Infinite Paths to Infinite Reality - Revision history

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	<!-- OF RELEVANCE TO FUTURE EXPANSION: According to the author's academic website, "The International Journal of Hindu Studies (Springer) will publish a Review Symposium on the book [Infinite Paths to Infinite Reality] in 2020. Contributors include Michael S. Allen, Christopher Bartley, Francis X. Clooney, Jonathan B. Edelmann, Benedikt Paul Goecke, Gerald James Larson, Julius Lipner, Jeffery D. Long, Bradley Malkovsky, Ethan Mills, Sushil Mittal, Anantanand Rambachan, Perry Schmidt-Leukel, Amiya P. Sen, Arvind Sharma, John Thatamanil, and Michael Williams." (source: https://rkmvu.academia.edu/AyonMaharaj, accessed 18 March 2019)
	~~-->~~
	{{Infobox book		{{Infobox book
	\| name = Infinite Paths to Infinite Reality		\| name = Infinite Paths to Infinite Reality
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	'''''Infinite Paths to Infinite Reality: Sri Ramakrishna & Cross-Cultural Philosophy of Religion''''' is a book by Ayon Maharaj on [[Ramakrishna\|Sri Ramakrishna]] and the philosophy of religion.		'''''Infinite Paths to Infinite Reality: Sri Ramakrishna & Cross-Cultural Philosophy of Religion''''' is a book by Ayon Maharaj on [[Ramakrishna\|Sri Ramakrishna]] and the philosophy of religion.
	The book was published in the [[United States\|US]] and [[United Kingdom\|UK]] in 2018 in hardcover. An Indian hardcover edition was published in 2019. The book has been reviewed in professional and popular journals.<ref name=pandya19/><ref name=mehta19/><ref name=narasimhananda19/>		The book was published in the [[United States\|US]] and [[United Kingdom\|UK]] in 2018 in hardcover. An Indian hardcover edition was published in 2019. The book has been reviewed in professional and popular journals,<ref name=pandya19/><ref name=mehta19/><ref name=narasimhananda19/> and in 2021 was the focus of a fourteen-article book symposium in the ''[[International Journal of Hindu Studies]]''.<ref name=ijhs2021toc/>
	The author~~, Ayon Maharaj,~~ holds a doctorate in philosophy from the [[University of California, Berkeley]], is a professor at [[Ramakrishna Mission Vivekananda Educational and Research Institute\|Ramakrishna Mission Vivekananda University]], and was a monk-in-training ~~when he wrote the book~~. He ~~is now~~ a fully ordained monk with the name Swami Medhananda.<ref name=maharajfacpage>{{cite web \|title=Faculty, Programme in Philosophy \|url=http://philosophy.rkmvu.ac.in/faculty/ \| access-date=18 March 2019 \|publisher=[[Ramakrishna Mission Vivekananda Educational and Research Institute\|Ramakrishna Mission Vivekananda University]] \|location=[[Belur, West Bengal]], [[India]]}}</ref>
			The book's author holds a doctorate in philosophy from the [[University of California, Berkeley]]. At the time of the of the book's original publication, the author was known as Ayon Maharaj, was a professor at [[Ramakrishna Mission Vivekananda Educational and Research Institute \|Ramakrishna Mission Vivekananda University]], and was a monk-in-training. He subsequently became a fully ordained monk with the name Swami Medhananda.<ref name=medhananda2021reply>{{cite journal \|last1=Medhananda \|first1=Swami \|title=Continuing the Philosophical Conversation on Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa: A Response \|journal=International Journal of Hindu Studies \|date=1 August 2021 \|volume=25 \|issue=1 \|pages=141–164 \|doi=10.1007/s11407-021-09300-z \|s2cid=233356180 }}</ref><ref name=maharajfacpage>{{cite web \|title=Faculty, Programme in Philosophy \|url=http://philosophy.rkmvu.ac.in/faculty/ \| access-date=18 March 2019 \|publisher=[[Ramakrishna Mission Vivekananda Educational and Research Institute\|Ramakrishna Mission Vivekananda University]] \|location=[[Belur, West Bengal]], [[India]]}}</ref> He explained in his 2021 book symposium reply that "Prior to 2010, I published under my premonastic name 'Ayon Roy.' Since joining the Ramakrishna Order in 2010, I have published under the name 'Ayon Maharaj.' In February 2020, I was ordained into Sannyāsa and given the name 'Swami Medhananda,' so I am now publishing under my new name."<ref name=medhananda2021reply/>{{rp\|141}}

