Guest guest Posted January 14, 2000 Report Share Posted January 14, 2000 K Kathirasan ADM NCS wrote: > > Dear Patrick, > > I am still interested in the differences between Spinoza's teachings and > Advaita. I would be grateful if you can send me some info on that or direct > me to a webpage that features Spinoza's teachings. Thanks, Patrick. > > Sincerely, > Kathi > Hi Kathi, Spinoza's Ethics is unfortunately one of the most difficult books ever written so the best advice I can give is to find a copy of the *abridged* version. Since 'ALL things follow from the necessity of the divine nature' Spinoza explicitly excludes the idea of free will (something that Advaitins seem to have a lot of trouble with!). Naturally he makes no mention of Karma but it seems clear to me that the doctrine of Karma is inconsistent with his philosophy since all of our 'bad' thoughts and deeds are ultimately God's 'fault'. Not that this let's us off the hook: the idea that 'ALL things follow from the necessity of the divine nature' is a very big pill swallow! But it can be done and it's well worth the effort. Regards, Patrick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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