Hindu philosophical thoughts and writings

A History of Indian Philosophy Volume 1 by Surendranath Dasgupta (1922) - THE 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.
Advaita vedanta in Bhagavata Purana - घटे भिन्ने यथाऽऽकाश आकाशः स्याद् यथा पुरा। एवं देहे मृते जीवो ब्रह्म सम्पद्यते पुनः-मनः सृजति वै देहान् गुणान् कर्माणि चात्मनः। तन्मनः सृजते माया ततो जीवस्य संसृतिः-
अजडप्रमातृसिद्धि – उत्पलदेव Ajada pramatri siddhi - वृत्तिः माया नाम शक्तिः शिवस्य शक्तिमतोऽव्यतिरेकिणी स्वरूपगोपनात्मिका क्रीडा, तन्निमित्तादेव यस्मादख्यातिमयमेतद्विश्वं भासते व्यतिरिक्तकारणस्य भेदाभेदविकल्पोपहतत्वेनाप्रसिद्धत्वात्, तस्माद्विश्वाभासानां निर्मातृत्वमीश्वरत्वम्
अथातो ब्रह्मजिज्ञासा- Brahma Sutra 1.1.1-Nimbarka’s Commentary - An enquiry is to be instituted, at all times, into the Highest Person, denoted by the term “Brahman”, the greatest of all because of His infinite, inconceivable and innate nature, qualities, powers and so on,—by one who has studied the Veda with its six parts
आगम प्रमाणम्-वेदान्तपरिभाषा - तत्र पदार्थानां परस्परजिज्ञासाविषयत्वयोग्यत्वमाकांक्षा । क्रियाश्रवणे कारकस्य, कारकश्रवणे क्रियायाः, करणश्रवणे इतिकर्तव्यतायाश्च जिज्ञासाविषयत्वात् । अजिज्ञासोरपि वाक्यार्थबोधात् योग्यत्वमुपात्तम् । तदवच्छेदकं च क्रियात्वकारकत्वादिकम्
आमरौघ शासन – गोरक्षनाथ Amarogh Sasana of Goraksha Nath - अथाधारणकर्मोदितशङ्खिनीभेदव्यवस्थाव्याख्या गुदमेढ्रान्तरे त्रिकोणत्रिधावर्तभगमण्डलमुच्यते तत्र आधारग्रन्थय एकद्वित्रयश्चेति एकद्वित्रयाणां मध्ये ग्रन्थीनामुपान्तरे चतुष्पत्रं पद्ममधोमुखं तिष्ठति तत्र कर्णिकामध्ये मृणालसूत्रपरिमाणा शङ्खावर्ता तत्र प्रवालाङ्कुरसन्निभा द्वित्रिनाडीभूता कुण्डलिनी शक्तिः चैतन्यबीजमुखं गत्वा सुप्ता
ईश्वरः सर्वभूतानां हृद्देशेऽर्जुन तिष्ठति-G18/61 - ईश्वरः ईशनशीलः नारायणः सर्वभूतानां सर्वप्राणिनां हृद्देशे हृदयदेशे अर्जुन शुक्लान्तरात्मस्वभावः विशुद्धान्तःकरणः -- अहश्च कृष्णमहरर्जुनं च (ऋ. सं. 6।9।1) इति दर्शनात् -- तिष्ठति स्थितिं लभते। तेषु सः कथं तिष्ठतीति? आह -- भ्रामयन् भ्रमणं कारयन् सर्वभूतानि यन्त्रारूढानि यन्त्राणि आरूढानि अधिष्ठितानि इव -- इति इवशब्दः अत्र द्रष्टव्यः -- यथा दारुकृतपुरुषादीनि यन्त्रारूढानि। मायया च्छद्मना भ्रामयन् तिष्ठति
ईश्वरप्रत्यभिज्ञाकारिका-Iswara Pratyavigya karika by Utpaldeva - Isvara Pratyabhijna Karika of Utpaladeva Saivagama from Kashmir प्रत्यभिज्ञा ज्ञानाधिकारः प्रथमाह्निकम् – उपोद्धातः कथञ्चिदासाद्य महेश्वरस्य दास्यं जनस्याप्युपकारमिच्छन् ।समस्तसम्पत्समवाप्तिहेतुं तत्प्रत्यभिज्ञामुपपादयामि ।। कर्तरि ज्ञातरि स्वात्मन्यादिसिद्धे महेश्वरे ।अजडात्मा निषेधं वा सिद्धिं वा विदधीत कः ।। १,१.१ ।। किन्तु मोहवशादस्मिन्दृष्टेऽप्युपलक्षिते ।शक्त्याविष्करणेनेयं प्रत्यभिज्ञोपदर्श्यते ।। १,१.२ ।। तथा हि जडभूतानां प्रतिष्ठा जीवदाश्रया ।ज्ञानं क्रिया च भूतानां जीवतां जीवनं मतम् ।। १,१.३ ।। तत्र ज्ञानं स्वतःसिद्धं क्रिया […]
ब्रह्मभूतः प्रसन्नात्मा न शोचति न काङ्क्षति-G18/48 - ब्रह्मभूतः ब्रह्मप्राप्तः प्रसन्नात्मा लब्धाध्यात्मप्रसादस्वभावः न शोचति? किञ्चित् अर्थवैकल्यम्? आत्मनः वैगुण्यं वा उद्दिश्य न शोचति न संतप्यते न काङ्क्षति? न हि अप्राप्तविषयाकाङ्क्षा ब्रह्मविदः उपपद्यते अतः ब्रह्मभूतस्य अयं स्वभावः अनूद्यते -- न शोचति न काङ्क्षति इति। न हृष्यति इति वा पाठान्तरम्। समः सर्वेषु भूतेषु?
