Chapter 1 - Hindu Philosophy in India

Well has it been said by Victor Cousin, the eminent French philosopher: “The history of Indian philosophy is the abridged history of the philosophy of the world”. Indeed from the vedic period down to the present-day India has produced a great variety of philosophical systems some of which are atheistic, agnostic, nihilistic, materialistic, while others are pluralistic, dualistic, or monotheistic, qualified non-dualistic, idealistic, realistic, spiritualistic, non-dualistic or monastic systems of thought such are common in Europe and America at the present time. I agree with Prof. Max Müller when he says, “India has produced a nation of philosophers”. In fact, the natural tendency of the Hindu mind from the very beginning was to search after the unchangeable Reality of the universe, to trace the source of phenomena, to understand the purpose of evolution as well as of earthly existence, and above all to know what relation the individual soul bears to the universal Being.

Animated by an intense longing and guided by unswerving love for Truth, the Hindu philosophers discovered many of the natural and spiritual laws and rationally explained them by following strictly the rules of inductive and deductive logic. They understood the process of cosmic evolution from a homogeneous mass into the variety of phenomena, and rejected the theory of a special creation of the world out of nothing, by the whim of an extra-cosmic personal God, in a definite period of time as we find in the Hebrew scriptures. Prof. Huxley admits this when he says: “To say nothing of Hindu sages to whom evolution was a familiar notion ages before Paul of Tarsus was born”.^[1] And Sir Monier Monier Williams in his Brahminism and Hinduism declares: “Indeed, if I may be allowed the anachronism, the Hindus were Spinozites more than two thousand years before the existence of Spinoza; and Darwinians many centuries before Darwin; and evolutionists many cen-?uries before the doctrine of evolution had been accepted by the scientists in general of our time, and before any word like ‘evolution’ existed in any language of the world”. This statement is absolutely correct. If we study the philosophical systems of the great thinkers and seers of Truth of ancient India, we shall find the most wonderful discoveries that have ever been recorded in the whole history of philosophy.

In their attempts to solve the mysteries of the phenomenal world the Hindu philosophers developed six principal systems of philosophy each having numerous branches of its own. The Vaisheshika philosophy of Kanada traces the origin of the universe to the combination of atoms and molecules. It maintains that these atoms and molecules were not created by God, but were co-eternal with Him. The power which combines two atoms and makes aggregates of atoms, comes from God who is personal, who possesses knowledge, desire and will, and who is the Lord and Governor of all phenomena. According to this system of philosophy, ether, time, space, Atman or Self, and mind or manas are eternal substances of nature. Mind or manas is described as infinitely small like an atom (anu), but it is distinct from Atman or Self which is vast (vibhu).

Next to the Vaisheshika is the Nyaya philosophy of Gautama. Its object is the same as other Hindu systems, namely the true knowledge of nature, soul and God, and the attainment of ultimate freedom (moksha). Gautama is called the Aristotle of India. Speaking of Gautama’s Logic Mr. John Davies says: “The right methods of reasoning have been discussed with as much subtlety as by any of the western logicians”.^[2]

Then comes the Sankhya system of Kapila who lived about 700 B.C. He is called the father of the evolution theory in India. His system is more like the philosophy of Herbert Spencer. He rejected the atomic theory of Kanada by tracing the origin of atoms to one eternal Cosmic. Energy, which he called Prakriti (Latin Procreatrix, the creative energy). Kapila defined atoms as force-centres which correspond to the Ions and Electrons of modem science. It was Kapila who for the first time explained Creation as the result of attraction and repulsion, which literally means love and hatred of atoms as the Greek philosopher Empedocles puts it.