	==Topics covered==		==Topics covered==
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	In ''Infinite Paths'', Maharaj argues that "Ramakrishna's spiritual standpoint of [[Vijñāna#Hinduism\|vijnana]] holds the key to understanding his nuanced position on religious diversity".<ref name=pandya19/>		In ''Infinite Paths'', Maharaj argues that "Ramakrishna's spiritual standpoint of [[Vijñāna#Hinduism\|vijnana]] holds the key to understanding his nuanced position on religious diversity".<ref name=pandya19/>

	==Reception==		==Reception==
	Reviews have appeared in ''[[Philosophy East and West]]'',<ref name=long20/> ''Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews'',<ref name=pandya19/> ''[[The Indian Express]]'',<ref name=mehta19/> and ''Reading Religion''.<ref name=narasimhananda19>{{cite journal \|last1=~~[https://independent.academia.edu/SwamiNarasimhananda~~ Narasimhananda] \|first1=Swami \|title=Review Infinite Paths to Infinite Reality by Ayon Maharaj \|journal=Reading Religion ~~[A Publication of the American Academy of Religion]~~ \|date=16 September 2019 \|doi=10.17613/n1v1-se30 \|url=http://readingreligion.org/books/infinite-paths-infinite-reality}}</ref>		Reviews have appeared in ''[[Philosophy East and West]]'',<ref name=long20/> ''Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews'',<ref name=pandya19/> ''[[The Indian Express]]'',<ref name=mehta19/> and ''Reading Religion'',<ref name=narasimhananda19>{{cite journal \|last1=Narasimhananda\|first1=Swami \|title=Review Infinite Paths to Infinite Reality by Ayon Maharaj \|journal=Reading Religion \|date=16 September 2019 \|doi=10.17613/n1v1-se30 \|url=http://readingreligion.org/books/infinite-paths-infinite-reality}}</ref> and the ''[[Journal of Hindu-Christian Studies]]''.<ref name="beldio19">{{cite journal \|last1=Beldio \|first1=Patrick \|title=Book Review: Infinite Paths to Infinite Reality: Sri Ramakrishna & Cross-Cultural Philosophy of Religion \|journal=[[Journal of Hindu-Christian Studies]] \|date=2019 \|volume=32 \|pages=Article 17 \|doi=10.7825/2164-6279.1743\|url=https://digitalcommons.butler.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1743&context=jhcs }}</ref> The book is the focus of a book review symposium published in the ''[[International Journal of Hindu Studies]]'' (2021, volume 25, pp. 55-164), that included thirteen scholarly commentaries on ''Infinite Paths'', followed by a reply from the book's author (Swami Medhananda, formerly Ayon Maharaj).<ref name=ijhs2021toc>''[[International Journal of Hindu Studies]]'', [https://link.springer.com/journal/11407/volumes-and-issues/25-1 Volume 25, Issues 1-2] (accessed 18 September 2021).</ref>

