Life, Thought and Culture in India - C. AD 300 1000 (Volume II)

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The volumes of the PROJECT OF THE HISTORY OF SCIENCE, PHILOSOPHY AND CULTURE IN INDIAN CIVILIZATION aim at discovering the main aspects of India's heritage and present them in an interrelated way. These volumes, in spite of their unitary look, recognise the difference between the areas of material civilization and those of ideational culture. The Project is not being executed by a single group of thinkers and writers who are methodologically uniform or ideologically identical in their commitments. In fact contributions are made by different scholars with different ideological persuasions and methodological approaches. The Project is marked by what may be called 'methodological pluralism'. In spite of its primary historical character, this Project, both in its conceptualization and execution, has been shaped by many scholars drawn from different disciplines. It is for the first time that an endeavour of such a unique and comprehensive character has been undertaken to study critically a major world civilization like India.

The period AD 300-1000 is often described as the 'golden age' of Indian history. Phenomenal and all-round intellectual advancement was perhaps the distinctive characteristic of this age. Vigorous religious, cultural and philosophical pursuits encompassed every sphere of life-the arts, architecture and music, dance and literature. Such activity resulted in competition and rivalry that were never irrational, soulless or destructive. Indeed the central spirit was one of tolerance, mutual respect and even co relational adaptation and reciprocal acceptance. It is equally interesting to observe that the rise and fall of dynasties and political powers, big or small, did little to hamper the growth and activities of religious sects, and schools of philosophy, art and literature, that flourished during the period under review.

D.P. CHATTOPADHYAYA., M.A., LL.B., Ph.D. (Calcutta and London School of Economics), D. Litt., (Honoris Causa), studied, researched on Law, philosophy and history and taught at various Universities in India, Asia, Europe and USA from 1954 to 1994. Founder-Chairman of the ICPR (1981-1990) and President-cum-Chairman of the HAS, Shimla (1984-1991), Chattopadhyaya is currently the Project Director of the multidisciplinary 96 volume PHISPC and Chairman of CSC. Among his 36 publications, authored 18 and edited or co-edited 18, are Individuals and Societies (1967); Individuals and Worlds (1976); Sri Aurobindo and Karl Marx (1988); Anthropology and Historiography of Science (1990); Induction, Probability and Skepticism (1991); Sociology, Ideology and Utopia (1997); Societies, Cultures .and Ideologies (2000); Interdisciplinary Studies in Science, Society, Value and Civilizational Dialogue (2002); Philosophy of Science, Phenomenology and other essays (2003). Self, Society and Science : Theoretical and Historical Perspectives (2004); Religion, Philosophy and Science (2006) and Aesthetic Theories and Forms in Indian Tradition (2008). He has also held high Public offices, namely, of Union cabinet minister and state governor. He is a Life Member of the Russian Academy of Sciences and a Member of the International Institute of Philosophy, Paris. He was awarded Padma Bhushan in 1998 and Padmavibhushan in 2009 by the Government of India.

Professor K. Satchidananda Murty was Vice-Chancellor of Tirupati University and Vice-Chairman of University Grants Commission (UGC). He was Vice-President of International Federation of Philosophical Societies (FISP) and also Chairman of Indian Philosophical Congress during 1980s and 1990s. He is recipient of B.C. Roy Award as well as the Padma Vibhushan. He has been hailed as a scholar of Buddhism and Vedanta. His writings on Eastern and Western philosophy have also been highly acclaimed. His major publications include Revelation and Reason in Advaita Vedanta; Teaching of Philosophy in India; Far Eastern Philosophies; The Realm of Between; Philosophy of Nagaljuna; Quest for Peace; Reason and Revelation in Vedanta; Hinduism and Its Development, and Evolution of Philosophy in India.

**Contents and Sample Pages**