The Sankhya philosophy of Kapila, in short, is devoted entirely to the systematic, logical and scientific explanation of the process of Cosmic evolution from that primordial Prakriti, or eternal energy. There is no ancient philosophy in the world which was not indebted to the Sankhya system of Kapila, The idea of evolution which the ancient Greeks and neo-Platonists had, can be traced back to the influence of this Sankhya school of thought. Prof. E. W. Hopkins says: “Plato is full of Sankhyan thought, worked out by him, but taken from Pythagoras. Before the sixth century b.c. all the religions—philosophical ideas of Pythagoras are correct in India (L. Schroeder, Pythagoras). If there were but one or two cases they might be set aside as accidental coincidences, but such coincidences are too numerous to be the result of chance.^[3] In his Hindu Philosophy, John Davies speaks of Kapila’s system as the first recorded system of philosophy in the world, and calls it “the earliest attempts on record to give an answer, from reason alone, to the mysterious questions which arise in every thoughtful mind about the origin of the world, the nature and relations of man and his future destiny”. Furthermore Mr. Davies says, in reference to the German philosophy of Schopenhauer and of Hartmann that it is “a reproduction of the philosophic system of Kapila in the materialistic part, presented in the more elaborate form, but on the same fundamental lines. In this respect, the human intellect has gone over the same ground that it occupied more than two thousand years ago; but on a more important question it has taken a step in retreat. Kapila recognized fully the existence of a soul in man, forming indeed his proper nature, the absolute of Fichte, distinct from matter and mind, but our latest philosophy both here and in Germany, can see in man only a highly developed organization.^[4]

Kapila denied the existence of a Creator, but admitted the existence of the individual soul, as an eternal, infinite and immortal entity. His philosophy teaches the plurality of Purusha soul. The different schools of Buddhistic and Jain philosophy are based upon this Sankhya system of Kapila.

Next in order comes the Yoga philosophy of Patanjali. Patanjali accepts the theory of evolution as explained by Kapila, and maintains that the whole phenomenal universe is the result of evolution of Prakriti, the eternal energy. Kapila, believes in the existence of countless Purushas or individual souls, each of which is by nature eternal, infinite and immortal. But Yoga philosophy of Patanjali differs from the Sankhya by admitting the existence of a cosmic Purusha (personal God), who is formless, infinite, omniscient and untouched by affliction, karma, and desires, but He is not the Creator of the universe. Patanjali takes the process of cosmology of Sankhya, and ex* plains most elaborately the various powers of the chitta or mindsubstance. But both Kapila and Patanjali maintain that the mind substance is material, and it is the product of the insentient (jada) Prakriti. On this point they anticipated the conclusions of the materialstic philosophers of modem Europe and America, but they admitted that the chitta or mindsubstance is distinct from the Purusha or true Self, which is the source of consciousness and intelligence.

Yoga philosophy devotes itself to the higher psychology of the human mind, and explains the science of concentration and meditation, the science of breath, clairvoyance, clairaudience, telepathy, and various other psychic powers (vibhuti), and shows the way by which one can attain to God-consciousness (samadhi) in the life. There is no system of psychological philosophy in the world so complete as that of Patanjali. The modern psychology of Europe and America, stirctly speaking, is riot true psychology, or psychology in its truest sense, as it does not admit the existence of psyche or the soul. Schopenhauer says: “The study of psychology is vain, for there is no psyche”. And so the Western psychology teaches the physiological psychology which means the Somatology.^[5]

Then comes the Purva-Mimamsa. It is an orthodox school of philosophy of Jaimini, and it examines the various injunctions of the ritualistic portion of the Vedas (karmakanda), and points out that the highest duty of man is to follow those injunctions as strictly as possible, for they are direct Revelations. This system of philosophy explains the authoritative sources of knowledge, the relation between word and thought, and how this world is the manifestation of the Word (Greek—Logos). It reminds us of the first verse of the Gospel of John: “In the beginning was the Word, the Word was with God, and the Word was God”. The Purva-Mimamsa (purva means prior and mimamsa means investigation) may be called the philosophy of karma or ritualistic work, for it describes the true nature of duty and of daily works, sacrificial, ritualistic, ceremonial, and devotional. Referring to the logic of this philosophy, Prof. Colebrook says: “Each case is examined and determined upon general principles, and from the cases decided, the principles may be collected. A well-ordered arrangement of them would constitute the philosophy of laws, and this is in truth what has been attempted in the Mimamsa”.

Lastly comes the Uttara-Mimamsa or the system of Vedanta. This is the most popular philosophy of India today. Since the decline of the Buddhist philosophy in India, Vedanta has become most prominent and most powerful. Among the six schools of philosophy which I have briefly described above, the Vedanta philosophy has reached the highest pinnacle of philosophic thought which the human mind can possibly attain. A careful study of these different systems shows that they contain all the highest truths which were known to the ancient Greek philosophers of the Pythagorian and Eleatic Schools. Prof. E. W. Hopkins, in his Religions of India, says: “Both Thales and Parmenides were indeed anticipated by Hindu sages, and the Eleatic school seems to be but a reflection of the Upanishads. The doctrines of Anaximander and Heraclitus were perhaps not known first in Greece”.

