Exploring Hindu Philosophy - Ankur Barua
Therapies for Liberation
Exploring Hindu Philosophy - Ankur Barua
Ankur Barua [+]
University of Cambridge
Description
While many styles of Hindu philosophy affirm, on the basis of Vedic revelation, the existence of a cosmic source of being, goodness, and value, forms of sceptical questioning can also be found across different discursive Indic milieus. According to one form, reasoning cannot extend beyond what is immediately perceptible in the spatiotemporal world, let alone beyond the empirical bounds of sense. Another, more mitigated form works within the parameters of Vedic visions and points to certain inconsistencies between everyday experiences and the concept of a deity. For the Vedāntic traditions, a deep-seated error (avidyā) is the failure to discern the spiritual self (ātman) that is the stable rock of being in the finite world. Conversely, liberating knowledge (vidyā) re-centres us in the heart of reality and draws us away from our immersion in the cycles of impermanence, ignorance, and suffering.