Monism and Monotheism in Hindu Thought: Some case studies

Reading list

Week one - Background to the Bhagavadgita; the Samkhya system; Samkhya thought in the Isa and Svetasvatara Upanisads

Probably the earliest systematic philosophical interpretation of Brahmanical thought to be developed, a good appreciation of Samkhya is vital for understanding later developments, particularly the Bhagavadgita.

Primary sources:

• The Samkhyakarika, in Radhakrishnan and Moore ed., A Sourcebook in Indian Philosophy, pp. 424-45.
• The Library now also has a volume of the Encyclopedia of Indian Philosophies, edited by G. Larson, devoted to the Samkhya. This major study contains summaries of the karika, which can be keyed to summaries of the commentaries. It also has a detailed and up-to-date introductory study, and thus can be used as an important secondary source as well.
• If you wish, you can read the Isa and Svetasvatara Upanisads in R.C. Zaehner's Hindu Scriptures.

Secondary sources:

• Reasonably accurate accounts of the Samkhya system can be found in:
• Dale Riepe, The Naturalistic Tradition in Indian Thought, ch. 7;
• Ninian Smart, Doctrine and Argument in Indian Philosophy, ch. 5;
• C. Sharma, A Critical Survey of Indian Philosophy.
• The chapter in M. Hiriyanna, Outlines of Indian Philosophy (pp. 270-83) is more difficult.
• There are short accounts in the standard introductions to Hinduism: John Brockington's The Sacred Thread, R.C. Zaehner's Hinduism, and quite a good general account in J. Lipner, Hindus, pp. 241-4,
• Although I have not checked, there is sure to be an interesting article on Samkhya in Mircea Eliade ed., Encyclopedia of Religion.
• For a philosophically interesting (but quite difficult) discussion of Samkhya with particular reference to the issue of consciousness see the chapter on Samkhya in Pratima Bowes, Consciousness and Freedom.

Suggested essay titles:

In writing your essays, please note that extra credit will be given for relevant use of the primary sources. In particular I do not want to see an essay on the Bhagavad Gita which shows no sign that you have actually read the Gita!

1. What does it mean to call the Samkhya system a 'dualism'? Does this dualism have any religious significance? (A hint: 'religious significance' need not necessarily mean the same as 'concerning God').
2. 'The Samkhya system is not a philosophical system but is rather one of meditation, the system of a world-renouncer.' Discuss.
3. Discuss the role and significance of consciousness in the Samkhya system.

Weeks two to four: The Bhagavadgita

Visnu as God; Dualism, activity and knowledge; Knowledge and God; Devotion and ethics.

Primary sources:

• Recommended translations of the Bhagavadgita for our purposes include those by Edgerton (rather literal), Zaehner (a bit archaic but accurate, cheap and easily available. Reprinted in his Hindu Scriptures. This is a book which might be worth buying), and Barbara Stoler Miller (accurate and poetic, but problematic introduction). The translation by Radhakrishnan is okay. There is also an excellent translation by van Buitenen, situated within the context of the Mahabharata: The Bhagavadgita in the Mahabharata, with a short but useful introduction. My own favourite translation, however, is the recent one also with a short but useful introduction by W. Johnson in the OUP World's Classics Series. Other translations by e.g. Mascaro (in Penguin), Eknath Easwaran, A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami etc. are not recommended.
• On particular verses you may like to look at what the great thinkers (and rivals) Sankara and Ramanuja have to say in their commentaries on the Gita. Sankara's commentary (Gitabhasya ) has been summarised in Karl Potter ed., Advaita Vedanta up to Samkara and his Pupils, which is Volume 3 of the Encyclopedia of Indian Philosophies (pp. 294-308). Ramanuja's has been summarised in J.A.B. van Buitenen, Ramanuja on the Bhagavadgita.
• You should also read the section on Visnu in Wendy O'Flaherty, Hindu Myths, ch.5.

Secondary sources:

• The standard surveys of Hinduism all have sections (some quite short) on the main ideas of the Gita: K.K. Klostermaier, A Survey of Hinduism, ch. 6, Brockington, pp. 56-62, A.L. Basham, The Sacred Cow, ch. 6, M. Biardeau, Hinduism, pp. 112-21, D.R. Kinsley, Hinduism, pp. 32-4, T. J. Hopkins, The Hindu Religious Tradition, pp. 90-5, and Lipner, Hindus, passim.
• J.A.B. van Buitenen - Introduction to his translation of the Gita;
• Franklin Edgerton, The Bhagavad Gita, Part 2, pp. 105-94 (useful reading for the classes);
• M. Hiriyanna, Outlines of Indian Philosophy, ch. on the Gita;
• Ninian Smart, Hindu Patterns of Liberation, Open University, pp. 18-32;
• R.C. Zaehner, Hinduism, pp. 80-124; There is also useful material in:
  -ditto- Concordant Discord, pp. 105-93;
  -ditto- The Bhagavad Gita, OUP edition, pp. 1-41;
• Once more, you could also look at the article on the Bhagavadgita in the Encyclopedia of Religion.
• For a recent book on the diversity of the Gita, and its different interpretations, see A. Sharma, The Hindu Gita (chapters on Sankara and Ramanuja).
• You may also be interested in a short piece on the Gita by Thomas Merton, 'The Significance of the Bhagavada-Gita' in his Asian Journal, pp. 348-53. You may also come across a complete commentary by the Christian monk Bede Griffiths.
• There is now a Hare Krsna centre near to the Department. Their views represent a particular development in modern Hinduism (and their recommended translation is not reliable enough for our purposes), but the centre may nevertheless be worth a visit.

