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							                          15. Indian Philosophy and Culture

Preamble

The purpose of this course is to introduce the students to Indian ways of thinking. It
gives a bird’s eye view of Indian Philosophy, its different schools and its peculiar
characteristics; its main differences with the Western modes of thinking. The Course is
divided into Seven sections. The course is of 40 hours duration. It gives the teacher
enough space to devise innovations and adopt a way of teaching suit the interest of the
students.

Unit I
Introduction to classical Indian Philosophy; the orthodox and heterodox schools as
discussed in Haribhadra’s Saddadarsana Samuccccaya, trans. K. Satchidananda Murty,
Eastern Book Linkers, 1986.
Unit II
Introduction to Bhagavadgita – Karma, Jnana,and bhakti Margas as discussed in
Chapter II and Chapter XII of the Bhagvadgita.
Unit III
Introduction to Bhakti tradition as a rebellion to Brahmanism.
   1. Basvanna - Virsaiva poet (verses 59, 70, 101, 105,125,129, 586, 639, 848)*.
   2. Akka Mahadevi (verses 17,65,69, 87, 88, 93, 114, 184, 200, 283)*
*(Translated by AK Ramanujan in Ramanujan, ed. Molly Daniels Ramanujan, OUP,
2004.)
   3. “The Marathi Saints”, Untouchable Saints - An Indian Phenomenon, ed. Eleaner
Zelliot & Rohini Panekar, Manohar, 2005.
   4. Kabir: Selected Sakhis.
   5. Sufi Saints of India: Amir Khusro, Bulleshah.
Unit IV
Introduction to Indian Ethics: Purusarthas – Dharma, Artha, Kama and Moksa.
   1. Thiruvalluvar’s Tirukkural on Friendship.
   2. Viduraniti.(Mahabharata).
Unit V
Construction of the Body: Erotic and Physiological.
   1. “Introduction”, Kamasutra: A New Translation by Wendy Doniger and Sudhir
         Kakkar, OUP, 2002, pp. xi –lxviii.
   2. Dominik Wiyasty, Chapter 19 “The Science of Medicine (Ayurveda and Medical
         Philosophy), The Blackwell Companion of Hinduism, ed. Gavin Flood, Blackwell,
         2003, pp. 393-409.
Unit VI
Introduction to Hinduism.
Jonardan Ganeri, “Hinduism and the Proper work of Reason”, The Blackwell Companion
of Hinduism, ed. Gavin Flood, Blackwell, pp. 411-446.


Unit VII
Characteristics of Indian thinking.
   1. Ananda Kumaraswami, “What has India Contributed to Human Welfare?”, The
         Dance of Shiva, Munshiram Manohar Lal, 2003, pp. 21-38.
   2. AK Ramanujan, “Is There an Indian way of Thinking?”, The Collected Essays of
         AK Ramanujan, OUP, 1999.


                                      Mode of Evaluation

                                 Regular Attendance (5 %)
                       Participation in the Class Discussions (10 %)
                                  One term paper (25 %)
                                 Final examination (60 %)