-
Brahma-Vada...
Brahma-Vada
Doctrine of Sri Vallabhacarya by: G.V. TagareHighlighting the tenets of Sri Vallabhas Brahma-Vada, the book spells out his views of Ultimate Reality (Brahman/Krsna), Individual Soul (Jivatman) and the Phenomenal World (Jagat) and his concepts of Aksara Brahman and Pusti Bhakti.
$20.00
ISBN: 9788124601129
Year Of Publication: 1998
Edition: 1st
Pages : xiii, 119
Bibliographic Details : Appendices; Bibliography; Glossary of Sanskrit Terms; Indices
Language : English
Binding : Hardcover
Publisher: D.K. Printworld Pvt. Ltd.
Size: 23 cm.
Weight: 400
Stirred on, perhaps mystified, by Natures grand design, the Vedic seers pondered upon the nature of Ultimate Reality: Brahman, and how it is related to Man and the World. Over the time, these early reflections turned into profound, intricately metaphysical discussions, even polemics. And the dialogue continued vigorously in the post-Upanishadic period leading to the emergence of many spiritual-metaphysical schools of thought, represented notably by Gaudapadas Ajata-Vada, Shankaras Advaita (Kevaladvaita), Bhskaras Bhedabheda-Vada, Ramanujas Vishishtadvaita, Madhvas Dvaita, and Shripati Pandits Dvaitadvaita (also called Shakti Vishishtadvaita). Dr. Tagare here tries to locate Shri Vallabhacaryas worldview in this centuries-long discourse on Brahman. A highly erudite, Telugu brahmin, the great Acarya Shri Vallabha: 1478(?) – 1530 ad, was not only involved in the metaphysical niceties of the Brahman-related dialogue, but also came to develop his own doctrine, called Shuddhadvaita which, literally meaningpure advaita, views Brahman as pure (shuddha) Karya-Karana- Rupa: the cause and effect (of the universe), without the least mix of maya. Highlighting the tenets of his Brahma-Vada, the book spells out Shri Vallabhas views of Ultimate Reality (Brahman/Krishna), Individual Soul (Jivatman), and the Phenomenal World (Jagat), together with his concepts of Akshara Brahman and Pushti Bhakti. The author charts the historical development of Brahman-Vada, underscoring therein the uniqueness of Shri Vallabhas position. And also the relevance of his message of Bhakti-Karma-Samuccaya to the distraught, tension-ridden world of ours.
Foreword
Preface
Abbreviations
Introduction
Condition of Hindus Under Islam
1. Vallabhacarya : A Life-Sketch
Pilgrimages of Vallabhacarya
2. Evolution of Indian Philosophical Thought (From the Vedas to the Brahmna Sutra)
Shruti: The Basis Of All-isms
Prasthanas
Upanishads — The Bhagavad Gita — The Brahma Sutra
3. Pre-Brahma Sutra Teachers
Contents of the BrSu
Pre-Brahma Sutra Teachers
Ashmarathya — Atreya — Audulomi — Badarayana — Badari — Jaimini — Karshnajini
4. Pre-Vallabha Vedanta Thought
Gaudapada
Shankara
The Ultimate Reality — The Individual Soul — The Phenomenal World
Vallabacaryas View
Bhaskara (ad 1000)
Ramanuja (ad1017-1127)
Madhva (ad 1238)
Shrikantha (circa ad 1300)
Shripati Pandit (ad 1500?)
Moksha
5. The Concept of the Deity
Pramanas (Valid Means of Knowledge)
Number of Pramanas
Vallabhacaryas Views
Gradation of Pramanas
Prameya: The Brahman: Krishna
The Concept of The Brahman
Impartiality of God
The Doctrine of Grace
The Doctrine of Avatara
6. The Concept of Akshara Brahman
Epithets of the Akshara Brahman
Concept of the Akshara Brahman
Difference with other Vaishnava Schools
7. The Individual Soul (Jivatman)
Vallabhas Concept of the Soul
The Attributes of the Soul
The Size of the Soul (BrSu, 2.3.19-32)
The Soul as an Agent (Karta) (BrSu, 1.3.40)
Jivas Dependence on the Brahman
The Relation between the Individual Soul and the Brahman
Souls: Eternal, Uncreated — Attributes of the Soul(s) — Relations between the Jiva and the Brahman
8. The Jagat (World)
The Brahman: The Material Cause of Jagat
Conclusion
To Sum Up
9. Epilogue
Appendix I: Pushti Bhakti
Appendix II: Verses Attributed to Vishnusvamin
Bibliography
Glossary of Sanskrit Terms
Subject Index
General Index
-
Sapiens and Sthitaprajna $32.00
Sapiens and Sthitaprajna studies the concept of a wise person in the Stoic Seneca and in the Bhagavadgita. Although the Gita and Seneca’s writings were composed at least two centuries apart and a continent apart, they have much in common in recommending a well-lived life. This book describes how in both a wise person is endowed with both virtue and wisdom, is moral, makes right judgements and takes responsibility for actions. A wise and virtuous person always enjoys happiness, as happiness consists in knowing that one has done the right thing at the right time.
Both Seneca and the Gita demand intellectual rigour and wisdom for leading a virtuous and effective life. They provide guidelines for how to become and be wise. Both systems demand a sage to be emotionally sound and devoid of passions. This leads to mental peace and balance, and ultimately tranquillity and happiness. While surveying these similarities, this study also finds differences in their ways of application of these ideas. The metaphysics of the Gita obliges the sage to practise meditation, while the Stoics require a sage to be a rational person committed to analysing and intellectualizing any situation.
