The Silences of Ramana Maharshi

Self-enquiry and Liberation in Samkhya Yoga and Advaita Vedanta

Authors

  • Ankur Barua University of Cambridge Author

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.1558/rosa.v9i2.26921

Keywords:

Advaita Vedanta, Samkhya-Yoga, Ramana Maharshi

Abstract

Both Samkhya-Yoga and Advaita Vedanta grapple with a conceptual tension which informs their understandings of spiritual practice--that while embodied selves seek liberation from the structures of worldly suffering, they are essentially the immutable reality which is never subject to any empirical ills. Though the metaphysical visions of these systems sharply diverge, Advaitins such as Samkara were able to appropriate from Samkhya-Yoga certain practices geared toward the yogic purification of the mind while rejecting its ontological scheme outlining a dualism between purusa and prakrti. By highlighting the complex relationship between Samkhya-Yoga and Samkara, we examine how it was creatively re-imagined by Ramana Maharshi who developed certain distinctive pedagogical styles centred around the liberating value of silence.

Author Biography

  • Ankur Barua, University of Cambridge

    Ankur Barua is Lecturer in Hindu Studies, Faculty of Divinity, University of Cambridge. His primary research interests are Hindu Studies and the comparative philosophy of religion. Under the former, he teaches and researches various historical, philosophical, and conceptual aspects of the classical and the modern Vedāntic Hindu traditions. Further, an integral part of his academic research is the question of whether Christian terms such as ‘grace’, ‘creation’, and ‘God’ have any Hindu analogues, and whether Hindu terms such as dharma, karma, and saṃsāra have any Christian equivalents.

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Published

2016-06-16

Issue

Vol. 9 No. 2 (2015)

Section

Articles

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How to Cite

Barua, A. (2016). The Silences of Ramana Maharshi: Self-enquiry and Liberation in Samkhya Yoga and Advaita Vedanta. Religions of South Asia, 9(2), 186-207. https://doi.org/10.1558/rosa.v9i2.26921