Indian Philosophy: Past and Present – serie

This book offers a comprehensive analysis of Gandhi's visionary approach to conflict resolution, highlighting the enduring relevance of his ideas in today’s world. Contributions from a diverse group of leading experts from India and abroad provide fresh perspectives on the theoretical and practical frameworks for ethical, non-violent conflict resolution. Gandhi’s multifaceted approach emphasizes ethical action, non-violence (ahimsa), and the profound connection between satyagraha (non-violent resistance) and swaraj (self-rule). This book addresses contemporary issues of violence and conflict, focusing on the ethical and psychological dimensions of Gandhi’s philosophy. It fills a notable gap in existing conflict resolution literature. This book appeals to readers across various disciplines, including philosophy, political science, history, cultural studies, and peace studies. Engaging deeply with Gandhi’s principles, it offers valuable, practical guidance for those seeking peaceful solutions to conflicts in the modern era.

This book engages with aesthetics and ethics in North-East India. It involves the reader in indigenous knowledge and philosophy. It reflects upon the experiences of fieldwork and the observations made by field researchers. It thoroughly examines the neglected area of the study of women in aesthetic and ethical discourses within the ethnic life world.  Its significance lies in addressing marginalized subjects—women on the one hand and aesthetics-ethics on the other. Highlighting the importance of particularity, the book presents studies of more than 15 ethnic communities of North-East India, capturing indigenous thoughts, connections and linkages among different ethnicities. The book is an important read for students and researchers interested in ethnic philosophy and aesthetics.

This book examines the significance of metaphysical list-making as a determining feature of ‘spiritual exercises’ in South Asian gnostic yogas. It examines how these ancient traditions sought spiritual transformation through the dialectical practice of taxonomy. It highlights the gnostic thread that intersects ‘spiritual exercises’ and ‘ways of life’ in Hindu, Buddhist, and Jaina circles. It fills a gap in yoga studies by proposing a new understanding of jñāna-yoga (yoga of knowledge). Departing from mainstream Anglophone philosophical traditions, it articulates an original meta-theory of philosophical practice, explaining how philosophy can be 'therapeutic' in concrete terms. The book theorizes yogic Gnosticism, as a South Asian religious undercurrent and as a distinctive form of philosophical practice and ascetic way of life internalizing a sacrificial worldview. Finally, the book analyzes four literary case studies, presenting therapeutic methods in competing gnostic traditions, namely, the Verses on Sāṃkhya of Īśvarakṛṣṇa; the Advaita Instructions on the Doctrine of Gauḍapāda; the Buddhist Heart Sūtra; and the Twelve Contemplations of the Jaina Kundakunda. The groundbreaking multidisciplinary and trans-sectarian book offers a must-read for scholars across the fields of world philosophy and religious studies.

This book examines the significance of metaphysical list-making as a determining feature of ‘spiritual exercises’ in South Asian gnostic yogas. It examines how these ancient traditions sought spiritual transformation through the dialectical practice of taxonomy. It highlights the gnostic thread that intersects ‘spiritual exercises’ and ‘ways of life’ in Hindu, Buddhist, and Jaina circles. It fills a gap in yoga studies by proposing a new understanding of jñāna-yoga (yoga of knowledge). Departing from mainstream Anglophone philosophical traditions, it articulates an original meta-theory of philosophical practice, explaining how philosophy can be 'therapeutic' in concrete terms. The book theorizes yogic Gnosticism, as a South Asian religious undercurrent and as a distinctive form of philosophical practice and ascetic way of life internalizing a sacrificial worldview. Finally, the book analyzes four literary case studies, presenting therapeutic methods in competing gnostic traditions, namely, the Verses on Sāṃkhya of Īśvarakṛṣṇa; the Advaita Instructions on the Doctrine of Gauḍapāda; the Buddhist Heart Sūtra; and the Twelve Contemplations of the Jaina Kundakunda. The groundbreaking multidisciplinary and trans-sectarian book offers a must-read for scholars across the fields of world philosophy and religious studies.

This book delves into the ethics of apophasis across ancient Indian philosophy, pre-Socratic Greek thinkers, and early medieval Christianity. The chapters explore apophasis in the Upanishads, the Rig Veda, and Sankara’s Advaita Vedanta. The author also offers insights into the evolution of apophasis in the Western tradition, moving from Heraclitus and early Christianity to medieval Christianity. An insightful exploration provides a rich dialogue between traditions and makes it an interesting read for scholars and students worldwide in theology and philosophy.

This book delves into the ethics of apophasis across ancient Indian philosophy, pre-Socratic Greek thinkers, and early medieval Christianity. The chapters explore apophasis in the Upanishads, the Rig Veda, and Sankara’s Advaita Vedanta. The author also offers insights into the evolution of apophasis in the Western tradition, moving from Heraclitus and early Christianity to medieval Christianity. An insightful exploration provides a rich dialogue between traditions and makes it an interesting read for scholars and students worldwide in theology and philosophy.