Popular Essays in Indian Philosophy, first published in 1952, is an anthology of seventeen philosophical essays by Prof. M. Hiriyanna. These varied essays cover multiple aspects of Indian philosophy-aims, values, ethics, metaphysics, worldview-and gives a panoramic view of the brilliance and sublimity of thought in ancient India as well as the di versity of opinions and the general ecosystem of openness to new ideas. Prof. Hiriyanna shows how the philosophers of India sought constant verification of their theories in practice. They believed that merely knowing something in tellectually did not amount to true knowledge; to know was to become, and nothing less would suffice.

Mysore Hiriyanna (1871-1950) was a well known Sanskrit professor and an authority on Indian philosophy and aesthetics. Inti mately familiar with the classics of Sanskrit and English, Hiriyanna devoted his life to the cause of making clear and accessible the wisdom of ancient India. He set the standard for scholars writing about Indian subjects in English. All through his life he remained a quiet, humble, disciplined, and altruistic person who primarily sought to better himself as a human being.