Essays appraising the contemporary relevance of ?a?kara for inter-religious dialogue and human rights as well as revised assessments of ?a?kara's understanding of divine grace, the role of the gods, Buddhism, ?a?kara's relation to later Advaita, and the unity of the Self.

Bradley J. Malkovsky, Ph.D. (1994), University of Tübingen, is Assistant Professor of Comparative Theology at the University of Notre Dame, U.S.A. Recent articles include Advaita Vedānta and Christian Faith (Journal of Ecumenical Studies) and The Personhood of Śaṃkara's Para Brahman (Journal of Religion).