The Yogavāsiṣṭha and the Philosophy of the Absurd: A Hindu Response to the Heart’s Cry

Abstract

AbstractIn this article, I call attention to the Yogavāsiṣṭha’s depiction of Rāma’s existential crisis and Vasiṣṭha’s various methods for resolving it. However, I illuminate this crisis and Rāma’s lengthy monologue by turning to an altogether different frame of reference: Albert Camus’s philosophy of the absurd as developed in his absurd-oriented works, from The Myth of Sisyphus to The Rebel. Arguing that Rāma’s existential crisis is strongly reminiscent of Camus’s awakening to life’s absurdity, and that his monologue may be considered among the most successful meditations on this predicament, I examine not only Rāma’s quandary but also what the Yogavāsiṣṭha deems the ultimate response to it. In this way, I throw into sharp relief two contrasting responses to the absurd condition in human life that effectively challenge one another. Considering some of the Indian classical works, such as the Yogavāsiṣṭha, in this light suggests that they too acknowledge the absurd as their starting point and, at least to a certain extent, develop doctrines that aid their practitioners in facing it. Nevertheless, the Yogavāsiṣṭha also enables us to develop our thinking about absurdity and expand the discussion of constructive responses to the reality of the absurd.