Indian Philosophy Research Articles

A Comparative Study on the Leadership and Managerial Characteristics of Rāma and Rāwanā

Rāmāyana is one of the ancient narratives in Indian philosophy. It is based on the story of the Prince Rāma. Leadership is the process that leaders should follow by mapping out where the organization has to be led in order to achieve organizational goals as a team with the employees of the organization. Transformational leadership is defined as the process followed by leaders to create an inspiring mission about the future of the organization, motivates employees to achieve that mission and building a team to achieve the vision. Positive development, encouraging employees to give priority to common goals rather than personal interests, giving freedom of choice and emphasizing the importance of moral standards are other characteristics of transformational leadership. The research problem in this study is to examine whether ancient Indian philosophy could contribute to improve the effectiveness of management. The objective of this study is to identify the roles of managers; one can choose to be either a Rāwanā who encourages employees to the perils or a Rāma who trusts the employees and their potential. Textual analysis is used as the methodology of this study. Rescuing Sītā was a huge task. The way that he formed the Vānara army, the way he led them towards achieving his goal, forming a vision, setting objectives, SWOT analysis can be found in the character of Rāma. The character of Rāwanā has some characteristics that can be used for an effective management. He was an excellent warrior, a great ruler and a scholar, although he was the anti-hero in the Rāmāyana.

The phenomenon of freedom in the philosophy of ancient east

The article shades light on the role and influence of oriental philosophical traditional views on the development of man, the process of his spiritual self-realization, formation of spiritual values from the point of view of the concepts of modern philosophy. The philosophical analysis of the phenomenon of individual freedom in ancient philosophy, in particular, classical Indian yoga, has been carried out. Practical methods of achieving the liberation of consciousness offered by the yoga system are analyzed. It is noted that the value of yoga as a spiritual teaching lies precisely in its effective practical method of self-perfection. Awareness of universal unity implies depersonalization as a way towards liberation and the emergence of a new state of consciousness, to which the true reality is revealed - the deep unity of all things. Emphasis is placed on spiritual freedom as a basic concept in social philosophical cognition in classical Indian yoga and oriental philosophy.

TA Contributions from India

Produced originally as the content for an opening speech and associated workshop at the ITAA/SAATA Conference in Kochi, India in August 2018, the following contains a review of theoretical contributions from authors based in India between 1993 and 2018. In particular, the wide-ranging contributions of Os Summerton and Pearl Drego are described, along with a review of the activities of Father George Kandathil and of others on the subjects of the guru, ethics, universal consciousness and conflict strategies. Two themes are extracted: practical ideas and models, and the cultural and spiritual nature of Indian society, with an expansion of Berne’s concept of autonomy into five components that are linked to Indian philosophy.

Anekāntavāda and Dialogic Identity Construction

While strong religious identity is often associated with violence, Jainism, one of the world’s oldest practiced religions, is often regarded as one of the most peaceful religions and has nevertheless persisted through history. In this article, I am arguing that one of the reasons for this persistence is the community’s strategy of dialogic identity construction. The teaching of anekāntavāda allows Jainas to both engage with other views constructively and to maintain a coherent sense of self. The article presents an overview of this mechanism in different contexts from the debates of classical Indian philosophy to contemporary associations of anekāntavāda with science. Central to the argument is the observation that anekāntavāda is in all these contexts used to stabilize Jaina identity, and that anekāntavāda should therefore not be interpreted as a form of relativism.

A Qualitative Analysis of the Poem “The Waste Land” to Investigate Spiritual Sterility, Moral Degradation of the Post-war Modern People and the Path of Salvation

This paper’s overriding concern is to analyze the moral degradation, spiritual sterility, fragmentation, damaged psyche of humanity, the disillusionment of early twentieth-century post-war modern Europe and of course the path of salvation that are enormously manifest in the Thomas Stearns Eliot’s poem ‘The Waste Land’. In the question of regeneration or salvation, Eliot in this poem instructs the morally and spiritually sterile modern man to follow the Indian philosophy, Vedas and Upanishads, the storehouse of knowledge, relief, and source of spiritualism, redemption and salvation. And also he concludes the poem with the sense that if they practise them in their life as instructed, there will be nothing but Shantih, shantih, shantih (peace and tranquility) in their life. This paper thus attempts to dissect how the poem develops exerting the acute sense of spiritual infertility, moral degradation, sexual perversion, meaninglessness in the human relationship of the post-war-devastated and dysfunctional world and concludes with the instruction of the path of salvation.

