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This volume critically examines six epistemological theories of the Advaita school of Vedanta: pratyaksha (perception), upamana (comparison), anupalabdhi (non-cognition), anumana (inference), arthapatti (postulation) and shabda (testimony), highlighting the problems, concepts and theories of the Vedantins within the focus of modern Western thought.
This volume critically examines six epistemological theories of the Advaita school of Vedanta: pratyaksha (perception), upamana (comparison), anupalabdhi (non-cognition), anumana (inference), arthapatti (postulation) and shabda (testimony). To make the study smooth and easy, it deliberates on two other concepts prama (conceptions of knowledge) and pramana (methods of knowing) as these underlie all epistemological discussions.
The book highlights the problems, concepts and theories of the Vedantins within the focus of modern Western thought. The method adopted is one of critical analysis, comparison and evaluation. It also tries to formulate some important epistemological doctrines of Advaita Vedanta and show by some criticism that, if rightly understood, they are valuable contributions to the philosophy of the world.
The book, targeting sceptical students trained in Western philosophy and an imagined tribunal of Western philosophers, tries to make a case for Advaita Vedanta, and thus is expected to usher keen interest among the students, teachers and followers of Advaita Vedanta.
This volume presents an overview of the historical development of the Kashmirian Saiva traditions, especially of the non-dualistic system, Trika, and deals with the bodily experience of the transcendent power, the Sakti, in the context of the Saiva Kundalini-Yoga.
The Kashmirian Shaiva tradition in its non-dualistic form in particular is one of the richest philosophical traditions of India that have survived to the present day. This book by the noted scholar, Dr Furlinger, deals with the bodily experience of the transcendent power, the Shakti, in the context of the Shaiva Kundalini-Yoga. In an insightful introduction, the scholar presents an overview of the historical development of the Kashmirian Shaiva traditions, especially of the non-dualistic system, Trika, made famous by the work of its famous proponent, Abhinavagupta. He studies the theme of shaktisparsha in selected texts of non-dualistic Trika Shaivism of Kashmir, focusing on Utpaladeva’s Shivastotravali of the tenth century and Abhinavagupta’s Tantraloka of the eleventh century. The texts are analysed along with a noted commentary associated with each to shed light on the different contexts and meanings in which the word sparsha occurs in connection with Shakti, the divine power, revered as the Goddess. The study examines sparsa as one of the highest stages in the spiritual ascent in the Tantraloka and its corresponding description in the Shivastotravali. The difference in the notion of sparsa in the two texts is also brought out. It thus reveals the liberating and critical potential of the non-dualistic Shaiva tradition of Kashmir. The book will interest scholars and students of Indology associated with Indian religious-philosophical traditions.
The Netra Tantra “Tantra of the (Third) Eye (of Siva)”, also called Mrtyujit (Conqueror of Death), is one of the fundamental scriptures of non-dualist Kashmir Saivism or Trika. It is the only Tantra having the Third Eye of Siva as title and theme, and it contains three important chapters on Yoga, relating to three ways of overcoming death.
This book, besides giving an introduction to the Tantra, contains an interpretation of the three chapters; Chapter 1 deals with the Eye of Siva, Chapter 7 with subtle Yoga, and Chapter 8 with supreme Yoga. The same texts are presented in Devanagari, transliteration and translation, including the eleventh-century commentary of Ksemaraja, illustrious disciple of Abhinavagupta. The Appendix contains illustrations of the theme of trinetra from different sources, mainly connected with Kashmir, as well as a comparative study on “The spiritual eye in the Christian mystical traditions”.
This book is an important contribution to the studies on non-dualist Saivism or Trika, and especially to its Yoga.
The Netra Tantra “Tantra of the (Third) Eye (of Siva)”, also called Mrtyujit (Conqueror of Death), is one of the fundamental scriptures of non-dualist Kashmir Saivism or Trika. It is the only Tantra having the Third Eye of Siva as title and theme, and it contains three important chapters on Yoga, relating to three ways of overcoming death.
