Papers by vijay srinath kanchi
Čitalište (Štampano izd.), Jan 23, 2024
The leaps and bounds with which the knowledge domain of our modern civilization is growing pose a... more The leaps and bounds with which the knowledge domain of our modern civilization is growing pose a formidable challenge as to how this wealth of knowledge is to be preserved for posterity. Are we sufficiently prepared should there be any cataclysm of gigantic proportions or a major catastrophe such as a nuclear war? What if the whole world is thrown awry and crippled by such major events? How do we ensure that future generations of humans who would have inherited a substantially destroyed world can rebuild it back to its glory? How to safely supply the wealth of knowledge we amassed from modern advancements in science and technology to those generations who have to rebuild everything from scratch? This paper examines the techniques espoused by our wise ancient Indian sages to transmit knowledge to posterity across many millennia, the wisdom and philosophy behind such adopted measures and whether there are lessons for us to learn from them.
ICLIM 2023 Proceedings, 2023
The geo-cultural landmass of the Indian subcontinent was the fountainhead of an illustrious civil... more The geo-cultural landmass of the Indian subcontinent was the fountainhead of an illustrious civilization that held sway over greater part of the world economically, culturally and intellectually for well over two millennia. This great civilization of the ancient world produced enormous literature on virtually every subject under the sun which was enshrined in manuscripts and transmitted to generations after generations. However, owing subjugation of people of this region by invading cultures for several centuries as well as ushering and transitioning into the new world, the local populace of this region lost interest in preserving their cultural heritage and so, the manuscript wealth in these countries took a bad hit. Several hundreds of thousands of manuscripts were lost to the pilferage and arson of the invading forces as well as ravages of time in the last couple of centuries. Of late, thankfully, there is a renaissance and ‘waking up’ in these countries about their ‘forgotten heritage’ and the governments, institutions and individuals are taking renewed interest in the preservation of their cultural heritage. The present paper describes a first of its kind research about the conservation activities of the National Mission for Manuscripts (NMM), a government of India initiative and its partner centres in the Indian state of Maharashtra. The study was carried out to assess the strengths and weaknesses these centres and suggest a policy framework for effective conservation of the manuscripts. This descriptive research, based on an extensive survey using an elaborate questionnaire coupled with personal visits and telephonic interviews, was carried out on the 13 National Mission for Manuscripts (NMM) partner centers and about 40 manuscript custodian centers in Maharashtra. The study brought to the fore the manuscript collection and their condition, availability of trained manpower, wherewithal for conservation, availability of financial resources, future plans etc., of various custodian and conservation centers. It also revealed the strengths and weaknesses of conservation efforts and the remedial measures that need to be taken up. This study may be replicated to know the current state of affairs of manuscripts in other parts of the world as well.
Citaliste, 2023
The leaps and bounds with which the knowledge domain of our modern civilization is growing pose a... more The leaps and bounds with which the knowledge domain of our modern civilization is growing pose a formidable challenge as to how this wealth of knowledge is to be preserved for posterity. Are we sufficiently prepared should there be any cataclysm of gigantic proportions or a major catastrophe such as a nuclear war? What if the whole world is thrown awry and crippled by such major events? How do we ensure that future generations of humans who would have inherited a substantially destroyed world can rebuild it back to its glory? How to safely supply the wealth of knowledge we amassed from modern advancements in science and technology to those generations who have to rebuild everything from scratch? This paper examines the techniques espoused by our wise ancient Indian sages to transmit knowledge to posterity across many millennia, the wisdom and philosophy behind such adopted measures and whether there are lessons for us to learn from them.
