Indian Philosophy Research Articles

THE PHILOSOPHICAL NATURE OF “WATER”: FROM UPANISHADS TO EARLY TAOISM SCRIPTURES

India and China are two important ancient civilizations with a long history and profound philosophies in the world. There are some similar descriptions of water in both cultures, especially in their philosophies. The “water” was considered as the original source of everything, and one of the five elements, also a manifestation of Ultimate Reality, and the forms of water often compared with the river as the individual self and the sea as the Ultimate reality. This paper will analyze the inherent meaning of “water” in the early scriptures of the two countries, and compare the similarities and differences of "water" in the two cultures based on Upanishads in ancient Indian philosophy, Tao Te Ching, and Zhuangzi in early Taoism philosophy.

The Traditionalism of Rene Guenon in the Discourse of Philosophy of History and Social Anthropology

The article provides a complex analysis of the problems of traditionalism in the teaching of Rene Guenon, a famous French philosopher author of works on metaphysics, symbolism and initiation. Attention is drawn to the fact that traditionalism sublimated and produced a theoretical formulation of ideals, systems, values aimed at the conscious cultivation of this worldview. The roots of the philosophical reflection of traditionalism, which originated in ancient times, starting with ancient Chinese and ancient Indian philosophy, through ancient Greek philosophy to its modern doctrines, are analyzed. The concept of Tradition, which Guenon defined as the so-called Primordial Tradition, is considered. A comparative analysis of the problem of intellectual intuition of Rene Guenon and Henri Bergson in the context of social philosophy is carried out. Particular attention is paid to the concept of Rene Guenon’s philosophy of history, in which the basic position is occupied by the theory of cosmic cycles based on the cosmology of Hinduism.

Historiography of Indian Philosophy: Reflections on Periodization and Conceptualization

Historiography of Indian Philosophy: Reflections on Periodization and Conceptualization

Excessively Harsh Critique and Democratic Rhetoric: The Enigma of Bhimrao Ambedkar’s Riddles in Hinduism

Abstract Democracy seems torn between the ideal search for harmony and unity and the reality of polarizing differences and injustices. Harsh criticism both seems a useful response to societal problems and appears to undermine the search for this ideal of unity. This article engages Bhimrao Ambedkar, the Indian statesman and anti-caste philosopher, to explore this tension in democratic rhetoric. By placing his harsh critique of Hinduism in Riddles in Hinduism in conversation with his crafting of fraternity and love as ideals in The Buddha and His Dhamma, we can perceive the tense dialectic between the democratic injunction to seek community with opponents and the very human impulse to harshly criticize those perpetuating injustice. Analyzing archival drafts of his work that capture his processes of revision and invention, I extract a sense of tentative critique as an entailed form of Ambedkar’s reconstructive rhetoric. Such a tentative rhetorical style reduces the tensions between loving one’s enemies and harshly criticizing one’s opponents by introducing ways to lessen the impact of excessive critique, showing Ambedkar’s potential as an innovative thinker in the global history of rhetoric.

A CRITICAL RESPONSE TO THE QUESTION “DID THE BUDDHA TEACH REBIRTH?”

The theory of rebirth is widely accepted in Indian philosophy and it is mostly connected with the soul which keeps moving from one life to another life. Since the Buddha rejects the concept of the eternal soul by presenting Anatta theory, many questions are risen whether the Buddha teaches rebirth. Some people assume that the Buddha accepts the doctrine of rebirth because it is popular in pre-Buddhist traditions. This present research purpose is to give a critical explanation of the question of whether the Buddha teaches rebirth. This research is carried out with a library approach by collecting information from canonical texts as well as their commentaries. This research results from a comprehensive explanation of rebirth taught by the Buddha which is very unique and different from the theory of rebirth explained by other Indian traditions. The theory of rebirth (punabbhava) taught by the Buddha neither has an association with any external authority such as Brahma, Jagadātma, or God, nor with any internal entity such as ātma, pudgalātma, or soul. The teachings dealing with rebirth are found in many discourses, especially interconnected with a theory of Karma.

