Ivo Coelho sdb
NASHIK, DECEMBER 14, 2009: Brahman and Person: Essays by Richard De Smet, ed. Ivo Coelho, is just out of the press (Motilal Banarsidass, Delhi). The book is a collection of Fr. De Smet's essays on the topic of divine and human personality, till now scattered over a number of often rather obscure journals in India and abroad. De Smet shows how the nirguna Brahman, or the Brahman without qualities, which most Indologists and Hindus tend to translate as impersonal, is really personal - provided 'personal' is understood in the classical sense that was hammered out in the Christian effort to speak about the mysteries of the Trinity and the Incarnation. The book comes with a substantial introduction by the editor, as well as a bibliography of the works of De Smet running into more than 700 items.
Richard De Smet (1916-1997) was a Jesuit Indologist who taught at Jnana Deepa Vidyapeeth, Pune. He was a well-known figure in Indological circles in India and abroad, especially for his Sankara studies, and someone who actually engaged in dialogue with people of different faiths and persuasions over the 50 years of his sojourn in India.
For the first time, De Smet's essays on Brahman and person are available within the covers of a single book. His demonstration of the personality of the Absolute Brahman is one of the advances in Indological scholarship and interreligious dialogue in the last century.
The book is priced at a somewhat steep Rs. 695, but a limited number of copies are available with the editor at a substantially reduced rate.