Introduction to Swaminarayan Hindu Theology

Since its inception over two hundred years ago, Swaminarayan Hinduism has flourished into a transnational movement described as one of the fastest growing Hindu groups in the world. Despite being one of the largest and most visible Hindu traditions both in India and the West, surprisingly little is known about what the Swaminarayan fellowship believes. An Introduction to Swaminarayan Hindu Theology provides a comprehensive doctrinal account of the Swaminarayan tradition's belief system, drawing on its rich corpus of theological literature, including the teachings of Swaminarayan himself and classical commentaries on canonical Vedāntic texts. Part I delineates the sources and tools of Swaminarayan Hindu theology, while Part II systematically expounds upon its distinctive five eternal entities - Parabrahman, Akṣarabrahman, māyā, īśvara and jīva - and mukti (spiritual liberation). In presenting these key themes theologically and lucidly, Swami Paramtattvadas makes the Swaminarayan Hindu belief system intelligible to scholars, students and serious readers.

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.