Orthodox/Astika Philosophy, Misc

The elements of cognitive science present in the Isaavaasya Upanishad will be presented and decoded into cognitive science. The technical terms used to represent human consciousness as aham, atman, Brahman, - padaartha - mind and their functions, the origin of the universe as idam, vivartanam, viswam, prapancham, jagat and their cognitive science meanings will be delineated. The seer and the seen will be differentiated and the conscious states or phases of mind - aatma dasa and various maanisika dasas - will (...) be described. The evolution of science of human cognition and communication through Advaita / dvaita philosophy, nyaaya-vaiseshika, saamkhya-yoga and poorva meemaamsa and uttara meemaamsa and visistaadvaita systems of thought will be examined -/- . (shrink)

The concept of evolution as envisaged and developed by modern scientists will be reviewed. The concept of consciousness and its evolution in humans as enlightenment and self-realization as experienced and expressed in the Upanishads, Vedanta, Yoga Sutras, Bhakti Sutras and in the experiences and expressions of modern spiritual seers will be critically analyzed. And self-realization in individual leading one to and getting established in jeevanmukta state will be discussed. The possible irreversible physicochemical nature and implications of such consciousness evolution in (...) humans will be discussed. (shrink)

भारतीय दर्शन में श्रीमदभगवदगीता को महत्वपूर्ण स्थान प्राप्त है. इस दर्शन की व्याख्या विभिन्न विद्वानों ने अपने-अपने जीवन उद्धेश्यों के अनुसार की है, जिसे कभी ज्ञानयोग, कभी कर्मयोग और कभी भक्तियोग के द्वारा प्रतिपादित किया जाता रहा है. श्रीमदभगवदगीता ही एकमात्र ऐसा ग्रन्थ है, जो हमें श्रीकृष्ण की वैचारिक परिपक्वता और विराट चरित्र से परिचित करवाती है तथा योगेश्वर श्रीकृष्ण के रूप में हमारे समक्ष स्थापित करती है. जीवन के विभिन्न संघर्षो को देखते हुए, वर्तमान समय में मानव-उत्कर्ष शिक्षा का (...) मुख्य बिंदु होना चाहिए. आज के मनुष्य को भौतिक विकास के साथ-साथ, मानसिक, शारीरिक, मनोवैज्ञानिक और आत्मिक स्तर पर भी सामान्तर विकास की जरूरत है. श्रीमदभगवदगीता के सभी 18 अध्यायों में एक उद्देश्य समाहित है और यह हमें मानव उत्कर्ष से सम्बन्धित सिद्धांतों का पूर्णरूपेण परिचय देती है. इस शोध-पत्र का मुख्य उद्देश्य इन्हीं सिद्धांतों को चिन्हित करना है. (shrink)

