Beyond Compare: St. Francis de Sales and Sri Vedanta Desika on Loving Surrender to God

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Beyond Compare This page intentionally left blank Beyond Compare St. Francis de Sales and Sri Vedanta De2ika on Loving Surrender to God Francis X. Clooney, SJ Washington, D.C. / Georgetown University Press Cover photos: (Top) Image of Sri Vedanta De2ika from his birthplace in Thoopul, Tamil Nadu, India, courtesy of www.sudarasimham.org. (Bottom) Nicolas Brenet (1728–92). St. Francis de Sales. Oil on canvas. Réunion de Musées Nationaux/ Art Resource, New York. Georgetown University Press, Washington, D.C. www.press.georgetown.edu© 2008 by Georgetown University Press. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Clooney, Francis Xavier, 1950– Beyond compare : St. Francis de Sales and Sri Vedanta De2ika on loving surrender to God / Francis X. Clooney. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN-13: 978-1-58901-211-0 (alk. paper) 1. Venkatanatha, 1268–1369. Rahasyatrayasara. 2. Francis, de Sales, Saint, 1567–1622. Traité de l’amour de Dieu. 3. Sri Vaishnava (Sect)—Relations— Catholic Church. 4. Catholic Church—Relations—Sri Vaishnava (Sect) 5. Visistadvaita. 6. Love— Religious aspects. 7. God (Christianity)—Worship and love. 8. Spiritual life—Comparative studies. I. Title. BL1288.592.V46R3433 2008 261.2'45—dc22 2007050882 ∞This book is printed on acid-free paper meeting the requirements of the American National Standard for Permanence in Paper for Printed Library Materials. 15 14 13 12 11 10 09 08 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 First printing Printed in the United States of America Dedicated to my fellow Jesuit, likeminded scholar, best of friends, Ronald Anderson, SJ (1950–2007) This page intentionally left blank ...