Pantheism And The Value Of Life In Indian Philosophy

Excerpt from Pantheism and the Value of Life: With Special Reference to Indian Philosophy This volume represents a slightly condensed form of a thesis originally presented to the University of Aberdeen for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, and accepted by that University as qualifying for the degree. I should esteem it a favour if attention were mainly directed to the Introduction and Books I and III, very especially to Book I, which deals exclusively with Indian philosophy. Book II (on Pantheism in Western Philosophy) is intended to be more or less of the nature of an illustrative appendix, and I have not thought it necessary to elaborate this part of my subject, the ground having been frequently traversed and my chief interest being in Indian philosophy. For the study of Pantheism it is becoming increasingly natural to turn to India. Here we may find Pantheism in its purest form and as a mode of thought with which one is brought into constant contact in daily life. No more promising field, therefore, could be found for a study of the effect of Pantheism upon a general sense of the value of life. After fifteen years of residence in India, I may perhaps lay claim to a certain moderate amount of first - hand acquaintance with current Indian philosophical thought and with the persistence of the influence of the ancient tradition. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

Pantheism, i.e. the doctrine that "God is everything and everything is God" is not only a philosophical theory in the history of Indian thought, but it is a part of the way of life with every religious-minded Indian. So, for the study of pantheism one has to turn to India. Here one can find pantheism in its purest form and as a mode of thought with which one is brought into constant contact in daily life.

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This work explores the life and work of Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati (1874-1937), a guru of the Chaitanya (1486-1534) school of Vaishnavism who, at a time when various interpretations of nondualistic Hindu thought were most prominent, managed to establish a pan-Indian movement for the modern revival of personalist bhakti - a movement that today encompasses both Indian and non-Indian populations throughout the world.

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Mahadeviyakka, or Akkamahadevi was bom at Udutadi a village not far from Shimoga, which was then the capital ofking Kausika. Her parents were named Sumati and Nirmalay' Akkamahadevi herself seems to have had her initiation in early childhood and the impress of the seal of Grace must have been strong on her, for she was from that moment a dedicated child. Beautiful as she was in person (traditional biographers, in their charming old way, describe her as a Rudrakannike). She was more beautiful in mind and heart. So firm was her conviction of being already wedded to her lord Mallikaijuna, that at the age of eighteen, in a country, at a time noted for early marriages, she was still single. The turning-point in her life came when king Kausika, returning from a hunt, saw her among the crowd that had been drawn by the din and splendour ofthe cavalcade, and on the instant fell captive to her beauty.