Uncertainty as Entrepreneurial Motivation: Tuche, karma and the Necessity of Action

In theories which contribute to the understanding of uncertainty in entrepreneurial action, scholars have traditionally attributed a negative connotation to uncertainty. This paper seeks to posit an understanding of uncertainty derived from Greek and Indian philosophy, where action of the human agent is not deterred by uncertainty, and rather, occurs despite uncertainty. This idea may be beneficial in making future entrepreneurs less apprehensive about uncertainty, by helping them locate the lessons from philosophy. I look at existing ideas that explore uncertainty in entrepreneurial motivation, and present a multidisciplinary approach which sees uncertainty as a force that increases intent of action, rather than deterring it by drawing on the understanding of consequence and action in Aristotelean thought and Hindu philosophy, and extend the concepts of tuche and karma to posit a theoretical position which sees uncertainty as a factor that encourages entrepreneurial action and motivation. The understanding of uncertainty in management literature has been approached primarily from two disciplinary positions - economics and organisational theory. In economics, the classical understanding of uncertainty which commenced with Frank Knight’s Risk, Uncertainty and Profit (1921), was largely abandoned in later years for a more quantifiable approach of calculating risk. Uncertainty, characteristically nebulous and difficult to grapple with, is unquantifiable. It is defined, in fact, by Knight, as something which cannot be predicted and quantified. Thus, in academics, where almost all disciplines try to make sense of the way the world works, uncertainty has always been a problematic concept.

Early Islamic Cosmopolitanism? Constructing the ?<i>Umma</i> of India in Pre-Mongol Muslim Scholarship

This article analyzes possible avenues for the study of a pre-Mongol Islamic cosmopolitanism. The ways in which the archetypically idolatrous land of India is treated by Islamicate thinkers of the ?Abbasid empire and after illuminates an Islamic cosmopolitanism that managed to incorporate the other into its view of human history and religious history. Two major fields for the generation of cosmopolitan ideas are analyzed: narratives drawn from historiography, and taxonomies erected by theological-heresiographical works. Both frameworks rely on a Muslim model of history and society in which divine truth and guidance are mediated to the communities (?umma, ?umam) of the world firstly by a prophet, but also by sages and philosopher-kings: figures who play important roles in Muslim accounts of India. Through applying these “universal” categories to Indian subject-matter, Muslim thinkers were able to depict Indians as partners in the human struggle to attain and preserve truth, albeit falling short of the Muslim community in various ways. In both the historiographical and the heresiographical fields, cosmopolitan and anti-cosmopolitan trends are observable. By incorporating Indian narratives into a universalizing historical vision, Mas??d? can best be seen to approach a cosmopolitan sensibility among thinkers within historiographic discourse. B?r?n? goes furthest among the thinkers working within a theological-heresiographical framework in analogizing Indian philosophy with Muslim thought. It is argued that both thinkers achieve a kind of cosmopolitanism only through an elitist denigration of the commoners of their communities. In addition, their cosmopolitanism was predicated on imperial expansionism into India.

