Jignasa Journal Of History Of Ideas And Culture Part 01

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

Page 45

Govind Chandra Pande (1923-2011) / 7
consistent with the basic principles of Jaina religion and philosophy. The political ideas expressed in avowedly political works by Jaina authors claim to belong to this category but do not exhaust it. Reflection on political reality and ideals in the light of the Jaina tradition indeed constitute an inexhaustible vein because it includes within itself creative possibilities'.
His views of religion deal not only with the philosophical and historical aspects of Indian religion but also with the historiography of religion. According to him the history of religion cannot be understood without the assumption of a spiritual dimension in human nature and this spiritual dimension presupposes the idea of a supreme spirit. Whether such an idea is true or not is a metaphysical question beyond the ken of the historian. Even so the discussion of this question of truth lies within the history of ideas. Taking for example the historiography of modern Buddhist studies it would show that the earliest exponents, concentrating on Pali Buddhism, valued it for its analytical and rational, even agnostic approach. Here was a philosophy, which would preserve moral and spiritual values without postulating either a god or a soul. It offered analytical insight into the working of the mind as the chief means of attaining spiritual liberation. The existentialist tendency of Buddhism had been noted by some others. Another section of modern interpreters, inspired by the study of Mahāyāna, valued Buddhism for its idealistic, transcendent, even non-dualistic tendencies. Several exponents saw in Buddhism the precursor to Advaita Vedanta. Professor Pande's writings on Buddhism show that he has interpreted it in its three distinguishable phases (i) the original teachings of the Buddha, (ii) the Hinayāna and the Abhidharmic phase and (iii) the Mahāyāna system. His approach to the study of Buddhism is exemplified best when he cites a remark of the Buddha mentioned in the Udana which cautions that if we are unable to see something as a whole in its unique individuality we would be apt to offer quite honestly many divergent and discrepant explanations. The Buddhist thought may, in fact, be described as the historically evolving interpretation of common experience in the light of central Buddhist experience of sambodhi. Seeking, thus, to reconcile empiricism with absolutism, it has woven a wide variety of philosophical textures. Buddhism cannot, thus, be reduced to a mere social ethic. Buddha did not render his teachings to any dogmatic statements. He, instead, spoke in parables and questionings. The historical origins of Buddhism are multiple, the major strands being the Sramanic culture, the spiritual experience of the Master and the Upanisadic influences. To understand the divergences of the Buddhist schools one has to go beyond their terse formulations to the spiritual and philosophical issues involved. Mahāyāna, similarly, is not a late development. Its seeds go back to the teachings of the Buddha. It is, in fact, a Buddhist version of universal religion. The much debated interpretation of Sunyavāda can find a solution in terms of the concept of two Truths, which Sankarachārya also accepted. Vijñānavāda, again, has been usually interpreted as a doctrine of subjective idealism. The author understands it rather as a philosophy of absolute idealism. His approach to Buddhism can be appreciated properly if one were to integrate it with the foundational vision of Indian society and culture, as is reflected in his multi-dimensional writings.
Apart from being a scholar of philosophy Professor Pande was also a practising historian. His love for both philosophy and history were rooted in the emphatic response to the original voice of the great Indian tradition to which he belonged. This made him view history and culture as born out of the value seeking of a people or nation and reducing history to mere representation of the processes that quicken the concrete form by which a culture is known. According to him, man not only lives but he also critically reflects on his doings. Starting from his given empirical identity, he seeks for his transcendental identity. His Bharatiya Paramparā ke Mool Swara won the first 'Sankara Award of