An Introduction to Swaminarayan Hindu Theology

Swami Paramtattvadas was ordained as a Hindu monk in 1992 by His Holiness Pramukh Swami Maharaj. After studying in India for fourteen years, including for a Master's in Sanskrit, Paramtattvadas returned to England in 2006 to read for a Master's in Religion at the University of Oxford. After a further year of pre-doctoral studies focussing on Christianity, he completed his Ph.D. in Hindu theology under Gavin Flood at the Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies and the Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda, India. Swami Paramtattvadas has written and spoken extensively on Swaminarayan history, doctrine and teachings around the world, and is currently a scholar at the Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies.

Foreword Gavin Flood; 1. Prolegomenon; Part I. Sources and Tools of Swaminarayan Hindu Theology: 2. Introduction: the imperceptibility and ineffability of God; 3. Revelation: the exclusive source of Swaminarayan Hindu theology; 4. Reason, praxis and tradition: the tools of Swaminarayan Hindu theology; Part II. Themes of Swaminarayan Hindu Theology: 5. Introduction: the five eternal entities of Swaminarayan Hinduism; 6. Parabrahman; 7. Akṣarabrahman; 8. Jīva; 9. Īśvara; 10. Māyā; 11. Mukti; 12. Afterword: the way forward; Appendix: theological principles of BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha: creedal statement by Pramukh Swami Maharaj; Glossary.