Studies in Advaita Vedanta: Towards an Advaita Theory of Consciousness

Email

Whatsapp

Facebook

Pinterest

Twitter

Copy link

From the Jacket :

Studies in Advaita Vedanta deals with the fundamental topic of the system, namely, adhyasa or illusion. Self is taken in the system as the only reality and it appear through the form of 'I' as wrongly identified with the body and the senses. Illusion of such a nature is believed to be the cause of our miseries. The author discusses important philosophical and sociological questions regarding such 'spiritual' illusions. He also examines the issues concerning ordinary (non-spiritual_ illusion for reiterating the known Advaita thesis of indeterminable ontological character of illusory object. He supplements this negative conclusion by a positive thesis about such illusion, mostly following the Vivarana school of thought. The illusory object is taken to be the product of ajnana and is shown to be different in kind from consciousness, which constitutes the essence of self. The work, strictly speaking, is a study towards the Advaita theory of consciousness in itself as well as of the appearances that hinge on it through different types of illusion. It is thus a study Towards an Advaita Theory of Consciousness.

About the Author :

Sukharanjan Saha studied Advaita Vedanta with Professor Gopinath Bhattacharya for his Ph.D. degree of Calcutta University, and studied Nyaya with Pandit Visvabandhu Bhattacharya at Calcutta Sanskrit College for his Tarkatirtha degree of Bangiya Samskrita Siksa Parisat. He joined the Department of Philosophy of Jadavpur University in 1970 and retired in 2003 as Professor of Indian Philosophy. He also worked as Visiting Faculty at Burdwan University, Calcutta University and Indian Academy of Philosophy. Apart from publishing, articles in different journals and anthologies he authored Advaita Theory of Illusion (1982), Perspectives on Nyaya Logic and Epistemology (1987), Meaning, Truth and Predication (1991) and Epistemology in Pracina and Navya Nyaya (2003). He also edited The Sabdakhanda of Tattvacintamani along with Rucidatta's commentary Prakasa in a companion volume (1991), Essays in Indian Philosophy (1997), Rashvihary Das on Advaitism (2003) and Religions of the People of India (2003).