Books

2025. The Mother: A Life of Sri Aurobindo’s Spiritual Collaborator. Gurugram: Fourth Estate.

2018. Spirituality without God. London, New York: Bloomsbury Academic. Reprinted by Bloomsbury Academic, New Delhi, 2019. Translated into Spanish (Barcelona, 2021).

2013. Writing the Self. New York: Bloomsbury Academic. Named an Outstanding Academic Title for 2013 by Choice.

2013. Situating Sri Aurobindo: A Reader. New York: Oxford University Press.

2008. The Lives of Sri Aurobindo. New York: Columbia University Press.

2005. Nationalism, Religion, and Beyond: Writings on Politics, Society and Culture by Sri Aurobindo. Delhi: Permanent Black.

2002. Indian Religions: A Historical Reader of Spiritual Expression and Experience. New York: New York University Press; London: C. Hurst and Co.; Delhi: Permanent Black. Complied with an introduction and notes.

1998. Nationalism, Terrorism, Communalism: Essays in Modern Indian History. Delhi: Oxford University Press. Reprinted in paperback 2000, 2005, 2006.

1998. Essential Writings of Sri Aurobindo. Delhi: Oxford University Press. Compiled with an introduction and notes by Peter Heehs. Reprinted in paperback 1999.

1993. The Bomb in Bengal: The Rise of Revolutionary Terrorism in India 1900–1910. Delhi: Oxford University Press.

1991. Modern India and World History. Delhi: Oxford University Press. Textbook.

1989. Sri Aurobindo: A Brief Biography. Delhi: Oxford University Press. Reprinted 1993, 1997, 1999, 2005, 2006. Translated into Russian (Odessa, 1993), Dutch (Deventer, 1995), French (Monaco, 2003) and Japanese (Tokyo, 2011).

1988. India’s Freedom Struggle 1857–1947. Delhi: Oxford University Press. Winner of an Indian State Prize in 1987. Published in hardback 1988. Revised and reissued as a textbook in 1990. Original edition reprinted in paperback in 1991, 1992, 1994, 1996, 1998.

See Books by Peter Heehs for more information on the above books.

Articles in Professional Journals and Books

2026. “A Call for a Balanced Approach.” (part three of a dialogue between Peter Heehs and Swami Medhananda on the questions of Ramakrishna’s influence on Aurobindo). International Journal of Hindu Studies. Published online on June 26, 2026. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11407-026-09443-x

2026. “Sri Ramakrishna, Sri Aurobindo, and the Question of Influence” (part one of a dialogue between Peter Heehs and Swami Medhananda on the questions of Ramakrishna’s influence on Aurobindo). International Journal of Hindu Studies. Published online on June 22, 2026. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11407-026-09445-9

2025. “Naming and Critiquing Movements in Early-Twentieth-Century French Art: the Examples of Intimism, Fauvism, and Cubism.” Konsthistorisk tidskrift/Journal of Art History, volume 94, issue 2, 124-144, published online on December 6, 2025, https://doi.org/10.1080/00233609.2025.2597222.

2024. “A Brief History of the Eternal Religion: A Genealogy of Sanātana Dharma.” International Journal of Hindu Studies, vol. 29, no. 1, 1-32, published online October 25, 2024, https://doi.org/10.1007/s11407-024-09377-2.

2024. “Politics and Power”. In A Cultural History of Hinduism in the Age of Late Colonialism, Gwilym Beckerlegge, ed. London: Bloomsbury, 95-118.

2024. “The Myth of the Theons: Constructing and Deconstructing the Image of Two European Occultists”. Aries. Published online March 7, 2024. Physical publication Aries 25.1 (2025): 100-127.

2022. “Communalism.” In Bloomsbury History, Theory, and Method: Key Concepts. Available online at https://www.bloomsburyhistorytheorymethod.com/browse-content?docid=articleKeyConcepts.

2022. “Sri Aurobindo, Agnosticism, and the Unknowable”. In Reading Sri Aurobindo: Metaphysics, Ethics, and Spirituality, ed. Bindu Puri. Singapore: Springer Nature, 285-297. Translated into German and published in Sri Aurobindo lesen: Metaphysik, Ethik und Spiritualität. Springer VS, 2024.

2022. “Autobiographical Notes and Other Writings of Historical Interest.” In Reading Sri Aurobindo, ed. Chikermane and Ganguli. Penguin Random House India, 236-242.

2022. “Letters on Himself and the Ashram.” In Reading Sri Aurobindo, ed. Chikermane and Ganguli. Penguin Random House India, 229-235.

2021. “The Role of ‘the Hostiles’ in the Cosmic Philosophy and in the Integral Yoga.” In The Cosmic Movement: Sources, Contexts, Impact. Ben-Gurion University of the Negev Press, 453-481.

2021. “Utopias and Dystopias in Literature and Life.” In Roots, Routes and a New Awakening. Singapore: Springer Nature, 287-307.

2021. “Rethinking Postcolonial Identity: Caught in the Spiral of Violence”. In Cross-Fertilizing Roots and Routes. Singapore: Springer Nature, 243-255.