Philosophy of Yoga in Ancient Tamil Literature

Philosophy also holds a unique place in ancient Tamil literature. Thus, this study is carried out under the title of Yoga Philosophy in Tamil Literatures - Ancient Tamil Literature in Multiple Perspectives. Yoga is intended in a variety of senses. It is generally stated in most literatures that yoga is the union with the Lord. Some philosophers argue that separation from the world is yoga. However, the proper benefits of yoga, which are the common elements of yoga, such as Iyam, Niyama, Asana, Pranayama, Pratiyakaram, Dharana, Meditation, and Samadhi, can be obtained through proper practice of Avattanga Yogas. Thoughts on these are taken up more and more by the ancient Tamil literatures. Concepts of yoga can be found in many other ancient Tamil literatures such as Purananuru, Paripadal and Thirumurukaaruppadai. This review sets out to make that clear. The purpose of this study is to reveal the existence of ideas about the philosophy of yoga in the ancient Tamil literature in parallel with the Northern language literatures. Sources for this study include the primary texts such as Purananuru, Paripadal, Thirumurukaaruppadi, Tolkappiyam, Thirukkural, Indian Philosophical Repository - III, Hindu Philosophy, Sangam Literary Philosophy, 108 Upanishads, Indus Valley Civilization and Tamil, and Silappathikaram Kunrakkuravai.

Yoga and Mental Health: A Brief Exposition

The phrase “Indian Philosophy” designates philosophical schools that have their roots in the Indian subcontinent. There has been consistency in expanding this field of philosophical inquiry across time, which has given rise to a diverse array of texts and philosophical systems. The Samkhya, whose epistemology and metaphysics Patanjali brought in the second century BC, was a close ally of the Yoga School, which was established by him. Since ancient times, yoga has been practised as a discipline. But, as a result of its association with the Samkhya, it made an effort to create a unique philosophy that would be compatible with the Samkhya Philosophy. There are eight phases to practising yoga, despite the common misconception that it consists just of asanas. These steps stress internal and external cleaning, self-discipline, physical health, and meditation, which promotes alertness and mental power. A method of abstract meditation or mental abstraction is known as yoga. Yogi or yogini is a term used to describe someone who does yoga or adheres to the yoga philosophy with a high level of dedication. Almost everyone can benefit physically from yoga, and the practise can also have psychological and spiritual effects, including feelings of transcendence or connectivity to God or the Spirit as well as stress reduction and health. Stress on the mind has a significant role in our lives. Living a stress-free existence and maintaining mental tranquilly is the toughest difficulty. This essay aims to examine yoga philosophy in the context of contemporary intellectual thought as well as how it may be used to uphold human wellbeing.

Characteristics of Yoga Providers and Their Sessions and Attendees in the UK: A Cross-Sectional Survey.

Yoga is an ancient Indian philosophy and way of life that is being used as a method of improving health and wellbeing. Evidence shows that yoga has several health benefits, such as managing many noncommunicable diseases, such as hypertension, and improving mental health. The popularity of yoga is growing in the UK, but it is mostly unregulated with little information available about yoga providers and their sessions and attendees. This study aimed to explore who is providing yoga; what sessions are available, where, and at what cost; and who attends these sessions in the UK and whether yoga providers were aware of health conditions in their sessions. A cross-sectional survey was undertaken among yoga providers in the UK. They were approached through four major UK yoga associations. In total, 407 yoga providers participated. Most providers were aged 45–64 years (69%), female (93%), and white (93%). The median number of group sessions and one-to-one sessions delivered per week was four and two, respectively. The most common styles were Hatha (28%), Iyengar (26%), and Vinyasa (15%). Sessions had a varying emphasis on different yogic practices, but 59% of providers allocated most time to yogic poses (asana), 18% to breathing practices (pranayama), and 12% to meditation (dhyana) and relaxation practices. Most (73%) reported that their attendees disclosed their health conditions to them, most commonly mental health issues (41%), hypertension (25%), and heart diseases (9%). This study showed that yoga sessions are widely available in the UK, often provided and practiced by women, and concentrate on yogic poses. Sessions concentrate on the asana and tend not to include many of the more holistic aspects of yoga that are practiced in South Asian countries. Yoga providers are often aware of health conditions but may benefit from training to deliver sessions suitable for specific health conditions.

