In my search for opinions and information that help in dispelling the many misapprehensions about the numerous rigidities and dogmas of ancient Hindu/Vedic religious philosophy, I came across many posts by a very active and prolific blogger who goes by the name or pseudonym of Rashmun.
He has carried out many vigorous arguments and debates on this blog pulpit of his choice on varied topics of ancient Indian philosophy and thought. He has critically analyzed many eminent philosophers and theologians of ancient India, like Nagarjuna of the Buddhist Mahayana/Sunyavada school of thought, Kumarilla Bhatta of Mimamsakas thought system, Madhava of Dvaita Vedanta system, the Charavakas and his favorite object of bitter denunciation, Adi Sankara of the Avdaita Vedanta school. He makes many interesting comparisons between the arguments of these various schools of theological thought.
Of the greatest interest to me is his very intense and thorough-going critique of the legacy of Adi Sankara and its deleterious impact on the progress of science and the spirit of inquiry in the post-Sankara medieval India. Even the few critics of Sankara have not paid much thought and analysis to the social and political consequences of the Sankara's style and method of Vedic revivalism.
Rashmun concludes and in my opinion very correctly too, that Adi Sankara ended up as being the veritable enemy of reason and inquiry.
Rashmun provides many citations and references to works and arguments of proponents opposed to Sankara's style of Vedantism.
In Rashmun's opinion, Sankara comes across as a very poor and mediocre philosopher in the sense that much of his central philosophy regarding the primacy and unitary nature of Brahman and the transience of the phenomenal world (Mayavada) is nothing more than a borrowing, with some terminological and superficial epistemic alteration, of the major tenets of Buddhist Madhyamika/Sunyavada theology.
But Sankara apparently makes up for this by his shrewd concealment of this plagiarism and aggressive debating and brow-beating skills (like condemning and dismissing his Madhyamika critics and making at times pompous declarations of the futility of debating with them), organizational skills like monastery and mutt-building and vigorous evangelizing of the Advaita dogmas.
Among other things, Rashmun severely denounces Sankara on his
He also throws light on the many myths and anecdotal concoctions that the acolytes, supporters and advaita descendants of Sankara have made from time to time to build and sustain the awe-inspiring reputation of Sankara.
Since it is difficult to doubt that Adi Sankara's commentaries on the Brahma Sutras, Upanishads and the Bhagavad Gita (Prasthana trayi ) and their continuing popularity long after his demise, were almost surely the inspiration for emulation by later day leading religious figures like Ramanuja, Madhava and Vallabha, the contribution of the Sankara legacy in sustaining the mood of religiosity and social obscurantism is hard to dismiss.
Rashmun's posts are an important and valuable addition to the very limited material available in refuting the many irrational themes of ancient and medieval Indian tradition and philosophy.
With that foreword, I will attempt in subsequent posts to reproduce some of his more important criticisms and analyses on these fascinating topics and try to highlight and embellish them with additional notes, citations, reference and comments.
He has carried out many vigorous arguments and debates on this blog pulpit of his choice on varied topics of ancient Indian philosophy and thought. He has critically analyzed many eminent philosophers and theologians of ancient India, like Nagarjuna of the Buddhist Mahayana/Sunyavada school of thought, Kumarilla Bhatta of Mimamsakas thought system, Madhava of Dvaita Vedanta system, the Charavakas and his favorite object of bitter denunciation, Adi Sankara of the Avdaita Vedanta school. He makes many interesting comparisons between the arguments of these various schools of theological thought.
Of the greatest interest to me is his very intense and thorough-going critique of the legacy of Adi Sankara and its deleterious impact on the progress of science and the spirit of inquiry in the post-Sankara medieval India. Even the few critics of Sankara have not paid much thought and analysis to the social and political consequences of the Sankara's style and method of Vedic revivalism.
Rashmun concludes and in my opinion very correctly too, that Adi Sankara ended up as being the veritable enemy of reason and inquiry.
Rashmun provides many citations and references to works and arguments of proponents opposed to Sankara's style of Vedantism.
In Rashmun's opinion, Sankara comes across as a very poor and mediocre philosopher in the sense that much of his central philosophy regarding the primacy and unitary nature of Brahman and the transience of the phenomenal world (Mayavada) is nothing more than a borrowing, with some terminological and superficial epistemic alteration, of the major tenets of Buddhist Madhyamika/Sunyavada theology.
But Sankara apparently makes up for this by his shrewd concealment of this plagiarism and aggressive debating and brow-beating skills (like condemning and dismissing his Madhyamika critics and making at times pompous declarations of the futility of debating with them), organizational skills like monastery and mutt-building and vigorous evangelizing of the Advaita dogmas.
Among other things, Rashmun severely denounces Sankara on his
- crypto-buddhist leanings
- contempt of shudras (dalits), and
- his running theme of discrediting valid sources (pramana) of knowledge in his desperation to establish the absolute truth of Brahman.
He also throws light on the many myths and anecdotal concoctions that the acolytes, supporters and advaita descendants of Sankara have made from time to time to build and sustain the awe-inspiring reputation of Sankara.
Since it is difficult to doubt that Adi Sankara's commentaries on the Brahma Sutras, Upanishads and the Bhagavad Gita (Prasthana trayi ) and their continuing popularity long after his demise, were almost surely the inspiration for emulation by later day leading religious figures like Ramanuja, Madhava and Vallabha, the contribution of the Sankara legacy in sustaining the mood of religiosity and social obscurantism is hard to dismiss.
Rashmun's posts are an important and valuable addition to the very limited material available in refuting the many irrational themes of ancient and medieval Indian tradition and philosophy.
With that foreword, I will attempt in subsequent posts to reproduce some of his more important criticisms and analyses on these fascinating topics and try to highlight and embellish them with additional notes, citations, reference and comments.
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