and convents in Hollywood and Santa Barbara.
Swami Prabhavananda was a scholar who authored a number of books on Vedanta and Indian religious scriptures and commentary. He was assisted on several of the projects by Christopher Isherwood or Frederick Manchester. His comprehensive knowledge of philosophy and religion attracted such disciples as Aldous Huxley and Gerald Heard.
Swami Prabhavananda died on the bicentennial of America's independence, July 4, 1976, and on the 74th anniversary of the death, or mahasamadhi, of Swami Vivekananda, the founder of the Ramakrishna Order in India and many of the Vedanta centers in America and Europe.
Christopher Isherwood wrote a book, My guru and his disciple,[3] that described his more than three decades (1939–76) as a student of Swami Prabhavananda
Born in India, he joined the Ramakrishna Order after graduating from Calcutta university in 1914. He was initiated by Swami Brahmananda.
In 1923, he was sent to the United States of America. Initially he worked as an assistant minister of the Vedanta Society of San Francisco. After two years, he established the Vedanta Society of Portland. In December 1929, he moved to Los Angeles where he founded the Vedanta Society of Southern California in 1930.
Under his administration the Vedanta Society of Southern California grew over the years to become the largest Vedanta Society in the West, with monasteries in Hollywood and Trabuco Canyon and convents in Hollywood and Santa Barbara.
Swami Prabhavananda was a scholar who authored a number of books on Vedanta and Indian religious scriptures and commentary. He was assisted on several of the projects by Christopher Isherwood or Frederick Manchester. His comprehensive knowledge of philosophy and religion attracted such disciples as Aldous Huxley and Gerald Heard.
Swami Prabhavananda died on the bicentennial of America's independence, July 4, 1976, and on the 74th anniversary of the death, or mahasamadhi, of Swami Vivekananda, the founder of the Ramakrishna Order in India and many of the Vedanta centers in America and Europe.
Christopher Isherwood wrote a book, My guru and his disciple,[3] that described his more than three decades (1939–76) as a student of Swami Prabhavananda
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
April 18, 2017
Really good. Interesting how much crossover there is between Buddhism and the other various Indian religions, more than I had realized.
March 1, 2020
Thorough, though somewhat repetitive and not entirely clear-headed. Bullshit radar set off a few times due to quotes of science and scientists as a supporters of certain views... Disappointing, but easy to look past. More problematic is the writing - at many times seems too much like the author's beliefs and interpretations, and did I mention it's repetitive? Still, I learned a whole lot.
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September 21, 2007Has been more of a reference book for me..
August 31, 2020
This book, written by a monk of the Ramkrishna Order, explains the details of what religion in India actually is. It starts from the Vedas, explains the ritualistic portion of the Vedas as well as the philosophy portion. The philosophy portion is better known as the Upanishads. After that, it then goes on to the Bhagawad Gita and then the various Puranas. The book, due to space constraints gives a 30,000 feet overview, however, Prabhavananda manages to elucidate much of the finer points.
After the scriptures, the 6 major schools of thought - Nyaya, Vaisesika, Purva Mimamsa, Uttara Mimamsa, Yoga, Sankhya - and their philosophies are briefly explained. Of these, he greatly expands on Yoga and Uttar Mimamsa which is commonly known as the Vedanta. Here, he goes into great detail about Vedanta, both dualistic and non-dualistic.
The last part of the book is about the great monks and teachers that India has produced. Each and everyone mentioned in the book has attained spirtual enlightenment. Along with their teaching, Prabhavananda also mentions where they find consensus among each other. He has devoted a great deal of space to Sri Chaitanya, Shankara and Sri Ramkrishna, no doubt due to the importance of these three in today's world, as well as helping real religion get to the masses.
On the whole, this book can be regarded as a very short history of philosophy of India. It gives the reader a high level overview and also mentions reading material that for further exploration.
After the scriptures, the 6 major schools of thought - Nyaya, Vaisesika, Purva Mimamsa, Uttara Mimamsa, Yoga, Sankhya - and their philosophies are briefly explained. Of these, he greatly expands on Yoga and Uttar Mimamsa which is commonly known as the Vedanta. Here, he goes into great detail about Vedanta, both dualistic and non-dualistic.