Ānvīkṣikī of the Real from the Lens of Sāmkhya-Yoga and Nyāya Schools

From Plato’s cave allegory to Hath Yoga’s Prāṇāyāma to Quantum Physics to Space Explorations, human beings have tried to understand what is it ‘real’? Is it our surroundings? The immediate observation or something beyond. Different schools of thought looked at this question differently. There were materialists (Cārvāka/ Lokāyata) who viewed reality as consisting of five elements namely fire, water, air, earth and space which can be observed. Therefore, non-observable entities (God, Heaven, Self) didn’t exist (Ghosh 100). In this essay, I’m not looking at these schools. My emphasis would be harmonising immediate observation as well as metaphysical. The fundamental question I’m addressing in my essay is what is real, its constituents, accessibility, proof of its existence, path for liberation, etc. with the help of Sāmkhya-Yoga and Nyāya Schools of Indian Philosophy respectively? The essay is divided into two parts: Part I and II. Part I discusses Sāmkhya-Yoga school’s proposition whereas Part II provides Nyāya school’s point of view. In conclusion, I’ll compare their convergence and divergence points. The purpose of this essay is Ānvīkṣikī (interrogation or investigation) of fundamental reality.

Journeying through inner and outer worlds: the significance of travel across the works of Rabindranath Tagore

ABSTRACT Travelling is a common subject and motif throughout the works of Indian poet, philosopher and artist Rabindranath Tagore (1861–1941). Tagore travelled across India and the world throughout his life, especially after winning the Nobel Prize for Literature. He often wrote of his journeys and their lessons in letters, memoirs, and essays and frequently used travelling and related themes as metaphors or allusions in written and visual works. Travelling between inner and outer realms, home and world, was especially illuminating, offering him inspiration and new perspectives. This discussion traces the theme of travel across Tagore’s career, examining references to travelling in four different genres in Tagore’s oeuvre – early travel letters, a mid-life memoir, his prize-winning poetry and paintings made later in life. These and related works are used to show how the act and idea of travel profoundly influenced Tagore’s life and works, shaping his political, educational and creative philosophies.

Is the Conceptual Eurocentrism So Much Frightening?

The article is a response to the criticism of “conceptual Eurocentrism” expressed in the paper by A.A. Krushinsky at the Round Table on the Geography of Rationality on April 25, 2019. It deals with the main thesis of A.A. Krushinsky that in cross-cultural philosophical studies the Western conceptual matrix currently defines a single conceptual space for all participants, the language of Western philosophy acts as a trans-civilizational language in the world philosophy. The author of the article agrees with the main thesis, however she does not agree with its arguments and two consequences: (a) it is necessary to consider Western rationality as “rationality as such,” and (b) there is no multi-polarity in the current philosophy though there are a lot of traditions of philosophical discourse, which identify and articulate themselves by means of Western conceptuality (that is why we may speak on so-called “philosophical geography” only). The arguments do not stand comparison with the search of future philosophy, conducted now by the world philosophical community. The search is aiming to equality of all philosophical traditions. The article proves that conceptual Eurocentrism is not so much a danger as an objective necessity. Its spread is a manifestation of tendency to creative mutual borrowing of cultural inventions. The tendency always had place, but it was not so obvious in the conditions of preglobal history. The consequences of Krushinskiy’s thesis are refuted by the evidence that the Western philosophers denied to use the concept universal rationality and began studies of the various types of rationality. The author also provides an example of the creative borrowing and use of European concepts “rationality,” “positive knowledge,” “truth,” “scientific method,” “hypothesis” by the Indian philosopher of science B. Seal, who applied these concepts to the Indian material.

Self-Management and Work Performance: An Exploratory Cross-Cultural Study

Without understanding one's self, individuals blindly and with a minimal amount of consciousness, go about their lives and their businesses. Understanding one's self and how it can influence work performance offers individuals the opportunity to more meaningfully carry out their duties and fulfil their work requirements. Sri Aurobindo, an Indian spiritual philosopher and advocate of self-management, argued that man is not the last step in the evolutionary process; rather, man is a transitional being with the capacity to collaborate in its own evolution. The international township of Auroville, India was founded with Aurobindo's vision in mind. We administered a questionnaire to people in Auroville and a comparable group in Ohio, USA. This cross-cultural study allowed us to test hypotheses and compare the samples. Results suggest that practicing self-management on a moment-to-moment basis can help a person become more self-aware, thereby enhancing the individual's work performance. Results and implications are provided.

