The.Philosophy.of.the.Upanishads, @Yoga
[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
THE
PHILOSOPHY
OF
THE
UPANISHADS
The Rel£g£on and Ph£losojJhy
o.f
/nd£a
THE
PHILOSOPHY
OF
THE
UPANISHADS
BY
PAUL DEUSSEN
PROFESSOR OF PHILOSOPHY IN THE UNIVERSITY OF !tIEL
AUTHORISED ENGLISH TRANSLATION
By REv. A. S. GEDEN, M.A.
TOTOR
IN OLD TESTAMBJlT LANGUAGES AND
LITERATURE,
AND
CLASSICS,
WESL&YAN
COLLEGE,
RICHMOND
T.
&
T. CLARK, 38
GEORGE
EDINBURGH:
STREET
.0
19
06
PREFACE
--+--
DR. DEussEN's treatise on the Upanishads needs no formal
introduction or commendation
to
students of Indian
thought who are familiar with the German language.
To others I would fain hope that the translation here
presented, which appears with the author's sanction, may
serve
to
make known a work of very marked ability and
of surpassing interest. As far as my knowledge extends,
there is no adequate exposition of the Upanishads available
in English. The best was published by Messrs. Trtibner
more than a quarter of a century ago, and
is
in many
respects out of date.
As
traced here by the master-hand
of the author, the teaching of the ancient Indian seers
presents itself in clearest light, and claims the sympathetic
study of all lovers of truth.
For the English rendering I am alone responsible.
And where I may have failed
to
catch the precise meaning
of the original, or adequately to represent the turn of
phrase, I can only ask the indulgence of the reader. Dr.
Deussen's style is not easy. And if a more capable hand
than mine had been willing to essay the task of trans-
lation, I
would
gladly have resigned my office.
With
whatsoever
care
I
can
hardly
hope
entirely
have
to
v
PREFACE
vi
escaped error. But for any indication of oversight or
mistake, and any suggestion for improvement, I shall be
most grateful. The work has exacted many hours that
could be
ill
spared from a very full life.
If
however it
conduce in any way to a better understanding of the
. mind and heart of India I shall be amply repaid.
A. S. GEDEN.
RICHMOND,
DlUrnlw 1906.
,
PREFACE BY THE AUTHOR
THE present work forms the second part of my
General
History of Philosophy.
It is however complete
in
itself;
and haa for its subject the Philosophy of the Upanishads,
the culminating point of the Indian doctrine of the
universe. This point had been already reached in Vedic,
pre-Buddhist times; and in philosophical significance has
/
been surpassed by none of the later developments of
thought up to the present day. In particular the Sailkhya
system has followed out lines of thought traced for it in
the Upanishads, and has emphasized realistic tendencies
already found there
(infra,
pp.
239-255).
Buddhism
also, though of entirely independent origin, yet betrays
its indebtedness in essential points to the teaching of
the Upanishads, when its main fundamental thought
(nirva~m,
the removal of suffering by the removal of
trish'T}-a)
meets us expressed in other words (union with
Brahman by the removal of
kama)
in the passage from
the BrihadaraJ.lyaka quoted below.!
The thoughts of the Vedanta therefore became for
India a permanent and characteristic sp,iritual atmosphere,
which pervades all the products of the later literature.
1
Brih. 4.
4-.
6,
infra
p.
348.
vii
[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]