A Journey into the
Pathways of Philosophy
By
Dr. N C Ramanujachary
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PHILOSOPHIC
STUDIES IN THE ORIENT
(including the radical and
reformatory systems)
Though
we say ‘Orient’ we shall confine to the Indian system of thinking at
the present.
In
India
a term ‘Brahman’ is coined to indicate the final or ultimate status of
being. Sometimes, when the term Brahman is considered pale or inadequate a
superlative “Parabrahman” is employed and this term means the
‘ultimate’ or transcendental Brahman or being. The philosophical;
system weaved around this Brahman has
come to be called the ‘brahmanical’ system, and in the process of time
the follower/propagator of the system came to be termed the ‘brahman.’
or ‘brahmin.’ Much water has flown under the bridges over ages, the
usage of these terms has come to be not regarded in their pristine purity,
but in various corrupt/distorted forms. We shall not go into the reasons
of al that. Suffice to know that these have contributed to the gradual
(spiritual) degeneration of
India
. Contemplation, meditative reflection and similar processes always
collect wisdom. When men forgot these canons and did not give attention
sufficient to this discipline, the awareness of wisdom slowly got shadowed
or eclipsed to the extent that it appeared to be not available at all at
any time.
Brahman
is the Ultimate and the Original source of everything to start with. Then
came theories of Trimurtis, their consorts, Prajapatis, Indra, Brahma
manasa putras etc. when
Krishna
came on the scene he reinterpreted everything very differently and
radically.
The
Brahmanical thought had frequent influences of the Jain and Buddhist texts
too, and ultimately it appears a new system of thought emerged. This is
clearly visible when we examine the chronological developments and
compilation of texts. Though
the dates of events are all the time debatable and full of controversies,
we must remember that the Brahmanical texts have
appeared, not all at one time, but were recollected, constructed by
sages from their Akashic hearing, that too by different agencies.
Gautama
Buddha taught what we may call the “ultimate mystical knowledge”,
including knowledge of Divine Source, but was obliged to adapt his
teaching to the receptivity and the needs of his followers (most of whom
came from the relatively uneducated cases). And he understood their first
need to be for the instilling, not of ‘’facts’’ or theories, but
of a moral way of life and fruitful practices of self-discipline, without
dependence on rituals or other conventional expressions of
devotion. (Whiteman)
The
history of creation and of
this world’ is a grand
panorama of the ‘ever periodically recurring law.’ This law
is impressed on the plastic minds of the first races endowed with
consciousness. They reflected the same Law from the Universal Mind. This
history of the creation of the world is not taught in any of the 6 Indian
schools of philosophy, for it pertains to their synthesis, the seventh,
which is the Occult Doctrine.
Vedanta(
the last word of human knowledge), also the Inner core of Wisdom or the
concealed arena of Wisdom, gives out only the metaphysical aspect of this
world, Cosmogony. Upanishads now require the additional possession of a
master-key, to enable the student to get at the full meanings.
Upanishad
technically means the conquest of ignorance by the revelation of secret,
spiritual knowledge or ‘the esoteric doctrine.’
The
Vedas is technically the Wisdom per
se and they have a dual meaning: 1. the literal meaning of the words,
2. that sense indicated by the svara
(Intonation) and the meter (Chandas).
According to Swami T Subba Row, the mysterious connection between swara
and light (Swara and Tejas) is
one of its most profound secrets.
Upanishads
treat of and expound the secret and mystic meaning of the Vedic texts. The
speak of 1. the origin of the Universe. 2. the nature of Diety and 3. the
metaphysical connection of Mind and Matter. They contain the beginning and
the end of al human knowledge, they ceased to reveal it, since the days of
Buddha.
‘Last
word of the mystery of Being’ is detached from the manuscripts. The key
to the Brahmanical secret code remained henceforth with the Initiates
alone
Esoteric
philosophy impresses upon our thoughts the three distinct aspects such as:
1.
the pre-existing
2.
the evolving from the Ever-existing
and
3.
the phenomenal
(
In other words, the worlds of Illusion, reflection and the shadow.)
during
the great mystery and the drama of life, known as Manvantara) real Kosmos
is like the objects placed behind the white screen upon which shadows are
shown. The actual figures and things remain invisible, while unseen hands
pull the wires of evolution.
Esoteric
philosophy passes over the necessity of this purely metaphysical
conception, and calls the first one, only the Ever-Existing. This is the
view of every one of the six great schools of Indian philosophy – the
six principles of that unit body of Wisdom of which the Gnosis, the hidden
knowledge is the Seventh
The
six systems of Indian Philosophy clearly exhibit a sequential and
derivative development of human thought. A single orthodox tradition is
built on these six systems.
They
are complementary projections of the One Truth on various planes of Nature
and Consciousness. Ekam Sat:
Viprah Bahudha Vadanti (Truth is one, learned speak of it in many terms)
is the Ancient saying. Perceptions of various persons as to the meaning
and purpose of the existence of a Tree or the viewing of several blind men
of an Elephant could be a modern illustration of the saying.
Samkhya
|
Kapila
|
SAMKHYA
PRAVACHANASUTRA
|
Purusha
& Prakriti
|
Yoga
|
Patanjali
|
Yoga-sutras
|
Nature
and forms of yoga; God is named and a process to reach him
indicated.
|
Nyaya
|
Gautama
|
Nyaya
sutras of Gautama
|
Theories
of knowledge, physical world, individual and his liberation, God
|
Vaiseshika
|
Kanada
|
Vaiseshika
sutras of Kanada
|
Liberation
of the Individual self; seven categories of reality: dravya,
Guna,karma, samanya,visesha,samavaya and abhava
|
Mimamsa
|
Jaimini
|
Jaimini
sastra
|
Meanings
of rituals/ceremonies. Substantiation of rituals by philosophic
thought.
|
Vedanta
|
Badarayana
Vyasa
|
Brahma
sutras
|
Creative
stage, Systemization stage,Commentorial stage. Ultimate stage is
Self-realization.
|
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