The last part of the book is about the great monks and teachers that India has produced. Each and everyone mentioned in the book has attained spirtual enlightenment. Along with their teaching, Prabhavananda also mentions where they find consensus among each other. He has devoted a great deal of space to Sri Chaitanya, Shankara and Sri Ramkrishna, no doubt due to the importance of these three in today's world, as well as helping real religion get to the masses.
On the whole, this book can be regarded as a very short history of philosophy of India. It gives the reader a high level overview and also mentions reading material that for further exploration.
April 23, 2023
Most readable and authentic summary of Indian philosophy and religion.
This book covers the entire gamut of Indian thought and practice in a very lucid manner. It nicely describes the various scriptures and includes excerpts from them, providing a better glimpse of them. The book also briefly summarizes Jainism, Buddhism, and the six orthodox schools of Indian thought. It also provides a charming review of the lives and teachings of ten great exponents of Vedanta.
The book beautifully outlines the four fundamental ideas that have remained unchanged as the core of Indian philosophy and religion. These may be very simply expressed: (1) Reality is; (2) it can be realized; (3) to realize it is the supreme goal of human existence; (4) it can be realized in many ways.
The book justifiably concludes that India has always stood for unity, not by calling for a common doctrine, but only by pointing to a common goal, and by exhorting people to its attainment. The goal is to realize the Reality. The path matters little; it is the goal that is supreme. ‘So many religions, so many paths’, declares Sri Ramakrishna, ‘to reach one and the same goal.’
This book covers the entire gamut of Indian thought and practice in a very lucid manner. It nicely describes the various scriptures and includes excerpts from them, providing a better glimpse of them. The book also briefly summarizes Jainism, Buddhism, and the six orthodox schools of Indian thought. It also provides a charming review of the lives and teachings of ten great exponents of Vedanta.
The book beautifully outlines the four fundamental ideas that have remained unchanged as the core of Indian philosophy and religion. These may be very simply expressed: (1) Reality is; (2) it can be realized; (3) to realize it is the supreme goal of human existence; (4) it can be realized in many ways.
The book justifiably concludes that India has always stood for unity, not by calling for a common doctrine, but only by pointing to a common goal, and by exhorting people to its attainment. The goal is to realize the Reality. The path matters little; it is the goal that is supreme. ‘So many religions, so many paths’, declares Sri Ramakrishna, ‘to reach one and the same goal.’
November 9, 2025
The book is extremely informative and accessible for someone unfamiliar with Hindu traditions. It does exactly what it promises: teaches about spiritual teachings of Indian subcontinent.
But this is not 'introduction to Hinduism'. There is almost no information about actual practices or exoteric beliefs on Hindus. It's all about Hinduism's spiritual/metaphysical underpinnings.
This book analyses various aspects of Hindu thought and shows how they all eventually converge to the same spiritual backbone. It is quite interesting to see how this backbone is really the essence of Hinduism but on the other hand at some point it became very boring to read about same concepts for the 10th time. This essence could be probably summerised in 3-4 pages but the aim of the book was not to simply inform reader about it but show how it penetrates everything
But this is not 'introduction to Hinduism'. There is almost no information about actual practices or exoteric beliefs on Hindus. It's all about Hinduism's spiritual/metaphysical underpinnings.
This book analyses various aspects of Hindu thought and shows how they all eventually converge to the same spiritual backbone. It is quite interesting to see how this backbone is really the essence of Hinduism but on the other hand at some point it became very boring to read about same concepts for the 10th time. This essence could be probably summerised in 3-4 pages but the aim of the book was not to simply inform reader about it but show how it penetrates everything
October 2, 2020
This is an excellent overview of the scriptures and philosophies of India. I only wish it gave a little better coverage to the various sects of Hinduism. Nevertheless, it is a valuable reference in my own writing.
April 9, 2024
An overview of different religions of India.
June 20, 2010
What it is says it is - a really comprehensive and clear summary of the religions and philosophies of India. Pretty exhaustive in its discussions. Things can be a little hard to follow, but if you're going deep into unfamiliar territory and complex theology, it's just going to happen. A nice surprise of a find.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews