Publications
An Introduction to Indian Philosophy
This book, written jointly by Satischandra Chatterjee and Dhirendramohan Datta, offers an introduction to the three nāstika and six āstika schools of classical Indian Philosophy. The authors present the salient epistemological, logical, metaphysical and ethical views of each of the schools of classical Indian philosophy.
Bhāratīya Darśan Śāstrer Samanvaya ভারতীয় দর্শন শাস্ত্রের সমন্বয়
In this book, the author, Yogendranatah Tarka-Sāṃkhya-Vedāntatīrtha, explores how the different schools of classical Indian Philosophy converge on the idea of liberation as the ultimate goal of human life. Even though there are divergent views on the nature of liberation, all the schools of classical Indian philosophy have liberation as the tātparya of their respective fundamental texts. The author also mentions the different ways of ascertaining the tātparya of a text. Using this hermeneutic principle the author concludes that each of the systems of Indian philosophy culminates in the idea of liberation as its tātparya.
Classical Indian Philosophies: Their Synthesis in The Philosophy of Sri Ramakrishna
In this book, Satischandra Chatterjee, presents the salient views of different classical Indian philosophical systems and shows how these divergent views could be synthesized in the philosophy of Ramakrishna. The book contains ten chapters: 1. Introduction, 2. The Cārvāka Philosophy, 3. The Bauddha Philosophy, 4. The Jaina Philosophy, 5. The Nyāya-Vaiśeṣika Philosophy, 6. The Sāṃkhya-Yoga Philosophy, 7. The Mīmāṃsā Philosophy, 8. The Vedānta Philosophy, 9. The Synthesis of the Systems and 10. The Philosophy of Ramakrishna. The author argues how on the basis of the idea of adhikāri-veda the divergent views of the different philosophical systems could be synthesised and the author takes cues from the ideas advocated by Sri Ramakrishna in this attempt.
Fundamental Questions of Indian Metaphysics and Logic
Susil Kumar Maitra, in this book, offers an analysis of some of the key metaphysical and logical ideas available in classical Indian philosophy. The book is divided into two parts: I. Metaphysics and II. Logic. Under the part ‘Metaphysics’ the author discusses the Buddhist doctrine of momentariness, Nyāya theories of causality, universal, samavāya, viśeṣa, self etc. The Nyāya proofs for the existence of god and the Sāṃkhya theory of plurality of puruṣa have also been presented. The author incorporates an analysis of Jaina’s theory of saptabhaṅginaya and Saṅkarācārya’s analysis of the idea of falsity. Under the Logic part, the author presents the different theories of perception, inference, śabda, upamāna, arthāpatti and anupalabdhi. The author also includes discussions on Apoha and theories of validity.
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.
Jnana o Karma জ্ঞান ও কর্ম
Jñāna o Karma, written by Gurudas Bandyopadhyay, offers a detailed analysis of several aspects of what is known as knowledge and action. In the first part, we come across an analysis of the ideas of knowledge, knower, known, the limit of knowledge and the ways of knowledge. The second part deals with the idea of duty in its different aspects like family duties, social duties, duty to the state etc.
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.
Nyāyamañjuri (Volume-1) (ন্যায়মঞ্জুরী ( ১ম খন্ড))
Nyāyamañjari (Vol 1) is a detailed Bengali translation and explanation of the original Sanskrit text Nyāyamañjari written by Jayanta Bhaṭṭa. The translation and Explanation are done by Pañcānana Tarkavāgīśa. The present volume starts with a discussion on the necessity of the study of Nyāya and ends with a presentation of the Nyāya theory of abhāva.
Nyāyamañjuri (Volume-2) ন্যায়মঞ্জুরী (২য় খন্ড)
This book written by Pañchānana Tarkavāgīṣa, is an exposition of the chapter on perception as one finds in Nyāyamañjuri There is a detailed analysis of the definition of perception as proposed in Nyāyamañjuri. A critical examination of each of the terms present in the definition of perception has been undertaken, In this context, the Buddhist view regarding denying the veridicality of judgemental perception has been presented and refuted.
