Coomaraswamy - The Wisdom of Ananda Coomaraswamy: Reflections on Indian Art, Life, and Religion

The Wisdom of Ananda Coomaraswamy:
Reflections on Indian Art, Life, and Religion
2011 World Wisdom, Inc.

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Coomaraswamy, Ananda Kentish, 1877-1947.
The wisdom of Ananda Coomaraswamy: reflections on Indian art, life, and religion / edited by S. Durai Raja Singam & Joseph A. Fitzgerald; introduction by Whitall N. Perry.

p. cm. -- (The perennial philosophy series)

Based on the work published by Singam in 1979.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 978-1-935493-95-2 (pbk.: alk. paper) 1. Art. 2. India--Civilization. I. Raja Singam,

S. Durai. II. Fitzgerald, Joseph A., 1977- III. Raja Singam, S. Durai. Wisdom of Ananda Coomaraswamy. 1979. IV. Title.

N7445.2.C68 2011

954--dc22

2011007548

Cover art: Siva Nataraja

Printed on acid-free paper in the China

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About Ananda K. Coomaraswamy

Among those who are responsible not only for the Indian Renaissance but for a new Renaissance in the world, Dr. Ananda Coomaraswamy holds a preeminent position. It is my hope that students who are now led away by the passing fashions of our age will turn to his writings for a proper orientation.
Sir Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan , former President of India (1962-1967), author of The Hindu View of Life

[Ananda Coomaraswamy is] that noble scholar upon whose shoulders we are still standing.
Heinrich Zimmer , author of The King and the Corpse and Philosophies of India

[Coomaraswamy] is one of the most learned and creative scholars of the century.
Mircea Eliade , author of Myth and Reality and editor-in-chief of The Encyclopedia of Religion

Coomaraswamys essays [give] us a view of his scholarship and brilliant insight.
Joseph Campbell , author of The Hero with a Thousand Faces and The Masks of God

Ananda Coomaraswamy is in many ways to me a model: the model of one who has thoroughly and completely united in himself the spiritual tradition and attitudes of the Orient and of the Christian West.
Thomas Merton , author of The Seven Storey Mountain and New Seeds of Contemplation

Over sixty years have passed since the death of Ananda Coomaraswamy; yet his writings remain as pertinent today as when he wrote them and his voice echoes in the ears of present day seekers of truth and lovers of traditional art as it did a generation ago. In contrast to most scholarly works which become outmoded and current philosophical opuses which become stale, Coomaraswamys works possess a timeliness which flows from their being rooted in the eternal present.
Seyyed Hossein Nasr , author of The Heart of Islam: Enduring Values for Humanity

Ananda Coomaraswamy is best known as one of the twentieth centurys most erudite and percipient scholars of the sacred arts and crafts of both East and West. He also had few peers in the exegesis of traditional philosophy and metaphysics.
Harry Oldmeadow , author of Journeys East: 20 th Century Western Encounters with Eastern Religious Traditions

Coomaraswamys essays, learned, elegant, and wise, are one of the great treasures of twentieth-century thought. To read them is to see the world in the clear light of tradition, to understand art and philosophy from the viewpoint of first principles, to be reminded of our sacred calling and of the One who calls us.
Philip Zaleski , editor of The Best Spiritual Writing series

Ananda K. Coomaraswamy is in the very first rank of exceptional men, such as Ren Gunon and Frithjof Schuon, who in our dark age have permitted us to rediscover the great truths of sacred Tradition, to relearn what a civilization, a society, and a world are that conform to this Tradition . The masterful work of Ananda K. Coomaraswamy is one of the most suitable to enlighten the minds and hearts of men of good will.
Jean Hani , author The Symbolism of the Christian Temple and Divine Craftsmanship

Coomaraswamy uncovers and puts before us the truths of a primordial tradition, reflected in the worlds existing traditions and expressed by them as if in differing dialects. He asks us to join him in the effort to decipher the religiously rich arts and crafts, literatures and folklore of the worlds traditions.
Roger Lipsey , author of Coomaraswamy: His Life and Work

Others have written the truth about life and religion and mans work. Others have written good clear English. Others have had the gift of witty exposition. Others have understood the metaphysics of Christianity and others have understood the metaphysics of Hinduism and Buddhism. Others have understood the true significance of erotic drawings and sculptures. Others have seen the relationships of the true and the good and the beautiful. Others have had apparently unlimited learning. Others have loved; others have been kind and generous. But I know of no one else in whom all these gifts and all these powers have been combined . I believe that no other living writer has written the truth in matters of art and life and religion and piety with such wisdom and understanding.
Eric Gill , sculptor and typeface designer

World Wisdom
The Library of Perennial Philosophy

The Library of Perennial Philosophy is dedicated to the exposition of the timeless Truth underlying the diverse religions. This Truth, often referred to as the Sophia Perennis or Perennial Wisdomfinds its expression in the revealed Scriptures as well as the writings of the great sages and the artistic creations of the traditional worlds.

The Wisdom of Ananda Coomaraswamy appears as one of our selections in the Perennial Philosophy series.

The Perennial Philosophy Series

In the beginning of the twentieth century, a school of thought arose which has focused on the enunciation and explanation of the Perennial Philosophy. Deeply rooted in the sense of the sacred, the writings of its leading exponents establish an indispensable foundation for understanding the timeless Truth and spiritual practices which live in the heart of all religions. Some of these titles are companion volumes to the Treasures of the Worlds Religions series, which allows a comparison of the writings of the great sages of the past with the perennialist authors of our time.

In 1946, S. Durai Raja Singam published, in a limited cyclostyled edition, a collection of quotations selected from the writings, letters, and speeches of the late Ananda K. Coomaraswamy. The book went through three mimeographed editions before 1979, when Singam printed 350 copies of the book, which, along with two other titles, he distributed free of cost. I have published these books at my own cost, Singam explains, in memory of my beloved son Dr. Ananda Krishna Coomaraswamy, who was named after Dr. Ananda Kentish Coomaraswamy, and blessed by him on his birth. In 2001, after Singams death, the book was reprinted in India by Indica Books. It has not, until now, been published outside India.

The present edition preserves the core of Singams work, while making some alterations to the presentation and content. Certain passages have been deleted and others have been added, taken primarily from Coomaraswamys mature writings on metaphysics and symbolism. New illustrations have also been added. The numbers in brackets after each selection refer to the source publication, a key to which is provided at the end of the volume. A bracketed asterisk at the end of a quotation indicates that that the source is not known.