Aivism In Philosophical Perspective

Saivism is one of the pervasive expressions of Indian Religious Culture stretching to the dim past of pre-history and surviving as a living force in the thought and life of millions of Hindus especially in Southern India and Northern Ceylon. The present work is scholarly reconstruction of Saivism in its characteristic and classical from as Saiva Siddhanta, focusing mainly on the philosophical doctrine and presenting a conceptual analysis of its formative notions, problems and methods. Anteceding the rise of the great systems of Vedanta including that of Sankara, Saiva Siddhanta in its fully systematised form as Mystical Theology in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries represents a constructive reaction to the theological, ethical and aesthetic aspects of Vedanta as a whole. A patient study of this much neglected phase of religo-philosophical development of India should prove useful for a more balanced understanding of Indian religiosity, providing a corrective to the view entertained not without justification that Indian religious thought does not affirms the values of freedom, love and personality. This methodical study, appended with very exhaustive glossary, bibliography and index and two-hundred pages of references and foot-notes is designed to meet the requirements of seriious students of Eastern religious thought.

A Comprehensive Study Of 8 Classical Works Known As Siddhanta Astakam Of Umpati Sivacarya. 7 Chapters - 4 Appendices - Bibliography - Index Of Tamil And Sanskrit Words.

Comparative study on the philosophical fundamentals in Saiva Siddhantism and Buddhism; lecture delivered at the Institute.

This constitues the first volume of the series. It indicates the scope of the project and provides a list of sources which will be surveyed in the sebsequent volumes, as well as provide a guide to secondary literature for further study of Indian Philosophy. It lists in relative chronological order, Sanskrit and Tamil works. All known editions and translations into European languages are cited; where puplished versions of the text are not known a guide to the location of manuscripts of the work is provided.

A broad-ranging, lightly-illustrated, scholarly treatment of core topics in Hindu spirituality during its formative earlier periods. It brings together the complex skein of thoughts, beliefs, and practices that developed from the archaic period of the Vedas and received their early crystallization as Vedanta. It presents the eternal, timeles dimension of Hinduism.

After presenting a general survey of spiritual practice in the different schools of Indian philosophy, the author focuses on the Trika School, popularly called Kashmir Shaivism. He deals clearly and exhaustively with such topics as Shaktipat (the descent of Divine Grace), Diksha (initiation), and the role of the Guru. His treatment of the various paths (upayas) appropriate for the different types of practitioners is especially useful. The book ends with a chapter on enlightenment (jivanmukti). This chapter not only presents the meaning of self-realization-in-this-lifetime, but offers material on this topic for the first time in English.