The World as Image

by Arvind Sharma

There is something profoundly counter-intuitive about Advaita Vedanta. Nothing is more obvious to both the philosophical as well as the non-philosophical observer than the fact that multiplicity constitutes the basic datum of our experience.

Variety is not only the spice of life-it is a cardinal fact of life. The doctrines of Advaita Vedanta shock us by flying in the face of this fact and by denying any ultimacy to that plurality and variety which we experience so intimately. This naturally raises the question: how does Advaita Vedanta render its doctrines credible in the face their apparent implausibility.

This book is an exploration of one of its central illustrative devices with which it tries to accomplish this daunting task.

About the Author:

Arvind Sharma is the Birks Professor of Comparative Religion in the Faculty of Religious Studies at McGill University in Montreal, Canada. Formerly of the I.A.S., he also holds an M.A. in Economics from Syracuse University, a Masters in Theological Studies from the Harvard Divinity School and a Ph.D. in Sanskrit and Indian Studies from Harvard University. He is currently engaged in promoting the adoption of A Universal Declaration of Human Right by the World’s Religions. His many books include Classical Hindu Thought (OUP, 2000), Hinduism for our Times (OUP, 1995), The Philosophy of Religion: A Buddhist Perspective (OUP, 1995)