Vijnanabhiksu

Template:Short description Template:Hindu philosophy Vijñānabhikṣu (also spelled Vijnanabhikshu) was a Hindu philosopher from Bihar, variously dated to the 15th or 16th century,<ref>T. S. Rukmani (1978), VIJÑĀNABHIKṢU ON BHAVA-PRATYAYA AND UPĀYA-PRATYAYA YOGĪS IN YOGA-SUTRAS, Journal of Indian Philosophy, Vol. 5, No. 4 (August 1978), pages 311-317</ref><ref>Andrew O. Fort (2006), Vijñānabhikṣu on Two Forms of "Samādhi", International Journal of Hindu Studies, Vol. 10, No. 3 (Dec., 2006), pages 271-294</ref> known for his commentary on various schools of Hindu philosophy, particularly the Yoga text of Patanjali.<ref name="fowler202"/><ref>T. S. Rukmani (1988), VIJÑĀNABHIKṢU'S DOUBLE REFLECTION THEORY OF KNOWLEDGE IN THE YOGA SYSTEM, Journal of Indian Philosophy, Vol. 16, No. 4 (DECEMBER 1988), pages 367-375</ref> His scholarship stated that there is a unity between Vedānta, Yoga, and Samkhya philosophies,<ref name=nicholson2007p371/><ref name="BryantPatañjali2009p190"/> and he is considered a significant influence on Neo-Vedanta movement of the modern era.Template:Sfn

Philosophy

Vijnanabhiksu wrote commentaries in the 15th century on three different schools of Indian philosophy: Vedānta, Sāṃkhya, and Yoga. He integrated them into a nondualism platform that belongs to both the Bhedabheda and Advaita (nondualism) sub-schools of Vedanta.<ref name=nicholson2007p371>Template:Harvnb</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> According to Andrew Nicholson, this became the basis of Neo-Vedanta.Template:Sfn His integration is known as Avibhaga Advaita ("indistinguishable non-dualism"). His sub-commentary on the Yoga Sutras, the Yogavarttika, has been an influential work.<ref name="fowler202">Template:Cite book</ref>

According to Andrew Fort, Vijnanabhiksu's commentary is Yogic Advaita, since his commentary is suffused with Advaita-influenced Samkhya-Yoga. Vijnanabhiksu discusses, adds Fort, a spiritually liberated person as a yogic jivanmukta.<ref name="BryantPatañjali2009p190">Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Vijnanabhiksu was a staunch critic of Shankara's strict non-dualism, which he viewed as crypto-Buddhist. He reinterpreted the Brahma Sutras to reflect Samkhya's metaphysical dualism of prakrti and purusha. He taught that Brahman, characterized by pure consciousness, is the Inner Ruler (antaryamin) of both prakrti and purusha. He explained the universe's creation through maya as an evolute of the eternally real prakrti, asserting that the world is not illusory.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Vijnanabhiksu's commentary, Sāṁkhyapravacanabhāṣya, on the Samkhya Sutras challenges the traditional interpretation of the Samkhya Sutras by arguing that, contrary to appearances, Kapila actually believed in the existence of God.Template:Sfn

Influence

Nicholson mentions Vijnanabhiksu as a prime influence on 19th century Indology and the formation of Neo-Vedanta.Template:Sfn According to Nicholson, already between the twelfth and the sixteenth century,

... certain thinkers began to treat as a single whole the diverse philosophical teachings of the Upanishads, epics, Puranas, and the schools known retrospectively as the "six systems" (saddarsana) of mainstream Hindu philosophy.Template:Sfn{{#if:|

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The tendency of "a blurring of philosophical distinctions" has also been noted by Mikel Burley.Template:Sfn Lorenzen locates the origins of a distinct Hindu identity in the interaction between Muslims and Hindus,Template:Sfn and a process of "mutual self-definition with a contrasting Muslim other",Template:Sfn which started well before 1800.Template:Sfn Both the Indian and the European thinkers who developed the term "Hinduism" in the 19th century were influenced by these philosophers.Template:Sfn

Works

Most of Vijñānabhikṣu's texts have yet to be edited and published in Sanskrit, let alone translated into English.Template:Citation needed

Major works

Some major texts attributed to Vijnanabhiksu include:<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

• Vijnanamritabhashya ("The Nectar of Knowledge Commentary", commentary on Badarayana's Brahma Sutras)
• Ishvaragitabhashya ("Commentary on the Ishvara Gita")
• Sankhyasara ("Quintessence of the Sankhya")
• Sankhyasutrabhashya ("Commentary on the Sankhya Sutras" of Kapila)
• Yogasarasamgraha ("Compendium on the Quintessence of Yoga")
• Yogabhashyavarttika ("Explanation of the Commentary on the Yoga Sutras" of Vyasa)

English translations

• Ganganatha Jha, Yogasarasamgraha of Vijnanabhiksu, New Delhi: Parimal Publications, 1995.
• José Pereira, Hindu Theology: A Reader, Garden City: Doubleday, 1976. Includes translated excerpts from Vijnanamritabhashya and Sankhyasutrabhashya.
• T. S. Rukmani, Yogavarttika of Vijnanabhiksu, New Delhi: Munshiram Manoharlal, 1981.
• Nandalal Sinha, The Samkhya Philosophy, New Delhi: Oriental Books Reprint Corporation, 1979. Contains a complete translation of Vijnanabhikshu's Sankhyasutrabhashya.
• Shiv Kumar, Samkhyasara of Vijnanabhiksu, Delhi: Eastern Book Linkers, 1988.

See also

• Unifying Hinduism (book)

Sources

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• Daniel P. Sheridan, "Vijnanabhikshu", in Great Thinkers of the Eastern World, Ian McGready, ed., New York: Harper Collins, 1995, pp. 248–251.

External links

• A General Idea of Template:IAST Philosophy, Surendranath Dasgupta, 1940
• Chapter one of Vijnanabhiksu's Ishvaragitabhashya (Sanskrit only; PDF Format).