A Short Synopsis of Srimad Bhagavad Gita in Selected Ten Verses

Srimad Bhagavad Gita (SBG) is a very popular spiritual classic of Indian philosophy comprised of 700 verses that form a part of 'Bhishma Parva’ in the Mahabharata, the world’s longest epic. No commentary and critique of the Mahabharata are considered complete without the emphasis on the SBG and its teachings. Hence, SBG is the ‘kernel’ that guides mankind by eradicating ignorance and imparting self-knowledge. It is a practical tool that guides one in profound crisis and imparts several self-help tools that are practical even in the contemporary era. The dialogue between Srikrishna and Arjuna explores the origin of creation, nature of the body, soul, mind, and re-incarnation. It recommends one to walk on the path of ‘Dharma’ (i.e. righteousness duty) performing three key things: i) Righteous Karma (Action); ii) Unswerving Bhakti (Devotion) and iii) Commitment to Jnana (wisdom). The 700 verses are organized into 18 chapters and as three hexads of 6 chapters that guide one to attain ‘Moksha’ (salvation). The supreme lord also summarizes the key teachings of the Upanishads at relevant places which is a marvel in itself. This short perspective attempts to convey the key message and essence of SBG through a selected ten verses chosen by Sri Swami Dayananda Saraswati (an Advaita Vedantic philosopher) of Arsha Vidya Gurukulam (Anaikatti and Rishikesh, India).

Dalit Bildungsroman: A Modernist Perspective into the Poetics of Self in Jhoothan

This article analyses the incompetency of Indian philosophy of ‘Absoluteness’ and Western genre of classical Bildungsroman to analyse the process of self-formation in an odyssey of a Dalit. The modern contemporary era negotiates post-colonial and postmodern approaches to provide a heuristic view to the subjected self of a Dalit. The modernist approach takes Dissensual Bildungsroman into consideration. Om Prakash Valmiki’s Jhoothan narrates an experience of a subjugated and unheard voice and his journey of self-acculturation. The paper pre-eminently concerns with unique and experimented form of self which can provide a tantamount status to the pariah community and their culture compared with the elite Hindu community and among its wide range of readers and audience.

Analytic Panpsychism and the Metaphysics of Rāmānuja’s Viśiṣṭādvaita Vedānta

AbstractAnalytic Panpsychism has been brought into contact with Indian philosophy primarily through an examination of the Advaita Vedānta tradition and the Yogācāra tradition. In this work I explore the relation between Rāmānuja, the 12th century father of the Viśiṣṭādvaita Vedānta tradition, and analytic panpsychism. I argue that Rāmānuja’s philosophy inspires a more world affirming form of cosmopsychism where there are different kinds of reality, rather than one fundamental reality of pure consciousness and an ordinary wrold that is illusory from the perspective of fundamental reality.

Rasa and resilience: where to from here

ABSTRACT Situated within rasa, an Indian aesthetic philosophy, and drawing on Kasulis’s philosophical model that compares integrity with intimacy in understanding the world, this paper will aim to explore and expand on levels of resilience so that as I analyse buffeting in my creative projects, I access the energies that allow me to return to equilibrium, to balance, to wholeness and to Oneness. The notion of resilience requires the pursuit of a solution to a problem. The integrity approach fosters the artist as being “outside” the problem and solution, employing strategic tactics in the pursuit of meaning. The intimacy model fosters an immersion process, and I draw on the dynamics of rasa and the underlying, interwoven principles of integration. The understanding of the integrity model focuses on the notion of art-artist and the problem of strategic separation, whilst rasa looks at the embodiment and subject formation from the body/mind intimacy perspective. My creative practice offers a stance as the intermediary between conceptualisation, creation, understanding and methodology between the embodied self and resilience.

Проблема концептуализации когнитивного субъекта даршан

There in the article the author considers the problem of using the two most im­portant concepts of Western philosophy, reason and rationality, for the translation of Indian logico-epistemological texts written in Sanskrit. This is one of the many problems arose in connection with using of Western philosophy language for describing and explanation of non-Western philosophical concepts. Since in the West the reason is considered as the highest cognitive ability of the subject of knowledge, in the article three generalized models of the subject (in Vedānta, Jainism and Buddhism) are reconstructed. The models demonstrate that the us­age of the concept of reason in translations of traditional Indian philosophical texts leads to distortions of autochthonous texts’ meanings. The author reinforces her conclusion by suggesting the hypothesis of three main determinants of the inapplicability of the concept of reason, which are derived from the differences in the history of Indian and Western intellectual cultures. Those determinants were: the lack of consensus on the issue of structure of the subject among Indian philosophers due to their belonging to different traditions; the lack of the idea of the Highest (Absolut) divine Reason; the absence of the absolutization of human mind, which elevates man above all other living beings as capable of cognition and reasoning.