Embedded Selforganising Systems
At a time when the learner is occupying the center stage in the whole process of knowledge dissem... more At a time when the learner is occupying the center stage in the whole process of knowledge dissemination and assimilation, it is time for the centers of learning, particularly the Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) to provide learning resources in multiple formats that are fully mapped to their course curricula. ‘Learners’ Trove’ is one such innovation that takes advantage of the power of Information and Communication Technologies to provide digital platform of learning resources to the students and teachers. Objective: The paper discusses the challenges faced by the students of a semi-urban college in conventional methods in accessing suitable content for their studies and how the introduction of ‘Learners’ Trove’ – a digital platform of learning resources enabled better access to learning resources in multiple formats. Technology or Method: DSpace, a popular open access repository software is used as a platform to host various formats of learning resources. Results: Multimedia l...
IP Indian Journal of Library Science and Information Technology
India’s Education sector is in for a grand transformation thanks to the introduction of the Natio... more India’s Education sector is in for a grand transformation thanks to the introduction of the National Educational Policy 2020. The present government is also focusing heavily on the country’s higher education sector and wants it to be on par with its international counterparts in terms of quality in research and publication. With this changed backdrop, the modern day librarians of HEIs are no longer reckoned as mere custodians and gatekeepers of traditional knowledge resources; they are vested with the job of educating the research scholars about research and publication ethics, citation styles, provide insights into free, copyrighted material and creative commons licensed content, online resources, check the research outcomes for plagiarism and play a significant role in the Academic Integration Committees of their institutions. This paper deliberates on the enhanced role of librarians as the knowledge resource managers in ensuring the quality standards in research and publication.
Methodology research on developing online learning content
Journal of Yoga and Physiotherapy, 2018
Mastering physical balance is the cornerstone to success in sports or gymnastics. However masteri... more Mastering physical balance is the cornerstone to success in sports or gymnastics. However mastering this physical balance is better attained through proper understanding of the vital force called prāña the vital energy that permeates the whole body. The Yogasūtras of Patanjali are the fountainhead of the Indian wisdom that teach us how to attain the state of equipoise and equanimity in all the dimensions of human identity -the physical, mental and spiritual planes and thereby attain the summon bonum of human life - the self realization. They lay an array of disciplines for the whole human persona -starting from the vows to lead a focused and determined life to physical discipline to disciplining the prāña and to mastering the mind through unswerving focus. This paper examines the significance of prāña, the vital energy in gaining the balance - physical as well as mental.
Journal of Indian Council of Philosophical Research, 2016
AbstractIntroductionAlmost all schools of Indian philosophy including Buddhism and Jainism have c... more AbstractIntroductionAlmost all schools of Indian philosophy including Buddhism and Jainism have condemned Lokāyata as a very base philosophy and relegated it to an uncivilized and unethical status that deserved no merit or appreciation. On the other hand, many modern scholars who focused on the study of Lokāyata invariably looked at it from the Marxist ideological perspective, only finding in it a school revolting against spiritualism of the then-extant Vedic schools and even class conflict between the priest class and the commoners. Since no original work of this school survives intact to the present day, it is difficult to comprehend its true line of thought only from very scanty and dispersed statements and verses attributed to it in the works of other schools.DiscussionWhile medieval philosophers painted it negatively, exaggerating only its weak points and even interpreting its aphorisms to be base and mean, modern scholars want us to believe that Lokāyata represents class conflict and is antithetical to spiritualism. But if it were just a base and laymen’s ideology, how did it survive over two millennia compelling every other school of philosophy to comment on it?Conclusion Is it possible that the original Lokāyata school tried to present something significant, but it was disparagingly combined with other inferior ideologies by its adversaries with malfeasance and interpreted it wrongly to make it look base and mean? Has Lokāyata got a lot more to offer than just being an anti-fiefdom ideology? This paper tries to examine the tenets of Lokāyata school that are in vogue and suggests the possibility that Lokāyata could have been a ‘live-in-the-present’ spiritual school like the Zen.
