Aldous Huxley and Bhagavad Gita

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Aldous Huxley and Bhagavad Gita

 

Great philosophers such as Aldous Huxley agree that the philosophy of

life and soul postulated in Bhagavad Gita is superb and unique. Aldous

Huxley in the introduction to the New American Library edition of the

Bhagavad Gita interprets the Gita as not only the distillation of

Hinduism but also the distillation of religion in general. Huxley claims

that the theology of the Gita is relevant to all religious people not

just to the Hindu because he says it presents the four basic elements of

a spiritual world view. .

 

Aldous Huxley presents four fundamental doctrines as what he calls the

Perennial Philosophy:

 

"First: the phenomenal world of matter and of individualized

consciousness - the world of things and animals and men and even gods -

is the manifestation of a Divine Ground within which all partial

realities have their being, and apart from which they would be

nonexistent.

 

Second: human beings are capable not merely of knowing about the Divine

Ground by inference; they can also realize its existence by a direct

intuition, superior to discursive reasoning. This immediate knowledge

unites the knower with that which is known.

 

Third: man possesses a double nature, a phenomenal ego and an eternal

Self, which is the inner man, the spirit, the spark of divinity within

the soul. It is possible for a man, if he so desires, to identify

himself with the spirit and therefore with the divine Ground, which is

of the same or like nature with the spirit.

 

Fourth: man's life on earth has only one end and purpose: to identify

himself with his eternal Self and so to come to untie knowledge of the

Divine Ground."

 

Huxley's reference of Divine Ground is the Brahman in the Gita and

Vedanta. Huxley discusses these four aspects of religion giving examples

from a variety of religious traditions in the book, "The Perennial

Philosophy." According to Huxley that modern population have turned

away from religion due to industrialization and technology revolution.

 

In conclusion, we should recognize that great minds can be find all

parts of the world including India. The human search for the knowledge

of the Brahman (Divine Ground) has no time, geographical and language

bounds. The moment that we attempt to separate the Brahman by time,

geography and language, we enter into the world of duality and forget

the very purpose of human life!

 

Reference:

"The Perennial Philosophy" by Aldous Huxley, Paperback, 336 pages.

Published by HarperCollins, July 1990, ISBN: 0060901918. ‘Perennial

Philosophy' is available at major bookstores and also in the Internet at

Amazon.com.

 

Synopsis: The brilliant wit and absorbing intellect of Aldous Huxley

gives this religious classic an elevated spirit equal to its subject

matter. Huxley identifies the spiritual beliefs of various religious

traditions and recasts them in terms which are personally meaningful.

Chapters include Self-knowledge, Faith, The Miraculous, Spiritual

Exercises, etc. This is both an anthology and an interpretation of the

supreme mystics, East and West.