Ramesh N. Patel

Professor Ramesh N. Patel is a Resident Scholar at Antioch College where he taught philosophy and religion for twenty-six years before retiring. Antioch University conferred on him the title of Emeritus Professor of Philosophy and Religion when he retired. Ramesh has authored nine books, as of now, February 2025. His first book, called Philosophy of the Gita, was written for scholars. Ramesh has since stepped down from the ivory tower to make his thought accessible to the general reader. Make it the serious and thoughtful general reader! He has focused on writing about spirituality. All his books are non-fiction, devoted to helping concerned general readers to think things out for themselves to enhance and deepen their life experience. Yes, one book, called Spiritual Stories, is fiction.

Ramesh's writings dive deep into spiritual world-views and life-paths, always showing reasons supporting the ideas laid out. Not only that, Ramesh offers a diversity of thoughts in terms of alternatives drawn from world religions and Eastern as well as Western philosophy, current and historic. This world-wide range goes a long way to offer a wide spectrum of options and choices to all who want to explore and consider major alternatives available to enrich and deepen their life's journey. Some half-baked, tempting and juvenile ideas are always dished out by entrenched interest groups tooting their own horns. Ramesh’s reasoned articulation of serious alternatives is a good antidote that helps people wishing to ponder spirituality in its varied dimensions and applications to real life situations. Ramesh especially wants to help those who want to do this freely, unfettered by belief forms that parade as authority.

In these troubled times when the world is torn by polarizing ideologies, it is all the more important for people to keep their head above the turbulent waters in order to think straight without falling for cheap and easy promises that do not pan out. Ramesh has the needed training, expertise and more than fifty years of teaching experience to write authentically on spiritual philosophy with the healing potential for today’s tortured life and world. Ramesh received intensive training in Sanskrit and acquired expertise in the vast Sanskrit literature that spans the gamut of Eastern thought in a true authentic sense. Added to this is his professional training in Western philosophy where he earned his doctorate, working in analytic philosophy and meta-philosophy. Ramesh also has a law degree. He has taught Eastern and Western philosophy and religions for over five decades at several institutions of higher learning in the U.S.A. He is well-equipped and richly qualified to write about spiritual thought covering world-wide history. His books incorporate his wide knowledge and extensive teaching experience.

Ramesh’s own life experience goes quite beyond academia. His marriage to Kanta is now sixty years strong! His daughter, Kairavi, and son, Darshan are grown up and well-settled in their life. Ramesh also has four lovely grand-children. He held the rank of Under Secretary to the Government of India in the ministry of Finance, administering direct taxes for six years. He also owned a small business in Ohio for more than thirty years with his wife, Kanta, who worked on the day-to-day operations of the business. Besides an exceptionally diversified array of more than fifty courses in Eastern and Western philosophy and religions, Ramesh also taught courses related to music, meditation, personal finance, investments and business ethics.

Here’s a brief look at Ramesh’s nine books:

1. One Being: Spiritual Path of Adi Shankara, Lok Sangrah Prakashan, 2020. 129 pages. (An accessible work on the thought of Adi Shankaracharya. With glossary of Sanskrit terms.)

2. Self and World: Major Aspects of Indian Philosophy, Lok Sangrah Prakashan, 2020. 125 pages. (Introduction to the six Hindu philosophies, four Buddhist philosophies and Jain philosophy. With glossary of Sanskrit terms.)

3. Spiritual Stories: Inspiring Messages of Wisdom, Lok Sangrah Prakashan, 2020. 119 pages. (27 interesting stories for instruction from Hindu scriptures, accessible to young adults.)

4. Mahatma Gandhi’s Thought: Philosophy of Truth and Nonviolence, Lok Sangrah Prakashan, 2020. 121 pages. (Explanation of Mahatma Gandhi’s intriguing concept of truth which was his central concept.)

5. Hindu Philosophy of Life: Meaning of Life in Hinduism, Lok Sangrah Prakashan, 2020. 164 pages. (A solid handy introduction to Hinduism for all age groups. With glossary of Sanskrit terms.)

6. Seeing One in Many: A Dialog in Hindu Spirituality for Today, Lok Sangrah Prakashan, 2020. 392 pages. (Wide-ranging analysis of Hinduism in light of world religions and Western thought. With glossary of Sanskrit terms.)

7. Interfaith Spirituality: Toward Universal Faith beyond Dogmas, Lok Sangrah Prakashan, 2021. 167 pages. (Spirituality of seven world faiths in sympathetic outline, plus thought experiments from interfaith spiritual perspective.)

8. Hinduism for Today, Abiding Publications, 2012. 436 pages. (Currently out of print.)

9. Philosophy of the Gita, Peter Lang, New York, 1991. Hardcover. 311 pages. (New innovative interpretation of the Bhagavad-gita, for scholars and advanced students.)

Ramesh has his own philosophy which he calls logical meta-philosophy. He challengingly considers it to be as unassailable as a hard core philosophy can be, articulating an optimal approach to a vast array of enduring logical problems of philosophy. He invites anyone to engage him in conversation about it. As far as spirituality is concerned, Ramesh is deeply influenced by Mahatma Gandhi and the Vedic philosophy unearthed by Pandit Madhusudan Ojha. Ramesh seeks to incorporate these in his writings.

Ramesh taught a popular course on Mahatma Gandhi’s thought for eighteen years. He has written a book on Gandhi’s original concept of truth. When he was an infant, just a few months old, he played in the lap of Kasturba, Mahatma’s wife! Ramesh’s family on the mother’s side was deeply involved in Gandhi’s nonviolent struggle for India’s freedom from the British rule. His father was a self-made conservative Hindu. Thus Ramesh was torn between two extremes of thought through his early life, which led him to develop his own pragmatic moderate path.

After retiring from Antioch, Ramesh started teaching a voluntary course in Bhagavad Gita, Hindu spirituality and philosophy of yoga. It is now online and in its twenty-third year!