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Anavastha
As a philosophical term ''anavastha'' refers to the non-finality of a proposition or endless series of statements or ''regressus ad infinitum'' (infinite regress). In the Hindi language, ''anavastha'' means nothingness. Etymology ''Anavastha'' (Sanskrit: अनवस्था) is a Sanskrit nominal compound derived from the verb ''Stha'' (meaning ''standing'', ''resting'', ''grounded'' or ''founded''). The expression literally means: that which does not stand down, non-resting, unstable, holding no definite position, un-grounded or without foundation. It can also mean unsettled condition or character or absence of finality or conclusion. Overview In Indian thought and Indian logic ''Anavastha'' is an important doctrine. All major schools of philosophy have examined and commented upon this concept and laid down guidelines so as to avoid the endless series of statements and propositions and the non-finality of those propositions. Certain aphorisms of Pāṇini, in his Ashtadhyayi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Infinite Regress
An infinite regress is an infinite series of entities governed by a recursive principle that determines how each entity in the series depends on or is produced by its predecessor. In the epistemic regress, for example, a belief is justified because it is based on another belief that is justified. But this other belief is itself in need of one more justified belief for itself to be justified and so on. An infinite regress argument is an argument against a theory based on the fact that this theory leads to an infinite regress. For such an argument to be successful, it has to demonstrate not just that the theory in question entails an infinite regress but also that this regress is ''vicious''. There are different ways in which a regress can be vicious. The most serious form of viciousness involves a contradiction in the form of ''metaphysical impossibility''. Other forms occur when the infinite regress is responsible for the theory in question being implausible or for its failure to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vedanta
''Vedanta'' (; sa, वेदान्त, ), also ''Uttara Mīmāṃsā'', is one of the six (''āstika'') schools of Hindu philosophy. Literally meaning "end of the Vedas", Vedanta reflects ideas that emerged from, or were aligned with, the speculations and philosophies contained in the Upanishads, specifically, knowledge and liberation. Vedanta contains many sub-traditions, all of which are based on a common group of texts called the "Three Sources" ('' prasthānatrayī''): ''the Upanishads'', the ''Brahma Sutras'' and the '' Bhagavad Gita''. All Vedanta traditions contain extensive discussions on ontology, soteriology and epistemology, though there is much disagreement among the various schools. The main traditions of Vedanta are: ''Advaita'' (non-dualism), ''Bhedabheda'' (difference and non-difference), '' Suddhadvaita'' (pure non-dualism), ''Tattvavada ( Dvaita)'' (dualism), and ''Vishishtadvaita'' (qualified non-dualism). Modern developments in Vedanta include Neo-V ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Yoga Concepts
Yoga (; sa, योग, lit=yoke' or 'union ) is a group of physical, mental, and spiritual practices or disciplines which originated in ancient India and aim to control (yoke) and still the mind, recognizing a detached witness-consciousness untouched by the mind ('' Chitta'') and mundane suffering (''Duḥkha''). There is a wide variety of schools of yoga, practices, and goals in Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism,Stuart Ray Sarbacker, ''Samādhi: The Numinous and Cessative in Indo-Tibetan Yoga''. SUNY Press, 2005, pp. 1–2.Tattvarthasutra .1 see Manu Doshi (2007) Translation of Tattvarthasutra, Ahmedabad: Shrut Ratnakar p. 102. and traditional and modern yoga is practiced worldwide. Two general theories exist on the origins of yoga. The linear model holds that yoga originated in the Vedic period, as reflected in the Vedic textual corpus, and influenced Buddhism; according to author Edward Fitzpatrick Crangle, this model is mainly supported by Hindu scholars. According ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nagarjuna