Sāraswata-Śatakam (Citra-Kavyam) सारस्बत – शतकम
Saraswatakam is a chitrakāvya written by Srijiva Nyāyātirtha. The genre of Chitrakāvya is a unique example of the marriage of literature and picture. In this work, the letters are written and the consequent verses are composed in such a manner, that a specific picture arises in the mind of the reader. The author composed the verses expressing different emotions and gave corresponding drawings containing the alphabet that the verses contain.
The Chief Currents of Contemporary Philosophy
The present book, authored by D.M.Datta, is an exhaustive analysis of the main trends in the philosophical world as found in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. The book is divided into thirteen chapters: 1. Neo-Hegelian Idealism, 2. Italian Idealism, 3. Indian Idealism, 4. Pragmatism, 5.The Philosophy of Bergson, 6. Realism, 7. The Philosophy of Sense-Data, 8. Emergent Evolution, 9. Whitehead’s Philosophy of Organism, 10. Logical Positivism and Analysis, 11. The Philosophical Aspects of Marxism, 12. Existentialism, 13. Japanese Philosophy of Zen and Mu (Nothingness). In the Appendix, the author presents the views of some modern Indian philosophers like Rabindranath Tagore and M.K.Gandhi. Thus the book presents the salient theses of some of the philosophical schools of Europe, America, India and Japan.
The Concept of Philosophy
The present book, written by Nikunja Vihari Banerjee, is an attempt to formulate the very idea of philosophy mainly banking on the philosophy of K.C.Bhattacharyya. The book is divided into six chapters: 1. Introduction, 2. Philosophy and Science, 3. The Epistemological Background, 4. Empirical Thought and Philosophical Thought, 5. What then is Philosophy? and 6. Conclusion. The author presents K.C.Bhattacharya’s idea of philosophy as distinct from science and elaborates on the concept of philosophy as an independent spiritual activity.
The Fundamentals of Religion
The present book, written by Nalinikanta Brahma, undertakes a detailed study of the essence of all religions. The author classifies all the religions under three groups: 1. Impersonal, 2. Personal and 3. Supra-Personal. The doctrines and beliefs of all the great regions have been presented in terms of this classification. The author makes a critical assessment of the objections to religion as advanced by Russell, Freud and Marx. The author defends what he calls “ Supre-Personal Religion”. The book ends with an analysis of the possibility of a universal religion.
The Nyāya Theory of Knowledge
The present book is a detailed exposition of Nyāya epistemology. The book contains twenty chapters: 1. Introduction, 2. The nature and forms of knowledge, 3. Valid knowledge and its method, 4. The factors of valid knowledge, 5. The test of truth and error, 6. The definition of perception, 7. The psychology of perception, 8. Ordinary perception and its objects, 9. Three modes of ordinary perception, 10. Extraordinary perception, 11. The nature of inference, 12. The grounds of inference, 13. Classification and Logical forms of inference, 14. The fallacies of inference, 15. The nature and forms of upamāna, 16. Upamāna as an independent source of knowledge, 17. The nature and classification of śabda, 18. Of words, 19, Of sentences, 20. Other sources of knowledge. This book thus offers an analysis of the different pramāṇas accepted by Nyāya.
The Problems of Philosophy
The present book is an introduction to the main issues dealt with in Western philosophy. This book is divided into eleven chapters: 1. The concept of philosophy, 2. Philosophy, science and religion, 3. The methods of philosophy, 4. The nature of knowledge, 5. The relation of knowledge to object, 6. Objects of knowledge as constructions, 7. Sense-data and the perception of objects, 8. The nature and tests of truth and error, 9. The theory of external relations, 10. The theory of Internal Relations, 11. The nature of universals, and 12. thought and reality.
शब्दशक्तिप्रकाशिका (Śabdaśaktiprakāśikā (Part-1))
In this book Jagadīa Tarkālaṃkāra presents a detailed analysis of various aspects of śabdapramāṇa from the perspective of Navya-Nyāya. The book starts with a critical assessment of the views of Vaiśeṣika and Mīmāṃsaka philosophers with regard to the veridicality of śabda as a pramāṇa. This is followed by a discourse on the nature of meaningful words, the nature of prākṛti, pratya, nipāta. A definition of a sentence is formulated. The relation between word and meaning in its different aspects has been presented. The book ends with a discussion on the nature and different kinds of samāsa.