[Y-Indology] On Mr. Malaiya's comments

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INDOLOGY, "vpcnk" <vpcnk@H...> wrote:

> Advaita is unrivalled for its spiritual/philosophical

> influence in India even today.

 

I am somewhat unclear what the basis for this rather expansive claim

is. I suspect Sri Chandran confuses political influence in the post

19th century urban milieu for spiritual/philosophical influence in

India.

 

One can not but attribute this to the many Indian apologists of the

Colonial period e.g., Radhakrishnan, responding to the general

British feeling that an abstract monotheism in the Abrahamian mould,

was somehow superior/ more palatable than the confusing temple based

and ritual based religion of the Hindus. Here one must bear in mind

that advaita is seemingly more comprehensible to the 'foreigner'

since advaita and temple ritual proceed along parallel lines and

don't generally meet.

 

Thus Sri Chandran's claim that advaita is unrivalled for its

spiritual influence seems to be a personal opinion.

 

In terms of philosophical influence, I don't know what exactly he

means by this term. For the above reasons, more of advaita's

traditional literature is available in English translation. So more

of it is discussed in urban Indian drawing rooms by retired

bureaucrats and such, in search of self realization.

 

Political influence ... probably yes. This has to be traced to the

mediation of English educated careerists, e.g, university teachers,

bureaucrats in the Colonial days. These people served as a link

between the heads of mathas and the emerging upper caste leadership

during the National Movement. This culture continues to this day.

Thus we find top politicians like Rajaji, Indira Gandhi and Narasimha

Rao visiting Shankaracharya's and some other godmen. To call that

unrivalled philosophical influence would be a bit of a stretch.

 

One has to take this along with the empirically observed facts e.g.,

epigraphic notice of Shankaracharya mathas during the pre Colonial

period does not lend itself either to the view that advaita is

unrivalled for its influence.

 

JAB Van Buitenen has written critically of the attitude (of western

scholarship) that advaita was somehow 'normative' of Indian theistic

thought.

 

Perhaps Sri Chandran will throw some light on this vexed topic.

 

Thanks and Warm Regards,

 

Lakshmi Srinivas