Philosophies of India

3 Credits · Level: Undergraduate

What is the nature of the soul and what happens to the soul after death? Do we perceive reality accurately, or are we steeped in a distorted--or even illusionary--sense of reality? How can one escape the endless cycle of misery, which is life-death-rebirth, in order to attain absolute Being, Knowledge, and Bliss? These are some of the philosophical issues that have occupied individuals and entire communities in India for over three thousand years. We shall look at the questions, and numerous competing answers, offered by a wide range of literary sources. Indian religious wisdom finds an eloquent voice in the poetry of the Rg Veda and the Bhagavadgita, as well as the speculative Upanishads and the brilliant commentaries by Shankara. We shall also look at the medieval theologies of devotional sects and Tantra, and the modern syntheses of Sri Aurobind, Vivekananda, and Radhakrishnan. This course is neither strictly historical nor philosophical, but it combines both disciplines in order to help students understand the driving ideas of Hinduism in their timeless universality as well as cultural context.