The researcher has also been able to collect manuscripts and documents totaling to about 300 numb... more The researcher has also been able to collect manuscripts and documents totaling to about 300 numbers from various individuals and mutts.The researcher has been funded by the North Maharashtra University to carry out a research project titled "Locating, Conserving Research Student Research Guide
The Speaking Tree, Times of India, 2017
The debate whether Consciousness created the unconscious inanimate world or unconscious inert phy... more The debate whether Consciousness created the unconscious inanimate world or unconscious inert physical world evolved over a million years into life and subsequently into consciousness is a dilemma that puts the scientists and spiritualists at loggerheads. The irrefutable evidence, science points out, that is unmistakably apparent from the geological history of the earth as well as planetary evolution across the cosmos clinches the argument in favor of unconscious material world being the cause of the consciousness. The events mapped on the geological timescale of earth point to the inhospitable conditions that existed for about two billion years on planet earth before they finally evolved into an environment that is conducive to the occurrence of life. According to science, this earliest life form culminated into the present day human beings, the most advanced of the sentient beings, over a course of evolution that has been perpetuating for over three billion years on this planet.
With the mounting proofs from the multiple disciplines of the science, it seems the spiritual schools are losing the battle and are forced to concede to the idea of unconscious physical world as the cause and consciousness as its effect. But these apparently contradictory views can be reconciled with a different approach.
Shivana East, 2018
A yogi realizes his true self to be the unchanging eternal consciousness that is the bedrock of a... more A yogi realizes his true self to be the unchanging eternal consciousness that is the bedrock of all other states of experience. Any partial realization of any of these three states as unreal would only lead the practitioner to cling on to the other conscious state and this hopping continues, the maya ensnaring the human consciousness in karmic currents of one state or the other. Only an unbroken conscious awareness permeating the three states can liberate us from the clutches of maya.This significant yogic idea is beautifully explained in the allegorical story of Shiva in the story of Tripurāsurasamhara found in the Matsya and Shivapurāñas.
sivanaeast, 2017
A fable that describes the Samkhya philosophy.
Mastering physical balance is the cornerstone to success in sports or gymnastics. However masteri... more Mastering physical balance is the cornerstone to success in sports or gymnastics. However mastering this physical balance is better attained through proper understanding of the vital force called prāña the vital energy that permeates the whole body. The Yogasūtras of Patanjali are the fountainhead of the Indian wisdom that teach us how to attain the state of equipoise and equanimity in all the dimensions of human identity -the physical, mental and spiritual planes and thereby attain the summon bonum of human life - the self realization. They lay an array of disciplines for the whole human persona -starting from the vows to lead a focused and determined life to physical discipline to disciplining the prāña and to mastering the mind through unswerving focus. This paper examines the significance of prāña, the vital energy in gaining the balance - physical as well as mental.
The Esoteric Quarterly, 2015
Among the prominent Indian philosophical systems that aim for the attainment of the highest state... more Among the prominent Indian philosophical systems that aim for the attainment of the highest state of consciousness, and thus realize absolute truth, Yoga occupies an important place. While the Yoga technique systematized by Patanjali with its eight limbs (AsTānga Yo- ga) is very popular in both the east and the west, there are many lesser-known yoga streams in India with a varied number of limbs. These varied streams present slightly different philosophical models dealing with the origin of universe and the relation of the individual soul with the Supreme Soul, yet, each stream pro- vides a systematic method for direct realiza- tion. One yoga system that attracted less atten- tion, particularly in the academic circles of the west, is the Nāth sect, which has a diverse yet significant philosophy of its own. Although this sect has not attracted much attention among academicians, even today there are millions of practitioners of this sect across the Indian subcontinent, and its teachings are transmitted from preceptors to disciples in an unbroken chain which claims its lineage all the
way back to Śiva, the first Yogi. This paper attempts to bring forth the esoteric tenets of the Nāth school by comparing it with the well-known Patanjali yoga system. The paper uses a number of Sanskrit terms and ex- pressions which for want of English equiva- lents, are explained in the footnotes at the end of the article.