Right to Dignity and Human Rights: Tracing the Values from Indian Perspective

The present paper intends to focus on correlation of human dignity with human rights in Indian philosophical perceptive. The philosophy of India as a nation and Hinduism as a major religion sets a platform for the origin of human dignity and human rights and their correlation. In Hinduism, the importance of human dignity is evident from the fact that human beings are introduced as Amritasya Putrah Vayam – meaning thereby, we are all begotten of the immortal. The understanding of human identity and dignity is more ethical-spiritual than material. Right from the Vedic times, an invisible Atman - the Soul; Paramaatman - the Divine whole and ‘Chetna’ - Universal oneness always find mention in Hindu classical thought. Lastly the ideal of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam – the whole world as One Family – also becomes unique in this age of Globalizations. In present age what we are actually achieving is not Globalization, but Mc Donaldization. The paper is purely conceptual and only available literatures have been taken in updating the paper following the doctrinal method of study

Bring Back Harmony in Philosophical Discourse: a Confucian Perspective

As both Chinese philosophy and Indian philosophy have been largely marginalized on the world stage of philosophy in contemporary times, there is a pressing need to bring these voices into the discourse of world philosophy. This essay explores the value of taking into account the Confucian idea of harmony for postcolonial solitary and for a more equitable polycentric global academy. I explicate the concept and the value of harmony as exemplified in Confucian philosophy. I examine reasons of the disappearance of harmony in dominant Western philosophical discourse by comparing various conceptions of harmony in the West. Greek philosophers Heraclitus, Pythagoras, and Plato presented competing conceptions of harmony; whereas Heraclitian processive harmony presupposes opposites, tension and conflict, Pythagorean harmony and Platonic harmony are founded on a pre-determined order. In the contemporary West, from Karl Popper to Martha Nussbaum, harmony has been treated with disdain while it is taken in a Platonic sense. In East Asia, both Confucianism and Daoism take harmony/harmonization as an effective way to accommodate diversity and difference. I will then focus on the Confucian dynamic notion of “harmony with difference” and argue that such a conception is far from naivete and it has important implications if it is taken seriously in contemporary philosophical discourse.

Review of History of Indian Philosophy, by Purushottama Bilimoria, Editor-in Chief; J.N. Mohanty, Amy Rayner, John Powers, Stephen Phillips, Richard King, and Christopher Key Chapple, Associate Editors, Routledge History of World Philosophies

Review of History of Indian Philosophy, by Purushottama Bilimoria, Editor-in Chief; J.N. Mohanty, Amy Rayner, John Powers, Stephen Phillips, Richard King, and Christopher Key Chapple, Associate Editors, Routledge History of World Philosophies

Lokayata and lokayatics in the ancient sources (the Pali Canon and the “Arthashastra”)

While researching the lokayata school of Indian philosophy are usually based on medieval sources. The author, however, did manage to discover two ancient references to the lokayata school. The first one are fragmentary mentions from the 'Arthashastra”; the second, is a detailed one from the sutras "Digha-Nikaya”. The result of comparison of these two sources is quite contradictory to what was commonly believed before, namely that the adherents of the lokayata were neither atheists and nor materialists. On the contrary, they were brahmanas-ritualists, zealous admirers of the "three Vedas”, fierce adherents of the "Dharma of the four varnas and ashrams” and related brahminic privileges. Besides, a comparison of the Canon (i.e. the list of recognized and studied disciplines-v/dya of the lokayata listed in the “Digha-Nikaya”) with the similar list ofthe brahminic “schools ofKautilya” (which comprises the “Arthashastra”) reveals almost complete identity. The findings suggest that the teaching of the “school of Kautilya” was similar to that of the lokayata school or was its variant.

The One and the Many in Radhakrishnan’s and Hick’s Thinking

This essay focuses on two eminent thinkers whose perspectives on religious pluralism have attracted much attention: Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan (1888–1975), a prominent Indian philosopher, statesman and cultural ambassador to the West, interpreting Indian philosophy and religion to a Western audience, and John Hick (1922–2012), a world renowned British theologian and philosopher of religion, known for his contentious views on Christian beliefs and philosophy of religious pluralism. The paper draws attention to some significant convergences and divergences in their thinking on religious pluralism, which can be seen in how they conceptualise the relation between the One and the Many in their writings.

