Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan– Excerpts Hindu Non-Dualism

Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan

-First Vice President, Second

President of India

- Distinguished Scholar of

Eastern Religions (Oxford

University)

- Popularized Hindu thought,

“ambassador” to the West

-Advaita Vedanta

Tat tvam asi

(“The eternal is

in one’s self”)

Self is not “thrown off”

from the eternal as in a “cosmic swirl”

Play analogy

- “True Self” is like an actor

wearing a mask.

- PERSONALITY = THE

MASK

- The Actor is anonymous,

interchangeable

- Actor is ALOOF from the

passions acted out in play

Once achieved, we

“outgrow our

individualism”

-See color, race, nationality

as merely contingent

-Consider ourselves

“Citizens of the World”

(Socrates)

The Divine In Man

- “Immanence”
- Our spirit is a “fragment of
God”
- The Supreme Brahman =
“the ocean of infinite
knowledge and bliss.”
- Purpose of Man: Conscious
Union with the Divine

Universal Salvation

- The good (spirit) is even in

violent criminals.

- Like “buried treasure” to be

brought out.

- Distinction between

Heaven/Hell untenable.

- Salvation is Universal.

Sri Krishna (Bhagavadgita):

Union with God through

“Self-Discovery,” not

based on “Trust,”

“Authority”

Vedas not Infallible

Not based in Faith

Vedas are a Record of

deep, inner experiences

Gods are a PROJECTION

of those experiences

Humanism

- Incarnation of God (or

Krishna) not a one-time

event.

- Occurs every time we

“break through the obstacles

(in us) which shut in the

divine splendor.”

-“Service to others” more purifying than “rosaries, pilgrimages,

meditation, or image worship.”

The “Godhead”/ “Brahman”

1) Immensity

 2) Infinity

 3) Inexhaustibility

 4) Mysteriousness

-Thus a NEGATIVE

THEOLOGY.

Deities “PERSONIFY”

Aspects of God

- CREATION: Brahma

- PRESERVATION:

Visnu

-PERFECTION: Siva

Ecumenical

- All religions are Valid, aim at

the Supreme

- “Fuel” and “Milk” analogies.