Consciousness in Advaita Vedanta
by William M. Indich

The nature of consciousness or human awareness is one of the problems of perennial concern to philosophers and psychologists alike. Here is a systematic, critical and comparative study the nature of human awareness according to the most influential school of classical Indian thought. After introducing the Advaitic Philosophical system and indicating the place of consciousness in this system, the author presents a detailed discussion of the Advaitin’s unique, non-dual understanding of man’s basic intelligence.

He continues with an analysis of the Advaitin’s hierarchical vision of waking, dream and dreamless sleep experience, and compares his analysis with the thought of such Western thinkers as Husserl, Freud and Jung. He concludes with a discussion of the Advaitic conception of liberation and the radical implications this understanding of human freedom presents to modern man.

This book is a systematic, critical and comparative treatment of the Advaitic theory of consciousness, and one which will prove valuable to students of Indian Philosophy as well as to abrader audience interested in the perennial question of the nature of human awareness.

About the Author:

Dr. Willam M. Indich has been a student of Asian philosophy and religion for the past many years. He earned his Ph.D. in comparative philosophy at the University of Hawaii has lectured at the University of Colorado and Naropa Institute and is presently teaching in the department of philosophy and religion, Towson state Univerisity Towson Maryland.