This comparative study will be of interest to students of both Ancient Western and Ancient Indian Philosophy. Practitioners of Stoicism and followers of the Gita should find the presence of closely-related ideas in a very different tradition of interest while perhaps finding somewhat different prescriptions a spur to action. -
Vedanta Science and Technology: A Multidimensional Apporoach $80.00
Vedānta texts have been well known for their richness in fundamental scientific and technological principles with strong potential for research and development today. In fact, much of ancient India’s remarkable achievements in science and technology can be credited to Vedantic texts.
This volume – proceedings of the 22nd International Congress of Vedanta held during 27-30 December 2015 at Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi – features 53 scholarly articles from a wide variety of areas of study. The 22nd Vedanta was a confluence of scholars from various disciplines and the papers in this volume bear the imprint of an intense discussion that is usually expected from a good Vedanta seminar. Though the majority of the papers are in English, a few are in Sanskrit and Hindi as well. The papers are grouped under Vedānta Studies, Vedānta and Philosophy, Vedānta and Science, Vedānta and Culture, Applied Vedānta, and Digital Access and Search of Sanskrit Texts.
This multidimensional approach extends the core scientific ideas of Vedānta to social, cultural, aesthetic and religious aspects of studies, creating a wide spectrum of intellectual discourse and trying to discover fundamental scientific and technological aspects of Vedānta studies.
Being a worthwhile addition to Vedānta studies, this volume should invoke keen interest among all those who are deeply into it, be a student, a researcher or a common reader. -
Abhinavaguptas Hermeneutics of the Absolute $60.00
The Paratrishika Vivarana by the great Kashmiri philosopher and mystic Abhinavagupta is an extensive commentary on the Paratrishika Tantra, and it is one of the most profound texts, not only of non-dualist Kashmir Shaivism, but of Indian philosophy and mysticism in general. The present work attempts to make this difficult text accessible, by culling out the important themes and offering an interpretation. The main focus is on the understanding of the Absolute (Anuttara) and the ways to realize it. The central theme of mantra also leads to a mysticism of language with its philosophical implications. All these reflections and practices are inscribed in the theory that everything is related to the totality, every part contains the whole of reality (sarvam sarvatmakam). It is this holistic vision of Abhinavagupta, based on the Tantras, which makes this work so relevant in our times of fragmented aspects of life and knowledge in search of integration. No doubt, in the view of the Tantra and of Abhinavagupta, language and mantra provide the key.
This fascinating book is an important contribution to studies and interpretations on Kashmir Shaivism, its spirituality and philosophy, and on Abhinavagupta in particular. -
Brahman and the World $20.00
“The Vedānta has been rightly called the Finest Fruit of Indian Thought and the Upaniṣads as the Finer Flowers. Vedānta grows out of the teachings of the Upaniṣads and passes into the various systems in the writings of Śaṅkara, Bhāskara, Rāmānuja, Madhva and Vallabha, the great founders of Advaita, Bhedābheda, Viśiṣṭādvaita, Dvaitādvaita and Śuddhādvaita, respectively. However, there is a perception among Orientalists that while the Upaniṣads favour the Monistic doctrine, Bādarāyaṇa’s Brahmasūtra fundamentally opposes it on some of the most crucial points.
The book thus delves deep into the philosophies of both Bādarāyaṇa and Śaṅkara in enunciating the essential features of Brahman and Its association with the world. It thus discusses topics such as what sort of cause Brahman is?, and what sort of material causality is to be ascribed to It? It also addresses the conflicting views on the nature of Brahman like that of Vivarttavāda and of Rāmānuja’s Saguṇa-Brahman.
This book proposes to take up the question of Universal Causation to examine thoroughly as how far it is right to regard Brahman as the Universal Cause and how far sūtrakāra himself lent his support to each of the inter-conflicting schools of Vedānta. This book should, therefore, benefit all who are devoted to the philosophic teachings of Advaita Vedānta and its preceptors.” -
An Introduction to Jain Philosophy $54.00
It is well-known that the Jain tradition has been extremely influential in the development of Indian thought and culture. The Jain tradition teaches that there is an interdependence of perception, knowledge, and conduct unified by an axiomatic principle of non-violence in thought, speech, and action. In this way, non-violence defines the core of the Jain tradition, which has had a profound effect on other dharmic traditions originating in India. Jain Dharma is so significant that in some ways it may be incomplete to attempt to understand other Indian traditions (such as Buddhism or Hinduism) without knowing the basics of the Jain tradition, since these other traditions developed in an ongoing dialogue with the insights and wisdom of Jain respondents and visionaries.
This book enables the reader to enjoy a comprehensive journey into the intricate world of Jain thought and culture in a way that is philosophical in its compelling rationality, deeply spiritual in its revelations, yet accessible in its language. The organization of this book allows the reader to engage in an overview of the central teachings of the Jain tradition, but also to ascertain the profundity of its depths. It can be read with equal efficacy in succession from beginning to end, or pursued by individual topics of interest to the reader. Either strategy will have the same effect: a systematic understanding of what the timeless teachings of Jain thinkers have to say about the universal issues of the human condition – and how we might understand our harmonious relationship with other living entities as a powerful and effective spiritual journey.
