Gandhi His Philosophical And Religious Thought And Some Cross References

Seminar paper from the year 2006 in the subject Philosophy - Philosophy Beyond Occidental Tradition, grade: A, Hindu University of America (Hindu University of America), course: Term Paper, 9 entries in the bibliography, language: English, abstract: Formal gliedert sich die Arbeit in drei Teile. Zunächst werden die wichtigsten Konzepte von Gandhis Denken geklärt (Satya: Wahrheit, Ahimsa: Nicht-Gewalt, Satyagraha, etc.) Anschliessend wird der Einfluss bestimmter heiliger Schriften und bedeutender Persönlichkeiten auf Gandhis philosophisches und religiöses Denken aufgezeigt. Schliesslich wird Gandhi mit Sokrates, Aristoteles, Kant und Kirkegaard, etc. verglichen. Den Schluss bildet eine Sammlung von wichtigen Gandhi-Zitaten. Im Folgenden nur zwei: "The immediate service of human beings becomes a necessary part of the endeavour, simply because the only way to find God is to see him in his creation and be one with it. I know, that I can not find him apart form humanity." "It is possible to recognise the existence of God to a certain extent through the use of reason. There is a scheme of things in the universe, an irreversible law that governs everything. In the midst of death, life continues; in the midst of untruth, truth continues to prevail; in the midst of injustice, justice endures; in the midst of darkness, light continues to exist. Whereas everything that sourrounds me is subject to eternal change, at the same time an active living force exists that does not undergo alteration. As far as I believe, there is no encounter within the beyond, as we have it in the present. When a single droplets vanish, they participate again in the majesty of the ocean where they belong. They die seperately, to be reunited with the ocean." (Die Arbeit ist auf Englisch.)

This book seeks to give a coherent account of Gandhi's basic ideas, demonstrating the importance of Hindu thought and the centrality of his concept of Truth.

Short, easy-to-read essays revealing Gandhi’s most important teachings on love, meditation, service, and prayer—with profound wisdom and inspiration for readers of every faith. Mahatma Gandhi became famous as the leader of the Indian independence movement, but he called himself “a man of God disguised as a politician.” The Way to God demonstrates his enduring significance as a spiritual leader whose ideas offer insight and solace to seekers of every practice and persuasion. Collecting many of his most significant writings, the book explores the deep religious roots of Gandhi’s worldly accomplishments and reveals—in his own words—his intellectual, moral, and spiritual approaches to the divine. First published in India in 1971, the book is based on Gandhi’s lifetime experiments with truth and reveals the heart of his teachings. Gandhi’s aphoristic power, his ability to sum up complex ideas in a few authoritative strokes, shines through these pages. Individual chapters cover such topics as moral discipline, spiritual practice, spiritual experience, and much more. Gandhi’s guiding principles of selflessness, humility, service, active yet nonviolent resistance, and vegetarianism make his writings as timely today as when these writings first appeared. A foreword by Gandhi’s grandson Arun and an introduction by Michael Nagler add useful context.

These original essays debate two ways of theorizing social life. One way is the integrative or holistic model of thought typified in the writings of Confucius. The other, the revolutionary tradition, is suspicious of holism and harmony as principles of social thought because harmony is seen as something that can genuinely occur only when a society has rectified deeply ingrained injustice. This volume evaluates the alternative priorities of order and revolt, harmony and spontaneity, in social life.

Short, easy-to-read essays revealing Gandhi’s most important teachings on love, meditation, service, and prayer—with profound wisdom and inspiration for readers of every faith. Mahatma Gandhi became famous as the leader of the Indian independence movement, but he called himself “a man of God disguised as a politician.” The Way to God demonstrates his enduring significance as a spiritual leader whose ideas offer insight and solace to seekers of every practice and persuasion. Collecting many of his most significant writings, the book explores the deep religious roots of Gandhi’s worldly accomplishments and reveals—in his own words—his intellectual, moral, and spiritual approaches to the divine. First published in India in 1971, the book is based on Gandhi’s lifetime experiments with truth and reveals the heart of his teachings. Gandhi’s aphoristic power, his ability to sum up complex ideas in a few authoritative strokes, shines through these pages. Individual chapters cover such topics as moral discipline, spiritual practice, spiritual experience, and much more. Gandhi’s guiding principles of selflessness, humility, service, active yet nonviolent resistance, and vegetarianism make his writings as timely today as when these writings first appeared. A foreword by Gandhi’s grandson Arun and an introduction by Michael Nagler add useful context.