Nāgārjuna . 150 – c. 250 CE (disputed)was an Indian Mahāyāna Buddhist thinker, scholar-saint and philosopher. He is widely considered one of the most important Buddhist philosophers.Garfield, Jay L. (1995), ''The Fundamental Wisdom of the Middle Way'', Oxford: Oxford University Press. Jan Westerhoff considers him to be "one of the greatest thinkers in the history of Asian philosophy." Nāgārjuna is widely considered to be the founder of the Madhyamaka (centrism, middle-way) school of Buddhist philosophy and a defender of the Mahāyāna movement. His ''Mūlamadhyamakakārikā'' (Root Verses on Madhyamaka, or MMK) is the most important text on the madhyamaka philosophy of emptiness. The MMK inspired a large number of commentaries in Sanskrit, Chinese, Tibetan, Korean and Japanese and continues to be studied today. History Background India in the first and second centuries CE was politically divided into various states, including the Kushan Empire and the Satavaha ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pratibandhaka
Pratibandhaka (Sanskrit: प्रतिबन्धक) variously means – 'opposition', 'resistance', 'investment', 'blockade', 'siege', 'invariable and inseparable connection', 'cessation', 'disappointment'; it also means – 'impediment', 'obstacle', 'cognitive blocker', 'antidote' or 'preventive measure'. ''Pratibandhaka'' is a causal dependency and refers to something that must perform the specific function of obstructing. Jaina concept of causal power Prabhachandra, the disciple of Akalarika, endorses the Jaina argument that the causal complex has the causal power of producing effect owing to the existence of some extra-sensory power ('' shakti ''), that the hindrance in the origination of an effect is caused by counter-agents (''pratibandhaka'') is due to the special power. The followers of Jainism believe that the universe is full of karmic molecules whose mundane inflow towards the soul is caused by its own vibratory activities through mind, speech and body. Karma is ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hemachandra
Hemachandra was a 12th century () Indian Jain saint, scholar, poet, mathematician, philosopher, yogi, grammarian, law theorist, historian, lexicographer, rhetorician, logician, and prosodist. Noted as a prodigy by his contemporaries, he gained the title ''kalikālasarvajña'', "the knower of all knowledge in his times" and ''father of Gujarati language''. Born as Changadeva, he was ordained in the Śvētāmbara school of Jainism in 1110 and took the name Somachandra. In 1125 he became an adviser to King Kumarapala and wrote ''Arhanniti'', a work on politics from a Jain perspective. He also produced ''Trishashti-shalaka-purusha-charita'' (“Deeds of the 63 Illustrious Men”), a Sanskrit epic poem on the history of important figures of Jainism. Later in his life, he changed his name to Hemachandra. Early life Hemachandra was born in Dhandhuka, in present-day Gujarat, on Kartika Sud Purnima (the full moon day of Kartika month). His date of birth differs according to source ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Patanjali
Patanjali ( sa, पतञ्जलि, Patañjali), also called Gonardiya or Gonikaputra, was a Hindu author, mystic and philosopher. Very little is known about him, and while no one knows exactly when he lived; from analysis of his works it is estimated that it was between the 2nd and 4th centuries CE. He is believed to be an author and compiler of a number of Sanskrit works. The greatest of these are the ''Yoga Sutras'', a classical yoga text. There is speculation as to whether the sage Patañjali is the author of all the works attributed to him, as there are a number of known historical authors of the same name. A great deal of scholarship has been devoted over the last century as to the issue of the historicity or identity of this author or these authors. lists ten separate authors by the name of "Patañjali." Amongst the more important authors called Patañjali are: * The author of the ''Mahābhāṣya'', an ancient treatise on Sanskrit grammar and linguistics, based on t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Yoga
Yoga (; sa, योग, lit=yoke' or 'union ) is a group of physical, mental, and spiritual practices or disciplines which originated in ancient India and aim to control (yoke) and still the mind, recognizing a detached witness-consciousness untouched by the mind ('' Chitta'') and mundane suffering (''Duḥkha''). There is a wide variety of schools of yoga, practices, and goals in Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism,Stuart Ray Sarbacker, ''Samādhi: The Numinous and Cessative in Indo-Tibetan Yoga''. SUNY Press, 2005, pp. 1–2.Tattvarthasutra .1 see Manu Doshi (2007) Translation of Tattvarthasutra, Ahmedabad: Shrut Ratnakar p. 102. and traditional and modern yoga is practiced worldwide. Two general theories exist on the origins of yoga. The linear model holds that yoga originated in the Vedic period, as reflected in the Vedic textual corpus, and influenced Buddhism; according to author Edward Fitzpatrick Crangle, this model is mainly supported by Hindu scholars. According ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kumārila Bhaṭṭa
