Prolegomena to Advaita Vedanta (A Study Based on the Adhyasa-Bhasya of Sri Sankara)

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Book Description

About the Book

Philosophical investigation or enquiry into the import of the Upanisadic texts, according to Advaita, becomes relevant only in the context of superimposition or erroneous cognition of the mind etc., and their characteristics on pure consciousness – the only reality. The problems connected with the theory of superimposition thus serves as the prolegomena to the philosophy of Advaita and they have been set forth by Sankara in his celebrated introduction to his commentary on the Sariraka–mimamsa-sutras.

Vyasatirtha (15th century A.D.), a protagonist of the Dvaita school in his polemical work – Nyayamrta rejects the Advaita theory of superimposition or erroneous cognition of the mind etc., and their characteristics upon the pure consciousness. Madhusudana Sarasvati (16th century A.D.), in his magnum opus – the Advaita-siddhi defends the Advaita position by examining and rejecting the criticisms of Vyasatirtha.

The present work is an analytical study of the arguments of Madhusudana Sarasvati against the criticisms of Vyasatirtha.

About the Author

J. Krishnan is Associate Professor in the Department of Sanskrit, Pondicherry University. His teaching and research interests are in the areas of Advaita Vedanta, Nyaya and Sahitya. He has participated in a number of National and International Seminars. He has contributed many papers to Philosophical Journals.

Foreword

Dr. Krishnan, Associate Professor in the Department of Sanskrit, Pondicherry University worked as T.N. (JRF) Fellow in the Department of Sanskrit, University of Madras from 1987 to 1993 and wrote his Doctoral Thesis on “Prolegomena To Advaita Vedanta”. The thesis earned for him the Ph.D Degree of the University of Madras in 1993. It is now published by the Adi Sankara Advaita Research Centre, Chennai.