Walther Eidlitz (1892 – 1976), also known as Vamandas () and Vimala-Krishna Vidyavinoda Dasa, was an Austrian writer, poet,

Indologist Indology, also known as South Asian studies, is the academic study of the history and cultures, languages, and literature of the Indian subcontinent, and as such is a subset of Asian studies. The term ''Indology'' (in German, ''Indologie'') is ...

and historian of religion. Eidlitz was born in Vienna. In pursuance of his religious and philosophical interest he left his family in Austria in 1938 and traveled to

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. He spent time in an internment camp in

during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, where he was converted to Hinduism by German

bhakta ''Bhakti'' (; Pali: ''bhatti'') is a term common in Indian religions which means attachment, fondness for, devotion to, trust, homage, worship, piety, faith, or love.See Monier-Williams, ''Sanskrit Dictionary'', 1899. In Indian religions, it ...

Sadananda Das. Eidlitz was initiated into

Gaudiya Vaishnavism Gaudiya Vaishnavism (), also known as Chaitanya Vaishnavism, is a Vaishnavism, Vaishnava Hindu denominations, Hindu religious movement inspired by Chaitanya Mahaprabhu (1486–1534) in India. "Gaudiya" refers to the Gaura or Gauḍa region o ...

by Swami Bhakti Hridaya Bon. He moved to Sweden in 1946. In 1975 he received an honorary doctoral degree from

Lund University Lund University () is a Public university, public research university in Sweden and one of Northern Europe's oldest universities. The university is located in the city of Lund in the Swedish province of Scania. The university was officially foun ...

. He has written about his spiritual journey in his autobiography,Walther Eidlitz' autobiography
''Unknown India: A Pilgrimage into a Forgotten World.''
(With later corrections by the author, 2002.) but his main work is '' Kṛṣṇa-Caitanya, The Hidden Treasure of India: His Life and His Teachings'' (originally in German ''Kṛṣṇa-Caitanya, Sein Leben und Seine Lehre''). He died in

Vaxholm Vaxholm is a city, urban area and the seat of Vaxholm Municipality, Stockholm County, Sweden. It occupies the islands of Vaxön and Kullö in the Stockholm archipelago. The name Vaxholm comes from Vaxholm Fortress, which was constructed in 154 ...