This book, besides giving an introduction to the Tantra, contains an interpretation of the three chapters; Chapter 1 deals with the Eye of Siva, Chapter 7 with subtle Yoga, and Chapter 8 with supreme Yoga. The same texts are presented in Devanagari, transliteration and translation, including the eleventh-century commentary of Ksemaraja, illustrious disciple of Abhinavagupta. The Appendix contains illustrations of the theme of trinetra from different sources, mainly connected with Kashmir, as well as a comparative study on “The spiritual eye in the Christian mystical traditions”.
This book is an important contribution to the studies on non-dualist Saivism or Trika, and especially to its Yoga.
It vividly and graphically presents the key concepts of the Bhagavadgita while majorly discussing the concepts like atman, Paramatman, jagat, karma-yoga, jnana-yoga, bhakti-yoga, dhyana-yoga, sthitaprajna, sadhakas’ challenges and the ways out.
This volume covers all the aspects of Yoga and self-management discussed in the Bhagavadgita –– a comprehensive text of personal and professional life management and adhyatma-sadhana (spiritual upgradation). What makes the book special is its dialogue format between a guru and his disciple as exactly what we witness in the Bhagavadgita as between Sri Krsna and Arjuna.
It vividly and graphically presents the key concepts of the Bhagavadgita while majorly discussing the concepts like karma-yoga, jnana-yoga, bhakti-yoga, dhyana-yoga, sthitaprajna, and seven keys of self upgradation, which leads towards Health, Happiness and Harmony, challenges and the ways out.
This book will help in the making broader understanding of the concepts and philosophy of the Bhagavadgita, which transcends time and space, to register with the new generation readers and thereby emulate and practise the varied forms of Yoga.
This volume extensively deals with the concept of false cognition, or illusion, and analyses how the Samkhya-Yoga, Buddhist, Nyaya, Mimamsa and Vedanta schools of thought have criticized their opponents to establish their own view from the metaphysical and epistemological standpoints on illusion, along with many more minor theories.
Every school of Indian philosophy has prescribed its own ways to obliterate human sufferings in the best possible manner. More or less each of them has pointed out that the root cause of sufferings is false cognition of human being about the world and its objects. Only true cognition can eliminate the false one and like the destruction of a series in a chain, the sufferings will be automatically demolished at a point of time. Hence it is necessary to know the nature as well as the characteristics of false cognition.
The term illusion is used to denote false cognition according to Indian philosophy. So it may or may not have similarities with the views of Western thought. Each major school of Indian philosophy has analysed the theory of illusion from its metaphysical as well as epistemological standpoint. As a result, major theories Samkhya-Yoga, Buddhist, Nyaya, Mimamsa and Vedanta regarding illusion (popularly known as Khyativada) and many more minor theories have originated.
This volume thus extensively analyses how these schools have criticized their opponents standpoint to establish their own view, making it an interesting reading for everyone, be it a general reader, a student or a scholar in a simple and easy to understand format and language.
The book is the end result of indepth study and decades’ research on the Oriental and Occidental language theories. The theories that are propounded and expounded by Indian sages and intelligentsia are impeccable, incorrigible and time-tested besides being universal. The book should interest scholars for advanced linguistic study of both kinds.
The volume presents a panorama of the theories of language, covering both ancient and modern theories. It deals with the origin and development of ancient theories of language with their clear and unambiguous definitions, rules and norms that offer impeccable solutions to all problems at syntactic and semantic levels. With systematic and logical explanations of language theories, the work examines ancient grammar including connection of vyakaranam with philosophy and sphota. It also takes up the origin and development of Western linguistic theories emphasising on the inability of modern linguistic science to agree on basic definitions, as of the meaning of a word, and concepts of discourse, text, macro sentence, with there being an attempt to constantly revise theories. It analyses the chief concepts studied by ancient Indian and other linguists pertaining to discourse, particularly the importance of inference in the Nyaya system of Indian philosophy and the Nyaya logical discourse. The volume will provide students and scholars of philosophy a fundamental work on linguistic theories.