Journal of ICPR, 2016
Introduction: Almost all schools of Indian philosophy including Buddhism and Jainism have condemn... more Introduction: Almost all schools of Indian philosophy including Buddhism and Jainism have condemned Loka¯yata as a very base philosophy and relegated it to an uncivilized and unethical status that deserved no merit or appreciation. On the other hand, many modern scholars who focused on the study of Loka¯yata invariably looked at it from the Marxist ideological perspective, only finding in it a school revolting against spiritualism of the then-extant Vedic schools and even class conflict between the priest class and the commoners. Since no original work of this school survives intact to the present day, it is difficult to comprehend its true line of thought only from very scanty and dispersed statements and verses attributed to it in the works of other schools.
Discussion: While medieval philosophers painted it negatively, exaggerating only its weak points and even interpreting its aphorisms to be base and mean, modern scholars want us to believe that Loka¯yata represents class conflict and is antithetical to spiritu- alism. But if it were just a base and laymen’s ideology, how did it survive over two millennia compelling every other school of philosophy to comment on it?
Conclusion Is it possible that the original Loka¯yata school tried to present something significant, but it was disparagingly combined with other inferior ideologies by its adversaries with malfeasance and interpreted it wrongly to make it look base and mean? Has Loka¯yata got a lot more to offer than just being an anti-fiefdom ideology? This paper tries to examine the tenets of Loka¯yata school that are in vogue and suggests the possibility that Loka¯yata could have been a ‘live-in-the-present’ spiritual school like the Zen.
International Journal of Yogic, Human Movement and Sports Sciences, 2017
The Indian Mythology, let alone the world literature is replete with search for, and sometimes ev... more The Indian Mythology, let alone the world literature is replete with search for, and sometimes even claims of eternal youth. Some claimed there is an island bubbling with sacred mystical waters that could make the old and infirm youthful. Even the motive behind the voyages undertaken by explorers such as Columbus was said to have been in part, to locate the Garden of Eden and/or the Fountain of Youth. Buddhist mythology's claim of Shambhāla somewhere deep in Himalayas also inspired the western explorers, particularly after the publication of the novel titled The Lost Horizon by James Hilton which talked about the people who live at Shangri-La as almost immortal, living years beyond the normal lifespan and only very slowly aging in appearance. There is also this interesting claim of seven Ciranjeevs like Aswatthāma who are supposed to have been living eternally defying death, and there are even many claims of sighting them in Satpuda mountain ranges of western and central India as well as in Himalayas. What's more! Bhāgavata talks about even transference of youth between king Yayāti and his son Puru! There are several accounts in India, of Yogis who were said to have lived 250-300 years and even more. The longest life expectancy can be found in the Amami Islands of Japan where the signs of old age appear very late. Scientists claim Easter Islands in the southeastern Pacific Ocean has the key for everlasting youth. A news item in Times of India on 13th July 2012 suggests that liver transplantation has rendered an old man to grow young by losing all sign of old age! Prahlad Jani of Gujarat baffled the scientific community with his claim that was partly verified, that he has not been eating for over seventy years and that he could live as long as he liked that might extend to even thousands of years! This paper intends to examine whether there is any validity in these claims and whether the ancient system of Yoga has any clue concerning eternal youth. Introduction Mythology and folklore across the world is replete with search for, and sometimes even claims of eternal youth. The belief that youth can be preserved or maintained for a very long span of time or even for eternity seems to have gained strong ground in many civilizations of the yore. So prevalent is this notion across the continents in various religions and civilizations that even a casual glance at the world literature reveals many such apparently unbelievable anecdotes. Christian and Pre-Christian mythology has prolific accounts of an island bubbling with sacred mystical waters that could make the old and infirm youthful. In Irish mythology, for example, there is a mention of an island by name Tír na nÓg which was considered a place of eternal youth and beauty, beyond the boundaries, far to the west. Tír na nÓg was described an earthly paradise populated by supernatural beings, which a few sailors and adventurers were fortunate enough to happen upon during their journeys. Locating it was not easy; it involved an arduous voyage that culminated into finding it only in case of those who were lucky and destined. Or alternatively, an invitation from one of its fairy residents could grant the 'visa' for entry into that place where sickness and death did not exist. During the Middle Ages, several voyage tales and adventure fables revolved round this utopian island which claimed that several Irish heroes and monks visited it where music, strength, life, and all pleasurable pursuits were abound. Here happiness lasted forever; no one required food or drink 1. In the similar vein, there is this belief in the Fountain of Youth in Greek and Roman Mythology which is a legendary spring that reputedly restores the youth of anyone who drinks of its waters. The period between the early 15th century and early 17th century, is known as the Age of Exploration or Age of Discovery during which European ships travelled around the
