Jonathan Edelmann

Jonathan Edelmann received a B.A. in Philosophy from the University of California Ð Santa Barbara, an M.A. in Science and Religion from Oxford University, and Ph.D. (D.Phil.) from Oxford University in Religious Studies and Theology. While at Oxford he was affiliated with Harris Manchester College and the Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies.↵↵EdelmannÕs fields of research are twofold. The first is the Bh_gavata Pur__a, as well as the Sanskrit theological and philosophical tradition that surrounds it known as Gau__ya or Caitanya Vai__avism. He has focused on thinkers like _r_dhara Sv_min, J_va Gosv_min, and Vi_van_tha Cakravartin, looking at their conceptions ofÊbhaktiÊ(devotion), religious experience, and self-hood.↵↵The second is the manner in which Hindu thought and Indian philosophy has interacted with and might further interact with Western thought in a constructive manner, especially the evolutionary sciences and Western philosophy. Edelmann has argued for a discussion (sa_v_da) between Hindu thought and the evolutionary sciences, one that respects the autonomy and value of multiple perspectives in our on-going discovery our world.↵↵Edelmann is a section editor for theÊInternational Journal of Hindu Studies, and was anÊAmerican Academy of ReligionÊLuce Fellow in Comparative Theology and Theologies of Religious Pluralism. His book,ÊHindu Theology and Biology: The Bh_gavata Pur__a and Contemporary Theory(Oxford University Press) won a John Templeton Foundation Award from the Forschungszentrum Internationale und Interdisziplinre Theologie at the University of Heidelberg in Germany. He has been an invited speaker at, for example, Harvard UniversityÕs Center for the Study of World Religion, University of Notre DameÕs Theology Department, University of HeidelbergÕs Theology Department, and University of VirginiaÕs Religious Studies Department. Edelmann has published book chapters with Columbia University Press, Oxford University Press, and the New Delhi Centre for Studies in Civilizations, as well as articles in journals like theÊJournal of the American Academy of Religion,ÊtheJournal of the American Oriental Society, Zygon,ÊtheÊJournal of Consciousness Studies, and theJournal of Vaishnava Studies.↵↵Jonathan Edelmann is currently working on ethics in the Gau__ya Vai__ava tradition and the definitions of the threeÊyogas (karma, j_na,ÊandÊbhakti). Some long-term plans involve making the Bhagavad G_t_Õs commentarial tradition more accessible to students and scholars, evaluating various Western reductive theories of mind and consciousness in conversation with Hindu conceptions of self, and translating the writings of Vi_van_tha Cakravartin.