The Critical-Philology-Paradigm and Our ādhyātmika Tradition

Abstract

During  recent decades a lot of writings, diametrically opposed to our traditional view, have come from the West declaring Sanskrit writings devoid of any spirituality, full of internal contradictions, and above all created for  power-culture manipulations. Our Tradition's viewpoint, however, has always been the "bliss" , ānanda; vijñānam ānandaṃ  brahma. Many of the mistakes are committed when we continue using mindlessly some Paradigm or methodology without really knowing if it is applicable to the subject under consideration. Every method depends on certain assumptions and success or failure of the method depends on whether foundational assumptions are satisfied or not. In this paper, we explore the foundations of the Western literary analytics, the "Critical Theory - Philology Project - Paradigm", applied by Western practitioners to our Sanskrit Knowledge System and Scriptures, and examine their applicability to our Sanskrit Knowledge System, especially that part dealing with the ādhyātmika dimension. Causes limiting the Paradigm responsible for previously mentioned insinuating interpretations have been found and modifications are proposed to widen and generalize the foundational assumptions to enhance the applicability of the Paradigm, and so to assimilate the part, which has been assumed away so far. Examination of these may be undertaken, as challenging research projects, both, by Indian and/or the Western scholars since what is proposed here would lead to methodological innovation.