Indian Philosophy Volume I: with an Introduction by J.N. Mohanty: 1 : Radhakrishnan: Amazon.com.au: Books
S. RadhakrishnanS. Radhakrishnan
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Indian Philosophy Volume I: with an Introduction by J.N. Mohanty: 1 Paperback – 9 April 2008
by Radhakrishnan (Author)
4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 303 ratings
Edition: 2nd
This classic work is a general introduction to Indian philosophy that covers the Vedic and Epic periods, including expositions on the hymns of the Rig Veda, the Upanisads, Jainism, Buddhism and the theism of the Bhagvadgita. Long acknowledged as a classic, this pioneering survey of Indian thought charts a fascinating course through an intricate history. From the Rig Veda to Ramanuja, Radhakrishnan traces the development of Indian philosophy as a single tradition of thought through the ages. The author showcases ancient philosophical texts and relates them to contemporary issues of philosophy and religion. This second edition with a new Introduction by eminent philosopher J.N. Mohanty, highlights the continuing relevance of the work and the philosophic tradition it represents.
Edition
2
Publisher
Oxford University Press India
+
Indian Philosophy Volume II: with an Introduction by J.N. Mohanty: 2
$31.10$31.10
Product description
Review
"This work gives a clear and rational account of the highest conceptions of Hinduism. The happy blend of Eastern conceptions with Western terminology makes the book intelligible even to the inexpert and it need hardly be added, instructive. Professor Radhakrishnan has shown that in their perception of the goal, in the acuteness of their reasoning, and in the boldness of their conceptions, the Indian thinkers are second to none."--Times Literary Supplement
"Comprehensive and authoritative. No such adequate account of Hindu thought has appeared in English. The spirit, motive, and method of this great book are admirable." --Church Times
From the Publisher
S. Radhakrishnan (1888-1975) was a distinguished scholar, statesman, and author. He taught for many years at Oxford University before becoming the President of India in 1962. He was awarded Bharat Ratna in 1954.
About the Author
S. Radhakrishnan (1888-1975) was a distinguished scholar, statesman, and author. He taught for many years at Oxford University before becoming the President of India in 1962. He was awarded Bharat Ratna in 1954.
Read less
Product details
Publisher : Oxford University Press India; 2 edition (9 April 2008)
Language : English
Paperback : 664 pages
ISBN-10 : 019569841X
ISBN-13 : 978-0195698411
Dimensions : 13.97 x 2.54 x 21.59 cmCustomer Reviews:
4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 303 ratings
Customer reviews
4.6 out of 5 stars
Top reviews from other countries
jayant satbhai
5.0 out of 5 stars Its a wonderful work by DR. RadhakrushnanReviewed in India on 2 November 2023
Verified Purchase
I liked this book
Report
Rakesh Anand Bakshi
5.0 out of 5 stars Love this book, the author is AUTHENTICReviewed in India on 17 August 2023
Verified Purchase
The chronological evolution of our vedic science and philoshophy is so well detailed and laid out chapter wise it made me so proud of my Hindu ancestry and eager to visit our ancient surviving temples and heritage across Bharat and beyond.
Report
Motionless Arrival
4.0 out of 5 stars As Far As It GoesReviewed in the United Kingdom on 20 September 2013
Verified Purchase
Indian Philosophy, Volume I
Scholarly and immense, but in accessible Victorian prose. I'm not surprised it's remained the standard text for so long - who would now even begin to attempt to collate the whole of a civilisation's philosophy! Simultaneously ambitious and sprawling, complete and partial, disciplined and wayward, pedantic and phantastic, objective and personal, this worthy tome is a gathering and a marker. It serves well as fundamental introduction to the avenues of understanding that the mode of `Indian' experience must go down to achieve wisdom.
Some prior interest in Indian philosophy - and therefore some patience - is presumed even in its Victorian compendiousness. My interest in reading often depended on which parts I found most pertinent. The first hundred pages or so go over the polytheism/henotheism of the Veda, and there is some accounting of the various Hindu deities etc. I was happier once we got to the Upanishads and, from there, the on-going reconfigurations and considerations of the absolute that is the contribution of India to world philosophy - the various formulations of the ground that have been overlooked [or one of which has been posited thoughtlessly as absolute and primary] by the narrower, religiously influenced `western' tradition.