Frederic Schlegel writes: “The divine origin of man as thought by Vedanta, is continually inculcated, to stimulate his efforts to return, to animate him in the struggle, and to incite him to consider a reunion and reincorporation with Divinity as the Divinity is the one primary object of every action and reaction.

the loftiest philosophy of the Europeans, the idealism of reason as it is set forth by the Greek philosophers, appears in comparison with the abundant light and vigour of Oriental idealism like a feeble Promethean spark in the full flood of heavenly glory of the noonday sun, faltering and feeble and ever ready to be extinguished”.^[6]

What is Vedanta?

The popular belief is that by ‘Vedanta philosophy’ is meant a Philosophy of the Upanishads confined exclusively to the Vedas, or the sacred scriptures of the Hindus in India. But, in truth, the term ‘Veda’ in the present case is used to signify not any particular book, but to ‘knowledge’, being derived from the Sanskrit root verb vid—to know; while the English word ‘end’ is derived from Sanskrit anta. Vedanta, therefore, implies literally ‘end of knowledge’, and the philosophy is called ‘Vedanta’, because it explains what that ‘end’ is, and how it can be attained. All relative knowledge ends in the realization of the unity of the individual soul with the ultimate Truth of the universe, which is the infinite ocean of absolute knowledge and bliss. It is called the universal spirit or Brahman. As rivers running from various sources ultimately end in the ocean, so the rivers of relative knowledge starting from various view-points and flowing through different stages of the phenomena, ultimately end in the infinite ocean of absolute existence and infinite knowledge—satyam, jnanam anantam Brahman or the ultimate Reality of the universe. It is the absolute Substance which is beyond the adjuncts of subject and object, which is the infinite source of knowledge, consciousness and blissfulness, and which is one without the second. It is the same as the ‘God’ of Plato, the ‘Substantia’ of Spinoza, the ‘Ding-an-sich’ or the transcendental Thing-in-itself of Kant, the ‘Over-soul’ of Emerson, and the ‘Unknowable’ of Herbert Spencer. It is the Noumenon which pervades the phenomena of the universe.

The system of Vedanta is more critical than the Kantian system, because it shows the phenomenal nature of the Kantian ego, of his forms of intuition, and also of his categories of thought. In fact, Vedanta is more sublime than the philosophy of Kant, because it recognizes and proves the identity of the objective reality of the universe with the subjective reality of the ego. Kant did not realize that the Thing-initself (Ding-an-sich) of the objective world and the Ding-an-sich of the subjective world are one and the same. In no other philosophy has this oneness been so clearly explained and so strongly emphasized, as it is in Vedanta. Max Müller also admits: “This constituted the unique character of Vedanta, and is unique, compared with every other philosophy of the world which has not been influenced by it, directly or indirectly”.^[7] In Europe, there have been many idealistic philosophies which have denied the existence of the external world, but not one of them ventured to deny the apparent reality of the ego, of the senses of the mind, and also of their inherent forms. In this respect, Vedanta holds a unique, position among the philosophies of the world. After lifting the Self or Atman, the true nature of the ego (jivatman) unites it with the essence of Divinity (Brahman) which is absolutely pure, perfect, immortal, unchangeable, and one. No philosopher and not even Plato, Spinoza, Kant, Hegel, or Shopenhauer have reached that height of philosophical thought of Vedanta. Prof. Max Müller declares: “None of our philosophers not excepting Heraclitus, Plato, Kant or Hegel, has ventured to erect such a spire, never frightened by storms or lightnings. Stone follows on stone in regular succession after once the first step has been made, after once it has been clearly seen that in the beginning there can have been but one, as there will be but One in the end, whether we call it Atman or Brahman”.^[8]