К истокам науковедения в Индии: Профуллочондро Рай о проблемах развития науки в модернизирующемся обществе. Профуллочондро Рай. Бенгальский мозг и его неправильное примене­ние. Пер. и комм. Т.Г. Скороходовой

Modern Indian intellectual history has rich sources for research of non-Western studies of science. Genesis of Indian studies of science belongs to the colonial epoch, when the scientists attempted to study a history of indigenous scientific knowledge as well as to think the circumstances of decline and further Modern development of sciences in India. The thoughtful example of work in studies of science area is an essay ‘The Bengali Brain and Its Misuse’ (1910) by Indian chemist Prafullachandra Ray (1861–1944). The article’s aim is to present the so­cial and philosophical meanings of the essay in broad context of intellectual and cultural development of the Bengal Renaissance. Externally presenting an at­tempt to comprehend social causes of impossibility of ‘scientific revolution’ in India in comparison with Europe and ones of retardation of Bengal sociocul­tural community in the most important spheres of activity, P. Ray forms practi­cally the first approach to Indian philosophy of science. Science is interpreted as the derivative from human ‘spirit of inquiry’, and the foundation for cognitive effort is rationalism, which encourages to raise bold questions and to doubt any authority. From sociology of science point of view, a decline of science knowl­edge and misuse of intellectual efforts P. Ray treats as consequence of Brahmins’ monopoly of the knowledge, of the caste system and misunderstanding of high education value in modernizing society’s circumstances.

Problems of teaching Indian philosophy in higher school

Problems of teaching Indian philosophy in higher school

Indian Feminism: An Analysis of Amish Tripathi’s Sita: Warrior of Mithila

The essay proposes to study Amish Tripathi’s Sita: Warrior of Mithila (2017) as a representative voice of Indian Feminism. More specifically, it will dwell on the author’s holistic and non-dualistic approach to feminism. My contention is that the concept of purush-prakriti harmony rooted in ancient Indian philosophy is one of the key concepts/ theories that distinguishes Indian feminism from Western theories of feminism.

ЛЕКСИЧНІ РЕПРЕЗЕНТАНТИ КОНЦЕПТУ "БУТТЯ" У АНГЛО-САНСКРИТСЬКОМУ СЛОВНИКУ МОНЬЄ-ВІЛЬЯМСА

The article is devoted to the study of the etymology and semantic connotations of Sanskrit terms: sat, bhāva, sambhava, bhavitṛ, bhavya, bhavat, bhūti, bhūta, sarvabhūta, bhavaka, sattva, sattā, saṃvṛtti, jāstāmātā sampatti, vartamāna, āvitta, āvinna as lexical representatives of the conceptosphere of being in the Sanskrit-English dictionary of Monier-Williams. The method of conceptual analysis is implemented based on the assumption of the determining influence of language culture on the content and nature of philosophical creativity. This study is only the first stage of the project to reveal the way of interpreting "being" in the history of Indian philosophy. The key semantic connotations of this concept in the Monier-Williams English-Sanskrit dictionary are revealed. The semantic connection of the concept of "being" with the concepts: "life" and "time" is defined. In this context, "to live" is to be "someone" in order to embrace "one's place" and play "one's role" that can provide "possession" for "subsistence", and the relationship between "being" and "time" is the concreteness of the existing event that is happening or has happened and belonging to the future that is about to happen. Although we do not trace a transparent connection between the concepts of "being" and "space" in Sanskrit, there are reasons to believe that the first of all, the etymology of the terms of our chosen conceptosphere clearly presents the interpretation of being as a long and a spatially defined location. Noticeable is the fact that the connection between the interpretation of the concept of "being" in Sanskrit and the ethical concept of "good" and aesthetic "beauty" we trace only in terms derived from as and bhū, and at the same time only the terms sat and bhava can be translated as "truth", and the meaning of "essence" we find only in the translation of the terms sat and sattva. This explains the fact why the term sat is considered as close as possible to the "Western" interpretation of the concept of "being". It has been suggested that the polysemy of lexical representatives of the concept of being in Sanskrit and the complexity and variability of the grammar compliance of this language can be interpreted as an obstacle to the extreme problematization of this concept.

