Unusual Essays of an Unknown Sri Vaishnava

Unusual Essays of an Unknown Sri Vaishnava gathers together a collection of essays—written not for the scholarly researcher but for the common searcher—that introduces and explores the living faith of the members of a community in India. Called Sri Vaishnava, this ancient community treasures its literary heritage, rich in Vedantic scripture. This inherited collection of texts has received enormous contributions from Sanskrit and Tamil over the last fourteen centuries. The author, M. K. Sudarshan, has taken a novel approach in these essays. Rather than simply recounting the contents of these ancient texts, he approaches them from the perspectives and urges of an unknown member of this community. By taking on the persona of a young, contemporary, English-speaking Sri Vaishnava, the essays explore an intricate and ancient religious universe in the light of present-day sensibilities, attitudes, and angst. While the essays touch on the diverse philosophical and theological elements of Sri Vaishnava thought, they approach the scriptures through the personal struggles of the author to comprehend these ancient beliefs and traditions in light of personal conditioning and the experiences of modern secular life. The result of this combination is the transmutation of Sanskrit and Tamil ideas and idioms into bold, literary recreations featuring contemporary and felicitous English. Essays that explore the faith practiced by a community, Sri Vaishnava, which lives out its ancient religious heritage rooted in Vedantic scripture, and illuminates the author’s concurrent search for meaning.