	In ''[[Philosophy East and West]]'', [[religious studies]] scholar [[Jeffery D. Long]] stated that		In ''[[Philosophy East and West]]'', [[religious studies]] scholar [[Jeffery D. Long]] stated that
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	In ''[[The Indian Express]]'', [[Pratap Bhanu Mehta]], Vice-Chancellor of [[Ashoka University]], characterized ''Infinite Paths'' as "a pathbreaking work... philosophically astute, textually scrupulous, and [an] imaginatively subtle reconstruction of Ramakrishna Paramhansa's teachings".<ref name=mehta19>{{cite news \|last1=Mehta \|first1=Pratap Bhanu \|author-link1=Pratap Bhanu Mehta \|title=The Seeker of Infinity \|url=https://indianexpress.com/article/lifestyle/books/the-seeker-of-infinity-5619135/ \|access-date=18 March 2019 \|work=[[The Indian Express]] \|date=10 March 2019 \|language=en-IN}}</ref> Mehta views ''Infinite Paths'' as treating [Ramakrishna] as a "philosopher of unusual depth and consistency", and as defending		In ''[[The Indian Express]]'', [[Pratap Bhanu Mehta]], Vice-Chancellor of [[Ashoka University]], characterized ''Infinite Paths'' as "a pathbreaking work... philosophically astute, textually scrupulous, and [an] imaginatively subtle reconstruction of Ramakrishna Paramhansa's teachings".<ref name=mehta19>{{cite news \|last1=Mehta \|first1=Pratap Bhanu \|author-link1=Pratap Bhanu Mehta \|title=The Seeker of Infinity \|url=https://indianexpress.com/article/lifestyle/books/the-seeker-of-infinity-5619135/ \|access-date=18 March 2019 \|work=[[The Indian Express]] \|date=10 March 2019 \|language=en-IN}}</ref> Mehta views ''Infinite Paths'' as treating [Ramakrishna] as a "philosopher of unusual depth and consistency", and as defending
	{{quote\|		{{quote\|
	Ramakrishna against the charge of an indiscriminate eclecticism on the one hand, or a covert hierarchy on the other. [The book] meticulously reconstructs Ramakrishna’s thought around four pillars: the nature of God’s infinitude, the nature of [[religious pluralism]], the epistemology of [[~~Scholarly approaches to mysticism~~#~~Mystical experience~~\|mystical experience]] and the [[problem of evil]]. In each of these four areas, Maharaj both advances an original interpretive thesis and brings Ramakrishna into a dialogue with comparative philosophy and religious practice.<ref name=mehta19/>		Ramakrishna against the charge of an indiscriminate eclecticism on the one hand, or a covert hierarchy on the other. [The book] meticulously reconstructs Ramakrishna’s thought around four pillars: the nature of God’s infinitude, the nature of [[religious pluralism]], the epistemology of [[Scholarly_approaches_to_mysticism#Mystical_experience\|mystical experience]] and the [[problem of evil]]. In each of these four areas, Maharaj both advances an original interpretive thesis and brings Ramakrishna into a dialogue with comparative philosophy and religious practice.<ref name=mehta19/>
	}}		}}

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	{{quote\|		{{quote\|
	arrives at six central tenets of Sri Ramakrishna’s ''Vijñāna'' Vedanta. This is Maharaj’s singular contribution to Sri Ramakrishna scholarship. Through this approach, Maharaj gives his readers an excellent model for doing cross-cultural philosophy. In his interpretive principles, Maharaj holds that Sri Ramakrishna’s philosophy is self-contained, context-based, nonsectarian, spiritual, and syncretic. Maharaj argues that the central tenets of Sri Ramakrishna’s philosophy are the state of ''[[vijñāna]]'', the ultimate authority of spiritual experience, the statement that the Infinite Divine Reality is both personal and impersonal, the proclamation that there are two levels of [[Advaita Vedanta\|Advaitic]] realization, the teaching that the ''vijñānī'' accepts both the ''nitya'' (real) and the ''[[Lila (Hinduism)\|līlā]]'' (apparent), and the message that various religious paths are "salvifically efficacious paths to realizing God" (44).<ref name=narasimhananda19/>		arrives at six central tenets of Sri Ramakrishna’s ''Vijñāna'' Vedanta. This is Maharaj’s singular contribution to Sri Ramakrishna scholarship. Through this approach, Maharaj gives his readers an excellent model for doing cross-cultural philosophy. In his interpretive principles, Maharaj holds that Sri Ramakrishna’s philosophy is self-contained, context-based, nonsectarian, spiritual, and syncretic. Maharaj argues that the central tenets of Sri Ramakrishna’s philosophy are the state of ''[[vijñāna]]'', the ultimate authority of spiritual experience, the statement that the Infinite Divine Reality is both personal and impersonal, the proclamation that there are two levels of [[Advaita Vedanta\|Advaitic]] realization, the teaching that the ''vijñānī'' accepts both the ''nitya'' (real) and the ''[[Lila (Hinduism)\|līlā]]'' (apparent), and the message that various religious paths are "salvifically efficacious paths to realizing God" (44).<ref name=narasimhananda19/>
			}}

