"Ramakrishna's philosophical position shines clearly, with powerful contemporary significance, in Ayon Maharaj's [book]. I find myself continually agreeing and cheering along as Maharaj shows how Ramakrishna's views have greater coherence and explanatory power than those of many of the most read and best respected philosophers of religion... I am impressed, as well, with how Maharaj deploys these aspects of Ramakrishna's Vijñāna Vedānta to highlight and transcend limitations in current approaches to religious pluralism, mysticism, and the problem of evil. It would be difficult to deny, after reading this work, that Ramakrishna deserves a hearing among philosophers of religion." -- Jonathan C. Gold, International Journal of Hindu Studies
"Ayon Maharaj's Infinite Paths to Infinite Reality: Sri Ramakrishna and Cross- Cultural Philosophy of Religion is a fine philosophical inquiry, well-thought-out, -researched, -argued, and -written. It is refreshing to see so thoughtful and learned a book of philosophy arising through dedicated attention to Ramakrishna; it should be from now on a noted entry in the Ramakrishna bibliography. Maharaj is a careful reader of both primary and secondary writings on Ramakrishna; he is impressively learned in contemporary analytic philosophy and theories of religious epistemology; and he zealously weaves together these two currents of thought. He is seeking also to model a rapprochement that goes beyond commending Indians to think like Westerners...For all of this, I can only commend Maharaj's work." -- Francis X. Clooney S.J, International Journal of Hindu Studies
"This is a richly thought-provoking work, written with a philosophical acumen that demands response and calls for appreciation and further discussion in equal measure. As a philosophical interpretation of Ramakrishna's words, Maharaj's book is a landmark attempt, giving its subject the serious intellectual attention it deserves, which will encourage, I hope, similar studies on what remains a topic of global historical importance." -- Julius Lipner, International Journal of Hindu Studies
"Ramakrishna is better known as a mystic than as a systematic thinker, but Ayon Maharaj's Infinite Paths to Infinite Reality: Sri Ramakrishna and Cross-Cultural Philosophy of Religion makes a compelling case for his relevance to cross-cultural philosophy of religion. Maharaj offers an admirable interpretation—really a reconstruction—of the philosophy underlying Ramakrishna's teachings; but the book's real strength lies in the way it puts these teachings into conversation with the work of contemporary philosophers of religion." -- Michael S. Allen, International Journal of Hindu Studies
"It is refreshing and encouraging to read a book that not only examines the larger Indic tradition in a comparative and philosophical analysis, but also finds useful and fruitful interlocutors with the larger European tradition. This is certainly a unique style of philosophy and one that opens new possibilities, and it remains to be seen whether others will engage with it and adopt this style in the future. While the risks of such a vast project are great—it is hard enough to adequately grasp one, let alone two cultures well—the possible reward of a deeper understanding between India and Europe on essential issues is even greater." -- Jonathan Edelmann, International Journal of Hindu Studies
"We should be grateful for Maharaj's work to construct such a stable cross-cultural intellectual basis from which to reinterpret Sri Ramakrishna's contemporary relevance. Teachers and students of religious studies, comparative theology, interreligious dialogue, and contemporary analytic philosophy will be drawn to this text; and owing to what I consider Maharaj's devotion-as-scholarship, they will be enticed to encounter more deeply the matchless Sri Ramakrishna." -- Patrick Beldio, Journal of Hindu-Christian Studies
"Maharaj has given the world of religious literature a historically important work that situates Sri Ramakrishna as a philosopher in his own right. Maharaj's work brings home the urgency to actively engage with Indian thought that is often hidden in the precepts of saints and mystics. A pioneering and comprehensive scholarly work, Infinite Paths to Infinite Reality is highly readable and would serve as a great resource for scholars of religious studies, philosophy, hermeneutics, theology, Indian studies, and Sri Ramakrishna." -- Swami Narasimhananda, Reading Religion
"Ayon Maharaj's Infinite Paths to Infinite Reality: Sri Ramakrishna and Cross-Cultural Philosophy of Religion is a ground-breaking study of the Bengali mystic Sri Ramakrishna. This volume will become a central work in our understanding of Sri Ramakrishna, who was a source of inspiration to numerous figures of Hindu modernities such as Swami Vivekananda, Rabindranath Tagore, and so on. Maharaj deftly combines exegetical work on the Bengali source-texts with debates in cross-cultural philosophy of religion, indicating lines of conversation between Ramakrishna and various contemporary western thinkers such as Benedikt Paul Göcke, John Hick, and others. The arguments are erudite, and display extensive, careful, and sensitive readings of the philosophers whose views are discussed." -- Ankur Barua, Lecturer in Hindu Studies, Faculty of Divinity, University of Cambridge
"Infinite Paths to Infinite Reality is a fascinating and admirably lucid book. Ayon Maharaj's knowledge of both Western philosophy and Vedanta enables him to offer unique insights into Sri Ramakrishna's distinctive views and their relevance for cross-cultural philosophy of religion. It has my wholehearted recommendation." -- Paul Lodge, Professor of Philosophy, University of Oxford
"With this most welcome book, Ayon Maharaj explicates and develops the philosophy of religion found in the teachings of Sri Ramakrishna. Not only is this philosophy an important one, urgently needed in our current era of runaway sectarianism, bigotry, and fanaticism, it is also one that has long been neglected by scholars, who have tended either to try to lock Sri Ramakrishna's thought into one or another sectarian box, or to deny that it involves a coherent philosophy at all. Maharaj, with admirable skill, philosophical acumen, and deep familiarity with the relevant textual sources, articulates Ramakrishna's philosophy with clarity and power. This should become the definitive book on Ramakrishna's thought." --Jeffery D. Long, Professor of Religion and Asian Studies, Elizabethtown College
