Selected Doctrines from Indian Philosophy (An Old and Rare Book)

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Preface The present work is the result of a study of some selected doctrines in the various systems of Indian philosophy. Each chapter deals with one doctrine and describes the views of different systems on that doctrine. These views are compared with related topics in Western philosophy and science. The similarities are pointed out and discussed. Some new points have also been brought out.

This study is, in fact, a continuation of the study published in my earlier book: "The Upanisads and Modern Thought" (Mittal Publications, Delhi). In that book the study was con- fined to the principal Upanisads; the starting point of systematic philosophical speculations in India. In the present work the study is extended to all Indian philosophy starting from the Vedas and extending upto the recent times. The doctrines of will and evolution form the common topics with the earlier book and so, short summaries of the Upanisadic accounts find a place here to make the chapters self-sufficient.

The six Astika and the three Nästika systems of Indian philosophy have many doctrines of varying degrees of impor- tance. Of these, three doctrines are common and fundamental to all systems (except materialism), especially to all ästika systems. They are (1) The doctrine of karma and rebirth, (2) The doctrine of mukti (nirvana) and (3) the doctrine of the soul (not admitted by Buddhism). In addition to these, there are other doctrines which are found in most other systems but probably received less attention. Three such doctrines are the will, evolution and jivanmukti. These are selected for the present study.

The criterion for selection is their relevance to modern thought in Western philosophy and science. The will has been very much discussed in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries by philosophers like Schopenhauer, Nietzsche, William James (psychologist) etc. Evolution had its beginning in the nineteenth century in the hands of Spencer, Lamarck and Darwin and continues to be a live topic till today. The concept of jivanmukta has much in common with Martin Luther's faithfuls and Schopenhauer's geniuses. This doctrine should interest people who attach more importance to an ethical life with or without a belief in the hereafter. Long time ago, as a student, I remember to have read in a text-book that the electron is not a charged particle but the charge itself. That sentence provided the background for the chapter on the śakti-śaktimän relationship which has been very much debated in Indian philosophy. It is rather surprising that the ancient Indian philosophers should have discussed matter as a vehicle of energy so many centuries ago. These discussions have a bearing on the electron and its charge and also the field-matter considerations in modern science.

A study of the old doctrines in the light of modern thought has its own advantages. Apart from similarities between the two, one might even help the other. For example, the role of Purusa in Samkhya is generally considered to be unsatisfactorily explained by the analogy of a magnet moving the iron filings by its proximity. I have shown how a catalytic chemical reaction with purusa as the catalyst makes a better analogy. Similarly, the sakti-śaktimin relationship will enable us to understand the electron-charge relationship and the issues of field-matter better, as shown in chapter IV. Similar useful influences can be seen in the discussions on the various topics in the book.

**Contents and Sample