Dr.Gopal Shankar Hattiangdi Centenary Feature

www.ChitrapurEbooks.com is privileged to carry articles, digitized books and photographs in a feature to mark the Birth Centenary of Dr. Gopal S.Hattiangdi. He belonged to that rare category of intellectual explorers who, having applied his mind first to diverse aspects of chemistry and other natural sciences, and then to Hindu philosophy, created a rich brew of thought that impacted a wide spectrum of people.

The body of books on philosophy that he translated, edited and transcreated number over 25, spanning the period between 1965 and 2002, and cover iconic works like ‘Pandurang, Pandurang’, and ‘Fifty Years of Bliss’. Many of his other well written books also appear on our site. To honour Dr Hattiangdi`s Birth Centenary, which falls on December 15, 2021, we have now digitised 3 of his later works—‘A Student`s Guide to Rg Veda’, ‘Aphorisms from the Rg Veda’, and ‘Anandi-Ananda’—excerpts from HH Anandashram Swamiji`s Pravachans and other talks over the years. Also included are a number of ‘pocket’ books that he steadily wrote over the years. Complementing these are 4 articles on Dr Hattiangdi`s life and times, written by his family and friends, together with some rare personal photographs, tracing his evolution as scholar, scientist and thinker. All are reproduced with permission from individuals/institutions concerned.

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To sum up Dr.Hattiangdi`s lifetime contributions, we can do no better than quote Ranjit Hoskote`s words in his Foreword to ‘Aphorisms from the Rig Veda’: “For nearly four decades, the author has played various roles of elucidator, commentator and translator with sensitivity and dedication. And it is most remarkable that he has not done so as a literary scholar or professional Sanskritist working immured within the tranquility of a university ethos. He balanced these exacting roles with the demands of his career as a man of science, and a successful senior manager with a global corporation. His books remain a Bhakta`s work of love, made in the spirit of devotion by the author to his abiding, and now indwelling Guru, Anandashram Swamiji.”

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With this, www.ChitrapurEbooks.com pays homage to an eminent scholar who did so much to interpret our Classics of Philosophy to lay persons, not only in the Community, but also those in the wider world.