Although monistic Vedanta has united heaven and earth, God and man, and Brahman and Atman, still it has destroyed nothing in the phenomenal world. Starting from the ultimate conclusions of ancient and modem sciences it says that the absolute Truth is one and not many, yet there can be varieties of expression and manifold manifestations of the one Truth. Furthermore, it maintains that the aim of the higher philosophy is not merely to ascertain the established conjunctions of events which constitute the order of the universe, or to record the phenomena which it exhibits to our observation and refer them to the general laws, but also to lead the human mind from the realm of the knowable to that which is beyond the knowable. We are now living in the realm of the knowable, but that which teaches simply the laws which govern the knowable phenomena, is not the highest kind of philosophy. We must know the laws of the knowable, yet at the Same time we should aspire to go beyond the knowable, and plunge into the realm of the Infinite. If any philosophy can help us in this attempt, then it must be higher than the ordinary system which keeps us within the limits of time, space, and causality of the knowable phenomena. The monistic (Advaita) Vedanta philosophy guides us above all knowable objects of perception, and directs our soul toward the eternal absolute Being, where we find the solution of all problems and answers to all questions.’ Its attempt is to trace the origin of all phenomena, objective and subjective—physical and mental, not by any unscientific method, but by the most rigorous processes of logic and reason, starting from the ultimate generalizations of the various branches of science.

Now, comes the true philosophy. True philosophy must construct a theory’ which will be the simplest in its nature and yet at the same time will explain all the vital problems which the science of the phenomenal knowable can never explain and which will harmonize with highest form of the universal religion without destroying the loftiest aspirations of the human soul. True philosophy in the widest sense, must perform three-great functions. (1) First, it must coordinate the ultimate results arrived at by special branches of knowledge which call sciences, and taking up those conclusions, it must form the widest generalizations possible. When it does this it is called the Phenomenology. Herbert Spencer’s philosophy does this, function most wonderfully, but it leaves out the vital problems, which perplex the minds of the greatest philosophers as unsolvable mystries. (2) Secondly, True philosophy must investigate the realm of knowledge, and trace its source. And a philosophy which does this is called the Epistemology or Science of Knowledge. The philosophies of Kant, Hegel, Fichte, and others have performed this function. George Croom Robertson says: “Epistemology is just philosophy, because it deals with things, deals with being; it deals with things going beyond bare experience, but it treats of them in relation to the fact of knowing. Thus an Epistemologist cannot help being an Ontolegist, because his theory of knowledge must treat about things also as being. He must also be a metaphysician, because he is concerned with the whole range of things beyond the physical; he must be a philosopher in being other and more than a man of science, or concerned with things in a way to which science is not”.^[9] (3) The third function which True philosophy performs, is that it leads our minds into the realm of the Absolute or the Unknown, and then solves the problems or mysteries of life and death. It explains the origin of the universe as well as of individual existence and the purpose of evolution. On the plane of relativity the perfect solution of these vital problems can never be found. Furthermore, when this phase of true philosophy directs our minds towards the Infinite, it helps us in becoming free from all limitations of ignorance and selfishness. These limitations are the greatest bondages that we are now suffering from, and by performing this function, true philosophy lays the foundation of the highest form of monistic religion. No philosophy in the world performs these three functions so satisfactorily as the Vedanta philosophy does. Hence we may say that Vedanta is the most complete system, and it can be said to be the true philosophy.

Again philosophy and religion must always be in perfect harmony. Ernest Haeckel, in his Riddle of the Universe, has tried to give a foundation to monistic religion, but his monism is one-sided, because he says that the ultimate substance of the universe is unintelligent and unconscious. His insentient substance may be compared with Kapila’s Prakriti which is eternal but unintelligent. According to Vedanta, however, the final substance of the universe is the Brahman which is sat-chit-ananda or the source of absolute existence-intelligence-bliss. It teaches that that which is the substance of our souls, must possess intelligence, consciousness and blissfulness. Thus Vedanta lays the true foundation of a universal religion which is monistic or non-dualistic (Advaita [advaitam]).

Religion of Vedanta:

The monistic religion of Vedanta does not admit the Sankhyan theory of plurality of the Purusha or individual souls, which are eternal and infinite by nature, but, on the contrary, by following the strict rules of logic, it establishes that the Infinite must be one and not many. From one, many have come into existence, and the individual souls are but so many images or reflections of the absolute Brahman. From this absolute Brahman the phenomenal universe rises and in the end returns into the Brahman, and this view is maintained by the monistic religion of Vedanta.

