The Discover India Podcast by Professor Pankaj Jain: Bhārat Darśan

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When Abhinavagupta (fl. c. 975-1025 CE) argues for ‘absolute non-duality’ (paramādvaita) as a fundamental principle of everything, what does he mean? This fundamental meta-category subsumes within itself both ‘duality’ (dvaita or bheda) and ‘non-duality’ (advaita or abheda) in a resolution that, on the surface, appears to be nothing more than an oxymoron. How can two mutually opposing categories be one? However, for Abhinavagupta, both ‘duality’ and ‘non-duality’ are the basic building blocks of an all-encompassing singular meta-category called ‘absolute non-duality’ (paramādvaita). This version of non-duality argues for inclusivism, i.e., for any idea of binary to manifest, someone fundamentally recognises the distinction between, for instance, a ‘pot’ (ghaṭaṭ ) and a ‘non-pot’ (aghaṭaṭ ) and it is this distinction (dvaita or bheda) that unitarily brings a pot and a non-pot together (advaita or abheda). By saying this, Abhinavagupta is not suggesting that a pot is a non-pot and a non-pot is a pot. But they are singular manifestations in a plural form of and in a singular principle, i.e., non-dual consciousness (advaitasamvit). Using a more contemporary terminology, this form of non-duality may be called

‘pluralistic non-dualism’ or ‘subjective pluralism,' understood in the sense that even two mutually opposing labels, such as ‘pluralistic idealism’ or ‘idealistic realism’, can be used.

Bio note:

Prof Mrinal Kaul teaches classical Indian Philosophy at the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences in the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (IITB), Mumbai. His research focuses on the non-dual Śaiva philosophy, particularly the tenth-century philosopher Abhinavagupta. His recent publications include ‘A Preliminary Note on the Manuscripts of the Tantrāloka-viveka’ in Verità e Bellezza-Essays in Honour of Raffaele Torella (Naples, Italy, 2022), ‘Is there a ‘South Asian Poetics’?’ In A Cultural Poetics of

Bhasha Literatures in Theory and Practice, edited by E.V. Ramakrishnan (Orient Blackswan, Hyderabad, 2024) and ‘Is Reflection Real according to Abhinavagupta? Dynamic Realism versus Naïve Realism? in Journal of Indian Philosophy (Springer) (2024). A volume titled Minor Works of Abhinavagupta, edited with Francesco Sferra, is about to be published from Naples in Italy, and a new edition and translation of the Śivasūtravimarśinī of Kṣeṣ marāja with Ben Williams is in preparation.

पत्रं पुष्पं फलं तोयं यो मे भक्त्य‍ा प्रयच्छति ।

तदहं भक्त्य‍ुपहृतमश्न‍ामि प्रयतात्मन: ॥

Tune in every Sunday for a new episode of the philological and philosophical analysis of the Bhagavad Gita!

Texts referenced in the series:

1. Gītā Rahasya by Lokmanya Tilak

2. Gītā Discourses by Osho

3. Gītā Discourses by Rev. Athavale Dadaji

4. Gītā interpretation by Mahatma Gandhi

5. Gītā commentary by Adi Shankaracharya

6. Sargeant Winthrop and Christopher Key Chapple. The Bhagavad Gītā. State University of New York Press 2009.

7. Goldman Robert P and Sally J Sutherland. Devavāṇīpraveśikā : An Introduction to the Sanskrit Language. 3rd ed. Center for South Asia Studies University of California: 1999.

Press, 2009.

8. The Bhagavad Gītā - Selected Shlokas set to Music (2-CD Set), sung by Ravindra Sathe and team, music by Vanraj Bhatia, album by Music Today, 2009.

Gita app based on Sri Aurobindo’s commentary:

Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=in.org.bhagavadgita&hl=en_US&gl=US&pli=1

iPhone: https://apps.apple.com/in/app/bhagavad-gita-sri-aurobindo/id1143882659

Religious Communities and Cultural Traditions in Bollywood and Beyond

https://www.routledge.com/Visual-Anthropology-of-Indian-Films-Religious-Communities-and-Cultural-Traditions-in-Bollywood-and-Beyond/Jain/p/book/9781032778280