monism

[Guest guest]

Hello All,

About Monism and Advaita (Non-Dualism). Its a genus/species thing. Advaita

is a monism. So is the philosophy of Hegel, Leibniz. Panpsychism is also

a monism. A donkey is a quadruped and so is a horse. A quadruped is not a

donkey and neither is a donkey a horse. So Vivekananda was right in

speaking of Advaita as (a) Monism. He was pointing out where in the

philosophic firmanent Advaita's home planet was, as it were. Monism was

quite respectable in the 19th.Cent. and he may well have had the philosophy

of F.H.Bradley in mind. He considered mind to be a more fundamental

feature of the universe than matter (Ency. Brit.). This would have been

sympathetic to the thought of Vivekananada and his major work 'Appearance

and Reality - a metaphysical essay' (1893) would surely have been read by

him. "If things are to exist, then where and how? But if these two

questions are unanswerable, then we seem driven to the conclusion that

things are but appearances."

 

Another student of Sanskrit and Eastern Philosphy, T.S.Eliot wrote his

Phd.thesis on Appearance and Reality (in 1916 pub in the '60's). Traces of

both are to be found in his major poems The Waste Land and The Four

Quartets.

 

Vivekananda it seems is being criticised (as a thinker) for the absurd

reason that he did not achieve what he did not set out to do.

Accessability and the widest dissemination of Vedanta must have been his

goals given his audience. He did the groundwork and the Ramakrishna

Mission have continued with the translation of the major texts.

 

I am at present flirting with the temptress Doubt in the form of a series of

papers by a Morris Lazerowitz - 'The Structure of Metaphysics'(1955). He

takes a dim view of it. By what licence do we extend the ordinary language

use of the terms 'real', 'appearance', the notion of substratum and

substance. Real questions and unless we come up with arguments and

evidence (other than scripture) it is likely that any checques uttered on

the Allisone Bank will bounce.

 

Ciao & Blessings - Michael.

 

 

 

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[Guest guest]

Namaste Michael-Ji.

 

That was a fantastic piece. Enjoyed the style.

 

About your fear of the cheque bouncing, I can only quote Swami

Dayananda Saraswatiji (as excerpted by our Ramji in his latest post #

14816):

 

"There are threee types of knowledge with reference to Atman, the

SELF. One is paroksajnAnam, indirect knowledge of the fact that the

SELF is Brahman, limitless. This is really not knowledge but sraddhA

in what the Sastra says. It is a belief that Atman is essentially

independent of the body-mind-sense complex and is identical with

limitless Brahman. Then, by exposure to the teaching of the Sastra

from a teacher who handles it as a pramAnA, the cognition,

Vrittijnanam, that "I am Brahman" or Aham BrahmAsmi, takes place. As

the Sastra tells it, the listener discovers this fact. If the

person has all the necessary qualifications, there is no obstruction

to this knowledge. This is clear, immediate knowledge -

aparoksajnAnam."

 

About Eliot, you are quite right. I didn't realize it until recently

when Dennis-Ji quoted from "The Four Quartets". Since you seem to be

well-read on Eliot, why don't you tell us where he reached ultimately

with his oriental inclinations? Sure, he did go a long way from

the "Quartets".

 

Pranams.

 

Madathil Nair

 

__________________________

 

advaitin, "michael Reidy" <ombhurbhuva@h...> wrote:

 

Another student of Sanskrit and Eastern Philosphy, T.S.Eliot wrote

his Phd.thesis on Appearance and Reality (in 1916 pub in

the '60's). Traces of both are to be found in his major poems The

Waste Land and The Four Quartets.

.........

 

By what licence do we extend the ordinary language use of the

terms 'real', 'appearance', the notion of substratum and

substance. Real questions and unless we come up with arguments and

evidence (other than scripture) it is likely that any checques

uttered on the Allisone Bank will bounce.

[Guest guest]

To add to this discussion, I have just acquired a little book,

TRANSCREATION OF THE BHAGAVAD GITA by Ashok Kumar Malhotra, in which

he points out that T. S. Eliot drew heavily from the Bhagavad Gita

for The Four Quartets, especially with respect to the relationship

between time and eternity and in that regard raised a number of

questions regarding time, history, eternity, progress, meaning of

life, human history and the nature of significant action.

 

The relevant comments are on page 76.

 

John L.

 

advaitin, "Madathil Rajendran Nair" <madathilnair>

wrote:

> Namaste Michael-Ji.

>

> That was a fantastic piece. Enjoyed the style.

>

> About your fear of the cheque bouncing, I can only quote Swami

> Dayananda Saraswatiji (as excerpted by our Ramji in his latest post

#

> 14816):

>

> "There are threee types of knowledge with reference to Atman, the

> SELF. One is paroksajnAnam, indirect knowledge of the fact that the

> SELF is Brahman, limitless. This is really not knowledge but

sraddhA

> in what the Sastra says. It is a belief that Atman is essentially

> independent of the body-mind-sense complex and is identical with

> limitless Brahman. Then, by exposure to the teaching of the Sastra

> from a teacher who handles it as a pramAnA, the cognition,

> Vrittijnanam, that "I am Brahman" or Aham BrahmAsmi, takes place.

As

> the Sastra tells it, the listener discovers this fact. If the

> person has all the necessary qualifications, there is no

obstruction

> to this knowledge. This is clear, immediate knowledge -

> aparoksajnAnam."

>

> About Eliot, you are quite right. I didn't realize it until

recently

> when Dennis-Ji quoted from "The Four Quartets". Since you seem to

be

> well-read on Eliot, why don't you tell us where he reached

ultimately

> with his oriental inclinations? Sure, he did go a long way from

> the "Quartets".

>

> Pranams.

>

> Madathil Nair

>

> __________________________

>

> advaitin, "michael Reidy" <ombhurbhuva@h...> wrote:

>

> Another student of Sanskrit and Eastern Philosphy, T.S.Eliot wrote

> his Phd.thesis on Appearance and Reality (in 1916 pub in

> the '60's). Traces of both are to be found in his major poems The

> Waste Land and The Four Quartets.

> ........

>

> By what licence do we extend the ordinary language use of the

> terms 'real', 'appearance', the notion of substratum and

> substance. Real questions and unless we come up with arguments

and

> evidence (other than scripture) it is likely that any checques

> uttered on the Allisone Bank will bounce.