Abstract
This essay explores the role of the Advaita Vedānta philosophy of Hinduism in Arvind Sharma’s numerous works on Indian philosophy. It argues that the viewpoint from which he approaches the various traditions he studies is deeply informed by the Advaita Vedānta tradition. It argues that this is not an especially problematic stance, so long as it is clear that this represents his specific point of view as a scholar and is not being falsely represented as an “objective” perspective. It shows that Sharma is indeed open about his affinity for Advaita Vedānta. The essay then engages with various controversies associated with Advaita Vedānta in the modern period, particularly the question of “neo-Advaita” or “neo-Vedānta,” both of which are shown to be problematic terms. The essay then concludes with a broad overview and appreciation of Sharma’s work on Indian philosophy: a body of work which constitutes a major contribution to scholarship even as it advances a particular perspective on the traditions to which is applied (a fact which is true of all scholarship, even that which claims to be “objective” or “neutral” with regard to the subject matter with which it engages).
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
Notes
Sharma also mentions Ramaṇa Maharṣi prominently in another autobiographical work, One Religion Too Many: The Religiously Comparative Reflections of a Comparatively Religious Hindu (2011: 14, 97).
Personal communication, October 29, 2020.
Indeed, one of Sharma’s books on Christianity is titled Neo-Hindu Views of Christianity (1988).
Hacker’s thought in this regard is elaborated in Philology and Confrontation: Paul Hacker on Traditional and Modern Vedanta (1995).
See, for example, Madaio 2017.
Sharma’s use of the term “Reality,” with a capital “R,” rather than simply “reality,” is interesting. The capitalization suggests that some sanctity is being attached to the concept of reality. It also brings to mind the work of philosopher of religion John Hick, who coins the term “the Real” to refer to a sacred or transcendent ultimate reality in as religiously neutral a fashion as possible. Hick writes of this coinage, “This term has the advantage that without being the exclusive property of any one tradition it is nevertheless familiar within all of them. In Christian terms it gives rise to no difficulty to identify God, the sole self-existent reality, as the Real. Within Islam the Real, al Haqq, is one of the names of Allah. Within the Hindu family of faiths it is natural to think of the ultimate reality, Brahman, as sat or satya, the Real. Within Mahayana Buddhism the Dharmakaya or śūnyatā is also spoken of as tattva, the Real. In Chinese religious thought the ultimate is zhen, the Real. ‘The Real’ is then, I suggest, as good a generic name as we have for that which is affirmed in the varying forms of transcendent religious belief. For it is used within the major theistic and non-theistic traditions and yet is neutral as between their very different ways of conceiving, experiencing and responding to that which they affirm in these diverse ways. I shall also, however, for the sake of stylistic variety, sometimes use as synonyms ‘the ultimately Real’ and ‘ultimate Reality’ or even simply ‘the Ultimate’ or ‘Reality’ ” (1989: 11). Is Sharma deliberately evoking Hick’s concept when he uses the term “Reality”? If so, then this gives his characterization of both philosophy and religion a particular conceptual weight that might well be controversial, inasmuch, as Sharma himself explains, that philosophers in the West have sought to distance their project from that of religion. It is likely, though, that Sharma is not intending to provide such a loaded definition of philosophy, as a project focused on the investigation of the sacred reality to which the religions are a response (according to Hick’s account). A few sentences later, again Sharma makes the same characterization of Western philosophy as a “rational investigation into the nature of reality” without capitalizing the word “reality” (2004b: 5).
See, for example, Chattopadhyaya 1959.
Though religious professionals, in both contexts, such as priests, or purohits, will likely require specialized training in order to pursue the activities specific to their roles.
A great variety of texts have been attributed to Śaṅkara which textual scholars have largely concluded are not his compositions. The least controversial works of Śaṅkara—the ones that are almost universally regarded as authentic—are his commentaries on the principle Upaniṣads and the Upadeśasahasrī. Because the heads of the monasteries which were established, according to tradition, by Śaṅkara are also known as Śaṅkaracaryas, it is possible that many of the texts attributed to Śaṅkara were actually composed by later teachers who bore this title. It is also, of course, possible that some were attributed to Śaṅkara to give credibility to these texts. The issue is pertinent because claims about what is authentic Advaita Vedānta hinge upon what Śaṅkara himself is believed to have taught, and some doctrines in texts attributed to him would appear to conflict with the worldview presented in the commentaries and the Upadeśasahasrī.