The monistic religion of Vedanta admits that Brahman has two aspects: the one is without any attribute, indeterminate (nirguna) and the other is with attribute, determinate (saguna) who is called Ishvara or the Ruler of the universe. He is the personal God, who is the First-Born Lord of the universe, who starts the evolution of Prakriti, that forms' His body. The God of Vedanta is both the efficient and the material causes of all phenomena. He loves all living creatures who live and move and have their being in Him and can be loved and be worshipped in return. In Vedanta, Prakriti of the Sankhya philosophy is called maya, which is divine energy of the absolute Brahman. But maya, according to Advaita Vedanta, is changeful and delusive (mithya). But, in Tantra, Prakriti of the Sankhya is real and chaitanyamayi. Some scholars wrongly translate maya as illusion, but maya does not mean illusion, as it is that power which produces time, space and causation, (kata, desa and nimitta). Maya also creates the phenomenal appearances which exist on the relative plane. Thus we see that the system of Vedanta is both philosophy and religion. Of the tree of knowledge, true philosophy is the flower and religion is the fruit, so they must go together. Religion is nothing but the practical side of philosophy, and philosophy is the theoretical side of religion. Prof. Hamilton says: “Where philosophy ends religion begins”.

In India, a true philosopher is not a mere speculator, but a spiritual man. He does not believe in certain theories which cannot be carried into practice in everyday life, but what he believes, he lives upto this, and, therefore, practical philosophy still exists among the Hindus in India. The followers of Vedanta live spiritual lives, and strive to attain Godconsciousness. In India, if anyone writes volumes on philosophy and lives an ordinary worldly life, he is not considered as a true philosopher. But, in the West, a man may become a philosopher by simply sitting in his library and writing some books, although his everyday life may be far from spiritual thinking.

The philosophy and religion of Vedanta embrace all the sciences, philosophies, and religions of the world, by accepting their ultimate conclusions, and classify them according to their order of merit, and, consequently, the universality of Vedanta is unique and unparalleled. The religion of Vedanta teaches: “that which exists, is one, men call it by various names”, and it has also been said in the Rig Veda: “ekam sad vipra vahudha vadanti”. So no other philosophy or religion is based upon this fundamental truth of the unity of existence under a variety of names and forms as Vedanta is. and, therefore, it offers an adequate foundation of all the different phases of dualistic, qualified non-dualistic and non-dualistic or monistic systems of religious thought. Thus it establishes a universal religion which embraces all the special religions of the world.

It has many phases. The dualistic phase of Vedanta includes the fundamental principles of all the dualistic or monotheistic systems, such as Zoroastrianism, Judaism, Christianity, Islam, and all other systems that advocate the worship of the personal God, under any name or form or devotion to any divine Ideal. The qualified non-dualistic phase of Vedanta embraces all the systems which teach the immanency and transcendency of God. It includes all such ideas as “God dwells in us as well as in the universe”. “The kingdom of Heaven is within you”; “We live and move and have our being in God”; “He is the Soul of our souls and the Life of our lives”; “We are parts of one stupendous whole”; “We are the sons of God, the children of immortal Bliss”, etc.

The non-dualistic or monistic phase of Vedanta is the most sublime of all. The all-embracing idea of non-dualistic Vedanta is contained in a line of the Isha Upanishad: “isha vasyamidam saruam, yat-kimcha jagatyam jagat”. Very few thinkers can appreciate the grandeur of spiritual oneness. Herein lies the solution of the deepest problems of science, philosophy and metaphysics and the final goal of all religions. It alone explains how it is possible for one to say: “I and my Father are one”; “I am He”, “That thou art”, or “Anal haq” as a Mohammedan Sufi says.

The system of Vedanta harmonizes itself with the religious ideals of the human mind, and shows the various paths by which a man may attain to God-consciousness, which means emancipation from the bondages of ignorance, selfishness and all other imperfections, and eventually become as perfect as the Father in Heaven is perfect. Its notable feature is that does not prescribe to all one special path by which to reach the ultimate goal of all religions. On the contrary, it recognizes the varying tendencies of different minds, and guides each along the way best suited to it. It classifies human tendencies into four grand divisions, which together with their subdivisions, cover almost all classes of people; and then it sets forth the methods which may be helpful to every one, and each of these methods is called in Sanskrit ‘Yoga’.