Secularism, Multiculturalism and Legal Pluralism: A Comparative Analysis Between the Indian and Western Constitutional Philosophy

India over thousands of years had become a ‘melting pot’ of religious, linguistic and cultural diversity, and thereby created a unique cultural fabric based on the principles of multiculturalism and pluralism.The ancient Indian philosophy was based on the ideals of vasudaivakutumbakam - the whole world is one family and sarvadharmasambhava- all religion leads to the same destination. These philosophical notions have attained legal status in the India. This article will focus on the background and constitutional perspective of secularism as implemented in India, the Supreme Court’s interpretation of secularism and identification of certain religious practices as an essential and integral part of a religion and lastly the role of the State in regulating the freedom of religion.

Is Anadhyavasāya a Distinct Type of Non-veridical Cognition (Avidyā)? Analysis of the Vaiśeṣika View

The Vaiśeṣika school is an important ancient system of Indian philosophy. According to the Vaiśeṣika philosophers, cognition or jnāna is of two types—vidyā and avidyā (vidyā ca avidyā ca), and avidyā is of four types—saṃśaya (doubt), viparyaya (illusion), anadhyavasāya (non-ascertainment) and svapna (dream). Among these four kinds of avidyā, the third kind of non-veridical cognition (avidyā), named ‘anadhyavasāya’ (non-ascertainment/non-assertory cognition), is acknowledged alone by the Vaiśeṣika school. Apart from the Vaiśeṣika school, no other school of Indian philosophy admits such a type of non-veridical cognition. Such a sort of non-veridical cognition is not mentioned even in the Vaiśeṣikasūtra of Kaṇāda. However, Praśastapāda discusses it in his Padārthadharmasaṃgraha, after mentioning it as a variety of non-veridical cognition. He has been followed in this respect by the commentators of Padārthadharmasaṃgraha in their respective commentaries. Following them, in this paper I am going to establish anadhyavasāya as a distinct type of non-veridical cognition.

Implications of Indian Philosophy and Mind Management for Agency Conflicts and Leadership: A Conceptual Framework

The unceasing stream of corporate scams and financial misdemeanours establish that agency conflicts are a stark reality of the contractual relationship between principals and agents. Agency theory identifies four sources of agency conflicts at the leadership level: moral hazard, earnings retention, risk aversion and time horizon. The theory proposes an outcome- and/or behaviour oriented mitigating mechanism based on agency costs. However, as the real-world evidence shows, these mechanisms have been only partially effective. In this context, the present study conducts a diagnosis of agency conflicts at the leadership level, trying to understand its origin, sources, mitigating mechanism and its limitations. The paper then takes a novel approach for bridging the gap between the current state of conflicts and the desired state of absence from conflicts, by examining Indian philosophical systems. It identifies the characteristics of Indian philosophy rooted in the Vedic wisdom as integrative, holistic, stressing on a direct experience of vision of the truth, emphasising practicality, and promoting the goal of self-realization through mind management. The paper then leverages the pithy aphorisms ( sutras) from Indian philosophical texts to develop a mind management framework as a tool to mitigate agency conflicts.

Jayanta's Refutation to Buddhist Definition of Pramana

It is a well established fact that India has been the center of famous thinkers and philosophers right from the ancient time as a result of its various philosophical traditions. These branches of thought are deeply embedded in the Indian culture and are commonly categorized as the six orthodox and the three heterodox systems of Indian philosophy. The concept of epistemology has been the topic of heavy discussion as scholars in the past have agreed or strongly disagreed on their formulations of the different schemes of metaphysics. For Indian philosophers knowledge is a means to reach at ultimate truth through speculation and experience. In this paper I am going to present the Jayanta’s refuration to Buddhist concept of pramāṇa .