This book, which highlights and engages one to the theory of karma that is in vogue from the Vedic times and reinforced by the Brahmasūtra and the Bhagavadgītā, talks about one’s karma-phala and supplies enough material on karma-adhikāratva, jīva-kartr̥tva and the divine intervention.
Creation is a process, where the potential insentient matter (prakr̥ti) gets manifested into the gross form, to embody during the sr̥ṣṭi, each of the sentient entities called the ātmas with the suitable body either of deva, manuṣya, jaṅgama or of sthāvara. This glorious activity is orchestrated by the one and only Omnipresent, Omnipotent and Omniscient Reality called Brahman. But one question remains still an enigma, as to why a particular sentient entity gets a specified body and through whose direction that decision arrives? The ancient Vedāntic knowledge reinforced by the Brahmasūtra and the Bhagavadgītā establishes that it is, purely and solidly, the result (karma-phala) of earlier actions (karmas) of each one of the sentient entities. This is a strong and formidable solution to the unanswered questions like why does, one child being blessed to be born in either rich or healthy and sāttvic family and another child being consigned to be born in a family living in poor conditions or unhealthy tāmasic environment.
This book would engage the readers to think on those lines by supplying enough material on karma-adhikāratva, jīva-kartr̥tva and Divine intervention.
The monograph consists of two parts, the first examines Buddhist devo-tional practices, in Theravada tradition and their objective and benefits. Part two elucidates the rise and growth of Buddhist devotionalism in Ceylon, Burma and Thailand, keeping view in the specific demonstrative aspects of their faith in contemporary Buddhist religious life.
The monograph consists of two parts, of which the first examines the Buddhist devotional practices, from the historical and canonical perspectives of the evolution of the worship of caitya, stupa, relics, symbols and images. It provides a multi-dimensional account of caitya, thupa, relic, symbol and image worship in Theravada Buddhist tradition, in the Sinhalese Vamsa literature and as depicted in the records of the prominent Chinese travellers to India. It throws light on the Buddhist stupa, the Buddhas relics viz, hair, nail, tooth and ashes; the symbols which pre-ceded the Buddha image viz., the bodhi-tree, wheel, bowl, staff, robe, crest, turban, shadow and the Buddhas foot-prints as the objects of devotion and worship and the objectives and benefits of such devotional acts. Part two elucidates the rise and growth of Buddhist devotionalism in Sri Lanka with special reference to its ceremonies, rituals, pilgrimages as depicted in the devotional literature of Ceylon. Further, it provides an account of devotional Buddhism in Burma by tracing its antiquity; describes Buddhas relics, images and pagodas as the objects of veneration. Similarly, it makes a brief survey of Thai Buddhist devotionalism with special reference to Wats, Thai offerings and prayers to Buddha images and their objectives. The work illuminates the historical and canonical significance of precept and practice of different aspects of Buddhist devotion and how they are demonstrated in the contemporary Buddhist religious life of Ceylon, Burma and Thailand.
This book, which will interest general readers and scholars, and particularly addressed to young readers, highlights the lives and times of some of the saints of Tamil land who have been the votaries of peace, universal brotherhood and spirituality.
The lives and teachings of saints have a special place in Indian tradition. Saints have been the votaries of peace, universal brotherhood and spirituality and were, and are, among the most loved and revered personages in Indian history and culture. This volume comes as a tribute to the prominent saints of Tamizhaham or Tamil land, who have contributed immensely to Indian culture and society.
It highlights the lives and times of some of the noted exponents of the Shaivite path of devotion. It begins with discussions on some of the famous Nayanar saints like Somasimarar Nayanar and Karaikkal Ammaiyar, and takes up the contributions of medieval bhakti saints like Sridhara Venkateswara Ayyaval and Avudai Akkal. The concluding section deals with the ecstatic saints of the region of the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries. This part contains an account of a woman saint of our own times, Andavan Pichchai Amma, as well. The lives of the saints are told in a simple language that wonderfully unravels their complex messages. The work shows that though the saints had diverse experiences and expressed their spirituality in different ways, the lives of all these saints have an ecstatic and a celebratory quality about them.
The volume will interest general readers as well as scholars. It is particularly addressed to young readers in an effort to introduce them to Indian spiritual and cultural legacy.