But for such an apparently comprehensive tome, it does sometimes feel sketchy. The book is not self-contained. Radhakrishnan frequently refers to things he himself hasn't yet described within his own text: he references sunyata without having explained what that might be. In fact, he steers clear of an exposition of the way in which Buddhism might be fundamentally different from Hinduism. It increasingly appears, in the course of his writing, that Radhakrishnan is not entirely self-effacing. The book begins to give an interesting, historical sense of the time in which it was written [first pub. 1922] and the intellectual and social predispositions of its author as well as the state of historical knowledge at the time. Radhakrishnan writes about Indian Philosophy within the purview of Schopenhauer, Hegel, the then current fashions and initial understandings of western expositors, and his own Hinduism.
Radhakrishnan finds Hinduism more tenable than Buddhism: `As a philosophy and religion, the Gita is more complete than Buddhism...' p449. He negatively characterises the Hinayana, `It is not a healthy minded doctrine. A sort of world hatred is its inspiring motive.' Academically, and logically, he is unable to come to terms with the relativistic negation of an absolute in the basic premises of Buddhism. Apparently the Mahayana is superior to the untenable Hinayana because, `A metaphysical substratum is admitted.' Eh? He often insists that Buddha never denied the reality of the Atman: `Buddha is silent about the Atman enunciated in the Upanishads. He neither affirms nor denies its existence.' He then contradicts such assertions: for example, when positively quoting Nagarjuna on the very next page: `The Tathagata sometimes taught that the Atman exists, and at other times he taught that the Atman does not exist...' [p326/7.] Radhakrishnan does not clarify what it is that is being asserted and what denied, and how this is or is not Atman, or what is intended in relation to Atman/Brahman by the 'neither existence nor non-existence' of the middle way. Nor does he investigate the implications of emptiness; he has instead an emotional reaction against it - which itself is symptomatically interesting - and his language gets surprisingly graphic.
The areas of text that are most fractured, contradictory and incoherent [though over a large Victorian scale of tens of pages, smuggled in to an apparent propriety] are those where he attempts to reconcile his respect for Buddha as a sage with his Hindu convictions. His exposition comes under pressure and seems to me to be contradictory - precisely because he cannot give up on there being an independently existing transcendent reality. His exposition continually reinvests Buddhism with this. And reinvests Hinduism with the insights of Buddhism. He provides a brilliantly clinical and precise exposition of the tenets of the Madhyamika and then says: but 'the whole show of Nagarjuna's logic is a screen for his heart, which believed in an absolute reality.' And yet, in a way, this is perhaps what happened historically with the consolidations of Shankara. It would seem equally churlish however [and incorrect for a Buddhist] to deny that Buddhism is intimately related to Hinduism; dependent as all theorizing and insight is upon the conditions of its time.
Or, perhaps, the centrality of emptiness to contemporary understandings of Buddhism are themselves just a fashion and focus of now. Certainly Radhakrishnan seems to be on firmer and more trans-historical ground in his exegesis of the fundamentals of Hindu understanding. Therein, this book is colossal and the worthy prose often climbs to an impressive and inescapable ecstatic.
Read less
3 people found this helpfulReport
C. Huygen
5.0 out of 5 stars This is a wonderful book... from 1929.Reviewed in the United States on 4 November 2014
Verified Purchase
This is a wonderful book... but please be aware that it's the second edition as of 1929. Yes, there is a new introduction - but it's three pages long. I am not complaining; Radhakrishnan writes in absolutely gorgeous, articulate, nuanced English, and his grasp of the ideas and ability to transmit, contextualize and evaluate them is completely wonderful. And he used to be PRESIDENT OF INDIA!!! The very idea of a scholar/politician/philosopher existing in our time and leaving us such a wonderful masterpiece boggles my mind.
I've been studying and practicing Buddhism for 25 years, and I wanted to learn more about the origin and context of the Buddha's teaching, and that has been immensely inspiring and helpful to me - I recommend it. Whatever your reasons for approaching this subject, I strongly recommend that if you're not already somewhat familiar with it,
S. RadhakrishnanS. Radhakrishnan
Follow
Indian Philosophy Volume I: with an Introduction by J.N. Mohanty: 1 Paperback – 9 April 2008
by Radhakrishnan (Author)
4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 303 ratings
Edition: 2nd
This classic work is a general introduction to Indian philosophy that covers the Vedic and Epic periods, including expositions on the hymns of the Rig Veda, the Upanisads, Jainism, Buddhism and the theism of the Bhagvadgita. Long acknowledged as a classic, this pioneering survey of Indian thought charts a fascinating course through an intricate history. From the Rig Veda to Ramanuja, Radhakrishnan traces the development of Indian philosophy as a single tradition of thought through the ages. The author showcases ancient philosophical texts and relates them to contemporary issues of philosophy and religion. This second edition with a new Introduction by eminent philosopher J.N. Mohanty, highlights the continuing relevance of the work and the philosophic tradition it represents.
