Indian Philosophy Vol. One [Paperback]

S. Radhakrishnan (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0195638190 | ISBN-13: 978-0195638196 | Publication Date: December 1997

Oxford is pleased to be bringing back into print this classic two-volume work on Indian philosophy by one of India's greatest thinkers. First published in 1923, the work was revised in 1929.

Editorial Reviews

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

About the Author

S. Radhakrishnan is the former President of India.

Product Details

• Paperback: 738 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press (December 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0195638190
• ISBN-13: 978-0195638196
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.5 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.9 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,585,638 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

26 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A classic, April 8, 2005

By 

Dabbler (Bangalore, India) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Indian Philosophy Vol. One (Paperback)

An acknowledged scholar, S.Radhakrishnan, in this classic holds you by hand and takes you through the myriad hues of Indian Philosophy. The result is an honest and at times brutal appraisal of the works of thinkers of the bygone era. Radhakrishnan's consummate ease with the subject comes out in no uncertain terms. The book left me spell bound and answered questions which have been plaguing me for some time now. The book with its well laid out chapters is full of clarity and is scholarly.

To start off, His evaluation of the Vedas is clinical - "The religion of Vedas certainly more joyous, but it was a lower form of religion where thought never penetrated beneath the husk of things." "Men's relations with the gods were mechanical, a question of give and take, profit and loss."

He completely adores the Upanishads and comes out as one on home turf when dealing with them. He never misses an opportunity to praise them profusely. It is worth quoting the famous Deussen lines on Upanishads here - "but one thing we may assert with confidence - whatever new and unwonted paths the philosophy of the future may strike out, this principle will remain permanently unshaken, and from it no deviation can possibly take place." You can see him getting despondent in the last section of the chapter titled 'Philosophy of the Upanishads'. To quote him from there "But the true was overwhelmed by the false".

Jaina logic and its strong ethical system stand out. To me the following definitely sounded logical and in a way explains the pluralistic realism of Jains - "If we consider the effect such as a gold necklace to be a mere substance, it is the same as the gold of which it is made; but if we look at the necklace as a modification, it is new, and did not exist in the mere substance of gold."

His dissection of Buddha's silence on the state of the absolute is profound. He is copious in his praise of Buddha. To quote him - "No voice like Buddha's ever thundered into our ears the majesty of the good".

Watch out for the chapter on Materialism. "Intelligence is the modification of the four elements, and it is destroyed when elements from which it arises are dissolved". As simple as that??

The Bhagavad Gita is treated in an elaborate fashion. It is seen as the culmination of the Upanishadic thought with greater emphasis on the religious side. Gita's majesty and its `truth being spoken as it is seen' style get mentioned. Stand out line for me: "Its author does not suspect it is possible for him to err."

You can sense a sneaking admiration for Sankara's sharp intellect and this sort of runs across the book.

Quite refreshingly, he doesn't try to syncretize heterogeneous beliefs. He quotes his contemporaries and predecessors such as Deussen, Muller, Bloomfield, Oldenberg, Jacobi, hegel, Kant, William Jones, Rhys Davids, Bradley, Garbe, Aurobindo, Tilak heavily. He also quotes from the Christian literature liberally to lay stress on the universality of some of the messages.

At times, one could sense the exegesis getting stretched to the point of becoming incognisable with its source. To his credit though he never gets carried away and never ever presents a romantic version of history. But he seems to have completely bought the idea of Aryan invasion though till date fiery battles are being waged on this subject. When it comes to dates, he tends to give conservative estimates.

All said, the book, a classic in its own right, takes you on a whirlwind tour of Indian Philosophy, so very rich and profound.

Undoubtedly it is the chapter on the Upanishads which kind of stands head and shoulders above the rest. Not surprising, given the author feeling aligned to them. I will leave you with some of the top-of-the-draw-stuff from this chapter, which I guess will be ringing in my ears for years to come:

"The infinite is not beyond the finite but in the finite"

"We cannot easily conceive this one reality which is concealed by the many objects. We are too worldly, too experienced, and too serious about ourselves for that realization. We live on the surface, cling to forms, and worship appearance"

"Brahman is infinite not in the sense that it excludes the finite, but in the sense that it is ground of all finites.

"The aim of the Upanishadic thinkers was not science or philosophy, but right living"

"The seers of Upanishads try to lead us to this central reality which is infinite existence (sat), absolute truth (chit), and pure delight (Ananda). The prayer of every human heart is 'Lead me from the unreal to the real, lead me darkness to light, and lead me from death to immortality'"

"The mirror is not shattered simply because nothing is seen in it"

"The existence of the world does not take away from the perfection of the absolute. In a beautiful image it is said: That is full and this is full. From that full rises this full. Taking away this full from that, what remains is yet full."

"The different elements are in unstable harmony: Two birds, akin and friends, cling to the self-same tree. One of them eats the sweet berry, but the other gazes upon him without eating. In the same tree-the world tree-man dwells along with God. With troubles overwhelmed, he faints and grieves at his helplessness. But when he see the other, the Lord in whom he delights-ah, what glory is his, his troubles pass away."

"Know the self or Atman as the Lord who sits in the chariot called the body, buddhi or intelligence is the charioteer, mind is the reins, the senses are the horses, and the objects are the roads. The self, the senses and the mind combined the intelligent call the enjoyer. But he who has no understanding, but is weak in mind, his senses run riot like the vicious horses of a charioteer. He who has understanding, and is strong minded, his senses are well controlled, like the good horses of a charioteer. He who is without understanding, who is thoughtless and impure, never reaches the immortal, immaterial state, but enters into the round of birth. But he who has understanding, and he who is thoughtful and pure, reaches the state from which there is no return"

"Death is easy. It is life that is taxing"

"The ascent to God will be a lapse into the void or the abyss, if the ultimate brahman is itself looked upon as an abstraction. Then the goal of man is annihilation. The Upanishads dispute such a conclusion. The highest is a state of rapture and ecstasy, a condition of Ananda"

"It is an eternal existence absorbed in the thought, love and enjoyment of the supreme, and not an annihilation. The cry of the devotee poet, "I want to eat sugar, and do not want to become sugar," expresses this view"