Unitive Philosophy
Contents: Foreword. Introduction. I. Vedanta revalued and restated: 1. The background, origin and a new approach. 2. The three categories of reality. 3. The problem of transition from existence to subsistence. 4. The absolute as word-value significance. 5. Semantic polyvalence of Vedantic thought. 6. Two certitudes for the same truth. 7. The integrated knowledge situation of Vedanta. 8. The double domain of the word. 9. Varieties of Vedantism. 10. Favourite examples in Vedanta. 11. Schematic protolinguism in Vedanta. 12. A summarized running review. II. The philosophy of a Guru: Introduction. 1. Structural key to Guru philosophy. 2. The element of wonder. 3. Transcending paradox. 4. Horizontal and vertical value worlds. 5. The self and non-self in spiritual progress. 6. The universe of contemplative discourse. 7. The methodology and epistemology in Guru philosophy. 8. Protolinguistic imagery. 9. Ethics, aesthetics and religion in Guru philosophy. 10. Guru philosophy summarized. Appendix: one hundred verses of self-instruction. III. The search for a norm in western thought: Introduction. 1. Some background aspects. 2. The characteristics of modern philosophy. 3. The lengthening shadow of scepticism. 4. The absolute as the normative reference for philosophy. 5. A normative methodology for all philosophy. 6. The search for the absolute. 7. The absolute implied in empiricism. 8. The absolute as implied in rationalism. 9. The absolute from Kant to Eddington. 10. Bergsonian Schema and the absolute. 11. Summarized elements of the absolute norm. Index.
"Nataraja Guru single-handedly revolutionized philosophical thought in the mid-twentieth century. At a time when science had unwittingly followed Marxism into a materialist desert, he never relinquished his insight into what had been omitted. Now that scientists and philosophers everywhere are pausing in perplexity, having bumped up against the limits of their partial outlook, the Guru's works offer to reintroduce the wisdom that can bring the desert back to life.
Stung by the horrors of the inquisition, western science turned its back on metaphysics for hundreds of years. The extended effort to include as much as possible of the universe under the aegis of physical reality was an interesting experiment, but it has about played itself out. Ideas, memories, emotions and time, among other major categories, are metaphysical entities that have transcended every effort at being reduced to material existence. Matter itself is seen to be brimming with energy as soon as you look beneath the surface.
A counterbalancing backlash has occurred recently in which religious and other metaphysical ideas, no matter how divorced from reality, are being embraced as a welcome escape from uncompromising materialism.
For a sensible philosophy free of prejudice, which can open the road to further progress in human thought, a balance must be struck between physics and metaphysics. Each must support and verify the other. Nataraja Guru clearly establishes the basis for such an advance in this work, presenting an overarching scheme to integrate all aspects of reality under one roof.
Any meaningful philosophy must have some version of an absolute idea or value implicit in it. After presenting his own absolute system Nataraja Guru investigates several prominent strains of philosophy, including the rationalist and the materialist, to identify the absolute element hidden within each of them. Totalitarianism and absolutism are shown to be totally antithetical, the former being highly exclusionary while the latter embraces every possibility.
Dialectic thinking is at the heart of the Guru's philosophy, leading to an absolute vision that incorporates all parts within the whole. For the serious thinker unsatisfied by modern pop philosophy, Unitive Philosophy is a uniquely rewarding book that will open up vast uncharted regions for exploration.
The leading interpreter of Narayana Guru's wisdom from among his disciples, Nataraja Guru became one of the most penetrating philosophers of all time, uniting eastern and western outlooks within a universal and profound scheme of correlation. He was founder and Guru of the Narayana Gurukula, a loose-knit organization of wisdom schools around the globe, as well as a prolific speaker and writer. His Bhagavad Gita commentary remains one of the finest ever published.
Nataraja Guru perfectly modelled the Indian renunciate and teacher, eschewing ordinary occupations to cast himself at the mercy of fate. Thus freed from all obligations, answering to no vested interests, he bent his mind to solving and resolving the key issues facing humanity in the modern world. The result is a fresh and unbiased look at life from a unique point of view." (jacket)