महात्मा गाँधी भारत के कुछ महान विद्वानों में से एक हैं जिन्होंने विश्वपटल पर अपनी एक अलग छाप छोड़ी है. उनके दर्शन को भारतीय जनमानस ने खुले मन से आत्मसात किया जिसका उदाहरण स्वतन्त्रता आन्दोलन के समय में उनके प्रभाव से जाना जा सकता है. गाँधी के सत्य के प्रयोग, अहिंसा, सत्याग्रह, सर्वोदय आदि विचार आज हमारी भारतीय शिक्षा का एक अभिन्न अंग बन चुका है. राजनीति, धर्म, सामाजिक समस्याओं पर उनका चिन्तन हमें आश्चर्य में डाल देता है. उनका साहित्य (...) लगभग सौ ग्रन्थों में प्रकाशित रूप में हमारे बीच उपलब्ध है. गाँधी के जीवन पर भारतीय दर्शन का व्यापक प्रभाव था. गीता और बुद्ध के ‘सर्वभूत हित’ के आदर्श से गाँधी प्रभावित रहे. उनके चिन्तन पर रस्किन एवम् टॉलस्टॉय का भी प्रभाव था. इस तरह गाँधी में पूर्व और पश्चिम का समन्वय दिखाई देता है. गाँधी के अनुसार आधुनिक सभ्यता अनीति और अधर्म पर आधारित है इसीलिए सर्वग्रासी है . गाँधी ने वर्तमान सभ्यता की चार प्रमुख समस्यायों को चिंताजनक माना-हथियारों एवम् हिंसा की समस्या, पर्यावरण , निर्धनता एवं मानवाधिकारों की समस्या. यह समस्याएं आधुनिक सभ्यता की देन है अत: उन्होंने इसकी आलोचना की तथा विकल्प में एक नई मानव सभ्यता का प्रारूप प्रस्तुत किया जो सादगी, संयम , अपरिग्रह एवम् स्वावलम्बन की जीवनशैली के साथ अहिंसात्मक एवम् शुद्ध साधनों तथा प्रकृति के साथ मैत्री व साहचर्य पर आधारित विकास पद्धति का पक्षधर हैं. आज गाँधी एक व्यक्ति न रहकर एक वाद की तरह हमारे सामने प्रकट होते है जो हमारे सामाजिक और राजनैतिक जीवन पर असर डाल रहा है. आज गाँधी –वन्दन एवं गाँधी-विरोध का प्रवाह निरंतर चल रहा है लेकिन देश एवम् विश्व की परिस्थितियाँ गाँधी चिन्तन की प्रासंगिकता को व्यापक रूप से उजागर कर रही हैं प्रस्तुत पत्र का उद्देश्य आधुनिक सभ्यता पर उनके विचारों को जानने का प्रयास है तथा आज के समय के अनुरूप समीक्षा करना भी है. (shrink)

The cross-cultural philosopher B.K. Matilal is one of many who have argued that some Indian philosophers are skeptics. Inspired by Matilal, in Three Pillars of Skepticism in Classical India, Ethan Mills argues that Nāgārjuna (150–200 CE), Jayarāśi (770–830 CE), and Śrī Harṣa (1125–1180 CE) are skeptics in a specific sense: as part of a textually inspired tradition of “skepticism about philosophy,” they share overlapping methods. Mills’ arguments about method are more successful than those about tradition, although the book’s engaging exposition (...) of these three thinkers will hopefully spark new interest in their work. (shrink)

This paper seeks to elaborate how a constructive dialogue between Christianity and Islam provides the faithful with a chance to promote ecotheology and earth‐honouring ideas. It focuses on Orthodox Christianity, particularly St. Gregory and the Buffalo Statement (2015), alongside many verses of the Quran to develop the subject. It reshapes both Christian and Islamic modules of the relationship between God and humans as the Creator and the Creature. Thus, the notions of the “image of God” in Christianity and of “caliph (...) of God” in Islam are elaborated to suggest a new theology which honours the earth and worldly life as well as enriches people’s lives with faith and divinity. The new theology uses faith concepts to serve humanity with regards to new demands and challenges rather than keeping humanity at its service. (shrink)

Śankara did not comment on the first s ū tra in his Brahmas ū trabh āṣ ya, which was a common practice in such cases; rather, he started by defining two terms: ‘superimposition’ and ‘ignorance’, in a special introductory chapter known to a wider audience as Adhy ā sabh āṣ ya. The question arises as to why he deemed it necessary to precede his commentary to the initial s ū tra with these additional elucidations. Bh ā mat ī, Vācaspati Miśra’s (...) commentary on Mah ā s ū trabh āṣ ya, seems to shed some light on the problem. According to the doctrine of advaita, the phrase ‘desire to know Brahman’ in the first s ū tra seems prima facie to have no meaning. Thus, the introductory commentary is an explanation of an idea of Brahman which is foreign to advaita. (shrink)

Indian philosophy has a history of sophisticated linguistic analysis (Pāṇini's grammar being the usual example), which includes theories of reference, polysemy, ellipsis, sentential unity, figurative language, and more. Roy Tzohar's A Yogācāra Buddhist Theory of Metaphor is a sustained argument for attending both to the intertextual nature of Indian philosophy and to the philosophical importance of topics such as metaphor and figurative language. Tzohar's central thesis is that Sthiramati, a fifth- or sixth-century CE Indian Buddhist thinker, has a theory of (...) metaphor ("metaphor" being Tzohar's preferred translation of the Sanskrit upacāra) which can be understood more broadly as a theory of meaning. (shrink)

