Russia Looks at India: A Spectrum of Philosophical Views

This volume is a collection of articles, written by Russian scholars, on Indian philosophy, religion and culture. These articles explore key issues in the history of Indian philosophy, as well as the fundamentals of Indian religious thought and the problems of correlation between philosophy and religion in Indian tradition. The traditional schools of Indian philosophy, Samkhya and Yoga, Nyaya and Vaisheshika, Mimamsa and Vedanta, are analysed on the basis of their authoritative textual sources. Among other texts, Sankara’s Brahma-sutra-bhashya and Ramanuja’s Gita-bhashya are studied in depth, with a special emphasis on the polemic between Vishishtadvaita and Advaita Vedanta. The later syncretic Nyaya-Vaisheshika is investigated on the basis of Annam Bhatta’s Tarkasamgraha and Tarkadipika as much as a critical analysis of Buddhist philosophy is undertaken through Shantarakshita’s Tattvasamgraha. The modern Indian philosophy is also represented by highlighting the legacy of prominent personalities like Muhammad Iqbal and Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan. Due attention is given to the philosophy of non-violence of Gandhi and its relevance to the current problems of humankind. A comparative turn is represented by a paper on Leo Tolstoy and Sri Ramakrishna. The book, as a whole, is an attempt to demonstrate the range and quality of contemporary Russian scholarship on Indian philosophical tradition and culture.