Both the itihāsa-s of the Mahābhārata and the Platonic philosophical ‘epode’ are often used to persuade in conditions where emotion threatens to incapacitate the person for argumentative discourse. Narrative reason has its own conditions of success and failure, opening up a discursive arena in which all kinds of utterances are welcome. Emphasizing the psychagogic function of the ‘once-upon-a-time’ reason, it is worth asking who the real protagonist of the story is and whether the story has a duty or a dharma (...) of its own to fulfill. Dharma and all the dilemmas it brings along with it constitute one of the fundamental problems that make up the whole Mahābhārata. In this essay I wonder about the dharma of the Mahābhārata itself—a literary work which gives itself the name ‘triumph’ (jaya)—and the cultural mission it fulfills in the lives of those who hear it, read it, study it, and share it with others. (shrink)

El Mokṣopāya (s. X d.n.e), mejor conocido como Yogavāsiṣṭha, nos adentra en el universo del idealismo subjetivo a través de historias extraordinarias, narradas por Vasiṣṭha, en las que la imaginación es la protagonista. La filosofía que subyace a este voluminoso poema muestra que todo lo que hay es la conciencia (cit-mātra) formada por el vacío supremo. La mente individual solo es un destello del poder de esta conciencia (cit-śakti), un teatro donde se proyecta el mundo externo, con todos sus objetos (...) perceptibles. Leyendo este texto a la luz de una de las obras más célebres del teatro español del Siglo de Oro, La vida es sueño de Calderón de la Barca, este ensayo tiende puentes entre la angustia existencial de Segismundo, que ignora si está dormido o despierto, y el pensamiento sereno de Vasiṣṭha cuando explica que la vigilia y el sueño son ambos igual de vacíos e ilusorios. (shrink)

Christian apologists not only borrowed the theoretical framework from ancient philosophy, but also the existential heart of it. The spiritual exercises of ancient philosophy will be used in the service of the Imitation of Christ and mixed with exercises of corporal mortification totally alien to the spirit of Platonic, Stoic or Neoplatonic philosophy. The body of Christian ascetics cannot be denied or ignored –for it would be like denying the corporality of Jesus–, but neither can it be loved or valued (...) –in the name of the imitation of Christ. Along with the praise of suffering, the paradoxical relationship with one's own body is at the base of the Christian way of life and determines the direction and depth of the exercises that Christianity borrows from ancient philosophy. (shrink)