A group blog of scholars exploring Indian philosophy
The three main schools of Vedānta in South India—Advaita, Viśiṣṭādvaita, and Dvaita all center themselves around a similar canon of sacred texts, including the Vedas, Upaniṣads, Purāṇas, etc. Of such canonical scriptures, the Bhagavadgītā (BG) is regarded as authoritative in all three Continue reading Vedānta commentators on the Bhagavadgītā 2.46
Continuing my response to Seth Segall, my greatest disagreements are with his second point. So I will begin by quoting that at length: As a hospital pastoral care provider I minister to patients of all faiths, and I have been Continue reading On delusions and their pragmatic efficacy
From the publisher: “This handbook brings together a distinguished team of scholars from philosophy, theology, and religious studies to provide the first in-depth discussion of Vedānta and the many different systems of thought that make up this tradition of Indian Continue reading Book announcement: The Bloomsbury Research Handbook of Vedānta, edited by Ayon Maharaj
The term adhikāra has multiple connotations in Sanskrit intellectual disciplines. It may be loosely translated as eligibility, but it includes within its scope questions of whether a person has a) the capacity to do something and b) the legitimate authority to do Continue reading Women and Adhikāra in Dvaita Vedānta
Seth Zuihō Segall wrote a helpful response to my review of his Buddhism and Human Flourishing. Seth’s1 response makes four points, groupable in two categories that correspond to the division of my original post: the first two points, roughly, have Continue reading Responses on humanity, rebirth, and a minimalist model
Ron Purser’s critique of modern mindfulness is thoroughgoing, and extends beyond chastising its skepticism of political engagement. Purser also criticizes modern mindfulness on other grounds, grounds that I think are considerably closer to the views of classical (early) Buddhist texts. Continue reading Classical and nondual mindfulness
In this post, I will look at two instances in The Jasmine Vine of Reasoning (Yuktimallikā) where Vādirājatīrtha, a prominent 16th Cent. CE scholar of Dvaita Vedānta, uses principles from Mīmāṃsā to bolster his arguments. Mīmāṃsā, one of the six traditional darśanas in Indian Continue reading Vādirājatīrtha’s Use of Mīmāṃsā Principles
Why I Am Not a Buddhist is mainly a philosophical critique of Buddhist modernism. I criticize certain widespread misconceptions about Buddhism, and about religion and science, that Buddhist modernists promote. My aim is to spark better conversations about these topics Continue reading Cherry Picking the Bodhi Tree: A Response to Lele (Guest Post by Evan Thompson)
On Facebook, Seth Segall commented in response to my posts on Evan Thompson: I agree with all the arguments you have made, but I think there is one maining major issue that divides you from Evan that transcends all the Continue reading Why I am a Buddhist
Hello everyone, I am Anusha Rao, a doctoral student in Religion at the University of Toronto. My thanks to Elisa and all the other board members for the opportunity to guest post here this month! I’d like to introduce my Continue reading Vādirājatīrtha and Doctrinal Development in Dvaita Vedānta