Edition
2
Publisher
Oxford University Press India
+
Indian Philosophy Volume II: with an Introduction by J.N. Mohanty: 2
$31.10$31.10
Product description
Review
"This work gives a clear and rational account of the highest conceptions of Hinduism. The happy blend of Eastern conceptions with Western terminology makes the book intelligible even to the inexpert and it need hardly be added, instructive. Professor Radhakrishnan has shown that in their perception of the goal, in the acuteness of their reasoning, and in the boldness of their conceptions, the Indian thinkers are second to none."--Times Literary Supplement
"Comprehensive and authoritative. No such adequate account of Hindu thought has appeared in English. The spirit, motive, and method of this great book are admirable." --Church Times
From the Publisher
S. Radhakrishnan (1888-1975) was a distinguished scholar, statesman, and author. He taught for many years at Oxford University before becoming the President of India in 1962. He was awarded Bharat Ratna in 1954.
About the Author
S. Radhakrishnan (1888-1975) was a distinguished scholar, statesman, and author. He taught for many years at Oxford University before becoming the President of India in 1962. He was awarded Bharat Ratna in 1954.
Read less
Product details
Publisher : Oxford University Press India; 2 edition (9 April 2008)
Language : English
Paperback : 664 pages
ISBN-10 : 019569841X
ISBN-13 : 978-0195698411
Dimensions : 13.97 x 2.54 x 21.59 cmCustomer Reviews:
4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 303 ratings
Customer reviews
4.6 out of 5 stars
Top reviews from other countries
jayant satbhai
5.0 out of 5 stars Its a wonderful work by DR. RadhakrushnanReviewed in India on 2 November 2023
Verified Purchase
I liked this book
Report
Rakesh Anand Bakshi
5.0 out of 5 stars Love this book, the author is AUTHENTICReviewed in India on 17 August 2023
Verified Purchase
The chronological evolution of our vedic science and philoshophy is so well detailed and laid out chapter wise it made me so proud of my Hindu ancestry and eager to visit our ancient surviving temples and heritage across Bharat and beyond.
Report
Motionless Arrival
4.0 out of 5 stars As Far As It GoesReviewed in the United Kingdom on 20 September 2013
Verified Purchase
Indian Philosophy, Volume I
Scholarly and immense, but in accessible Victorian prose. I'm not surprised it's remained the standard text for so long - who would now even begin to attempt to collate the whole of a civilisation's philosophy! Simultaneously ambitious and sprawling, complete and partial, disciplined and wayward, pedantic and phantastic, objective and personal, this worthy tome is a gathering and a marker. It serves well as fundamental introduction to the avenues of understanding that the mode of `Indian' experience must go down to achieve wisdom.
Some prior interest in Indian philosophy - and therefore some patience - is presumed even in its Victorian compendiousness. My interest in reading often depended on which parts I found most pertinent. The first hundred pages or so go over the polytheism/henotheism of the Veda, and there is some accounting of the various Hindu deities etc. I was happier once we got to the Upanishads and, from there, the on-going reconfigurations and considerations of the absolute that is the contribution of India to world philosophy - the various formulations of the ground that have been overlooked [or one of which has been posited thoughtlessly as absolute and primary] by the narrower, religiously influenced `western' tradition.
But for such an apparently comprehensive tome, it does sometimes feel sketchy. The book is not self-contained. Radhakrishnan frequently refers to things he himself hasn't yet described within his own text: he references sunyata without having explained what that might be. In fact, he steers clear of an exposition of the way in which Buddhism might be fundamentally different from Hinduism. It increasingly appears, in the course of his writing, that Radhakrishnan is not entirely self-effacing. The book begins to give an interesting, historical sense of the time in which it was written [first pub. 1922] and the intellectual and social predispositions of its author as well as the state of historical knowledge at the time. Radhakrishnan writes about Indian Philosophy within the purview of Schopenhauer, Hegel, the then current fashions and initial understandings of western expositors, and his own Hinduism.