Sri Ramakrishna is widely known as a nineteenth-century Indian mystic who affirmed the harmony of all religions on the basis of his richly varied spiritual experiences and eclectic religious practices, both Hindu and non-Hindu. In Infinite Paths to Infinite Reality, Ayon Maharaj argues that Sri Ramakrishna was also a sophisticated philosopher of great contemporary relevance. Through a careful study of Sri Ramakrishna's recorded oral teachings in the original Bengali, Maharaj reconstructs his philosophical positions and analyzes them from a cross-cultural perspective. Sri Ramakrishna's spiritual journey culminated in the exalted state of "vijñana," his term for the "intimate knowledge" of God as the Infinite Reality that is both personal and impersonal, with and without form, immanent in the universe and beyond it. This expansive spiritual standpoint of vijñana, Maharaj contends, opens up a new paradigm for addressing central issues in cross-cultural philosophy of religion, including divine infinitude, religious pluralism, mystical experience, and the problem of evil. Sri Ramakrishna's vijñana-based religious pluralism--when grasped in all its subtlety--proves to have major philosophical advantages over dominant Western models. Moreover, his mystical testimony and teachings not only cut across long-standing debates about the nature of mystical experience but also bolster recent defenses of its epistemic value. Maharaj further demonstrates that Sri Ramakrishna's unique response to the problem of evil resonates strongly with Western "soul-making" theodicies and contemporary theories of skeptical theism. A pioneering interdisciplinary study of one of India's most important philosopher-mystics, Maharaj's book is essential reading for scholars and students in philosophy of religion, theology, religious studies, and Hindu studies.

Gandhiji was born a Hindu. But his Hinduism was his own. It had its roots firm in ancient Hinduism, but it grew and developed in the light of his contact with other religions, more especially Christianity, as will be seen from Section Two of this volume. He sought to drink at the spring of all religions, and therefore he felt that he belonged to every religion. And yet, if he had to have a label, the label he preferred and which was his not only by right of birth but also intrinsically, was Hinduism, the religion of his forefathers.

“The issues of South Africa and the nuclear bomb and theologies of liberation have for some time spotlighted the question of violence and non-violence. The strength or weakness of Gandhian non-violence often comes up in discussions on the subject. This manuscript analyzes Gandhian non-violence. The analysis is able, thorough and—this is what I most respond to—marked both by rigorous Western-style scrutiny and a familiarity with Gandhi’s philosophical and religious roots. He provides a strong theoretical basis for the instinctive reactions of many of Gandhi’s non-violence, for the widespread and commonsense belief that in general non-violence is sound and beneficial but that non-violent extremism may not be. His treatment of Gandhian non-violence in the context of Indian philosophy and metaphysics is of high calibre. His approach is both fresh and successful.” — Rajmohan Gandhi “Borman shows in great detail where Gandhi’s thought arises from the Upanisads, The Bhagavad Gita, and a few other ancient documents. He also shows clearly where Gandhi deviates from his sources. As to argument, Borman uses a close-grained approach characteristic of analytic philosophy. Borman claims that Gandhi’s principles are extreme and unsupportable, and eventually lead to contradiction. It is not an intellectual biography, and it does not deal with the development of Gandhi’s thought. Rather it analyzes the logic of his position, and shows how he came to defend it from new angles in different circumstances. The text is well related to historical events, but does not pretend to history.” — Robert C. Neville “The manuscript is not, and does not pretend to be, a historical analysis of Mahatma Gandhi’s experience. Its notable strength lies in its unique and commendable examination of Gandhi’s philosophy of non-violence, and in this particular respect it is the best study of the subject that I have read among the hundreds of books that deal with aspects of Gandhi’s contribution to our understanding of non-violence.” — Dennis Dalton “It is refreshing to read an author who has a basis for understanding Gandhi since so many writers fail to understand or appreciate the spiritual essentials that form the core of Gandhi’s life and message. This book rings with clear, accurate, insightful understandings of Gandhi. It explores fully Gandhi’s philosophy of action and brings in scriptural sources for concepts that Gandhi practiced in his everyday affairs. I think the Western reader will gain a much needed clarification of Gandhian philosophy, methods, and actions, and especially of the source of his inspiration and intentions.” — Jean B. Mann