Books
Swami Padmanabha’s books offer a contemplative and heartfelt exploration of spiritual life rooted in devotion, relationship, and personal transformation. From foundational questions about identity in Inherent or Inherited?, to a visionary framework for sacred living in Radical Personalism, each book is an invitation to deepen our inner journey. Upcoming works—Evolution in Divine Love and Irreversible Grace—continue this unfolding path of inquiry and devotion.
Inherent or Inherited? Bhakti in the Jiva according to Gaudiya Vedanta
Inherent or Inherited? addresses a vital question in Gaudiya Vaishnava theology: is bhakti intrinsic to the soul, or is it granted through divine grace at a later stage? With intellectual honesty, theological depth, and devotional sensitivity, Swami Padmanabha examines scriptural evidence, historical interpretations, and contemporary implications, guiding the reader through a rich inquiry that is both scholarly and deeply personal.
Far from a dry academic debate, this exploration opens the door to a more relational and dynamic understanding of divine love. Swami invites us to see the soul not as a blank slate waiting to receive identity, but as a sacred spark already bearing the imprint of loving connection. This book is an offering to those who seek not only to understand theology, but to live it more fully.
"It is often said that Caitanya Vaishnavism centers on the simple formula of chanting divine names. However, beneath the surface lies a robust tradition of theological debate that rivals the Medieval scholastics of Europe. In Inherent or Inherited?, Swami Padmanabha reveals many facets of this legacy in his unique exposition of Gaudiya Vedanta and the true nature of Bhakti."
Guy L. Beck, Tulane University, Asian Studies, author of Sonic Theology: Hinduism and Sacred Sound.
Radical Personalism: Revival Manifesto for Proactive Devotion
Radical Personalism is a bold call to reawaken the centrality of the personal in both our spiritual and relational lives. Drawing from the Gaudiya Vaishnava tradition while engaging the challenges of modernity, Swami Padmanabha offers a framework that honors relationship as the heart of reality—where personhood is not an obstacle to transcendence, but its very expression. This book confronts the reduction of spirituality to rigid dogma or abstract ideals, and instead invites us into a path marked by presence, intimacy, and transformation.
The third part of the book presents what have come to be known as the Seven Pillars of Radical Personalism: Vulnerability, Individuation, Nondual Thinking, Forever Students, Divine Ignorance, Contemplative Prayer, and the Sacredness of the Material World. Together, these themes offer a living vision for embodied devotion—one that embraces uncertainty, celebrates growth, and affirms the world not as something to escape, but as a sacred arena for divine encounter.