জ্ঞানবিজ্ঞানযোগ-বীজং মাং সর্ব্বভূতানাং বিদ্ধি পার্থ সনাতনম্ - আমি তোমাকে মাধুর্য্যানুভবের সহিত এই ঐশ্বর্য্যময় জ্ঞানের কথা সমগ্রভাবে বলিব, যাহা জানিবার পর এই শ্রেয়স্কর পথে অবস্থিত তোমার পুনরায় আর কিছুই জানিবার বাকি থাকিবে না
Buddhism and the Sankhya Philosophy-by Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay (1871) - We have said what we had to say regarding the existence of similarity between Buddhism and the Sánkhya philosophy. We regret our limits do not permit us to proceed to the examination of the question, whether the existence of this similarity between the two doctrines leads to the inference that Buddhism borrowed its philosophy from Kapila, or to the inference that Kapila based his philosophy on Buddhism.
Construction of Mind(चित्त)-Lankavatara Sutra - All things of this world, be they seemingly good or bad, faulty or faultless, effect-producing or not effect-producing, receptive or non-receptive, may be divided into two classes: evil out-flowings and the non out-flowing good. The five grasping elements that make up the aggregates of personality, namely, form, sensation, perception, discrimination, and consciousness, and that are imagined to be good and bad, have their rise in the habit-energy of the mind-system,--they are the evil out-flowings of life.
Epistemology in Bhagavata Puran [ 12th Part] - श्रीमद्भागवतम् – द्वादशस्कन्धः ॥ ॐ नमो भगवते वासुदेवाय ॥ ॥ द्वादशस्कन्धः ॥ ॥ पञ्चमोऽध्यायः – ५ ॥ ब्रह्मोपदेशो श्रीशुक उवाच अत्रानुवर्ण्यतेऽभीक्ष्णं विश्वात्मा भगवान् हरिः । यस्य प्रसादजो ब्रह्मा रुद्रः क्रोधसमुद्भवः ॥ १॥ त्वं तु राजन् मरिष्येति पशुबुद्धिमिमां जहि । न जातः प्रागभूतोऽद्य देहवत्त्वं न नङ्क्ष्यसि ॥ २॥ न भविष्यसि भूत्वा त्वं पुत्रपौत्रादिरूपवान् । बीजाङ्कुरवद्देहादेर्व्यतिरिक्तो यथानलः ॥ ३॥ स्वप्ने यथा शिरश्छेदं […]
Introduction to Bhagavad-Gita by A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami-1971 - The position of isvara is that of supreme consciousness. The jivas, or the living entities, being parts and parcels of the Supreme Lord, are also conscious. Both the living entity and material nature are explained as prakrti, the energy of the Supreme Lord, but one of the two, the jiva, is conscious. The other prakrti is not conscious. That is the difference. Therefore the jiva-prakrti is called superior because the jiva has consciousness which is similar to the Lord's.
Introduction to Sanatsujatiya-सनत्सुजातीय: by Kashinath Trimbak Telang - A study of the Vedas is, indeed, insisted on in sundry passages of the Sanatsujātīya. But it is equally maintained, that the performance of the ceremonies laid down in the Vedas is not the true means of final emancipation. It is maintained, that action done with any desire is a cause of bondage to worldly life; that the gods themselves are ordinary creatures who have reached a certain high position owing to the practice of the duties of Brahmacārins, but that they are not only not superior to, but are really under the control of, the man who has acquired the true knowledge of the universal self.
Is there any survival after death? -J. Krishnamurti-1980 - Life After Death, Advocatedtanmoy covers a range of topics related to the afterlife, including near-death experiences, astral projection, and ghosts. He also explores the different beliefs and traditions around the afterlife present in various cultures, and the spiritual and scientific implications of life after death. He provides insight into the religious, philosophical, and scientific perspectives on the subject, exploring theories such as reincarnation and the possibility of a soul existing after death. He also discusses the psychological and emotional impact of death and bereavement, as well as the complex ethical issues that arise when considering the potential implications of life after death.
