Contemporary Indian Philosophy
by Basant Kumar Lal

Contemporary Indian Philosophy has arisen in an awareness of the need to reconcile the forces of tradition with those of modernity. It is not merely repetitive. There is, in it, a definite attempt to construct a system. It develops under the conviction that the basic aim of Philosophy is to cultivate a world-view. This requires an awareness of the existential condition of life as also the consciousness of life's ultimate ideal, viz….., redemption, not only of the individual, but of the total human race. It emphasizes the ultimacy of spiritual values; yet it demonstrates that the roots of spiritual life lie in conditions that are essentially existential. The present study seeks to highlight these aspects of contemporary Indian Philosophy. It is an attempt to re-think, in an academic manner, the thoughts of the contemporary thinkers - Swami Vivekananda, Mahatma Gandhi, Rabindranath Tagore, Sri Aurobindo, Krishna Chandra Bhattacharya, S. Radhakrishnan, and Mohammad Iqbal. Different aspects of their thoughts have been systematised, categorised and placed under suitable philosophical heads in this work.

About the author:

Late Basant Kumar Lal was till recently Professor of Philosophy at Magadh University, Bodh Gaya, India. He was born in Ranchi in 1928. After completing a uniformly bright career and after obtaining his Graduation and M.A. degrees from Patna University he entered into the teaching profession, and was in this profession for almost forty years, the major part of which was spent first in Patna University and then in Magadh University. He has written extensively on Philosophy of Religion, metaphysics, Epistemology, Socioal and Political Thought and History of Philosophy.