Indian spiritual and philosophical systems are essentially cognitive scientific in nature. Having origin in the Upanishads all Indian philosophical systems supplemented and complemented one another to develop a comprehensive source book of cognitive science. The nature and form of consciousness, mind and its functions are extensively dealt with and discussed from Upanishads through Buddhism, Jainism, Viseshaka, Nyaya, Yoga, Samkhya, Poorva Meemamsa,and Uttara Meemaams, Sabdabrahma Siddhanta contributing to many concepts which have relevance to cognitive science and language acquisition and communication. In (...) this paper all these will be reviewed and especially the concept of guṇa as envisaged in various Indian philosophical systems will be presented and correlated. The evolution of concept of guṇa through Shaddrarsanas will be specifically looked at. A correlation with Sabdabrahma Siddhānta of Indian grammarians initiated by Patanjali and developed through Bhartruhari will also be presented. (shrink)

A human being though basically a physico-chemical and hence physiological being; is essentially a psychological being. Psychology is physiology, but “appears” separate to most humans and will be dealt with as here. But attempts will be made to intermittently connect with modern scientific understanding in terms of nervous system – the brain, spinal cord, nerves and neurons- to get a comprehensive picture of mind and its functions for academic purpose. -/- Psychology is human consciousness and mind and their functions manifested (...) as moods, thoughts, feelings, experiences, cognitions, re-cognitions and the like. Most of the difficulties faced by humans are financial and psychological. -/- The origin, structure, form, and function of human mind as revealed by Indian seers, wise-men, poets and intellectuals in the Upanishads and related spiritual and literary texts, will be translated into psychological and cognitive science elements. Thus an insight of human mental and related body functions will be deciphered. -/- This information then will be extended for its practical use to acquire a stress-free mind to face life in all its shades with equanimity and survive happiness, sorrow, natural and man-made calamities, and the like and the vicissitudes caused by them; and live a purposeful and dignified life of fulfillment as is done by many Indians who follow tradition with discretion. Irrespective of what happens or does not happen as desired around in the outside physical world and inner mental world as a reaction to outside happenings as moods, urges, thoughts, feelings, in the individual and how absorb and transcend the associated pleasantness or unpleasantness will be presented; and how to keep focused on ordained personal, social or social like duties will be highlighted. -/- The art and science of mind management for fitting and proud survival through ups and downs of life with the help of spiritual and cultural attitudes developed by Indian sages and other learned persons will be presented with clarity. For this first we must know, what human consciousness, mind and their form, structure and function is. Upanishads give a beautiful and insightful idea about this aspect. So this article focuses on the Upanishads and the gist available therein about consciousness, mind and their functions and control of mind and the how we can learn Art of Living from this wisdom. -/- . (shrink)

Contemporary Indian Philosophy is related to contemporary Indian thinkers and contains the proceedings of First Session of Society for Positive Philosophy and Interdisciplinary Studies (SPPIS) Haryana. It is neither easy nor impossible to translate into action all noble goals set forth by the eminent thinkers and scholars, but we might try to discuss and propagate their ideas. In this session all papers submitted electronically and selected abstracts have been published on a website especially develop for this session. In this volume (...) we included some papers from this session and also from open sources and contributors include teachers, research scholars and students etc. This volume is divided into two parts. First part contains papers on Swami Vivekananda and second part contains papers of B. G. Tilak, Sri Aurobindo, Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, Saheed Bhagat Singh and Dr. B.R. Ambedkar etc. It is the general intention of the Centre to produce informative as well as positive literature to inspire and motivate the students and the general readers. (shrink)

