The Religious Spiritual, and the Secular

Auroville and Secular India

By Robert N. Minor

Subjects: Religion And Politics
Series: SUNY series in Religious Studies
Paperback : 9780791439920, 208 pages, October 1998
Hardcover : 9780791439913, 208 pages, October 1998

Alternative formats available from:

Read Excerpt View Table of Contents

Request Desk or Examination Copy
Request a Media Review Copy

Table of contents

List of Illustrations

Foreword

1. A Yogi, a City, and a Secular State

2. Sri Aurobindo and the "Religion" of the "Integral Yoga" Community

3. Auroville as the Mother's Vision

4. Auroville from the Mother's to the Government's Control

5. Auroville and the "Secular State" in Parliament

6. Auroville in Terms of India's and UNESCO's Mutual Goals

7. Auroville in the Court's Opinion

8. Auroville, the "Spiritual," and the "Secular" in the Post-Decision Debates

9. Clarity and Ambiguity in the Discussion of Auroville's Status

Notes

Bibliography

Index

An account of the city of Auroville, the vision of founder and well-known guru Sri Aurobindo. Auroville's eventual takeover and the promotion of its goals by the Indian government leads to a thought-provoking discussion of the meaning of "secularism" in India.

Description

The Religious, the Spiritual, and the Secular presents an account of Auroville, a city in contemporary southeast India, and the vision of founder and well-known guru Sri Aurobindo. Auroville's eventual takeover and the promotion of its goals by the Indian government leads to a thought-provoking discussion of the meaning of "secularism" in India.

Robert N. Minor is Professor of Religious Studies at The University of Kansas and author of several books, including Modern Indian Interpreters of the Bhagavadgita and Radhakrishnan: A Religious Biography, both published by SUNY Press, and Sri Aurobindo: The Perfect and the Good.

Reviews

"The author manages to do two significant things in this book: He teases out the ambiguities in the understanding and use of the terms 'the religious,' 'the spiritual,' and 'the secular' with respect to Auroville, and, in the process, he manages to tell the story of Auroville, a community that is famous or infamous, depending on one's perspective. It is the element of story that makes the book an exciting and fascinating read." — Ronald Neufeldt, University of Calgary

"Minor has been following the Sri Aurobindo movement for more than twenty years. He shows mastery of the scholarly discussions regarding the concept of the secular state and also the legislative and judicial discussions which impact the daily lives of the citizens of India." — Kay K. Jordan, Radford University