Suggested essay titles (see note above on importance of using the (Gita) text):

1. Clarify and critically discuss R.C. Zaehner's assertion (Concordant Discord, p. 149) concerning the teachings of the Gita that they were 'something radically new in Hinduism, and Hinduism was never to be quite the same again'.
2. What did the Bhagavadgita owe to the Samkhya and Yoga systems? (A hint: note that this refers not just to yoga, but the Yoga system (some reference to Patanjali's Yoga System may be relevant)).
3. What role do knowledge and bhakti play in the Bhagavadgita?

Weeks five to six, first part of eight: Advaita Vedanta - the philosophy of Sankara

Sankara and the Brahmasutras; Brahman; Levels of reality and apprehension; maya and avidya; moksa.

Primary sources:

• Sankara, Upadesasahasri - in Deutsch and van Buitenen, A Sourcebook in Advaita Vedanta, pp. 123-50 (trans); Potter, Advaita Vedanta up to Samkara and his Pupils, pp. 217-54 (summary?);
• Sankara, Brahmasutrabhasya, in Radhakrishnan and Moore, pp. 509-54 (trans). The sections translated here are also summarised in Potter. This commentary is very difficult, but important and worth attempting.
• Sankara, Atmabodha - summarised in Potter, pp. 323-4 (if you want to look at the whole thing, with a commentary, I have a copy).

Secondary sources:

• Standard surveys of Hinduism: Hopkins pp. 119-21, Kinsley, pp. 91-7, Brockington, pp. 107-12, Klostermaier, pp. 371-7.
• A.L. Basham in Zaehner's The Concise Encyclopedia of Living Faiths, p. 233 (very short);
• Eliot Deutsch, Advaita Vedanta: A philosophical reconstruction, pp. 3-45 (Read more if you like! This book will be particularly useful, although on some points he is, I think, misleading);
• Potter, pp. 3-45 and pp. 74-91;
• Swami Prabhavananda, The Spiritual Heritage of India, pp. 279-98 (easy to read, but use very carefully);
• Ninian Smart, pp. 3-16 (OU unit); pp. 97-105 (Doctrine and Argument ).
• Article on Sankara in the Encyclopedia of Religion.

Suggested essay titles:

1. What does Sankara mean by Brahman ? Why does he maintain that Brahman must be without attributes, and why does Ramanuja find this view inadequate? (If you wish, you can leave out discussion of Ramanuja and place greater emphasis on your own critical comments on Sankara's theory instead, provided you make it clear this is what you intend doing.)
2. What does Sankara mean by isvara ? Critically discuss the role played by isvara in Sankara's systematic philosophy and religious practice.
3. 'For Sankara the status of maya and avidya remain a mystery.' Critically discuss this assertion in the light of Ramanuja's criticisms of Sankara's philosophy. Would this contention provide Sankara with a defence? (As with question (a) above, if you wish and make it clear that is what you intend to do, you can discuss in a critical philosophical way Sankara's doctrines of maya and avidya without reference to Ramanuja.)

Week eight part two, weeks nine to ten: Visistadvaita - the philosophy of Ramanuja

Criticisms of Sankara; God, souls and matter; Freewill and grace; Matter and cosmology; moksa.

Primary source:

• Ramanuja's Vedarthasamgraha, trans. van Buitenen, pp. 181-221, pp. 228-43, and pp. 282-99.
• You may also like to look at Radhakrishnan and Moore, pp. 543-55 for Ramanuja's criticisms of Sackara, and for his own philosophy you could look at Ramanuja's Gitabhasya (listed above).

Secondary sources:

• Standard surveys of Hinduism: Brockington, pp. 134-40, Klostermaier, pp. 377-81, Hopkins, pp. 121-4.
• Basham (Concise Encyclopedia article), p. 234;
• Hiriyanna, pp. 383-413 (more difficult);
• Smart's Doctrine, pp. 104-14; and his Hindu Patterns, pp. 17-28;
• C. Sharma, A Critical Survey of Indian Philosophy, pp. 335-71 (more difficult).
• There should be an interesting article on Ramanuja in the Encyclopedia of Religion.
• The best recent detailed study of Ramanuja, noting points of particular interest to theologians, is Julius Lipner, The Face of Truth.

Suggested essay titles:

1. Compare and discuss the ways in which the philosophies of Sankara and Ramanuja can, and cannot, be called 'non-dualistic'.
2. How does Ramanuja envisage and explain the relationship between God, souls and the world? Is his explanation coherent, or is it little more than an elaborate metaphor having appeal only for fellow believers?
3. Is there a problem of evil in Ramanuja's theology? If not, why not? If so, then how might Ramanuja begin to cope with it, and could he do so successfully?

Paul Williams