Critical Survey of Indian Philosophy

This book aims to provide a comprehensive, critical and clear account of Indian philosophy’s various systems. This book is for all who wish to have a concise and precise overview of Indian philosophical thought. This work was based on the analysis of the original sources as well as the author’s lectures given to post-graduate classes at the Banaras Hindu University over a period of time. The author has either quoted the original texts on almost all points or referred back to them in order to allow the reader to compare their interpretations. The exposition of different systems involves both criticism and evaluation. He tried to be fair to them, and to make many complicated and confusing points as clear and correct as possible. The ignorance of Indian philosophy, especially Vedanta and Buddhism, is still deep and can lead to misleading criticisms and uninformed accounts. This work aims to provide a comprehensive, clear and critical overview of Indian philosophy. All those interested in Indian philosophy will find the book useful. It is both small and large enough to provide a comprehensive overview of Indian thought. The author has either cited from the original texts on almost all points or referred back to them in order to allow the reader to compare their interpretations to the texts. The author tried to be impartial and fair in his exposition of the various systems, which includes criticism and evaluation. He also attempted to make many obscure and difficult points as clear and accurate as possible. The ignorance of Indian philosophy, especially Vedanta and Buddhism, is still widespread and can lead to misleading criticisms and uninformed accounts. This book was written to correct these misconceptions. While it is acceptable to have different opinions in philosophy, it doesn’t mean that we can impose our preconceived notions upon a system that is not dispelled by its original texts. This work does not attempt to cover all aspects of the vast subject. This treatise examines different Indian Philosophy systems. It is based on original sources, and the main value of its contents lies in their interpretation. The author has quoted almost all the fundamental points from the original texts in order to allow the reader to compare their interpretations to the text. The book begins with an overview of Indian philosophical thought, as it is found in the Vedas and the Upanisads. The book then focuses on Materialism and Jainism, Early Buddhism, Sunyavada Vijnanavada, and Svatantra Vijnanavada. It discusses the six Indian Philosophy systems, with special emphasis on Sankara, the presankara and post-Sankara Vedantas, as well as the essentials of Vedanta and Buddhism in comparison and contrast. It discusses Vedanta doctrines as they are interpreted by Ramanuja and Madhva, Vallabha Vallabha Vallabha, Caitanya, Caitanya, Aurobindo, and Vallabha. It contains clear explanations of Saiva Siddhanta and Kashmir Saivism as well as Sakta Schools.