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April Prompt 15 — The Day Of Philosophy Books

Indian And West… The Line Is Never Ending…

Sreeja Saraswati

Published in

Soul Magazine

5 min readApr 15, 2024

The end is not known…
But there is a beginning…
The beginning is a quest…

WHO ARE YOU? WHY ARE YOU HERE?

Ever wondered? Yes, many did.

Aristotle, Socrates, Shankara, Buddha, Vivekananda….these great people also wondered…

Then they explored…. So they were meaningful in their purpose; not many dare to explore and wander…

Yes… We call them Philosophers…

Philosophy signifies a natural and necessary urge in human beings to
know themselves and the world in which they live, move, and have their being.
It is impossible for man to live without a philosophy.
Philosophy harmonizes the highest conclusions of the different sciences, coordinates them with one another, and gives a rational conception of the world AND BEYOND…. It investigates the nature of the fundamental concepts - matter, time, space, life, mind, soul… It enquires into the nature of the universe, its Creator or God, its purpose, and its relation to man and his soul. It is the art of thinking about all things analytically, systematically, and continuously.

I consider myself lucky in been introduced to the world of Philosophy, as a beginner while reading the Bhagavad Gita… I didn’t know much about the streams of Philosophy at that time. But The Destiny had chosen me Ayurveda, which was a game changer…

As part of a Syllabus that is as vast as an ocean, I took a dip into Indian Philosophy, the various streams, the goal….

It was rewarding… We realize that we are just the dot in the big line, that never ends.. Many books came as Friends and Guide… TO MAKE ME UNDERSTAND THE BASICS AND DIFFERENTIATE THE CONFUSION..

It is harder to select one…. but will mention the favorites rather…

Chatterjee and Datta provide an overview of Indian philosophy by comparing and contrasting nine major schools of Indian philosophy — the six orthodox schools plus three well-known heterodox schools. The dividing line between orthodox and unorthodox hinges upon whether a philosophy accepts the Vedas as sources of authority.

After an introductory chapter that lays out the concepts that will be needed throughout the remainder of the book as well as providing brief sketches of nine philosophical schools, the remainder of the book is a one chapter per school examination of metaphysics, ethics, theology, epistemology, etc. The authors first consider the heterodox schools: i.e. Carvaka (a materialist /atheist approach), Jain (one of the major Indian religions), and Buddhist. After examining the heterodox approaches, Chatterjee and Datta take on the orthodox schools in the following order: Nyaya, Vaisesika, Sankhya, Yoga, Mimamsa, and Vedanta.

Well….

The perspective one gets by going through this book about Indian Philosophy is immense. Once read, re — read ( re- reading helps),learnt; we can surf through deeper, conceptually challenging books like that of Dr. Radhakrishnan or Swami Vivekananda.

Once you learnt Indian, the western thought was also explored…

Betty Heimann was the first woman Indologist, she taught at the University of London. She founded the Department of Indian Philosophy and Sanskrit.She is included with early pioneers of comparative philosophy.

East and West Contrasts explored in the book..

While Indian Philosophy attempts to liberate by realization of self, Karma and Moksha or liberation, being more of Cosmic level; True happiness and personal transformation come from within. By cultivating self-awareness, practicing mindfulness, and developing our spirituality, we can achieve a more fulfilling life experience. This approach is centered on the idea of non-attachment, letting go of ego and material desires to achieve inner peace.

Western Philosophy adopts the Anthropological Aura towards life. This teaches that we can achieve personal transformation by using reason and logic to solve problems and overcome obstacles. This approach is centered on the pursuit of happiness and the belief that we have the power to shape our own destiny.

Here is the link to the book to read online …https://archive.org/details/indianandwestern032274mbp/page/n7

While mentioning the west meeting east, we can easily relate the call to these people to learn the eastern philosophy is not accidental. They have an instinct or inclination towards this. May be, some previous birth attachments.. Who knows ? We haven't seen much, learnt much, rather that has to be learnt is pretty vast and deep than we can imagine…

Sharing such a story by Swami Radhanath in THE JOURNEY HOME…

The Journey Home is an intimate account of the steps to self-realization and also a penetrating glimpse into the heart of mystic traditions and the challenges that all souls must face on the road to inner harmony and a union with the Divine. His memoir The Journey Home: Autobiography of an American Swami is the story of his growing up years in a Jewish family in Chicago, Illinois, and his subsequent journey to India while hitch-hiking through Europe and the Middle East. He met many people along the way who shared their wisdom with him. His stay with the yogis in the Himalayas, in monasteries, synagogues and churches that acquainted him with the teachings of different faiths. The book chronicles his spiritual quest and how he finally found the Bhakti Yoga Path.