Bhakti Schools of Vedanta

Written to show that other teachers besides Shankara have equal status as teachers of Vedanta and that Advaita Vedanta is not the only important teaching of Vedanta, Bhakti Schools of Vedanta discusses alternative paths for spiritual aspirants through the Bhakti-Vedanta systems of thought.

Presented here are the lives and philosophies of Sri Ramanuja, Sri Nimbarka, Sri Madhvacarya, Sri Vallabhacarya and Sri Caitanya, the founders of the major Vaishnava philosophical schools. It must be remembered that, while critical of Shankara's teachings, criticism is the essence of philosophical development, and each successive school is either a rejection or an elaboration of earlier doctrines. The teachings of these five Archaryas are addressed to those who do not find a congenial intellectual climate in Shankara's teachings.