Radhakrishnan finds Hinduism more tenable than Buddhism: `As a philosophy and religion, the Gita is more complete than Buddhism...' p449. He negatively characterises the Hinayana, `It is not a healthy minded doctrine. A sort of world hatred is its inspiring motive.' Academically, and logically, he is unable to come to terms with the relativistic negation of an absolute in the basic premises of Buddhism. Apparently the Mahayana is superior to the untenable Hinayana because, `A metaphysical substratum is admitted.' Eh? He often insists that Buddha never denied the reality of the Atman: `Buddha is silent about the Atman enunciated in the Upanishads. He neither affirms nor denies its existence.' He then contradicts such assertions: for example, when positively quoting Nagarjuna on the very next page: `The Tathagata sometimes taught that the Atman exists, and at other times he taught that the Atman does not exist...' [p326/7.] Radhakrishnan does not clarify what it is that is being asserted and what denied, and how this is or is not Atman, or what is intended in relation to Atman/Brahman by the 'neither existence nor non-existence' of the middle way. Nor does he investigate the implications of emptiness; he has instead an emotional reaction against it - which itself is symptomatically interesting - and his language gets surprisingly graphic.
The areas of text that are most fractured, contradictory and incoherent [though over a large Victorian scale of tens of pages, smuggled in to an apparent propriety] are those where he attempts to reconcile his respect for Buddha as a sage with his Hindu convictions. His exposition comes under pressure and seems to me to be contradictory - precisely because he cannot give up on there being an independently existing transcendent reality. His exposition continually reinvests Buddhism with this. And reinvests Hinduism with the insights of Buddhism. He provides a brilliantly clinical and precise exposition of the tenets of the Madhyamika and then says: but 'the whole show of Nagarjuna's logic is a screen for his heart, which believed in an absolute reality.' And yet, in a way, this is perhaps what happened historically with the consolidations of Shankara. It would seem equally churlish however [and incorrect for a Buddhist] to deny that Buddhism is intimately related to Hinduism; dependent as all theorizing and insight is upon the conditions of its time.
Or, perhaps, the centrality of emptiness to contemporary understandings of Buddhism are themselves just a fashion and focus of now. Certainly Radhakrishnan seems to be on firmer and more trans-historical ground in his exegesis of the fundamentals of Hindu understanding. Therein, this book is colossal and the worthy prose often climbs to an impressive and inescapable ecstatic.
Read less
3 people found this helpfulReport
C. Huygen
5.0 out of 5 stars This is a wonderful book... from 1929.Reviewed in the United States on 4 November 2014
Verified Purchase
This is a wonderful book... but please be aware that it's the second edition as of 1929. Yes, there is a new introduction - but it's three pages long. I am not complaining; Radhakrishnan writes in absolutely gorgeous, articulate, nuanced English, and his grasp of the ideas and ability to transmit, contextualize and evaluate them is completely wonderful. And he used to be PRESIDENT OF INDIA!!! The very idea of a scholar/politician/philosopher existing in our time and leaving us such a wonderful masterpiece boggles my mind.
I've been studying and practicing Buddhism for 25 years, and I wanted to learn more about the origin and context of the Buddha's teaching, and that has been immensely inspiring and helpful to me - I recommend it. Whatever your reasons for approaching this subject, I strongly recommend that if you're not already somewhat familiar with it,
you start with "Indian Philosophy, a very short introduction," by Sue Hamilton.
It's a 150 page book that will give you a wonderful entry into the vast survey that Radhakrishnan's two volumes and 1500 pages will provide you. The Very Short Introduction will also give you a good sense of whether you want to explore the Radhakrishnan or other works (for instance, the Upanishads and the Bhagavad Gita). Indian Philosophy: A Very Short Introduction
I'm so grateful I came across Sue Hamilton's book and I'm so grateful to have both volumes of Radhakrishnan's. In any case, whatever your quest or journey is, please continue. Blessed be.
Read less
12 people found this helpfulReport
=====
I'm so grateful I came across Sue Hamilton's book and I'm so grateful to have both volumes of Radhakrishnan's. In any case, whatever your quest or journey is, please continue. Blessed be.
Read less
12 people found this helpfulReport
=====