			The ''[[International Journal of Hindu Studies]]'' published a book review symposium on ''Infinite Paths to Infinite Reality'' in its issue of August 2021 (volume 25, numbers 1-2).<ref name=ijhs2021toc/> The symposium contained separate commentaries by Jonathan C. Gold, [[Jeffery D. Long]], Jonathan B. Edelmann, Michael S. Allen, [[Benedikt Paul Göcke]], Perry Schmidt-Leukel, [[Francis X. Clooney]], Christopher J. Bartley, [[Amiya P. Sen]], Ethan Mills, [[Arvind Sharma]], [[Julius Lipner]], and Michael Williams, followed by a reply<ref name=medhananda2021reply/> by the book's author, Swami Medhananda (formerly known as Ayon Maharaj).
			As part of Medhananda's response to the 13 commentators on his book, he contextualized his book as follows:
			{{quote\|
			there are many ways to philosophize, and one typical way to do analytic philosophy is to stake out a philosophical position and defend it against rival positions. For instance, the renowned Catholic philosopher of religion [[Eleonore Stump]], in her book ''Wandering in Darkness: Narrative and the Problem of Suffering'' (2010), provides a detailed interpretation of the [[theodicy]] of Saint [[Thomas Aquinas]] and defends its philosophical cogency and contemporary value. It would make little sense to fault Stump for having a Catholic bias or for failing to criticize Aquinas, since the aim of her book is precisely to defend his theodicy. The more rigorous and charitable way to engage her book is to examine her interpretation of Aquinas’s theodicy and identify the strengths and weaknesses of her philosophical arguments in support of his theodicy. My aims in ''IPIR'' parallel those of Stump. I attempted to reconstruct Ramakrsna's philosophical views on four key topics — namely, God, religious pluralism, mystical experience, and the problem of evil — and to argue, from a cross-cultural perspective, that his views have distinct advantages over rival positions held by recent Western philosophers of religion.<ref name=medhananda2021reply/>{{rp\|145-146}}
	}}		}}

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	*{{cite book \|last1=Maharaj \|first1=Ayon \|title=Infinite paths to infinite reality: Sri Ramakrishna and cross-cultural philosophy of religion. \|date=2018 \|publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] \|isbn=9780190868239 \|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FVRuDwAAQBAJ \|oclc=1079877496 \|language=en}}		*{{cite book \|last1=Maharaj \|first1=Ayon \|title=Infinite paths to infinite reality: Sri Ramakrishna and cross-cultural philosophy of religion. \|date=2018 \|publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] \|isbn=9780190868239 \|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FVRuDwAAQBAJ \|oclc=1079877496 \|language=en}}

	*{{cite book \|last1=Maharaj \|first1=Ayon \|title=Infinite paths to infinite reality: Sri Ramakrishna and cross-cultural philosophy of religion. \|date=2019 \|publisher=Oxford University Press India \|isbn=9780190053758 ~~\|url=https://www.amazon.in/Infinite-Paths-Reality-Ayon-Maharaj/dp/0190053755/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=Infinite+Paths+Ayon+Maharaj&qid=1552933286&s=gateway&sr=8-1~~ \|language=en}} {{ISBN\|0190053755}}		*{{cite book \|last1=Maharaj \|first1=Ayon \|title=Infinite paths to infinite reality: Sri Ramakrishna and cross-cultural philosophy of religion. \|date=2019 \|publisher=Oxford University Press India \|isbn=9780190053758 \|language=en}} {{ISBN\|0190053755}}