Illusion is the cornerstone on which the entire edifice of Advaita Vedanta is erected. Of the man... more Illusion is the cornerstone on which the entire edifice of Advaita Vedanta is erected. Of the many classic examples adduced to illustrate the concept of illusion, appearance of silver in the nacre of a conch shell, snake in a rope and the dream experiences are most widely cited. Illusion is a serious matter of concern to a philosopher as it reminds that all knowledge experienced is not always valid and poses epistemological challenge as to how reality can be distinguished from illusion. The central reason for accepting illusion as reality is that we fail to recognize illusion as an erroneous mental representation at the time of experiencing it; we realize its falsity only afterwards. Our inability to realize illusion as a mere false cognition at the time of experiencing it is vital to our falling prey to it. We are carried away by the illusion because it does not occur to us that it could be unreal during its experience. For us, every experience seems real: it’s only at a later time that we realize how we have mindlessly fallen prey to an illusion. But realizing an illusion afterward does not help in enlightenment. Enlightenment is when one wakes up during the occurrence of an illusory experience. Unfortunately, wakeful world normally does not give many opportunities to this effect. Realizing the wakeful experiences as illusory is far harder than admitting the illusory nature of the dream state.
Dream is a unique illusory experience that we come across every day. Dream experiences are real as long as they last and every day we enter and exit the dream world without exception. Thus dream is a wonderful opportunity where we know beforehand that we are going to enter into an illusory world. Hence if we somehow learn to keep ourselves awake during the illusory experience of dreams, it would be a sure shot opportunity to enlightenment. Hence dream state is an ideal ground for a practitioner to come out of illusion by practicing to stay put in lucid awareness and realizing the illusory nature during the course of a dream. Tibetan dream yoga is based precisely on this very principle. This paper discusses the significance of dreaming with a wakeful mind to practice surmounting the clutches of illusion and tread on the path of enlightenment. Milam or Tibetan Dream Yoga is one such practice that provides elaborate methodology for spiritual seekers to use dream state as an ideal platform for mastering spiritual enlightenment.
Three Models of Creation Vs Unitary Model of Existence about the universe we know and experience.... more Three Models of Creation Vs Unitary Model of Existence about the universe we know and experience. This article explains Abrahmic religions' view, Indian views vis a vis modern scientific view and shows how Ajativada of Gaudapadacharya is the most ideal model.
Introduction: Almost all schools of Indian philosophy including Buddhism and Jainism have condemn... more Introduction: Almost all schools of Indian philosophy including Buddhism and Jainism have condemned Loka¯yata as a very base philosophy and relegated it to an uncivilized and unethical status that deserved no merit or appreciation. On the other hand, many modern scholars who focused on the study of Loka¯yata invariably looked at it from the Marxist ideological perspective, only finding in it a school revolting against spiritualism of the then-extant Vedic schools and even class conflict between the priest class and the commoners. Since no original work of this school survives intact to the present day, it is difficult to comprehend its true line of thought only from very scanty and dispersed statements and verses attributed to it in the works of other schools.
Discussion While medieval philosophers painted it negatively, exaggerating only its weak points and even interpreting its aphorisms to be base and mean, modern scholars want us to believe that Loka¯yata represents class conflict and is antithetical to spiritualism.
But if it were just a base and laymen’s ideology, how did it survive over two millennia compelling every other school of philosophy to comment on it?
Conclusion Is it possible that the original Loka¯yata school tried to present something significant, but it was disparagingly combined with other inferior ideologies by its
adversaries with malfeasance and interpreted it wrongly to make it look base and mean?
