Jignasa Journal Of History Of Ideas And Culture Part 01

Author(s): Vibha Upadhyaya and Others
Publisher: University of Rajasthan

Page 131

A Comparative Historiography of Vedic and Pre Socratic Thought
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Another fallacy among the western scholars of this trend is to believe that early Vedic religion was polytheism and it transformed gradually into monotheism and monism. It must be made clear that the early Vedic seers realized monism intuitively although it was expressed philosophically in the Upanişads later. Further no contradiction is seen between the concept of one and many.
Indian monism in the sense of spiritual monism is the central tendency of Vedic thought that is why Yāsk says-mahabhāgya devtāyā eka ātmā bahudhā stūyate and ekamsadviprābahudhā vadanti. Hence Brahmavidyā was not be realized in a process of generalizing about nature. It is realized through a process of deep meditation.
While comparing the Vedic thought to pre Socratic thought we must always bear in mind that Upanişadic philosophy is not cosmology or nature philosophy but an enquiry into the self or spirit. Brahmavidya is not simply srstividyā, it is a ātmvidyā.
The Upanisads are chronologically earlier than the Milesian school although their dates vary according to different scholars.
The new trend of historiography reflected in the writings of Mc Evilly in its enthusiasm to trace monistic influence of Indian Philosophy over those of Greece overlooks the subtle difference between materialistic monism of Greece and spiritualistic monism of the Upanişads. But by and large it is heartening to read that the "accomplishments of India amounts to a" miracle of civilization-an Indian miracle to stand alongside the Greek One"- within quotes.
Reference I Sir Wiliam Jones. The Collected Works of William Jones (London J. Hatchard 1807) Vol.l. pp 360-361. 2 Quoted by Schwab, The Oriental Renaissance, p.3 3 George P. Conger, "Did India Influence Early Greek Philosophy, Philosophy East and West (1952, pp. 102-128. 4 Glasewapp. Indian and Western Metaphysic. 5 An Marlow, Hinduism and Buddhisin in Greek Philosophy, Philosophy East and West, 4(1954), pp. 3-38 6 From Mc Evilly, The Shape of Ancient Thought: Comparative Studies in Greek and Indian Philosophy: p. 143.