2020. “Sri Aurobindo’s Theory of Spiritual Evolution.” In Asian Religious Responses to Darwin. Cham, Switzerland: Springer Nature, 167-184.

2020. “Eternal Truth and the Mutations of Time: Archival Documents and Claims of Timeless Truth.” Aisthesis 13(2): 143-153 (pdf file available here).

2019. “Aurobindo and supermind.” In The Gnostic World, pp. 603-609. London: Routledge.

2015. “Sri Aurobindo and his Ashram, 1910-2010: An Unfinished History.” Nova Religio 19, 1: 65-86.Winner of the Helen Crovetto Award for Excellence in the Study of New Religious Movements with Ties to South Asia.

2014. “Practices of Non-Theistic Spirituality.” Gandhi Marg 36, 2&3 (July-December): 251-68 (pdf file available here). Reprinted in A.K. Giri, ed., Practical Spirituality and Human Development (Palgrave Macmillan, 2018), pp. 63-80.

2013. ” ‘Not a Question of Theology’: Religions, Religious Institutions and the Courts in India.” Comparative Legal History 1, 2: 243-61.

2013. “Aurobindo.” In Brill’s Encyclopedia of Hinduism, vol. V, ed. Knut A. Jacobsen. Leiden: Brill, 397-404.

2013. Roots, Branches, and Seeds: The teachings of Swami Vivekananda and Sri Aurobindo examined in the light of Indian tradition, colonial modernity and one another. Nehru Memorial Museum and Library Occasional Paper, History and Society Series, No.14. (Pdf file available here)

2011. “The Kabbalah, the Philosophie Cosmique, and the Integral Yoga: A Study in Cross-Cultural Influence”. Aries 11:2 (September): 219-247 (Pdf file available here).

2010. “Introduction”. In P. Vir Gupta, C. Mueller, and C. Samil, Golconde: The Introduction of Modernism in India. Bangalore: Inform.

2009. “Revolutionary Terrorism in British Bengal”. In E. Boehmer and S. Morton, eds., Terror and the Postcolonial. Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell.

2008. “Sri Aurobindo and Hinduism”. Published online in AntiMatters 2.2 (April).

2007. “Nationalism”. In S. Mittal and G. Thursby, eds., Studying Hinduism: Concepts and Methods. New York: Routledge.

2006. “Introduction: Appropriation as a Marketing Strategy”, written as guest editor of Postcolonial Studies 9 (June): 113–19.

2006. “The Uses of Sri Aurobindo: Mascot, Whipping-Boy or What?”. Postcolonial Studies 9 (June): 151–64.

2006. “Yoga/Yogi”. Keywords in South Asian Studies. Published online by Centre of South Asian Studies, School of Oriental and African Studies, London.

2004. “Ghose, Aurobindo.” In The New Dictionary of National Biography. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

2003. “ ‘The Centre of the Religious Life of the World’: Spiritual Universalism and Cultural Nationalism in the Work of Sri Aurobindo.” In Antony Copley, ed., Hinduism, Public and Private: Reform, Hindutva, Gender, Sampraday. Delhi: Oxford University Press.

2003. “Shades of Orientalism: Paradoxes and Problems in Indian Historiography”. History and Theory, vol. 42, no. 2: 169–95. Reprinted in Gwilym Beckerlegge, ed., Colonialism, Modernity and Religious Identities. New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 2008, pp. 239-74.

2002. “Sri Aurobindo”. In Arvind Krishna Mehrotra, ed., An Illustrated History of Indian Literature in English. New York: Columbia University Press; London: C. Hurst & Co.; Delhi: Permanent Black.

2000. “Shaped Like Themselves.” History and Theory, vol. 39, no. 3, 417–28.

2000. “ ‘The Error of all “Churches”’: Religion and Spirituality in Communities Founded or ‘Inspired’ by Sri Aurobindo.” In Antony Copley, ed., Gurus and their Followers: New Religious Reform Movements in Colonial India. Delhi: Oxford University Press.

1997. “Revolutionary Terrorism”. In History of Bangladesh 1704–1971. Second edition. Dhaka: Asiatic Society of Bangladesh, vol. 1, 202–27.

1997. “Genius, Mysticism and Madness.” The Psychohistory Review, vol. 26, no. 1, 45–75. Letter replying to letter of Zvi Lothane in “Another Exchange on Daniel Paul Schreber”. The Psychohistory Review, vol. 26, no. 2, 113.

1997. “Indian Communalism: A Survey of Historical and Social-Scientific Approaches.” South Asia, vol. 20, no.1, 99–113.

1997. “Bengali Religious Nationalism and Communalism.” International Journal of Hindu Studies, vol. 1, no. 1, 117–39.

1995. “Narrative Painting and Narratives about Paintings: Poussin among the Philosophers.” Narrative, vol. 3, no. 3, 211–31.

1994. “Foreign Influences on Bengali Revolutionary Terrorism 1902–1908.” Modern Asian Studies, vol. 28, no. 3, 533–56.

1994. “Myth, History and Theory.” History and Theory, vol. 33, no. 1, 1–19. Reprinted in Robert A. Segal, ed., Myth: Critical Concepts in Literary and Cultural Studies, vol. 1 (New York: Routledge, 2007): 145-164.