Different Kinds of Yoga:

Now, what do we mean by ‘Yoga’? The word ‘Yoga’ connects the idea of ‘union’. First is Karma Yoga or the path of work. It is for the active man, i.e. for those who like to work, and are always ready to do something for the help of others. In short, it is for the busy and every-day working man or woman. Karma Yoga reveals the secret of work, and opens the way to complete self-mastery.

The next method is Bhakti Yoga. It is for them who are devotional and emotional in nature. It teaches how ordinary emotions can bring forth spiritual unfoldment of the highest kind, and lead to the realization of the ultimate ideal of all religions. In a word, it is the path of devotion and love.

The third is Raja Yoga or the path of concentration and meditation. The field of Raja Yoga is very vast. It covers the whole psychic plane, and describes the processes, by which the psychic powers are developed, such as, thought-reading, clairvoyance, clairaudience, the evolving of finer perceptions, the communication with departed spirits, the going out of the body, and the curing of diseases through mental power. The performance of all such acts as are ordinarily called miracles, which are not, in truth, helpful to attaining God-consciousness. These are rather the obstacles to the path of spiritual illumination; although all these psychic powers were displayed by Jesus of

Nazareth and his followers, and which have also been manifested by the Yogis of India from time immemorial. These psychic powers are described in Raja Yoga. In fact, these marvellous powers are achieved by the practice of pranayama, or the control of breath, by the awakening of the ‘Serpent Power’ or kundalini. The kundalini or kula kundalini is the coiling unmanifested energy, which is called in the Tantra philosophy Sakti or Kali. The psychic powers (yibhutis) or the powers of the mind are manifested automatically by the awakening of the kundalini. The principal aim of Raja Yoga is quite different, as it leads the seeker after Truth through the path of concentration and meditation to the highest state of superconsciousness, where individual soul communes with the universal Soul or Spirit, and realizes the undifferentiated unity of both on the spiritual divine intuition.

Jnana Yoga is the fourth method. It is the path of right knowledge and discrimination. This is for those who are intellectual and discriminative and of a philosophical nature. He who travels through this path of wisdom, burns the vast forest of the trees of phenomenal names and forms (nama-rupa), by starting in it the fire of right knowledge. Because all these names and forms are produced by maya, the inscrutable power of Brahman. It is inseparable from Brahman, as the power of burning is inseparable from fire.^[10] Jnana Yogi, in his search after the absolute Truth, should reject all names and forms by saying ‘not this’ ‘not this’ (neti, neti), until he realizes the one nameless, formless, and absolute Being of the universe, where the subject and the object,—the knower, knowledge and its object, are transcended.

Ethics of Vedanta:

Then comes the question of ethics of Vedanta. Standing; on the rock of spiritual oneness of the universe, Vedanta explains the basis of ethics. Vedanta says that if we injure, hate, or cheat others, we injure, hate, and cheat ourselves first. For this spiritual oneness we should love our neighbours as ourselves. Because love means the expression of oneness. When we begin to love others, we love our own self, and then we are truly ethical. Then we do not think that we have fulfilled the highest end and aim of life by eating, drinking and be getting children like lower animals, but that the fulfilment of the purpose of life consists in loving others disinterestedly without seeking any return of love, as we love our own self. Animal nature which is extremely selfish, must be conquered by moral nature through unselfish love for the self of others. In fact, moral perfection consists in the destruction of selfishness or ego-centric. Having attained perfect freedom from the limitation of the animal self, the individual soul must strive to gain spiritual perfection which is the ultimate goal of evolution.

