Diversity and the Integral Philosophy: Meeting the Evolving Challenges

"Sri Aurobindo's, the Mother's and Dr. Haridas Chaudhuri's Integral Philosophy provides a perfect framework for understanding the importance of contemporary work on diversity. Most often people want to understand the Integral Yoga as some deep metaphysical hinterland where only the most intrepid dare venture, but this misses the intense material groundedness of the philosophy that, far from generating dense intellectual fog, allows one to plant ones feet anywhere firmly." - Jim Ryan, PhD

Jim Ryan received his Ph.D. (1985) in South Asian Literature (Tamil) from the University of California, Berkeley. He began teaching at CIIS in 1981, and became core faculty in 1986. He is the former Director of the Asian and Comparative Studies program in the Philosophy and Religion department.

Jim's general interests are in the culture, history, and philosophies of India. He is specifically interested in the various forms of Hindu tantra, particularly the Kashmir Shaiva traditions, the tradition of Sri Aurobindo, and the "modernized" tantra of Haridas Chaudhuri.

A secondary interest is in Jainism and the historical interplay between the non-theistic philosophical traditions and Hinduism.

He is currently working with G. Vijayavenugopal on the third volume of his complete translation of Cīvakacintāmaṇi: The Hero Cīvakaṉ, the Gem that Fulfills All Wishes, by Tiruttakkatēvar, the first time this highly revered 9th century Tamil epic has been translated into any language.