	==See also==		==See also==

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← Older revision		Revision as of 22:23, 3 January 2022
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	In ''[[The Indian Express]]'', [[Pratap Bhanu Mehta]], Vice-Chancellor of [[Ashoka University]], characterized ''Infinite Paths'' as "a pathbreaking work... philosophically astute, textually scrupulous, and [an] imaginatively subtle reconstruction of Ramakrishna Paramhansa's teachings".<ref name=mehta19>{{cite news \|last1=Mehta \|first1=Pratap Bhanu \|author-link1=Pratap Bhanu Mehta \|title=The Seeker of Infinity \|url=https://indianexpress.com/article/lifestyle/books/the-seeker-of-infinity-5619135/ \|access-date=18 March 2019 \|work=[[The Indian Express]] \|date=10 March 2019 \|language=en-IN}}</ref> Mehta views ''Infinite Paths'' as treating [Ramakrishna] as a "philosopher of unusual depth and consistency", and as defending		In ''[[The Indian Express]]'', [[Pratap Bhanu Mehta]], Vice-Chancellor of [[Ashoka University]], characterized ''Infinite Paths'' as "a pathbreaking work... philosophically astute, textually scrupulous, and [an] imaginatively subtle reconstruction of Ramakrishna Paramhansa's teachings".<ref name=mehta19>{{cite news \|last1=Mehta \|first1=Pratap Bhanu \|author-link1=Pratap Bhanu Mehta \|title=The Seeker of Infinity \|url=https://indianexpress.com/article/lifestyle/books/the-seeker-of-infinity-5619135/ \|access-date=18 March 2019 \|work=[[The Indian Express]] \|date=10 March 2019 \|language=en-IN}}</ref> Mehta views ''Infinite Paths'' as treating [Ramakrishna] as a "philosopher of unusual depth and consistency", and as defending
	{{quote\|		{{quote\|
	Ramakrishna against the charge of an indiscriminate eclecticism on the one hand, or a covert hierarchy on the other. [The book] meticulously reconstructs Ramakrishna’s thought around four pillars: the nature of God’s infinitude, the nature of [[religious pluralism]], the epistemology of [[~~Scholarly_approaches_to_mysticism~~#~~Mystical_experience~~\|mystical experience]] and the [[problem of evil]]. In each of these four areas, Maharaj both advances an original interpretive thesis and brings Ramakrishna into a dialogue with comparative philosophy and religious practice.<ref name=mehta19/>		Ramakrishna against the charge of an indiscriminate eclecticism on the one hand, or a covert hierarchy on the other. [The book] meticulously reconstructs Ramakrishna’s thought around four pillars: the nature of God’s infinitude, the nature of [[religious pluralism]], the epistemology of [[Scholarly approaches to mysticism#Mystical experience\|mystical experience]] and the [[problem of evil]]. In each of these four areas, Maharaj both advances an original interpretive thesis and brings Ramakrishna into a dialogue with comparative philosophy and religious practice.<ref name=mehta19/>
	}}		}}

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{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2020}}

{{Infobox book
| name = Infinite Paths to Infinite Reality
| title_orig =
| translator =
| image = Infinite Paths to Infinite Reality book cover.jpg
| image_size = 
| caption = Cover of 2018 edition
| author = Ayon Maharaj
| illustrator =
| cover_artist =
| country =
| language = [[English language|English]]
| series =
| subject =
| genre = [[philosophy]]
| publisher = [[Oxford University Press]]
| pub_date = 2018 (US/UK), 2019 (India)
| english_pub_date =
| media_type =
| pages =
| isbn = 9780190868239
| oclc = 1079877496
}}
'''''Infinite Paths to Infinite Reality: Sri Ramakrishna & Cross-Cultural Philosophy of Religion''''' is a book by Ayon Maharaj on [[Ramakrishna|Sri Ramakrishna]] and the philosophy of religion.
The book was published in the [[United States|US]] and [[United Kingdom|UK]] in 2018 in hardcover. An Indian hardcover edition was published in 2019. The book has been reviewed in professional and popular journals.<ref name=pandya19/><ref name=mehta19/><ref name=narasimhananda19/>
The author, Ayon Maharaj, holds a doctorate in philosophy from the [[University of California, Berkeley]], is a professor at [[Ramakrishna Mission Vivekananda Educational and Research Institute|Ramakrishna Mission Vivekananda University]], and was a monk-in-training when he wrote the book. He is now a fully ordained monk with the name Swami Medhananda.<ref name=maharajfacpage>{{cite web |title=Faculty, Programme in Philosophy |url=http://philosophy.rkmvu.ac.in/faculty/ | access-date=18 March 2019 |publisher=[[Ramakrishna Mission Vivekananda Educational and Research Institute|Ramakrishna Mission Vivekananda University]] |location=[[Belur, West Bengal]], [[India]]}}</ref>