Kumārila Bhaṭṭa ( fl. roughly 700) was a Hindu philosopher and a scholar of Mimamsa school of philosophy from early medieval India. He is famous for many of his various theses on Mimamsa, such as ''Mimamsaslokavarttika''. Bhaṭṭa was a staunch believer in the supreme validity of Vedic injunction, a champion of Pūrva-Mīmāṃsā and a confirmed ritualist. The ''Varttika'' is mainly written as a subcommentary of Sabara's commentary on Jaimini's Purva Mimamsa Sutras. His philosophy is classified by some scholars as existential realism. Scholars differ as regards Kumārila Bhaṭṭa's views on a personal God. For example, Manikka Vachakar believed that Bhaṭṭa promoted a personal God ( saguna brahman), which conflicts with the Mīmāṃsā school. In his ''Varttika'', Kumārila Bhaṭṭa goes to great lengths to argue against the theory of a creator God and held that the actions enjoined in the Veda had definite results without an external interference of Deity. Kum ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Consciousness
Consciousness, at its simplest, is sentience and awareness of internal and external existence. However, the lack of definitions has led to millennia of analyses, explanations and debates by philosophers, theologians, linguisticians, and scientists. Opinions differ about what exactly needs to be studied or even considered consciousness. In some explanations, it is synonymous with the mind, and at other times, an aspect of mind. In the past, it was one's "inner life", the world of introspection, of private thought, imagination and volition. Today, it often includes any kind of cognition, experience, feeling or perception. It may be awareness, awareness of awareness, or self-awareness either continuously changing or not. The disparate range of research, notions and speculations raises a curiosity about whether the right questions are being asked. Examples of the range of descriptions, definitions or explanations are: simple wakefulness, one's sense of selfhood or sou ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chaitanya (consciousness)
Chaitanya () refers variously to 'awareness', 'consciousness', 'Conscious Self', 'intelligence' or 'Pure Consciousness'. It can also mean energy or enthusiasm. Etymology It is derived from cetanā (), which refers to living things or consciousness itself. Scripture In the Rig Veda (R.V.IV.XL.5) ''Nrishad'' is the dweller amongst humans; ''Nrishad'' is explained as ''Chaitanya'' or 'Consciousness' or ''Prana'' or 'vitality' because both dwell in humans. In his commentary on the Isha Upanishad, Sri Aurobindo explains that the Atman, the Self manifests through a seven-fold movement of Prakrti. These seven folds of consciousness, along with their dominant principles are: # annamaya puruṣa - physical # prāṇamaya puruṣa - nervous / vital # manomaya puruṣa - mental / mind # vijñānamaya puruṣa - knowledge and truth # ānandamaya puruṣa - Aurobindo's concept of Delight, otherwise known as Bliss # caitanya puruṣa - infinite divine self-awareness # sat puruṣa - ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Adi Sankara
Adi Shankara ("first Shankara," to distinguish him from other Shankaras)(8th cent. CE), also called Adi Shankaracharya ( sa, आदि शङ्कर, आदि शङ्कराचार्य, Ādi Śaṅkarācāryaḥ, lit=First Shankaracharya, ), was an Indian people, Indian Vedanga, Vedic scholar and teacher (''acharya''), whose works present a harmonizing reading of the ''sastras'', with liberating knowledge of the self at its core, synthesizing the Advaita Vedanta teachings of his time. The title of Shankaracharya, Shankracharya, used by heads of the amnaya monasteries is derived from his name. Due to his later fame, over 300 texts are attributed to his name, including commentaries (''Bhāṣya''), introductory topical expositions (''Prakaraṇa grantha'') and poetry (''Stotra''). However most of these are likely to be by admirers or pretenders or scholars with an eponymous name.W Halbfass (1983), Studies in Kumarila and Sankara, Studien zur Indologie und Iranistik, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