1993. “An Old Approach to the New History” (review-article based on Aymard and Mukhia, eds., French Studies in History). Studies in History, vol. 9, no. 2, n.s., 279–88.

1993. “Terrorism in India during the Freedom Struggle.” The Historian, vol. 55, no. 3, 469–82.

1992 “Aurobindo Ghose and Revolutionary Terrorism.” South Asia, vol. 15, no. 2, n.s., 47–69.

1992 “The Maniktala Secret Society: An Early Bengali Terrorist Group.” Indian Economic & Social History Review, vol. 29, no. 3, 349–70.

Articles in Magazines, Newspapers and Websites

2019. July 1. “It’s possible to be an atheist and practice a religion … many religions get along quite well without gods.” Interview with Vikram Zutshi. Times of India

2016. Integral Yoga (Sri Aurobindo). World Religions and Spirituality Project. Virginia Commonwealth University.

2014. “India’s Etiquette Police.” Columbia University Press Blog. March 5.

2014. “Banished from the Bookshelves: The Lives of Sri Aurobindo.” Outlook, March 3, p. 56. Online version here. 

2011. “The Mother’s Evolutionary Vision.” EnlightenNext. Issue 47, 85-94.

2009. “Fisherman’s Cove” and “Hotel de l’Orient.” In Outlook Traveller Getaways: 100 Best Resorts & Retreats in India (New Delhi: Outlook Publishing), 275-276, 383.

2008. “The Bomb that Shook an Empire.” The Pioneer (New Delhi), November 22.

2008. Getting beyond the Conventions of Biography — and Hagiography Too. Columbia University Press Blog. August 4.

2008. “Trial and Error.” The Statesman (Kolkata), May 4, p. 7.

2008. “Creative Anarchy” (Special Feature on Auroville). In Outlook Traveller Getaways: Wellness Holidays in India (New Delhi: Outlook Publishing), 413–424.

2004. “Idea of India.” Life Positive. April–June.

2003. “Small Pleasures.” Outlook Traveller. July, 68–71.

2003. “The Floating World.” Outlook Traveller. June, 52–55.

2003. “The Water’s Edge.” Outlook Traveller. February, 80–83.

2001. “Prophecies of Nostradamus: Inspiration, Interpretation and Falsification”. The Hindu (Chennai), October 7.

1997. “Historical Research in Bangladesh”. IIAS Newsletter 12.

1995 “India’s Divided Loyalties.” History Today, vol. 45, no. 7, 16–23. Reprinted in Past Masters: The Best of History Today 1951–2001 (London: Sutton Publishing, 2001).

1993 “Religion and Revolt: Bengal under the Raj.” History Today, vol. 43, no. 1, 29–35.

1993 “Indian English at Ease with Itself: The Writings of P. Raja.” Language Forum, vol. 19, nos. 1 & 2, 59–63. Reprinted in R. S. Pathak, ed., Indianisation of English Language and Literature (New Delhi, 1994).

1988 “Indian Words in English: Resident Aliens and Naturalized Citizens.” Verbatim, vol. 14, no. 4, 3–5. Awarded second prize in the journal’s annual essay contest.

Reviews

2022. Review of Jairam Ramesh, The Light of Asia: The Poem that Defined the Buddha. South Asian Studies 38 (2), 262–63.

2015.”Cultural Contact and Global Mashups” (review of The Clasp of Civilizations, by Richard Hartz). The Book Review 39 (5) (May), 4-5.

2010. “Left Bank Ekphrasis” (review of The Alternate Nation of Abanindranath Tagore, by Debashish Banerji). Art India 15 (2) (September), 24-26.

2010. “A Fine Balance” (review of Ramakrishna Paramahamsa and His Words, by and edited by Amiya P. Sen). The Book Review 34 (7) (July), 2-3.

2008. “Good Public-Sector Scholarship” (review of J.S. Grewal, Religious Movements and Institutions in Medieval India). The Book Review 32 (2) (February), 33-34.

2008. Review of Gwilym Beckerlegge, Swami Vivekananda’s Legacy of Service. Indian Historical Review 35 (1) (January), 294-98.

2006. “Finding the Unfamiliar in the Familiar” (review of Amiya P. Sen, The Indispensable Vivekananda). The Book Review 30 (3) (May–June).

2001. “To Be a Mystic” (review of Sudhir Kakar’s Ecstasy). The Hindu (Chennai), July 1.

2001. “The Mother and the Biographer’s Dilemma” (review of Georges Van Vrekhem’s The Mother: The Story of Her Life). The Hindu (Chennai), March 4.

2000. “In Naipaul’s Wake” (review of Guy Sorman, Le génie de l’Inde). Outlook, August 7, p. 68.

2000. “Just So Stories” (review of Raghubir Singh, River of Colour). Art India, vol. 5, no. 2, 92–94.

2000. “Laxma Goud’s Seductive Line.” Art India, vol. 5, no. 1, 92–93.

1997. Review of William Pinch, Peasants and Monks in British India. International Journal of Hindu Studies, vol. 1, no. 2, 434–35.