Has Loka¯yata got a lot more to offer than just being an anti-fiefdom ideology? This paper tries to examine the tenets of Loka¯yata school that are in vogue and suggests the possibility that Loka¯yata could have been a ‘live-in-the-present’ spiritual school like the Zen.
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Papers by vijay srinath kanchi
With the mounting proofs from the multiple disciplines of the science, it seems the spiritual schools are losing the battle and are forced to concede to the idea of unconscious physical world as the cause and consciousness as its effect. But these apparently contradictory views can be reconciled with a different approach.
way back to Śiva, the first Yogi. This paper attempts to bring forth the esoteric tenets of the Nāth school by comparing it with the well-known Patanjali yoga system. The paper uses a number of Sanskrit terms and ex- pressions which for want of English equiva- lents, are explained in the footnotes at the end of the article.
Discussion: While medieval philosophers painted it negatively, exaggerating only its weak points and even interpreting its aphorisms to be base and mean, modern scholars want us to believe that Loka¯yata represents class conflict and is antithetical to spiritu- alism. But if it were just a base and laymen’s ideology, how did it survive over two millennia compelling every other school of philosophy to comment on it?
Conclusion Is it possible that the original Loka¯yata school tried to present something significant, but it was disparagingly combined with other inferior ideologies by its adversaries with malfeasance and interpreted it wrongly to make it look base and mean? Has Loka¯yata got a lot more to offer than just being an anti-fiefdom ideology? This paper tries to examine the tenets of Loka¯yata school that are in vogue and suggests the possibility that Loka¯yata could have been a ‘live-in-the-present’ spiritual school like the Zen.
Dream is a unique illusory experience that we come across every day. Dream experiences are real as long as they last and every day we enter and exit the dream world without exception. Thus dream is a wonderful opportunity where we know beforehand that we are going to enter into an illusory world. Hence if we somehow learn to keep ourselves awake during the illusory experience of dreams, it would be a sure shot opportunity to enlightenment. Hence dream state is an ideal ground for a practitioner to come out of illusion by practicing to stay put in lucid awareness and realizing the illusory nature during the course of a dream. Tibetan dream yoga is based precisely on this very principle. This paper discusses the significance of dreaming with a wakeful mind to practice surmounting the clutches of illusion and tread on the path of enlightenment. Milam or Tibetan Dream Yoga is one such practice that provides elaborate methodology for spiritual seekers to use dream state as an ideal platform for mastering spiritual enlightenment.
Discussion While medieval philosophers painted it negatively, exaggerating only its weak points and even interpreting its aphorisms to be base and mean, modern scholars want us to believe that Loka¯yata represents class conflict and is antithetical to spiritualism.
But if it were just a base and laymen’s ideology, how did it survive over two millennia compelling every other school of philosophy to comment on it?
Conclusion Is it possible that the original Loka¯yata school tried to present something significant, but it was disparagingly combined with other inferior ideologies by its
adversaries with malfeasance and interpreted it wrongly to make it look base and mean?
Has Loka¯yata got a lot more to offer than just being an anti-fiefdom ideology? This paper tries to examine the tenets of Loka¯yata school that are in vogue and suggests the possibility that Loka¯yata could have been a ‘live-in-the-present’ spiritual school like the Zen.
With the mounting proofs from the multiple disciplines of the science, it seems the spiritual schools are losing the battle and are forced to concede to the idea of unconscious physical world as the cause and consciousness as its effect. But these apparently contradictory views can be reconciled with a different approach.
way back to Śiva, the first Yogi. This paper attempts to bring forth the esoteric tenets of the Nāth school by comparing it with the well-known Patanjali yoga system. The paper uses a number of Sanskrit terms and ex- pressions which for want of English equiva- lents, are explained in the footnotes at the end of the article.
Discussion: While medieval philosophers painted it negatively, exaggerating only its weak points and even interpreting its aphorisms to be base and mean, modern scholars want us to believe that Loka¯yata represents class conflict and is antithetical to spiritu- alism. But if it were just a base and laymen’s ideology, how did it survive over two millennia compelling every other school of philosophy to comment on it?