==Topics covered==
''Infinite Paths'' contains four major parts, each containing two chapters, giving a total of eight chapters.<ref name=maharaj18>{{cite book |last1=Maharaj |first1=Ayon |title=Infinite paths to infinite reality: Sri Ramakrishna and cross-cultural philosophy of religion. |date=2018 |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |isbn=9780190868239 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FVRuDwAAQBAJ |oclc=1079877496 |language=en}}</ref>

In ''Infinite Paths'', Maharaj argues that "Ramakrishna's spiritual standpoint of [[Vijñāna#Hinduism|vijnana]] holds the key to understanding his nuanced position on religious diversity".<ref name=pandya19/>
==Reception==
Reviews have appeared in ''[[Philosophy East and West]]'',<ref name=long20/> ''Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews'',<ref name=pandya19/> ''[[The Indian Express]]'',<ref name=mehta19/> and ''Reading Religion''.<ref name=narasimhananda19>{{cite journal |last1=[https://independent.academia.edu/SwamiNarasimhananda Narasimhananda] |first1=Swami |title=Review Infinite Paths to Infinite Reality by Ayon Maharaj |journal=Reading Religion [A Publication of the American Academy of Religion] |date=16 September 2019 |doi=10.17613/n1v1-se30 |url=http://readingreligion.org/books/infinite-paths-infinite-reality}}</ref>

In ''[[Philosophy East and West]]'', [[religious studies]] scholar [[Jeffery D. Long]] stated that
{{quote|
''Infinite Paths to Infinite Reality''... is a book whose significance is highly likely to reverberate throughout the fields of both the [[philosophy of religion]] and the study of [[Indian philosophy]] for years to come. It will certainly revolutionize, or at the very least raise important questions for, any future studies of the teachings of... Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa.... [the author, now known as] Swami Medhananda is to be commended and thanked for offering the scholarly community such a creative and provocative example of [[Intercultural philosophy|cross-cultural philosophy]], with such great potential to advance the philosophical conversation and enhance scholarly appreciation of Sri Ramakrishna.<ref name=long20>{{cite journal |last1=Long |first1=Jeffery D. |title=Infinte Paths to Infinite Reality: Sri Ramakrishna and Cross-Cultural Philosophy of Religion by Ayon Maharaj (review) |journal=[[Philosophy East and West]] |date=2020 |volume=70 |issue=4 |pages=1–6 |doi=10.1353/pew.2020.0065}}</ref>{{rp|1,6}}
}}

In ''Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews'', Samta Pandya of the [[Tata Institute of Social Sciences]] described ''Infinite Paths'' as "combin[ing] detailed exegesis with cross-cultural philosophical investigation".<ref name=pandya19>{{cite journal |last1=Pandya |first1=Samta |title=Review of Infinite Paths to Infinite Reality: Sri Ramakrishna and Cross-Cultural Philosophy of Religion |journal=Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews |date=5 March 2019 |url=https://ndpr.nd.edu/news/infinite-paths-to-infinite-reality-sri-ramakrishna-and-cross-cultural-philosophy-of-religion/ |access-date=18 March 2019 |issn=1538-1617 |oclc=610584887}}</ref> and as having "a broad interdisciplinary appeal... a good reference for scholars of religious studies, Hindu studies, and comparative theology".<ref name=pandya19/>

