Veda and Vedanta- New Interpretations (An Old and Rare Book)

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The author (b. 1937) was teaching Indian Philosophy to the graduate and post-graduate students at Annamalai University (1964-1977) and Sri Aurobindo Ashram (1977-1986). In 1979 he was awarded the degree of Doctor of Philosophy for his thesis on Sri Aurobindo. His field of study and research has been Vedanta with special reference to Sri Aurobindo.

He has contributed articles to several journals including the Journal of Indian Philosophical Research (New Delhi). His book "Old Texts and New Lights" is under preparation.

Here is a collection of articles written on several subjects such as the Veda, the Upanishads, the Gita, Shankara and Sri Aurobindo. Each article is an attempt at shedding a new light upon a well-known work, apauruşeya or pauruşeya.

Those who are interested in textual interpretations may find the collection to be very useful, for it is intended to provoke reflection on ancient texts.

Commentaries are indeed helpful, but the help they give is always limited. When circumstances change, they become obsolete and fail to give the needed light. We can get the light only when we abandon them and enter the original texts directly and boldly in a spirit of adventure.

Sri Aurobindo has shown that such an hour has now arrived for a direct and bold approach to our ancient texts. Those who have accepted him may find this book to be of some help in their adventure.

The book that I am presenting to the reading public consists of articles I wrote over a period of two decades. In most of them my aim is to understand the spiritual significance of the living atman, (sariratma) in the world as against the higher atman divorced from the world (asarirasyatma).

When I turned to the great minds for help and guidance in my quest, the one name that kept resounding in my ears was that of the great commentator of the Upanishads and the Gita-Shankara. All engaged in the pursuit of philosophy in India were frequently referring to him and quoting from his commentaries. Hence I decided to study Shankara's works and find out the answer to my question. The more I studied the more I was convinced that his concern was not with the perfected form of the living atman in the world or what the Upanishads call the Kritatma. According to him, an atman in living relationship to the world is necessarily bound by life and works. Therefore his exclusive emphasis falls on the higher atman entirely unconnected with the world, on the transcendental consciousness that dwells upon itself and sees nothing but itself.

**Contents and Sample Pages**