Conclusion Is it possible that the original Loka¯yata school tried to present something significant, but it was disparagingly combined with other inferior ideologies by its adversaries with malfeasance and interpreted it wrongly to make it look base and mean? Has Loka¯yata got a lot more to offer than just being an anti-fiefdom ideology? This paper tries to examine the tenets of Loka¯yata school that are in vogue and suggests the possibility that Loka¯yata could have been a ‘live-in-the-present’ spiritual school like the Zen.
Dream is a unique illusory experience that we come across every day. Dream experiences are real as long as they last and every day we enter and exit the dream world without exception. Thus dream is a wonderful opportunity where we know beforehand that we are going to enter into an illusory world. Hence if we somehow learn to keep ourselves awake during the illusory experience of dreams, it would be a sure shot opportunity to enlightenment. Hence dream state is an ideal ground for a practitioner to come out of illusion by practicing to stay put in lucid awareness and realizing the illusory nature during the course of a dream. Tibetan dream yoga is based precisely on this very principle. This paper discusses the significance of dreaming with a wakeful mind to practice surmounting the clutches of illusion and tread on the path of enlightenment. Milam or Tibetan Dream Yoga is one such practice that provides elaborate methodology for spiritual seekers to use dream state as an ideal platform for mastering spiritual enlightenment.
Discussion While medieval philosophers painted it negatively, exaggerating only its weak points and even interpreting its aphorisms to be base and mean, modern scholars want us to believe that Loka¯yata represents class conflict and is antithetical to spiritualism.
But if it were just a base and laymen’s ideology, how did it survive over two millennia compelling every other school of philosophy to comment on it?
Conclusion Is it possible that the original Loka¯yata school tried to present something significant, but it was disparagingly combined with other inferior ideologies by its
adversaries with malfeasance and interpreted it wrongly to make it look base and mean?
Has Loka¯yata got a lot more to offer than just being an anti-fiefdom ideology? This paper tries to examine the tenets of Loka¯yata school that are in vogue and suggests the possibility that Loka¯yata could have been a ‘live-in-the-present’ spiritual school like the Zen.
पहिले युनिट वाचकांना काही मूलभूत तात्विक आणि आध्यात्मिक संकल्पना - जसे कर्म-सिद्धांत, स्थूल, सूक्ष्म आणि कारण देह, बंध आणि मोक्षाच्या संकल्पना, इत्यादींचा परिचय करून देते. या संकल्पनांचे योग्य आकलन वाचकांना योगाचे मुख्य उद्दिष्ट - जे जीवन आणि मृत्यूच्या चक्रातून मुक्त होणे आहे - ते समजण्यास मदत करते.
दुसरे युनिट जीव, जगत, ईश्वर आणि ब्रह्म यांच्यातील संबंध, ज्ञानाचे स्वरूप, ख्यातीचे (म्हणजे भ्रम किंवा मिथ्या ज्ञानाचे) सिद्धांत यांसारख्या अस्तित्वशास्त्र आणि ज्ञानशास्त्रीय समस्यांना समर्पित आहे. आपल्याला मिळणारा कोणताही अनुभव वास्तवाच्या अधिष्ठानावर खरा किंवा खोटा आहे हे पडताळून पाहण्यासाठी काही कसोटी आहेत काय, त्याचा वापर दैनंदिन जीवनात कसा करता येईल असा विचार करण्यास प्रवृत्त करणा-या अनेक गोष्टी ह्या युनिट मध्ये वाचायला मिळतील.