In ''[[The Indian Express]]'', [[Pratap Bhanu Mehta]], Vice-Chancellor of [[Ashoka University]], characterized ''Infinite Paths'' as "a pathbreaking work... philosophically astute, textually scrupulous, and [an] imaginatively subtle reconstruction of Ramakrishna Paramhansa's teachings".<ref name=mehta19>{{cite news |last1=Mehta |first1=Pratap Bhanu |author-link1=Pratap Bhanu Mehta |title=The Seeker of Infinity |url=https://indianexpress.com/article/lifestyle/books/the-seeker-of-infinity-5619135/ |access-date=18 March 2019 |work=[[The Indian Express]] |date=10 March 2019 |language=en-IN}}</ref> Mehta views ''Infinite Paths'' as treating [Ramakrishna] as a "philosopher of unusual depth and consistency", and as defending
{{quote|
Ramakrishna against the charge of an indiscriminate eclecticism on the one hand, or a covert hierarchy on the other. [The book] meticulously reconstructs Ramakrishna’s thought around four pillars: the nature of God’s infinitude, the nature of [[religious pluralism]], the epistemology of [[Scholarly_approaches_to_mysticism#Mystical_experience|mystical experience]] and the [[problem of evil]]. In each of these four areas, Maharaj both advances an original interpretive thesis and brings Ramakrishna into a dialogue with comparative philosophy and religious practice.<ref name=mehta19/>
}}

In ''Reading Religion'', published by the [[American Academy of Religion]], Swami Narasimhananda stated that "Maharaj has given the world of religious literature a historically important work that situates Sri Ramakrishna as a philosopher in his own right. Maharaj’s work brings home the urgency to actively engage with Indian thought that is often hidden in the precepts of saints and mystics."<ref name=narasimhananda19/> The Swami, who is editor of ''[[Prabuddha Bharata]]'', noted that previous "academic engagements with [Sri Ramakrishna's]... precepts have been negligible."<ref name=narasimhananda19/> He suggested that "The task that Maharaj has set before himself is daunting," and reported that in analyzing Sri Ramakrishna's teachings through five interpretive principles, Maharaj
{{quote|
arrives at six central tenets of Sri Ramakrishna’s ''Vijñāna'' Vedanta. This is Maharaj’s singular contribution to Sri Ramakrishna scholarship. Through this approach, Maharaj gives his readers an excellent model for doing cross-cultural philosophy. In his interpretive principles, Maharaj holds that Sri Ramakrishna’s philosophy is self-contained, context-based, nonsectarian, spiritual, and syncretic. Maharaj argues that the central tenets of Sri Ramakrishna’s philosophy are the state of ''[[vijñāna]]'', the ultimate authority of spiritual experience, the statement that the Infinite Divine Reality is both personal and impersonal, the proclamation that there are two levels of [[Advaita Vedanta|Advaitic]] realization, the teaching that the ''vijñānī'' accepts both the ''nitya'' (real) and the ''[[Lila (Hinduism)|līlā]]'' (apparent), and the message that various religious paths are "salvifically efficacious paths to realizing God" (44).<ref name=narasimhananda19/>
}}

==Editions==
The original edition was published in hardcover by in 2018 by [[Oxford University Press]]. An Indian hardcover edition was published in 2019.
*{{cite book |last1=Maharaj |first1=Ayon |title=Infinite paths to infinite reality: Sri Ramakrishna and cross-cultural philosophy of religion. |date=2018 |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |isbn=9780190868239 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FVRuDwAAQBAJ |oclc=1079877496 |language=en}}

*{{cite book |last1=Maharaj |first1=Ayon |title=Infinite paths to infinite reality: Sri Ramakrishna and cross-cultural philosophy of religion. |date=2019 |publisher=Oxford University Press India |isbn=9780190053758 |url=https://www.amazon.in/Infinite-Paths-Reality-Ayon-Maharaj/dp/0190053755/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=Infinite+Paths+Ayon+Maharaj&qid=1552933286&s=gateway&sr=8-1 |language=en}} {{ISBN|0190053755}}

==See also==
*''[[Unifying Hinduism]]'' (book by Andrew Nicholson)

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jyoN_G0u5bY Talk by Ayon Maharaj about chapter three of ''Infinite Paths''] (1:22:27 on YouTube, 27 November 2018 at [[Princeton University]], introduced by Andrew Nicholson) [https://www.kaltura.com/tiny/lzk31 (1:23:31, alternate version)] 
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Df1ilsosg4g Talk by Ayon Maharaj about chapter one of ''Infinite Paths''] (1:31:39 on YouTube, 28 November 2018 at [[Vedanta Society of New York]]) 


{{Ramakrishna|state=collapsed}}



[[Category:2018 non-fiction books]]
[[Category:Vedanta]]
[[Category:Ramakrishna]]