Bibliography

;In German *Walther Eidlitz Hölderlin: Szenen aus einem Schicksal. — Berlin: Reiß, 1917. — 69 p. *Walther Eidlitz Der goldene Wind. — Berlin: Reiß, 1918. — 79 p. *Walther Eidlitz Der junge Gina. — Berlin: Reiß, 1919. — 140 p. *Walther Eidlitz Die Herbstvögel. — Berlin: Rowohlt, 1921. — 94 p. *Walther Eidlitz Bettina. — Berlin: Wir Verlag, 1922. — 13 p. *Walther Eidlitz Der Berg in der Wüste. — Wien: E. P. Tal & Co, 1923. — 63 p. *Walther Eidlitz Die Laufbahn der jungen Clothilde. — Wien: P. Zsolnay, 1924. — 185 p. *Walther Eidlitz Die Gewaltigen: Novellen aus drei Jahrtausenden. — Wien: P. Zsolnay, 1926. — 203 p. *Walther Eidlitz Kampf im Zwielicht: Eine Dichtung. — Wien: P. Zsolnay, 1928. — 55 p. *Walther Eidlitz Zodiak. — Wien: P. Zsolnay, 1930. — 384 p. *Walther Eidlitz Das Licht der Welt. — Wien: Zsolnay, 1932. — 271 p. *Walther Eidlitz Reise nach den vier Winden: auf den Spuren der Weltgeschichte. — Braunschweig: Wollermann, 1935. — 216 p. *Walther Eidlitz Der Mantel der großen Mutter: Eine Wanderung durch die nordische Welt. — Braunschweig: Wollermann, 1937. — 141 p. *Walther Eidlitz Bhakta: Eine indische Odyssee. — Hamburg: Claassen, 1951. — 266 p. *Walther Eidlitz Die indische Gottes-Liebe. — Olten: Walter Verlag, 1955. — 340 p. *Walther Eidlitz Die unverhüllte Bhakti. — Stockholm: Almqvist & Wiksell, 1957. — 79 p. *Walther Eidlitz Der Glaube und die heiligen Schriften der Inder. — Olten: Walter Verlag, 1957. — 307 p. *Walther Eidlitz Kṛṣṇa-Caitanya: Sein Leben und Seine Lehre. — Stockholm: Almqvist & Wiksell, 1968. — 561 p. — (Stockholm studies in comparative religion). *Walther Eidlit
Der Sinn des Lebens: der indische Weg zur liebenden Hingabe
— Olten: Walter Verlag, 1974. — 191 p. — ;In English *Walther Eidlitz Unknown India: A pilgrimage into a forgotten world. — 1st ed. — London: Rider, 1952. — 192 p. *Walther Eidlitz Journey to Unknown India. — Mandala Publishing, 1998. — 194 p. — *Walther Eidlitz Journey to Unknown India. — Mandala Publishing, 2004. — 208 p. — *Walther Eidlit
Krishna-Caitanya, His Life and His Teachings
— *Walther Eidlit
The Meaning of Life in the Indian World of Thought
— pdf © Kid Samuelsson, 2008 ;In Swedish *Walther Eidlitz Vindrosen runt. — Stockholm: Norstedt, 1935. — 234 p. *Walther Eidlitz Den glömda världen: en bok om det okända Indien / övers. av Karin Granstedt. — Stockholm: Norstedt & söner, 1948. — 229 p. *Walther Eidlitz Krishnas leende: En bok om indisk gudshängivenhet / Övers. från det tyska ms. av Elin Lagerkvist; Günther Eidlitz. — Stockholm:

Natur & Kultur Natur & Kultur is a Swedish publishing foundation with its head office in Stockholm. It is known for an extensive series of teaching materials, and its logotype is an apple tree. Overview The publishing house was founded in 1922 by Johan H ...

, 1955. — 216 p. *Walther Eidlitz Indisk mystik. — Stockholm: Bonnier, 1952. — 56 p. — (Studentföreningen Verdandis småskrifter; Nr. 526). *Walther Eidlitz Indisk mystik / Övers. från förf. tyska ms. och från sanskrittexterna av Ann-Mari Henschen. — 2. uppl. — Stockholm: Bonnier, 1956. — 56 p. — (Studentföreningen Verdandis småskrifter; Nr. 526). *Walther Eidlitz Livets mening och mål i indisk tankevärld / Övers. av Sigvard Sjögren. — Stockholm: Aldus/Bonnier, 1972. — 181 p. — (Aldusserien). — *Walther Eidlitz Den glömda världen: om hinduism och meditation / övers.: Karin Granstedt och Sigvard Sjögren. — Stockholm: Askild & Kärnekull, 1972. — 207 p. — *Walther Eidlitz Guds lek: om indisk gudsuppenbarelse / Svensk övers.: Sigvard Sjögren. Red.: Günther Eidlitz. — Stockholm:

, 1976. — 254 p. — (Acta Universitatis Stockholmiensis). — *Walther Eidlitz Krishnas flöjt: dikter ur den indiska orduppenbarelsen / i urval och övers. från Sanskrit av Walther Eidlitz. — Stockholm: Tiden, 1976. — 71 p. — *Walther Eidlit
Krishna-Caitanya, Indiens dolda skatt, Hans liv och Hans lära, 2013.
Sthlms Universitet, 1968. — 587 p. ;In Russian * Вальтер Айдлиц Путешествие в неизвестную Индию. — М.: Философская книга, 2001. — 232 с. —

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Eidlitz, Walther Gaudiya religious leaders Converts to Hinduism German Hindus 20th-century Austrian poets Austrian male poets Austrian male dramatists and playwrights Austrian Indologists 1976 deaths 1892 births 20th-century Austrian dramatists and playwrights 20th-century Austrian male writers