Thinker, Thought and Knowledge critically and analytically reasons that some of the philosophical expositions like “thought has created the thinker” and “higher-order thoughts are themselves conscious” hinder us from explaining our sense of unity of consciousness. This book presents and elucidates some observations — thought cannot create thinker; along with thinker and thought, thinking too is quintessential for individual experience to take place; thinker, thinking and thought are fundamentally one in self-consciousness; thought becomes the object of self-consciousness; and the modern science attempts to undermine the principle of causation — from the East—West perspective, and registers its disproval with the philosophical views of scholars like J. Krishnamurti and a few other modern philosophers. Coming to the knowledge aspect, the volume delineates the relative existence and knowledge dealing with the absolute reality, and discusses it on the basis of Advaita Vedanta and the Yogacara Vijiianavada of the Buddhist philosophy along with Immanuel Kant’s theory of knowledge. The researcher’s approach employed in this volume should help the students of philosophy and other discerning readers take an analytical and critical positioning towards many a philosophical problem that they come across.
The book speaks about the philosophy of Narayana Guru as guidance to study and compare the philosophies of the acaryas, particularly those of Shankara, Ramanuja and Madhva. It also explores the concepts of avidya and maya, atomicity of the self, consciousness and the self, tat tvam asi, karma and reincarnation and the ultimate liberation.
Shankara, Ramanuja and Madhva are considered the three acaryas of South India who commented on the three basic texts of Vedanta, that is, the Upanishads, the Brahma-Sutras and the Bhagavad-Gita, and therefrom originated the three major schools within the Vedanta fold — Advaita, Vishishtha advaita and Dvaita respectively. This volume is concerned with the philosophy of the famous saint-teacher Narayana Guru and his perspectives on the philosophies of the three acaryas.
The book uses the philosophy of Narayana Guru as the guide to study and compare the philosophies of the acaryas. It begins with the life sketches of the three acaryas and discusses their philosophies, especially the various specific viewpoints they maintained and the points on which they disagreed. It explores the ideas of the acaryas on avidya and maya, atomicity of the self, consciousness and the self, tat tvam asi, karma and reincarnation and the ultimate liberation. It also scrutinises their use of terms like that of atha which literally means now then. It examines the perception of Narayana Guru vis-a-vis the particular philosophical positions in a unified manner. It also contains the full text, transliteration and translation of the original Vedanta-Sutras of Narayana Guru.
The volume will interest students and scholars who are engaged in advanced studies on the philosophy of Vedanta, and persons keen on acquainting themselves with the philosophy of Narayana Guru.
This volume primarily concerns itself with the elaboration and analysis of the Vaidika ethics as one of the exemplars of DharmaEthics, to answer the basic question as to why should one be moral. A sustained analysis has been carried out to explain the sense of transcendence of the empirically existent, in terms of abhyudaya, mukti for which this DharmaEthics is a supportive ladder.
Notwithstanding the profound and vast dimension of the concept of Dharma as such, Through the Lens of Dharma-Ethics, the author has endeavoured to put forward some of the metaphysical affirmations on which the feasibility of Dharma-Ethics as a discipline reposes. This volume primarily concerns itself with the elaboration and analysis of the Vaidika ethics as one of the exemplars of Dharma-Ethics, to answer the basic question as to why should one be moral.
An attempt has been made in this volume to rearrange and reformulate the answer by discussing the concepts of Dharma and its allied concepts, different kinds of karmas prescribed for the individuals, the fourfold scheme of purushartha, psychology of human volition, roles of different psychological traits, nature of motivational force conveyed through the imperative statements and many other relevant issues.
A sustained analysis has been carried out to explain the sense of transcendence of the empirically existent, in terms of abhyudaya, mukti for which this Dharma-Ethics is a supportive ladder. If there is hope for man, why should there not be hope for mankind? possibility of this sort has also been addressed. The human-centric Dharma-Ethics has been deciphered as a description and also as a prescription for the embodied humans with their various sort of indebtedness, about how they live and how they ought to live in the truth of Dharma.
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