A History of Indian Philosophy, Volume IThe 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. It is therefore very necessary that Indians as well as other peoples should become more and more acquainted with the true characteristics of the past history of Indian thought and form a correct estimate of its special features. |
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... [Footnote ref 1]." The. Vedic. Gods. The hymns of the Rg-Veda were almost all composed in praise of the gods. The social and other materials are of secondary importance, as these references had only to be mentioned incidentally in giving ...
... [ Footnote ref 1 ] . " " Against this theory it has been urged , " as Macdonell rightly says in his Vedic Mythology [ Footnote ref 2 ] , " that Vedic deities are not represented as ' independent of all the rest , ' since no religion ...
... [Footnote ref 1]. He is said to be father and procreator of all beings, though himself uncreated. He generated the primitive waters. It is to him that the sage says, Who is our father, our creator, maker, Who every place doth know and ...
... [ Footnote ref 3 ] . In another place Brahman is said to be the ultimate thing in the Universe and is identified with Prajāpati , Purusa and Prāna ( the vital air [ Footnote ref 1 ] ) . In another place Brahman is described as being the ...
... [Footnote ref. 1]." Thus in the Rg-Veda we find that the poet in one place says, "what was the wood and what was the tree out of which they built heaven and earth [Footnote ref. 2]?" The answer given to this question in Taittirīya ...
Contents
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Section 17 | |
Section 18 | |
Section 19 | |
Section 20 | |
Section 21 | |
Section 22 | |
Section 23 | |
Section 9 | |
Section 10 | |
Section 11 | |
Section 12 | |
Section 13 | |
Section 14 | |
Section 15 | |
Section 24 | |
Section 25 | |
Section 26 | |
Section 27 | |
Section 28 | |
Section 29 | |
Other editions - View all
A History of Indian Philosophy, Vol. 2 (Classic Reprint) Surendranath Dasgupta No preview available - 2016 |