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Alternative Standpoint in Philosophy

This is one of the most seminal works of Kalidas Bhattacharyya. Bhattacharyya speaks of the constant need that philosophers have felt to justify their work and their discipline. Bhattacharyya thinks that the modern defense of Philosophy is only possible through what he calls logic of alternation. Bhattacharyya’s position is that we can provide Philosophy with such a defense only by attempting a novel understanding of the knowledge-object unity. Bhattacharyya claims that this attempt is ingrained in the very being of all the important Indian systems of thought. This book is both a historical and comparative study of the basis of all Philosophy. The book has four chapters. Chapter One is on Knowledge of Object where the close unity of knowledge and its object is emphasized. In this connection, Bhattacharyya discusses subjective and objective attitudes and also the contradiction between subjectivity and object. Chapter Two is on “Types of Philosophy”. In this chapter, Bhattacharyya tries to show that the Unity of Knowledge and Object is Unrejectable and their unity is inevitable. Those who reject the knowledge-object unity do so because they think that such a unity would definitely lead to some kind of contradiction. But Bhattacharyya would like to show that this contradiction too is not rejectable. Actually, the Unity that he speaks of is a Disjunctive Unity. This disjunctive unity actually indicates that we have to stand alternatively on the subjective and the objective attitudes and reach a kind of dialectical unity. He then goes on to speak of the subject-object and the absolute as alternatives. In Chapter Three, “Cognition Feeling and Conation”  Bhattacharyya takes up these three notions which seem to be opposed to each other. The first three chapters are analyses of these notions while the last section sees Cognition, Feeling and Conation as Alternatives. In Chapter Four Bhattacharyya considers “Further Alternatives” such as Jñāna Bhakti and Karma. He speaks of the three kinds of infinity in this chapter. The book ends with the idea of the Ultimate Alternation.

Bhārtīya Saṃskṛti o Anekānta Vedānta ভারতীয় সংস্কৃতি ও অনেকান্ত বেদান্ত

In this book Kalidas Bhattacharya, the author, defends what he calls ‘anekānta vedānta’. The author extracts some of the views accepted in general by all the schools of Vedānta. And then it has been shown how the Vedānta philosophy assimilates the apparently contrary views under one truth. And this facet of Vedānta has had a deep influence on the Indian outlook towards life and the world.

Gopinath Kaviraj’s Thoughts – Towards a Systematic Study

This book by Kalidas Bhattacharyya  is a collection of Mahamahopadhyay Gopinath Kaviraj Memorial lectures delivered by Kalidas Bhattacharyya in the year 1980. Bhattacharya here explores the works of Gopinath Kaviraj  written in the later years of his life.  Kaviraj was an extraordinary scholar who was well-versed in both the philosophical and religious literature of India as well as the west. Above all, he was a sādhana. He was principally a Śaiva, particularly of the monistic kind, However, as Bhattacharyya claims, this  Śaiva doctrine received certain innovative twists in the hands of  Kaviraj and became a kind of Śaiva Dualism. Kaviraj was equally interested in Tantra, Yoga, Mahāyāna Buddhism, Gauḍiya Vaiṣnavism and also Śankara’s Advaita Vedānta. In this book, Kalidas Bhattacharyya explores the notion of Transcendence and the justification of this notion that we find in the works of Gopinath Kaviraj. He discusses the different regions of Transcendence and finally goes on to discuss the idea of Pūrṇatā or Ultimate Perfection as developed by Kaviraj.

Māndūkyopaniṣader Kathā মাণ্ডুক্যপানিষদের কথা

The present book, written by Kalidas Bhattacharya, offers an explanation of the main ideas alluded to in Māndukya Upaniṣad and in Māndukyakarika of Gauḍapada. The author starts with a brief description of the content of the Māndukya Upaniṣad. There are three main points that the author deliberates on: 1. The nature of Omkāra (Praṇava), 2. The nature of the dream state and dreamless sleep state and 3. The nature of Turiya state.

Object Content and Relation

This book by Kalidas Bhattacharyya considers the relation between Consciousness and it’s Object. Once we ask the question “Is there anything intermediate between consciousness and object?”, we come up with the answer “Content”. Now, what is this Content and is there such an intermediate thing between Consciousness and Object? This is a question that needs to be answered. This book explores the relationship between Objects and Consciousness via the idea of Content. The book is divided into two chapters. This first chapter is on “Object and Content”. The second is on “Relation”. The first chapter deals with:
  • Analysis of Thought and Memory
  • Analysis of Perception: Idealism and Realism
  • Analysis of Perception – Illusion as to Judgment
  • Some Theories of Illusion Examined
  • Content and Object as Alternatives
  • Criterion of Reality
  • Real and Non-Real Appearances
The second chapter deals with
  • The Notion of Relation
  • Classification of Relations
  • The So-called Puzzles of Relation
  • Relation – Is it Subjective, Objective or Dialectical?
  • External and Internal Relation
  • Some Theories of Relation

On The Concepts of Relation and Negation in Indian Philosophy

The present book, written by Kalidas Bhattacharya, offers an analysis of the two important Indian philosophical notions, viz. relation and negation. Both these notions have been formulated by Indian philosophers and have been applied to advance their respective metaphysical and epistemological theses. The author brings in several corresponding ideas from Western philosophy to highlight the uniqueness of these two notions as formulated by classical Indian philosophers.

Philosophy, Logic and Language

This book by Kalidas Bhattacharyya  is a collection of essays on different topics. However, the first seven essays and the eleventh one do have a thematic unity. They are in one way or another linked to the questions regarding the nature and method of philosophy – a theme that we find often in the writings of Kalidas Bhattacharyya. Essays 1 to 5 and essay 6 are directly concerned with the role of language and logic in philosophical reflections. He touches upon Logical Positivism and Analytical Philosophy in this regard. The other key issue that Bhattacharyya considers here is the nature of Self. In particular, Bhattacharyya has been keen on exploring the nature of the self we refer to by the pronoun “I” and its relation to the other selves. The concept of God  also finds its place in two of his essays here. Bhattacharyya also discusses the problem of freedom in almost all the essays, in particular the ones on self. One interesting yet rather divergent topic that is discussed by Bhattacharyya is the idea of the Given and its Appearance. Two essays are on specific philosophers – one on Rabindranath Tagore and another on Basanta Kumar Mallik. The Essays are:
  1. Is Philosophy Linguistic Analysis
  2. The Business of Philosophy
  3. Language, Logic and Fact
  4. Objective Attitude and Idealism Proper
  5. Thought and its Validity
  6. The Given and its Appearance
  7. The Nature of Reflection in Metaphysics
  8. Modern Psychology and Hindu Thought
  9. Self and Others
  10. The Concept of Self in Buddhism
  11. Formal and Actual Freedom
  12. Approaches to Spiritual Life
  13. Studies in Ethical Theory
  14. A Modern Defense of Orthodoxy
  15. Rabindranath on Religion
  16. An Aspect of Mallik’s Philosophy
  17. Classical Philosophies of India and the West
  18. An Outline of Indian Philosophy
The Concept of God in Indian Philosophy