Tradition and Reflection: Explorations in Indian ThoughtThis book examines, above all, the relationship between reason and Vedic revelation, and the philosophical responses to the idea of the Veda. It deals with such topics as dharma, karma and rebirth, the role of man in the universe, the motivation and justification of human actions, the relationship between ritual norms and universal ethics, and reflections on the goals and sources of human knowledge. Halbfass presents previously unknown materials concerning the history of sectarian movements, including the notorious "Thags" (thaka), and relations between Indian and Iranian thought. The approach is partly philosophical and partly historical and philological; to a certain extent, it is also comparative. The author explores indigenous Indian reflections on the sources, the structure and the meaning of the Hindu tradition, and traditional philosophical responses to social and historical realities. He does not deal with social and historical realities per se; rather, basing his work on the premise that to understand these realities the reflections and constructions of traditional Indian theorists are no less significant than the observations and paradigms of modern Western historians and social scientists, he explores the self-understanding of such leading thinkers as Sankara, Kumarila, Bhartrhari and Udayana. |
Contents
The Idea of the Veda and the Identity of Hinduism | 1 |
The Presence of the Veda in Indian Philosophical Reflection | 19 |
Vedic Orthodoxy and the Plurality of Religious Traditions | 45 |
Vedic Apologetics Ritual Killing and the Foundations of Ethics | 81 |
Human Reason and Vedic Revelation in Advaita Vedānta | 125 |
Śankara the Yoga of Patañjali and the SoCalled Yogasūtrabhāsyavivarana | 199 |
The Therapeutic Paradigm and the Search for Identity in Indian Philosophy | 235 |
Man and Self in Traditional Indian Thought | 257 |
Competing Causalities Karma Vedic Rituals and the Natural World | 283 |
Homo Hierarchicus The Conceptualization of the Varna System in Indian Thought | 335 |
Abbreviations | 395 |
Index | 399 |
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Common terms and phrases
according adhikāra adṛṣṭa Advaita Vedānta animals anvayavyatireka apūrva argumentation ātman authority basic Benares Bhartṛhari Bhāṣya Brāhmaṇa Brahmasūtra Brahmasūtrabhāṣya brahmin Bṛhadāraṇyaka BSBh BUBh Buddhist caste causality Chandogya classical commentary concept concerning context dharma Dharmaśāstra discussion doctrine ethical explicit Hacker himsā Hindu Hinduism human idea identity India and Europe Indian thought interpretation Jaina jāti Jayanta karma karmic knowledge Kumārila liberation Mahābhārata Manu means metaphysical Mīmāmsā Nyāya orientation orthodox philosophical present problems Pūrvamīmāmsā quotes Rāmānuja reason reference religion religious retributive role Śabara sacrifice Samkhya samsāra samsaramocaka Śan Śankara Sankara's Sanskrit sense significant social soteriological specifically śruti statements śūdras Sureśvara Sūtra tarka teachings texts Thags theory tion tradition trans truth Udayana Uddyotakara ultimate unity universals Upanisad Vācaspati Vaiseṣika varna varņas Veda Vedic Vedic revelation Vedic rituals verse Vetter Vivarana Wezler worldly Yoga Yogabhāṣya YSBhV yukti