सुरुवाती पासून जगभरातील तत्त्वज्ञानामध्ये स्वत:ची कल्पना, बाह्य जगत, सृष्टिकर्ता आणि यांचा आपल्याशी संबंध हे मुख्य विषय होउन राहिले. आणि भारतीय तत्वज्ञान त्याला अपवाद नव्हते. तिसरा अध्याय कार्य-कारणतेच्या तात्विक पार्श्वभूमीचे स्पष्टीकरण देतो. म्हणजे कार्य (परिणाम) आणि त्याचे कारण कशा प्रकारे एकमेकाशी संबंधित आहे हे स्पष्ट करतो. हा अध्याय वाचकास या ‘सृष्टीचा निर्माता’ या कल्पनेची ओळख करुन देतो आणि ईश्वर संकल्पनेच्या समर्थनार्थ दिले जाणारे पुरावे काय आहे ते सुद्धा ओळख करून देतो. जैन, बौद्ध आणि चार्वाक सारखे तात्विक दर्शन देवाचे अस्तित्व स्वीकारत नाहीत. या दर्शनांच्या नास्तिकते बद्दलही या प्रकरणात चर्चा केली आहे. ईश्वराचे अस्तित्व नाकारणाच्या पाठीमागच्या सैद्धांतिक बाजू सुद्धा या प्रकरणात वाचायला मिळेल. या युनिट मध्ये सृष्टिकर्ता म्हणून ईश्वराचे अस्तित्व स्वीकारणे शिवाय का पर्याय नाही याच्या साठी प्राचीन काळा पासून दिले गेलेले तार्किकता मांडण्यात आले आहे.
चौथे युनिट सांख्य दर्शनावर आधारित आहे, जे योगाच्या प्रात्यक्षिक पैलूंना तात्विक आधार देतो. हे युनिट वाचकाला सांख्य आणि योग या दोन तात्विक दर्शनामधील परस्पर संबंध समजून घेण्यास मदत करतो. सांख्य दर्शन ही भारतातील सर्वात जुनी दार्शनिक पद्धत असून सर्वात पूर्वी द्वैतवाद सादर केला आहे. हे दर्शन, पुरुष आणि प्रकृती हे नित्य आणि शाश्वत रीतीने वेगवेगळे असतात आणि संपूर्ण जग या दोन मूलभूत तत्त्वांचे माध्यमातून सतत उत्पन्न होत असते असे सांगते. बाहेर अनुभवात येणारा निसर्ग आणि आंतरिक व्यक्तिनिष्ठ जगाची एकाच पद्धतीने कशी उत्क्रांती होते याबद्दल हा अध्याय वाचकास कल्पना देतो. हे प्रकरण पतंजली योग दर्शनाला भारतीय तत्त्वज्ञानाच्या इतर दर्शनाने जोडण्याचा प्रयत्न सुद्धा केला आहे.
शेवटचा अध्याय विविध प्राच्य दर्शनामध्ये ध्यानाच्या संकल्पनेची ओळख करुन देतो. विविध तात्विक चिंतनामध्ये आत्मशोधनाचे सर्वात महत्त्वाचे साधन म्हणून ध्यान कसे ओळखले जाते हे स्पष्ट करतो. हा अध्याय वाचकास उपनिषदांमध्ये हृदयाच्या गुहेतील पद्मावर ध्यान करण्याची प्रक्रिया, तसेच वज्रयान तिब्बती बौद्ध धर्माच्या अतियोग आणि महामुद्रा ध्यान प्रक्रिया, विपश्यना आणि झेन ध्यानधारणा पद्धती, तसेच ताओ ध्यान पद्धति, इत्यादि ओळख करुन देतो. भारतीय तत्वज्ञानाच्या वेगवेगळ्या शाखां मधील मूलभूत तत्त्वांविषयी वाचकांच्या मनात रुची जागृत होऊन त्यांच्या मनात भारतीय तत्व चिंतनाबाद्द्ल अधिक उत्सुकता निर्माण व्हावी या करिता हे पुस्तक लिहिले गेले आहे.
मला आशा आहे की हे छोटेसे पुस्तक भारतीय तात्विक दर्शनाचा सखोल अभ्यास करण्यास वाचकांना प्रवृत्त करेल.
हे पुस्तक मी मुलत: इंग्रजी भाषेत लिहीलीले आहे.