Some postcolonial theorists argue that the idea of a single system of belief known as "Hinduism" is a creation of nineteenth-century British imperialists. Andrew J. Nicholson introduces another perspective: although a unified Hindu identity is not as ancient as some Hindus claim, it has its roots in innovations within South Asian philosophy from the fourteenth to seventeenth centuries. During this time, thinkers treated the philosophies of Vedanta, Samkhya, and Yoga, along with the worshippers of Visnu, Siva, and Sakti, as belonging (...) to a single system of belief and practice. Instead of seeing such groups as separate and contradictory, they re-envisioned them as separate rivers leading to the ocean of Brahman, the ultimate reality. Drawing on the writings of philosophers from late medieval and early modern traditions, including Vijnanabhiksu, Madhava, and Madhusudana Sarasvati, Nicholson shows how influential thinkers portrayed Vedanta philosophy as the ultimate unifier of diverse belief systems. This project paved the way for the work of later Hindu reformers, such as Vivekananda, Radhakrishnan, and Gandhi, whose teachings promoted the notion that all world religions belong to a single spiritual unity. In his study, Nicholson also critiques the way in which Eurocentric concepts—like monism and dualism, idealism and realism, theism and atheism, and orthodoxy and heterodoxy—have come to dominate modern discourses on Indian philosophy. (shrink)

Often translated simply as "logic," the Sanskrit word _nyāya_ means "rule of reasoning" or "method of reasoning." Texts from the school of classical Indian philosophy that bears this name are concerned with cognition, reasoning, and the norms that govern rational debate. This translation of selections from the early school of Nyāya focuses on its foundational text, the _Nyāya-sūtra_, with excerpts from the early commentaries. It will be welcomed by specialists and non-specialists alike seeking an accessible text that both represents some (...) of the best of Indian philosophical thought and can be integrated into courses on Indian philosophy, religion, and intellectual culture. (shrink)

Indian philosophy has been often denied the official designation of “philosophy,” and many academics around the world have dismissed it as vague theology, at best. The main reason for such a relegation has been the inaccessibility of the languages in which the source texts were written. This problem was aggravated by the lack of readable English translations. Though, beginning in the nineteenth century many books on Indian philosophy have been written in English, most of them are inaccessible to scholars outside (...) the tradition, both in language and approach. If Indian philosophy is to be taken seriously, and if academics and lay alike have to benefit from the treasures hidden therein, it is necessary that the original concepts and theories are made more accessible and understandable—even to the beginner. An Introduction to Indian Philosophy is a welcome step in this direction. (shrink)

                  Book review: Yoga: The Indian Tradition. Edited by Ian Whicher and David Carpenter. London: RoutledgeCurzon, 2003, Pp. xii + 206     -/-  .

Introducing the Bhagavata Purana's key themes while also examining its extensive influence on Hindu thought and practice, this collection conducts the first multidimensional reading of the entire text.

Led by Buddhists and the yoga traditions of Hinduism and Jainism, Indian thinkers have long engaged in a rigorous analysis and reconceptualization of our common notion of self. Less understood is the way in which such theories of self intersect with issues involving agency and free will; yet such intersections are profoundly important, as all major schools of Indian thought recognize that moral goodness and religious fulfillment depend on the proper understanding of personal agency. Moreover, their individual conceptions of agency (...) and freedom are typically nodes by which an entire school's epistemological, ethical, and metaphysical perspectives come together as a systematic whole. Free Will, Agency, and Selfhood in Indian Philosophy explores the contours of this issue, from the perspectives of the major schools of Indian thought. With new essays by leading specialists in each field, this volume provides rigorous analysis of the network of issues surrounding agency and freedom as developed within Indian thought. (shrink)

This slim yet elegant volume begins with accounts of Cicero and Alexander, and continues with the story of a millionaire who wanted to save for the next six generations, a rich man who broke caste barriers through a meal, a farmer who protected his cows transcending religious boundaries, a widow who lived frugally to save for digging a well in her village, dacoits who were more conscious of their reputation than others, a simpleton but generous person who gave up his (...) family share to avoid disputes, and a boy who is compelled to steal to feed his ailing mother; and ends with legendary accounts of Dronacharya and Tansen. (shrink)

This book aims to give a better understanding of dharma through an extraordinarily exhaustive account of both the word and the concept through an incisive analysis of Vedic, Buddhist, Puranic, Smriti, and bhakti texts, and even some works of literature.

