A History of Indian PhilosophyThe old civilisation of India was a concrete unity of many-sided developments in art, architecture, literature, religion, morals, and science so far as it was understood in those days. But the most important achievement of Indian thought was philosophy. It was regarded as the goal of all the highest practical and theoretical activities, and it indicated the point of unity amidst all the apparent diversities which the complex growth of culture over a vast area inhabited by different peoples produced. It is not in the history of foreign invasions, in the rise of independent kingdoms at different times, in the empires of this or that great monarch that the unity of India is to be sought. It is essentially one of spiritual aspirations and obedience to the law of the spirit, which were regarded as superior to everything else, and it has outlived all the political changes through which India passed. The Greeks, the Huns, the Scythians, the Pathans and the Moguls who occupied the land and controlled the political machinery never ruled the minds of the people, for these political events were like hurricanes or the changes of season, mere phenomena of a natural or physical order which never affected the spiritual integrity of Hindu culture. If after a passivity of some centuries India is again going to become creative it is mainly on account of this fundamental unity of her progress and civilisation and not for anything that she may borrow from other countries. It is therefore indispensably necessary for all those who wish to appreciate the significance and potentialities of Indian culture that they should properly understand the history of Indian philosophical thought which is the nucleus round which all that is best and highest in India has grown. Much harm has already been done by the circulation of opinions that the culture and philosophy of India was dreamy and abstract. |
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... thought was philosophy. It was regarded as the goal of all the highest practical and theoretical activities, and it indicated the point of unity amidst all the apparent diversities which the complex growth of culture over a vast area ...
... thought was philosophy. It was regarded as the goal of all the highest practical and theoretical activities, and it indicated the point of unity amidst all the apparent diversities which the complex growth of culture over a vast area ...
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... thought. The discovery of the important features of Indian philosophical thought, and a due appreciation of their full significance, may turn out to be as important to modern philosophy as the discovery of Sanskrit has been to the ...
... thought. The discovery of the important features of Indian philosophical thought, and a due appreciation of their full significance, may turn out to be as important to modern philosophy as the discovery of Sanskrit has been to the ...
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Surendranath Dasgupta. Systems of Thought I have attempted to interpret the Sämkhya and Yoga systems both from their ... thought. But at the same time I considered it quite undesirable to put any pressure on Indian thoughts in order to ...
Surendranath Dasgupta. Systems of Thought I have attempted to interpret the Sämkhya and Yoga systems both from their ... thought. But at the same time I considered it quite undesirable to put any pressure on Indian thoughts in order to ...
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... thought, though they can be traced in the later Vedic hymns, are neither connected nor systematic. x More is found in the Brâhmanas, but I do not think it worth while to elaborate the broken shreds of thought of this epoch. I could have ...
... thought, though they can be traced in the later Vedic hymns, are neither connected nor systematic. x More is found in the Brâhmanas, but I do not think it worth while to elaborate the broken shreds of thought of this epoch. I could have ...
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... thought and scarcely a hundredth part of them has been translated. Indian modes of expression, entailing difficult technical philosophical terms are so different from those of European thought, that they can hardly ever be accurately ...
... thought and scarcely a hundredth part of them has been translated. Indian modes of expression, entailing difficult technical philosophical terms are so different from those of European thought, that they can hardly ever be accurately ...
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Common terms and phrases
___________________________________________________________________ Footnote Abhidhamma according action admitted âkâs'a appears associated âtman atoms attained avidyâ bhâ@sya body Brahma-sûtras Brâhma@nas Brahman buddhi Buddhist called Caraka cause citta cognition collocation colour commentary concomitance connection consciousness desire Devadatta dharma doctrine dravya effect elements entity essence existence experience external world fire Footnote ref gamaka gu@nas hetu Hindu illusory Indian inference interpretation Îs'vara Jaina Jainism Jains jâti kârikâ karma kinds Kumârila later Mahâyâna manas manifested mâyâ means meditation Mîmâ@msâ mind momentary nature negation non-existence notion Nyâya sûtras object Patañjali perceived perception permanent philosophy pleasure Prabhâkara prak@rti pralaya pramâ@na probably produced pure puru@sa qualities reality rebirth reference regarded relation right knowledge rûpa S'a@nkara Sâ@mkhya sa@mskâra sacrifice Sanskrit sattva Sautrântika says sense smoke sorrow soul stage substance tanmâtras Theravâda things thought truth Upani@sads Vâcaspati Vais'e@sika sûtras validity Vasubandhu Vâtsyâyana Vedânta Vedas Vedic vijñâna Visuddhimagga word Yoga