In an earlier footnote, reference was made to Sharma’s use of the term “Reality.” Sharma also edited a volume in Hick’s honor, God, Truth and Reality: Essays in Honour of John Hick (1993b).
References
Byrne, Peter. 1988. “Religion and the Religions.” In Stewart Sutherland, Leslie Houlden, Peter Clarke, and Friedhelm Hardy, eds., The World’s Religions, 3–28. London: Routledge.
Campbell, Joseph. 1976 [1962]. The Masks of God: Oriental Mythology. New York: Viking Press.
Chapple, Christopher Key, trans. 2003. Reconciling Yogas: Haribhadra’s Collection of Views on Yoga. Albany: State University of New York Press.
Chattopadhyaya, Debiprasad. 1959. Lokāyata: A Study in Ancient Indian Materialism. Calcutta: People’s Publishing House.
Hacker, Paul. 1995. Philology and Confrontation: Paul Hacker on Traditional and Modern Vedanta (ed. Wilhelm Halbfass). Albany: State University of New York Press.
Hick, John. 1989. An Interpretation of Religion: Human Responses to the Transcendent. New Haven: Yale University Press.
Howard, Veena R. 2017. “Toward an Understanding of Dharma: The Questions of Identity, Hybridity, Fluidity, and Plurality.” In Veena R. Howard, ed., Dharma: The Hindu, Jain, Buddhist and Sikh Traditions of India, 1–37. London: I.B. Tauris.
James, William. 1982 [1902]. The Varieties of Religious Experience: A Study in Human Nature. New York: Penguin Books.
Madaio, James. 2017. “Rethinking Neo-Vedānta: Swami Vivekānanda and the Selective Historiography of Advaita Vedānta.” Religions 8, 6: 101. Available online at: https://doi.org/10.3390/rel8060101 (accessed July 7, 2023).
Morales, Frank. 2008. Radical Universalism: Does Hinduism Teach that All Religions Are the Same? New Delhi: Voice of India.
Prothero, Stephen. 2010. God Is Not One: The Eight Rival Religions That Run the World—and Why Their Differences Matter. New York: HarperOne.
Rambachan, Anantanand. 1994. The Limits of Scripture: Vivekananda’s Reinterpretation of the Vedas. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press.
Sharma, Arvind. 1978. Viśiṣṭādvaita Vedānta: A Study. New Delhi: Heritage.
Sharma, Arvind. 1988. Neo-Hindu Views of Christianity. Leiden: E.J. Brill.
Sharma, Arvind. 1993a. The Experiential Dimension of Advaita Vedānta. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass.
Sharma, Arvind, ed. 1993b. God, Truth and Reality: Essays in Honour of John Hick. Eugene: Wipf & Stock.
Sharma, Arvind. 1995. The Philosophy of Religion and Advaita Vedānta: A Comparative Study in Religion and Reason. University Park: Pennsylvania State Unviersity Press.
Sharma, Arvind. 1997. The Rope and the Snake: A Metaphorical Exploration of Advaita Vedānta. New Delhi: Manohar.
Sharma, Arvind. 2000. Classical Hindu Thought: An Introduction. New Delhi: Oxford University Press.
Sharma, Arvind. 2001. A Jaina Perspective on the Philosophy of Religion. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass.
Sharma, Arvind. 2004a. Sleep as a State of Consciousness in Advaita Vedānta. Albany: State University of New York Press.
Sharma, Arvind. 2004b. Advaita Vedānta: An Introduction. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass.
Sharma, Arvind. 2006. Sea-Shell as Silver: A Metaphorical Excursion into Advaita Vedānta. New Delhi: D.K. Printworld.
Sharma, Arvind. 2007. The Philosophy of Religion: A Sikh Perspective. New Delhi: Rupa.
Sharma, Arvind. 2011. One Religion Too Many: The Religiously Comparative Reflections of a Comparatively Religious Hindu. Albany: State University of New York Press.
Sharma, Arvind. 2019. An Accidental Theodicy: Genuflexions on a Fractured Knee. Albany: State University of New York Press.
Swami Vivekananda. 1979 [1907]. The Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda. Mayavati Memorial Edition. Volume 5 of 9. Mayavati: Advaita Ashrama.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Publisher's Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.
About this article
Cite this article
Long, J.D. The Study of Indian Philosophy in the Work of Arvind Sharma (with Particular Reference to Advaita Vedānta). Hindu Studies (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11407-024-09366-5
Accepted:
Published:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11407-024-09366-5