The System of the Vedanta Author:Paul Deussen (Charles Johnston, Translator) The Vedanta, or the metaphysical system derived from the Upanishads, has been an overwhelmingly important phenomenon in the history of both Eastern and Western thought. In the monism of Shankara and the qualified monism of Ramanuja, it affords the basic intellectual position of most groups within Hinduism, and it has influenced Mahayana Buddhism... more » greatly. In the West, too, it has formed an important component in the stream of living philosophy from the days of Schopenhauer to the present. Today, particularly, it is especially relevant i nits effort to relate humans nondeistically to the absolutes of the universe.
The true Vedanta, however, is notoriously difficult to expound, and the student is sometimes hard pressed to find an exposition that is both adequate and easily intelligible. In the opinion of many scholars, however, the finest exposition of the Vedanta of Shankara was prepared by Dr. Paul Deussen, a noted German philosopher and Sanskritologist. Working with the Vedanta sutras of Badarayana and Shankara's commentaries on them, Dr. Deussen established a systematic presentation that is remarkable for its sensitivities to the nuances of Indian thought. It is complete, authoritative and profound, yet is so clear in its organization and and exposition that the reader can follow it without difficulty. Together with the author's comparable exposition of the Upanishads, it is one of the backbone works of every serious library of Indian thought.
The Dover Publications edition is an unabridged republication of Deussen's 1912 edition, translated by Charles Johnston.
From the publisher: This scarce antiquarian book is included in our special Legacy Reprint Series. In the interest of creating a more extensive selection of rare historical book reprints, we have chosen to reproduce this title even though it may possibly have occasional imperfections such as missing and blurred pages, missing text, poor pictures, markings, dark backgrounds and other reproduction issues beyond our control. Because this work is culturally important, we have made it available as a part of our commitment to protecting, preserving and promoting the world's literature.« less