Isa Upanishad – ईशावास्योपनिषत् - Know that all this, whatever moves in this moving world, is enveloped by God. Therefore find your enjoyment in renunciation; do not covet what belongs to others.
Practical Vedanta- Lecture by Swami Vivekananda (10/11/1896) - At the same time, there is another side to the question. We must not look down with contempt on others. All of us are going towards the same goal. The difference between weakness and strength is one of degree; the difference between virtue and vice is one of degree, the difference between heaven and hell is one of degree, the difference between life and death is one of degree, all differences in this world are of degree, and not of kind, because oneness is the secret of everything.
Study of Hindu Philosophy-Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay (1873) - As yet no serious attempt appears to have been made to estimate the value of Hindu Thought and its influence on the progress of civilization. It is generally assumed that outside the limits of India, Hindu Civilization has exercised little influence. Perhaps the assumption is, on the whole, correct. The intellectual relations of Greece and through it, of Europe, to India will perhaps never admit of being fully cleared up.
Tattvasangraha by Shanta Rakshita-(तत्त्वसङ्ग्रह-शान्तरक्षित) 750CE - Tattvasangraha translated by Ganganatha Jha (1937) Commented by kamalasila (Tattvasaṃgrahapañjikā) Introduction by Śāntarakṣita Introduction by Kamalaśīla (verses 1-6) Introduction to the second volume Chapter 1 – Examination of the Doctrine of Primordial Matter (prakṛti)Chapter 2 – Examination of the Doctrine of God (theism)Chapter 3 – Dealing with the doctrine of both God and Primordial Matter (prakṛti)Chapter 4 – The doctrine […]
The Study of Hindu Philosophy – Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay - The principal value of Hindu Philosophy consists in its bearings on history and on sociology. As the great causes which have influenced the destiny of India, which have moulded the national character, taught the Hindu to despise the blessings of existence and to look upon inaction as the ideal of human happiness; as causes in short to which a very great deal of the characteristics of national life may well be referred, the importance of the philosophical doctrines of India cannot be overestimated.
United States of Kailasa submitted paper to UNHR on situation of violations and abuses of human rights rooted in harmful practices related to accusations of witchcraft and ritual attacks, as well as stigmatization - Hinduism, and especially through the AIAT, is an enlightenment-based civilizational religion. The truths of enlightenment and the methods and characteristics of an enlightened lifestyle are elaborately described in the sacred scriptures of the Vedas and Agamas. The cosmic truth of Oneness (Advaita) manifesting as many is thoroughly explained as the unified fabric of Existence, integrating physics, chemistry, biology, medicine, economics, arts, and multiple other seemingly apparently disparate fields.
Vedanta-Sutras-Sri Bhashya of Ramanuja [English Translation] - We know from Scripture that there is a Supreme Person whose nature is absolute bliss and goodness; who is fundamentally antagonistic to all evil; who is the cause of the origination, sustentation, and dissolution of the world; who differs in nature from all other beings, who is all-knowing, who by his mere thought and will accomplishes all his purposes; who is an ocean of kindness as it were for all who depend on him; who is all-merciful; who is immeasurably raised above all possibility of any one being equal or superior to him; whose name is the highest Brahman. And with equal certainty we know from Scripture that this Supreme Lord, when pleased by the faithful worship of his Devotees--which worship consists in daily repeated meditation on Him, assisted by the performance of all the practices prescribed for each caste and âsrama--frees them from the influence of Nescience which consists of karman accumulated in the infinite progress of time and hence hard to overcome; allows them to attain to that supreme bliss which consists in the direct intuition of His own true nature: and after that does not turn them back into the miseries of Samsâra.
Vivekananda was actually a rascal and he had no knowledge – AC Bhaktivedanta (11/12/1971) - Just like Vivekananda and many others. Now present . . . presently there is one Kalapatri(Karpatri). Vivekananda was actually rascal. He, he had no knowledge. But the Kalapatri is actually very learned man. He has studied all the Vedas, great Sanskrit scholar, but still, because he did not worship the lotus feet of the Lord, he is also proving rascal. He is now in politics. He has got a political party, Rāma-rājya Party, and nobody cares for him.
Yoga and its Objective – Sree Aurovindo (1921) - The command is now. God always keeps for himself a chosen country in which the higher knowledge is through all chances and dangers, by the few or the many, continually preserved, and for the present, in this caturyuga at least, that country is India. Whenever He chooses to take the full pleasure of ignorance, of the dualities, of strife and wrath and tears and weakness and selfishness, the tāmasic and rājasic pleasures, of the play of the Kali in short, He dims the knowledge in India and puts her down into weakness and degradation so that she may retire into herself and not interfere with this movement of His līlā.