Re-envisioning a Caitanya Vaiṣṇava ‘Perfect Being Theology’ and Demonstrating Its Theodical Implications via the ‘Goodness Criterion’

Gupta, Akshay

doi:10.7825/2164-6279.1769

Cited by 2 publications

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“…Second, according to this theodicy, the highest good for spiritual selves is to gradually develop, across these multiple lifetimes, a loving relationship with God, who is conceptualised in the BhP as an all-powerful, all-knowing, all-loving perfect being (Gupta (2020)). This love reaches its highest stage of perfection when selves become unswervingly devoted to the omni-God with one-pointed attention and are freed from worldly vices such as anger, lust, greed, envy, and so on.…”

Section: Sketching a Vedāntic Visionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In this article we will sketch a Hindu theodicy that addresses the theme of animal suffering in a theistic universe. While this theme has recently received some scholarly attention in Anglo-American philosophical circles (Ferré (1986); Harrison (1989); Swinburne (1994); van Inwagen (2006); Murray (2008); Creegan (2013); Dougherty (2014); Sollereder (2018); Keltz (2019); Schneider (2020)), it has not been systematically explored through Hindu theological prisms. We address this scholarly lacuna by illustrating how a Vedāntic Hindu perfect being theist might respond to the problem of animal suffering.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The alchemy of suffering in the laboratory of the world: Vedāntic Hindu engagements with the affliction of animals

Gupta

Barua

2022

Rel. Stud.

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Traditionally, the problem of evil, in its various formulations, has been one of the strongest objections against perfect being theism. In the voluminous literature on this problem, the motif of evil has usually been discussed with respect to human flourishing. In recent decades more focused attention has been paid to animal suffering and the philosophical problems that such suffering poses for perfect being theists. However, this growing body of literature, in Anglo-American philosophical milieus, is largely aimed at sketching a specifically Christian or Christianity-inflected theodicy that would reconcile animal suffering with the existence of an omni-God. In contrast, there are few, if any, systematic attempts to put forth a Hindu theodicy that aims to offer morally justifiable reasons that God has for allowing animal suffering. In this article, we address this scholarly lacuna by illustrating how a Hindu perfect being theist might respond to the problem of animal suffering.

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Section: Sketching a Vedāntic Visionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The alchemy of suffering in the laboratory of the world: Vedāntic Hindu engagements with the affliction of animals

Gupta

Barua

2022

Rel. Stud.

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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A cross-cultural perspective on God's personhood

Gupta

2023

Rel. Stud.

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Debates about God's personhood, or lack thereof, are central to philosophy of religion. This article aims to advance these debates by presenting the ‘greatness of personhood argument’ for God's personhood and a dilemma for those who deny God's personhood. I also consider various objections to this argument and this dilemma and argue that they fail. Notably, my reasoning in defence of personal theism is cross-cultural insofar as personal theists across various religious traditions can use it. Thus, this article defends personal theism in a manner that can bring Western and non-Western theists into closer dialogue regarding the topic of God's personhood.

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Re-envisioning a Caitanya Vaiṣṇava ‘Perfect Being Theology’ and Demonstrating Its Theodical Implications via the ‘Goodness Criterion’

Cited by 2 publications

References 0 publications

The alchemy of suffering in the laboratory of the world: Vedāntic Hindu engagements with the affliction of animals

The alchemy of suffering in the laboratory of the world: Vedāntic Hindu engagements with the affliction of animals

A cross-cultural perspective on God's personhood

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