Now, what is the purpose of evolution? Spiritual perfection means the manifestation of the true nature of Spirit or Atman which is immortal, free, and divine, and is one with the universal spirit of God. Evolution attains to the highest fulfilment of its purpose, when the Atman manifests itself in its pristine purity and surpassing glory. Each individual soul, according to Vedanta, is bound to become perfect in the end. As this perfection cannot be gained in one life, we shall have to admit the truth of the theory of reincarnation. Reincarnation explains the gradual evolution of the soul from the minutest amoeba to the highest man, through many lives and various forms, until perfection is reached. The theory of reincarnation is a logical necessity for the completion of the theory of evolution. Evolution explains the process of life, while reincarnation explains the purpose of life. Therefore, they must supplement each other. The vedantic theory of reincarnation rejects the one-birth theory of Christianity, Islam, and other sectarian religions. It is not the same as the theory of metempsychosis or transmigration of soul which was accepted by the Greek philosophers like Pythagoras, Plato, and their followers. In the Platonic theory, the idea of progress, growth, or gradual evolution of the soul from lower to higher stages of existence is entirely excluded, and the law of karma is ignored. The theory of reincarnation, on the contrary, admits the gradual evolution of each soul which is potentially divine, and which rises higher in the process of the latent powers, passing through various births and rebirths, reaping the results of its own actions and being governed by the law of karma.

The law of karma includes the laws of causation, of action and reaction, of compensation, and of retribution. Through this law of karma, Vedanta explains rationally the inequalities and diversities of nature which the theory of heredity has failed to explain. The doctrine of karma denies the Christian dogma that God punishes the wicked with eternal damnation, and rewards the virtuous with celestial felicity. It is a dogma which makes God partial and unjust. In the doctrine of karma there is no room for a Satan, the creator of evil.

According to Vedanta, all evil proceeds from ignorance which is the mother of all sins and wickedness. God never punishes the wicked, nor rewards the virtuous, but the wicked punish themselves and the virtuous reward themselves by their own thoughts and deeds. The law of karma, eternal as it is, predestines nothing and non-one; but, on the contrary, making every soul a free agent for action, shows the way out of the world of misery through unselfish thoughts and good deeds.

Now, it can be asked who creates our destiny? Really we create our own destiny, mould our future, and determine our character by our own thoughts and deeds. So we cannot blame God or Satan for our own miseries and sufferings, for which we ourselves are responsible; because what we deserve, we have got, now and what we shall make, we shall receive in future. Our present Was determined by our past and our future will be determined by our present. And this is the eternal law. Thus I have described in brief my convictions after a life-long study of almost all the sciences and philosophies of the East and the West and all the scriptures of the civilized world.

In conclusion, I would echo Prof. Max Müller’s words: "Vedanta is the most sublime of all philosophies and the most comforting of all religions. For all practical purposes, the

Vedantists would hold that the whole phenomenal world, both in its subjective and objective character, would be accepted as real. It is as real as anything can be to the ordinary mind; it is not mere emptiness, as the Buddhists maintain. And thus Vedanta philosophy leaves to every man a wide sphere of real usefulness, and places him under a law as strict and binding as anything can be in this transitory life it leaves him a deity to worship as omnipotent and majestic as the deities of any other religion. It has room for almost every religion, nay, it embraces them all”.^[11]

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

Cf. Science and Hebrew Tradition, p. 150.

[2]:

Cf. Hindu Philosophy.

[3]:

Cf. Religions of India, pp. 559-560.

[4]:

Cf. Preface to Hindu Philosophy.

[5]:

Cf. Abhedananda: True Psychology.

[6]:

Cf Indian Language, Literature and Philosophy, p. 471.

[7]:

Cf. Max Müller: The Six Systems of Indian Philosophy, p. 229.

[8]:

Cf. Ibid., p. 299.

[9]:

Cf. Elements of General Philosophy.

[10]:

At the outset it appears that the Swami’s conclusion, regarding maya as the inscrutable power of the Brahman, echoes the conclusion of the Tantra philosophy. Because Tantra says that Sakti is inseparable from Siva, or Kali is non-different from Mahakala, as Sakti or Kali is the counterpart of Siva or Mahakala. Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa has also said that Sakti and Saktiman are inseparable. He has given an example of the moving snake and the motionless snake, which are one and the same. Similarly he has given another example of the salt-doll which lost its existence in the ocean, when it went to measure the depth of the ocean. Here the salt-doll is nescience or maya and the ocean is the Brahman, and Sri Ramakrishna says that when maya approches [approaches?] the all-consciousness Brahman, it entirely loses its existence into the ocean of the Brahman, and chen there remains only the Brahman as one without the second. The Swami’s contention is also the same, and in the next line he has sufficiently clarified the matter viewing from the non-dualistic (Advaita) standpoint of Vedanta.

[11]:

Cf. Three Lectures on Vedanta Philosophy.