Наука, техника и философия в культурной идентичности народов

The article from a perspective of philosophy of science undertakes an attempt of broadening and refining the sense of addressing interrelations between science, technology and philosophy in contemporary research. The author points out that the hope that technological and scientific development of the last few decades would solve all the problems of the world were naïve and did not contribute suf­ficiently to the analysis of the current situation and the concept of science. As a possible solution the article proposes to take a look on the origins and ac­tual functioning of the phenomenon of science from a wider perspective. There­fore, the author conducts a historical-philosophical investigation that shows how widely spread modern views on science that led to the loss of cultural identity and unity emerged from the spirit of rational philosophy. The break between phi­losophy and science further led to the break between science and technology. Using the inspired by non-Western tradition thought of Indian philosopher De­piprasad Chattopadhyaya the author provides a framework for a fruitful concep­tion of that unity of the sciences and humanities that should be a result of re­thinking their interrelations and foundations in the course of history and culture.

The Ethics of Selfless Action in Hamlet and The Bhagavad Gita

This essay offers a comparative study of the two classical texts of East and West, the Indian scripture of The Bhagavad Gita and Shakespeare’s tragedy, Hamlet. Both heroes, Arjuna and Hamlet, face the similar moral dilemma of killing of their kinsmen, and both fulfill their duty by overcoming the initial inaction through some insight into the mystery of life. I explain this insight with Krishna’s central teaching in the Gita, the ethics of Nishkam-Karma or selfless action, comparing it with Hamlet’s “readiness” in the last act. Nishkam-Karma is based on other key concepts in Indian philosophy, such as the immortality of the soul, reincarnation, Trigunas, detachment and discernment, some of which find parallel expression in Christianity. While discordant with the current politicized “turn to religion” in Shakespeare studies, this essay stresses the need for ethical reflections in religious approaches. It also aims to contribute to a better understanding of Indian philosophy, which is an under-researched field of study as compared to Shakespeare.

Анализ терминов как инструмент компаративной философии

The article continues the polemics on the problems of interaction of philosophical cultures in the era of globalization, which was started at the meetings of the Round Table "Geography of Rationality". The author gives answers to critical questions, explains the methodology and principles of her work with Indian philosophical texts. A short research of the meta-term "cognitive subject" is an example of her methods. The analysis of cognitive subject aimed to justify the absence of the concepts of reason and rationality in Indian epistemic culture, the cornerstones of Western epistemic culture, since Modern times. The justification was carried out by comparing the generalized model of the cognitive subject, abstracted from the writings of empiricists and rationalists of the XVII–XVIII centuries, with the generalized models of the cognitive subject, reconstructed on the basis of authoritative writings of three variants of Indian epistemological teachings: Advaita Vedānta, Jainism and Buddhism. From the author's point of view, the absence of the concepts of reason and rationality in India leads to the non-classical problem of pluralism of epistemic cultures, and the exploration of the meta-term "cognitive subject" allows us to find, on the one hand, intersections in the contents of epistemologies in Indian philosophy and Western metaphysics of Modern times, and on the other, their incompatible contents, which are specific manifestations of pluralism of epistemic cultures. For her reconstruction of the cognitive subject models the author takes the principle of "double perspective" in combination with the methods of hermeneutical and logical analysis of philosophical terms. The principle determinates the consideration of the theoretical object from two sides: European and Indian. Having appeared in the Western epistemic culture, these methods effectively work to objectify the results of socio-humanitarian research, thanks to which they are becoming increasingly widespread among non-Western cross-cultural philosophers. When the author applies the method of logical analysis to justify the absence of the concepts of reason and rationality in India, she is guided by the rules of logical semantics and the principles of semiotics. The compared terms, Western and Indian, are considered as signs with their own meanings and senses. The senses are understood as sets of predicates important for solving the author’s task. The author of the article, taking into account the experience of famous philosophers, negatively assesses the possibility of solving the problem of unambiguously correct translation.