This book is the history of the beginning of the Vedanta movement in Australia leading to the founding of the Vedanta Society in Sydney. The book brings out the undying spirit of the members of the Vedanta group in Australia and their unremitting efforts at spearheading the movement.

This book tries to collate the different ideas of socialistic thought contained in the vast corpus of Swami Vivekananda's writings and speeches. His humanism led to numerous social activities with the idea that God is present in human beings. He said that education was the solution to all social problems.

This book is a new translation of Jivanmukti Viveka by Vidyaranya by Swami Harshananda, Ramakrishna Math, Bangalore. This translation is lucid and helps one to understand clearly the various subtle nuances of the original Sanskrit text. The original translation was into Kannada, which has been translated into English by H Ramachandra Swamy.

Translation and Annotation of 'Svarajya Siddhi' of Gangadharendra Sarasvati from the nineteenth century. This text is considered one of the five Siddhi texts, the other four being Naishkarmya Siddhi, Advaita Siddhi, Ishta Siddhi, and Brahma Siddhi. These texts have a very great value in Advaita Vedanta.

Book review of 'Srimad Bhagavata—Condensed in the Poet's Words' by A M Srinivasachariar. In this book, the Sanskrit Bhagavata verses have been condensed without using any words other those of the original. This has been translated into English by V Raghavan. This book enables one to have an idea of the main content of the lengthier original text.

Recent years have seen the beginning of a radical reassessment of the philosophical literature of ancient and classical India. The analytical techniques of contemporary philosophy are being deployed towards a fresh and original interpretation of the texts. This rational rather than mystical approach towards Indian philosophical theories has resulted in a need to work which explains afresh its central methods, courses and devices. It is with this spirit of thought and background that I want to publish a book to discuss (...) the relevance and need of classical Indian thoughts. The present collection is a significant step on this part because it recognizes the potentials of classical Indian tradition and its vast wisdom to contribute in all realms of life. Here we have collected 20 papers both in English and Hindi language written on Indian epistemology, metaphysics, logic, ethics and social philosophy. But in this volume only 9 papers were published and remaining papers will be published in second edition along with the same papers. To study the nature of philosophy in India and its implementation in all spheres of human life is one of the most important objectives of our Centre. In this regard we have published two online books entitled Philosophy, Education and Indian Value System and Positive Philosophy for Contemporary Indian Society, respectively. (shrink)

An interpretation of Kali and the explanation of the absence of a Devil in Hinduism or Sanatana Dharma. This paper shows how there is no 'dichotomy of divinity' in Hinduism. The social, cultural, and spiritual implication of the iconography of Kali is also discussed in the light of women and gender studies.

Tripura Upanishad is a minor Shakta or Tantra Upanishad explaining the structure of and meditation on Sri Chakra or Sri Yantra—a diagrammatic representation of the universe through nine interlocking triangles coming out of a central point. To date, there are two English translations of this Upanishad. The first and the earliest, by A G Krishna Warrier done in 1967, is a verse translation and because of the obvious constraints of such translation, fails to explain the intricacies and implied meanings of (...) this cryptic Upanishad. The second translation done many years later, is by Douglas Renfrew Brooks, who has also beautifully translated the commentary on this Upanishad by Bhaskararaya in the book 'The Secret of the Three Cities' published by the University of Chicago Press in 1990. While maintaining a high level of accuracy and bringing out the intricate nuances of this Upanishad, the emphasis of Brooks' translation seems to be more on the geometrical aspects of the Sri Chakra. The present translation emphasises the practice aspect of this Upanishad as derived from Bhaskararaya's commentary. (shrink)

Translation and Annotation of 'Svarajya Siddhi' of Gangadharendra Sarasvati from the nineteenth century. This text is considered one of the five Siddhi texts, the other four being Naishkarmya Siddhi, Advaita Siddhi, Ishta Siddhi, and Brahma Siddhi. These texts have a very great value in Advaita Vedanta.

