— Swami Vireshananda — What is the goal of philosophy and religion? We find different views in Eastern and Western civilisations regarding this. The goals of Western philosophy are said to be truth, rational necessity, and being good, while that of the East, especially Indian philosophy, is the realisation or Darshana of the eternal Truth. […]
Tag Archives: Upanishad
The modern scientific age began when Nicholas Copernicus proposed that the earth revolves around the sun. His ideas were later improvised by scientists like Kepler, Galileo, and notably by Isaac Newton, who discovered laws that governed the motion of the physical bodies and the law of gravitation. Further, James Clerk Maxwell showed that magnetism and electricity too could be deduced by a set of equations. The philosophical implication of these scientific developments is that the whole universe is determined by physical laws. This is called the principle of determinism. This law was prevalent in scientific circles up to the end of the 19th Century.
Suffering is one of the most profound and disturbing of human experiences. The very word suffering has a resonance that relates to our sense of life’s meaning and the threat suffering poses to our hopes of happiness. It does not refer just to maladies, pains, and difficulties with which we can and should cope. It involves crises and threats that constitute a degradation or alienation of our being.
In Indian tradition, there are two concepts of Godhead: Brahman and Ishwara. We find both the ideas highlighted in our sacred books. In Prashna Upanishad, the teacher says that the Omkara is both the para, the higher Brahman and apara, the lower Brahman. Brihadaranyaka Upanishad also declares that the Brahman has two forms—gross and subtle, mortal and immortal, limited and unlimited, defined and undefined. Sri Shankaracharya in his commentaries takes up the question of whether there are two forms of Brahman. The perusal of his commentary on the Brahma Sutra will give us a fair idea of how he solves this problem.In Indian tradition, there are two concepts of Godhead: Brahman and Ishwara. We find both the ideas highlighted in our sacred books. In Prashna Upanishad, the teacher says that the Omkara is both the para, the higher Brahman and apara, the lower Brahman. Brihadaranyaka Upanishad also declares that the Brahman has two forms—gross and subtle, mortal and immortal, limited and unlimited, defined and undefined. Sri Shankaracharya in his commentaries takes up the question of whether there are two forms of Brahman. The perusal of his commentary on the Brahma Sutra will give us a fair idea of how he solves this problem.