A History of Indian Philosophy, Volume 1

...ern philosophy This completes the sentence from the previous page: "...students of Western philosophy for further study." for further study. To understand these terms is indeed essential for anyone who wishes to be certain that they are following the actual progression of the ideas.

In Sanskrit treatises, the style of argument and the methods of addressing various topics are completely different from those found in any modern work of philosophy. Therefore, materials had to be collected from a large number of works on each system; these have been woven together and given a form that is likely to be more understandable to people unfamiliar with Sanskrit Sanskritic original: "Sanskritic" ways of thinking. At the same time, I felt it was quite undesirable to force Indian ideas into a European mold just to make them appear similar to Western thought. This will explain much of what might appear unusual original: "quaint" to a European reader. While preserving all the thoughts and expressions of the Indian thinkers, I have tried to arrange them into a systematic whole in a manner that appeared to me strictly faithful to their clear intentions and suggestions.

It is only in a very few places that I have translated Indian terms using the vocabulary of English philosophy. I did this only when those terms seemed to be the closest possible match to the Indian sense of the word. In all other instances, I have tried to choose words that have not been complicated by acquiring specific technical meanings in the West. This is difficult, however, because words used in philosophy always acquire some sort of technical sense. I would therefore request my readers to take those words in an uncomplicated sense and associate them with the meanings justified by the passages and contexts in which they are used. I hope that some of what appears obscure in any system may be clarified if it is re-read with care and attention, as unfamiliarity often stands in the way of correct understanding. I may have also failed to provide the proper connecting links in many places where condensation was unavoidable. Furthermore, the systems themselves sometimes contain unsolvable difficulties, for no system of philosophy is without its dark and uncomfortable corners.

Although I have begun my work with the Vedic and Brahmanic Brahmanic The Brahmanic period refers to the era of the Brahmanas, ancient Indian texts that explain Vedic rituals. stages, my treatment of this period has been very brief. The beginnings of the evolution of philosophical thought, though they can be traced in the later Vedic hymns, are neither connected nor systematic.