| Consciousness in Indian Philosophy: The Advaita Doctrine of ‘Awareness Only’ Subjects: Area Studies; Humanities; Asian Studies; Philosophy; Religion; South Asian Studies; Indian Philosophy; Asian Studies (General); Hinduism; World Religions; This book focuses on the analysis of pure consciousness as found in Advaita Vedanta, one of the main schools of Indian philosophy. According to this tradition, reality is identified as Brahman, the world is considered illusory, and the individual self is identified with the absolute reality. Advaitins have various approaches to defend this argument, the central one being the doctrine of 'awareness only' (cinmatra). Following this stream of argument, what consciousness grasps immediately is consciousness itself, and the notions of subject and object arise due to ignorance. This doctrine categorically rejects the plurality of individual selves and the reality of objects of perception. Sthaneshwar Timalsina is Assistant Professor in the Department of Religious Studies, San Diego State University, US. His research interests include Tantric traditions, literary theory, and ritual studies. His first book, Seeing and Appearance, was published in 2006 by Shaker Verlag. |