Translation and Annotation of 'Svarajya Siddhi' of Gangadharendra Sarasvati from the nineteenth century. This text is considered one of the five Siddhi texts, the other four being Naishkarmya Siddhi, Advaita Siddhi, Ishta Siddhi, and Brahma Siddhi. These texts have a very great value in Advaita Vedanta.

Translation and Annotation of 'Svarajya Siddhi' of Gangadharendra Sarasvati from the nineteenth century. This text is considered one of the five Siddhi texts, the other four being Naishkarmya Siddhi, Advaita Siddhi, Ishta Siddhi, and Brahma Siddhi. These texts have a very great value in Advaita Vedanta.

Translation and Annotation of 'Svarajya Siddhi' of Gangadharendra Saraswvati from the nineteenth century. This text is considered one of the five Siddhi texts, the other four being Naishkarmya Siddhi, Advaita Siddhi, Ishta Siddhi, and Brahma Siddhi. These texts have a very great value in Advaita Vedanta.

Translation and Annotation of 'Svarajya Siddhi' of Gangadharendra Sarasvati from the nineteenth century. This text is considered one of the five Siddhi texts, the other four being Naishkarmya Siddhi, Advaita Siddhi, Ishta Siddhi, and Brahma Siddhi. These texts have a very great value in Advaita Vedanta.

The paper starts with some textual distinctions concerning the concept of God in the metaphysical framework of two classical schools of Hindu philosophy, Sāṃkhya and Yoga. Then the author focuses on the functional and pedagogical aspects of prayer as well as practical justification of “religious meditation” in both philosophical schools. A special attention is put on the practice called īśvarapraṇidhāna, recommended in Yoga school, which is interpreted by the author as a form of non-theistic devotion. The meaning of the central (...) object of this concentration, that is puruṣa-viśeṣa, is reconsidered in detail. The subject matter is discussed in the wider context of yogic self-discipline that enables a practitioner to overcome ignorance ( avidyā) and the narrowness of egotic perspective (asmitā), recognized in the Hindu darśanas as the root-cause of all suffering or never-fulfilled-satisfaction ( duḥkha). The non-theistic devotion and spiritual pragmatism assumed by the adherents of Sāṃkhya-Yoga redefines the concept of “God” ( īśvara) as primarily an object of meditative practice and a special tool convenient for spiritual pedagogy. (shrink)

Ideas about human consciousness and mental functions will be analyzed and developed using cognitive science information available in the Upanishads, Brahmajnaana, Advaita and Dvaita schools of thought. -/- The analysis and development so done will be used to theorize and give scheme of human language acquisition and communication process clubbing with Sabdabrahma Siddhanta/Sphota Vaada which put forward infrasonic wave oscillator issuing pulses in infrasonic range and are reflected as brain waves. -/- Thus a brain-wave modulation/demodulation model of human language acquisition (...) and communication will be advanced and put forward. Application of this study in mind-machine modeling, natural language comprehension field of artificial intelligence will also be hinted. -/- . (shrink)

Human consciousness, as dealt with in the Upanishads, modeled as a mechanical oscillator of infrasonic frequency (the Atman/Brahman), the result of breathing process, is further advanced to get an insight of functions of mind. An analytical approach is followed in parallel to and separette from quantum mechanical, quantum field and other theoretical propositions, approaches and presentations. Pure consciousness, unoccupied awareness and occupied awareness are identified, defined, classified and discussed together with fresh insight about time-space and time. A reversible transformation (vivartanam) (...) of virtual mental energy reflection (maya), creating various consequential / parallel / simultaneous conscious-states, phases, cognitive and communicative states, modes of language acquisition and communication, and kinds of function of human mind, which forms and facilitates human mental acquisitions, functions and communications, is proposed and discussed. Alternative analytical insight of human consciousness and mental functions to other theoretical approaches is given. All this is presented in brain wave modulation / demodulation terms. -/- . (shrink)

