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Three Acharyas and Narayana Guru

The Ongoing Revaluation of Vedanta by: Swami Muni Narayana Prasad

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.

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ISBN: 9788124605950
Year Of Publication: 2011
Edition: 1st
Pages : xii, 449p.
Bibliographic Details : Appendix; Glossary; Bibliography; Index
Language : English
Binding : Hardcover
Publisher: D.K. Printworld Pvt. Ltd.
Size: 23
Weight: 800

Overview

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.

Contents

Preface
Part 1
The Lives and Teachings of the
Three âcàryas and Narayana Guru
1. Preliminaries
The Brahma-Sutras and its Commentaries
The Sutra Style
After Badarayana
Shankara and His Followers
Ramanuja and His Followers
Madhva and His Followers
2. The Lives of the Three Acaryas and Narayana Guru
The Life of Shankara (ce 788-820)
The Life of Ramanuja (ce 1017-1137)
The Life of Madhva (ce 1238-1317)
A Few Historical Notes
The Life of Narayana Guru (ce 1854-1928)
3. The Philosophy of Shankara
A Summary of Shankara’s Philosophy
4. The Philosophy of Ramanuja
Souls or Cit
Ramanuja’s Three Kinds of Souls
How do souls become bound?
Inert Matter or Acit
God or Ishvara
5. The Philosophy of Madhva
Reality
The Cosmic System
Creation
Souls
Bondage
Innate Difference
Brahman
Spiritual Practices
Devotion (Bhakti)
Liberation (Mukti)
Comparativeness of Innate Bliss
Part 2
Ideas of the Three Acaryas Unitively Revisualised
6. Avidya and Maya
Avidya according to Shankara
Different Levels of Unreality
Maya and Brahman as Causes
Neither Existent nor Non-Existent
The Theory of Five Sheaths
Looking into the Taittiriya Upanishad
Looking into the Sarvasara Upanishad
Looking into the Gaudapada Karika
Looking into the Vivekacudamani
Conditioning and Deconditioning of Consciousness
Looking into the Pancadashi
Difference in the Epistemological Context
Ramanuja’s Seven Objections
Avidya in the Ramanuja School
Similarities
Avidya in the Madhva School
The Enigma Acceptable to All
Avidya and Maya for Narayana Guru
7. The Word Atha
8. The Atomicity of the Self
9. Brahman : The Lower and the Higher
Shankara
Ramanuja
Madhva
Narayana Guru
Ineffability
A Way Out
The Dialectical Way of Narayana Guru
10. Consciousness and the Self
Ramanuja
Madhva
Narayana Guru
11. Tat Tvam Asi
12. Karma and Reincarnation
Karma and Reincarnation According to the Acaryas
Artabhaga’s Doubt and the Mystery of Karma
What is Karma and Who does It?
Karma and Brahman
What is Birth and Death?
Death, a Part of the Life Cycle
The Two Paths
A Third Path
The Paths of Jnanis and Ajnanis
In the Katha Upanishad
In the Bhagavad-Gita
The Case of Yoga-Bhrashta
As Part of the Perishable
One Ishvara Alone Continues
In the Brahma-Sutras
Birth Determined by Karma
Good and Evil Actions
A Summary Review of Karma and Reincarnation
13. Final Release
Liberation According to Shankara
Liberation According to Ramanuja
Liberation According to Madhva
Madhva’s Concept of Released Souls
Svarupananda-Taratamya According to Madhva
Liberation in Narayana Guru’s Philosophy
Conclusion
Appendix
Glossary
Bibliography
Index

Meet the Author
avatar-author
1938
Swami Muni Narayana Prasad is the Guru and Head of Narayana Gurukula, a guru-disciple foundation open to all, irrespective of caste, creed, gender, religion or nation, aimed at promoting the Science of the Absolute (Brahma-vidya) as restated by Narayana Guru. A disciple of Nataraja Guru and Guru Nitya Chaitanya Yati, he has travelled widely teaching Indian philosophy. He has authored around seventy-five books in the Malayalam language. His English books are: commentaries on the Isha Kena, Katha, Prashna, Mundaka, Mandukya Taittiriya, Aitareya and Chandogya Upanishads, Vedanta Sutras and Darshanamala of Narayana Guru, Three Acaryas and Narayana Guru, Karma and Reincarnation, Basic Lessons on India’s Wisdom, The Philosophy of Narayana Guru, Life’s Pilgrimage Through the Gita, Collected Works of Narayana Guru, Narayanasmritih, and Natural Philosophy for Youth.