ABSTRACT
This volume marks the first wide-ranging and multi-vocal academic survey of the major types and categories of Hindu contemplative praxis from a breadth of scholarly viewpoints that reflect both (a) the variegation in types of contemplative practices within the Hindu traditions and (b) the use of Hindu internal hermeneutical perspectives for expanding the concept of contemplation beyond the current constraints of the field of Contemplative Studies. This introductory chapter offers an overview of the themes and conceptual frameworks in Contemplative Studies that the volume covers. It provides a context for contemplative praxis by examining the rich culture of meditative communion, devotion, and spiritual formation in the Hindu ethos with its expansive history of deliberation on what constitutes meditative practices. The chapter lays out the structure of the book while highlighting key insights presented in the chapters included in this volume that address philosophical and theological traditions as diverse as Mīmāṃsā, Advaita Vedānta, Śakta Tantra, Caitanya Vaiṣṇavism, and the Ramananda Sampradaya, among others.
