|
The origin of all being, the sense of human existence and the position of the individual in universe as a natural focus of human curiosity
can be considered as the central questions of philosophy.
The thought-traditions of Philosophy though vary in different cultures, the predominant difference being obviously between Indian and western tradition.
It is a popular fact, that the western philosophy is basically intellect-, and the Indian philosophy spiritual-oriented. The western tradition
distinguishes sharply between philosophy and religion, in India both disciplines are rather seen as complementing one another. The intention of both traditions is formal the same: the satisfaction of mental and
intellectual desire. In western thought-tradition the satisfaction aims primary on the intellect, in India it aims much more on human emotions, a fact, being rooted in the close dependence of philosophy on religion.
The main focus of Indian philosophy is the individual soul, God, or Ultimate Truth, their interrelation and what happens to the individual soul after death. This signifies probably the main difference between the
two traditions.
Bharade reveals in his article, giving many examples, mainly from the Indian culture, the predominant features and differences in western and Indian
thought-traditions. His point of view is most of all the traditional Indian approach. Of course, one can critisize him of concentrating on the advantages of Indian philosophy, but it is mainly due to this particular
`Indian way´ that he provides the reader with a deep insight into the typical `Indian way of thinking´. The author remains critical though, being well aware of the shortcoming of this system and
the discrepancy between theory and practice, revealing some of the most urgent problems of Indian society.
After giving an overview over the history of different philosophical systems in India, Bharade turns towards the central subject of his article: the
philosophy of Jnaneshvara, a popular and dominant philosopher of the early 12th century. The rise of many regional, religious reform-movements, which tried to revalue social and ethical norms of their society, has
been a characteristic feature of medieval India. Their main focus were the social aspects of religion. The domain of religion has been at that time, due to the restrictions of the caste-system, a privilege of a
social `elite´, the mass of people, being illiterate and out-caste had no access to religious wisdom. The medieval reformers tried to break the supremacy of the brahmin over the other social strata and to open religious wisdom to all people, independent of their social status and religious affiliation. An important step towards the achievement of their program was the use of the regional languages in religious literature, instead of Sanskrit, and the revival of the emotional and easy practicable cult of bhakti.
Jnaneshvara introduced this thoughts in Maharashtra, furthermore to many other parts of India, even abroad. Bharade concentrates in his article on the
social and ethical advantages of Jnaneshvara´s teaching, embeds them in its historical and universal context and demonstrates the validity of these ideas for the solution of the global conflicts of our
world.
top
back to Bharade's "Saint Jnaneshwara's Contribution to Religion and Philosophy"
|
