While performing the last rites of his mother (in the face of opposition from other Vedantins), Shankaracharya must have realized that some of the Vedantic messages were not "practical". In 1823, Rammohun Roy was deeply hurt to see Vedantic scholars promoting "escapism". In 1896, Swami Vivekananda gave talks on his vision of Practical Vedanta, to fulfil which he established, in 1897, Ramakrishna Mission as a non-political organization. The scope of Practical Vedanta was widened in the 20th century, by the contributions of Tilak-Aurobindo-Tagore-Gandhi. The whole world admired this great Vedantic movement. In the beginning of the 21st century, Western scholars and activists (drawing inspiration from Vedanta and other philosophies) have taken the lead in further updating of Vedanta, by attaching high priority to the welfare of non-human beings. This pioneering book studies, not only these five contributions, but also three later ones, the most recent being the campaign for "Living Vedanta" (presented by Will Tuttle in his own words). Finally, specific suggestions are put forward to answer the question: What does Practical Vedanta mean today?
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About the Author(s)
Satya P. Agarwal acquired expertise in social science research, at U.S. Universities, in the 1950's. After nearly four decades of interdisciplinary study and applied research at the global level, they brought out the award-winning book "The Social Role of the Gita: How and Why. "Thus began a series of innovative research publications based on Sanskrit and Hindi texts. The present publication is No.15 in the series.