Lexington Books
Pages: 168
Trim: 6½ x 9½
978-1-7936-1898-6 • Hardback • June 2021 • $105.00 • (£81.00)
978-1-7936-1900-6 • Paperback • April 2023 • $39.99 • (£30.00)
978-1-7936-1899-3 • eBook • June 2021 • $38.00 • (£30.00)
Kusumita P. Pedersen is professor emerita of religious studies at St. Francis College.
Chapter One: From Shakpura to the World
Chapter Two: God
Chapter Three: Creation and Evolution
Chapter Four: The Soul’s Journey
Chapter Five: Knowledge and Realization
Chapter Six: Love
Chapter Seven: Acceptance and Transformation
Kusumita Pedersen has done all of us a service by providing such a clear and coherent account of the thought of Sri Chinmoy, meticulously documented, that it is destined to remain the reference point for his philosophy for decades.
— Arvind Sharma, McGill University
This work by Kusumita Pedersen is the first academic introduction to the remarkable life and teachings of Chinmoy Kumar Ghose. With great erudition she distills the philosophical vision underlying Sri Chinmoy’s treasury of writings, showing how it is part of the Bengal Renaissance in the tradition of Swami Vivekananda, Sri Ramakrishna, Sri Aurobindo, and Tagore, as well the Upanishads, and the Bhagavad Gita. What emerges is an inspired presentation of Sri Chinmoy’s evolutionary cosmology and psychology, where the soul’s journey is likened to an inner mounting flame that ascends to union with the divine Peace, Light and Bliss of the Supreme, and then descends for creative manifestation and total world-transformation. Strongly recommended!
— Steve Odin, University of Hawaii
The quality of this intellectual work is profound and enlightening.…It reveals the breadth and depth of Sri Chinmoy’s philosophical thinking.…Gives the impartial seeker an insight into the great mind and heart and spirit of Sri Chinmoy.…Expands our grasp of some of the ultimate questions of our time. A must for anyone who wants to understand Sri Chinmoy.
— Sushil Mittal, James Madison University