Upanishads are traditionally commented upon as texts of theology and religion. But the contents of the Upanishads can also be viewed and commented from modern science point of view. Elements of modern science present in the Upanishads and Advaita Siddhanta will be listed. -/- The nature of maya will be discussed with modern scientific awareness. This awareness will be further used in understanding human mental processes and the ways to model them contributing to the natural language comprehension field of artificial (...) intelligence. -/- The nature of the Dvaita and Advaita conscious states and their implications to human cognitive processes will be discussed. The use and significance of the ‘absence of mind’ conscious state will also be presented. -/- The use of above understanding in modeling human understanding process and its comparison to physiological psychology – the physics and chemistry of psychology - will be proposed. (shrink)

In this paper moral philosophy of Mahrishi Valmiki discussed on the basis of his ideas in the Ramayana.

This is a select annotated bibliography of literature on the famous Six Systems of orthodox Hindu philosophy.

W artykule rozważane są rozmaite semantyczne i symboliczne relacje, w jakich ujmuje się przyrodę na gruncie filozofii, kosmologii i estetyki indyjskiej. Punktem wyjścia jest charakterystyka wewnętrznej dynamiki przyrody, w którą wpisane jest nieustanne zderzanie się biegunowych jakości. Przedstawione są m.in. wedyjskie kosmogoniczne rozważania, konstatujące samorodność i substancjalną jednorodność cyklicznej natury, oraz pięć reprezentatywnych filozoficznych koncepcji przyrody. Autorka podkreśla także swoistą współzależność pomiędzy afirmowaną wizją przyrody a kulturowymi reprezentacjami natury ludzkiej.

Na osobę i dokonania Ramakriszny można spojrzeć z różnych punktów widzenia (…). Indyjski mędrzec jest zarówno autorytetem religijnym, które określa co dobre, a co złe, i wskazuje swoim uczniom drogę do wyzwolenia, jak i filozofem, szukającym prawdziwej natury świata i zgłębiającym tajniki procesu poznania. Jest wiernym wyznawcą, składającym swe życie w ofierze Bóstwu, i zarazem dociekliwym naukowcem, badającym świat zewnętrzny oraz własne wnętrze. W myśli indyjskiej rozwiązania ontologiczne są nierozerwalnie związana z aksjologią i nakazami praktycznymi. Trudno powiedzieć, co jest filozofią, (...) a co religią w sytuacji, gdy mieszają się one ze sobą, stanowiąc jedność nierozdzielną nawet na poziomie semantycznym – bowiem nie sposób wskazać w indyjskiej kulturze dokładnych odpowiedników naszych europejskich pojęć „filozofia” i „religia”. (shrink)

This paper attempts to articulate certain inadequacies that are involved in the traditional way of categorizing Indian philosophy and explores alternative approaches, some of which otherwise are not explicitly seen in the treatises of the history of Indian Philosophies. By categorization, I mean, classifying Indian philosophy into two streams, which are traditionally called as astica and nastica or orthodox and heterodox systems. Further, these different schools in the astica Darsanas and nastica Darsanas are usually numbered into six and three respectively. (...) Nyaya - Vaisesika, Sankhya -Yoga and Purva & Uttara Mimamsa are identified as astica darsanas and Carvaka, Buddhism and Jainism are identified as nastica darsanas (6+3). It is my endeavor to critically analyze the usual astica-nastica distinction of 6+3 classification of Indian philosophy so as to find out the meaning of such a rationale in this categorization. This general consensus is contested in this paper. What I am intended to support and strengthen such a critical analysis and exploration is to discuss these systems of India’s philosophy within the general intellectual milieu of Indian cultural traditions, its orientations, presuppositions and preferences. In order to carry out such a task, I shall be taking recourse to the theories of different scholars, both traditional and modern, in approaching and appropriating Indian Philosophy from different perspectives and their critical-creative approaches shall be scrutinized. (shrink)