Original Position-0: Atman = Brahman

Advaita aka Advaita Vedānta is an ancient Indian theological school which provides the basis and context for this blog post as well as subsequent four posts under the main title Original Position. For these four blog posts Original Position is A=B but we shall see as to how it can be exported  into Kantian / Rawlsian framework step-by-step in the next 4-5 blog posts.

Steps: (a) construction of the non-dualist doctrine Atman = Brahman [A=B] within the Aupanishad (औपनिषद) framework of dependency (निर्भरता) and subject-object (प्रमाता-प्रमेय) duality, (b) establishing the principles of equanimous equality, reflective reciprocity, and the freedom of conscionable actions as the empirical connectives of this doctrine based on Upaniṣhads (उपनिषदे) and Bhagavadgītā (भगवद्गीता) / Mahabharata (महाभारत) – de facto primary source of the Hindu-Vedic theology, (c) extending these connectives to the principle of neutrality and the principles of distributive justice within Rawlsian framework, and (d) exploring the applicability of A=B and its connectivity to the Bauddha (बौद्ध) principle of ‘interdependent  origination’ (प्रतीत्यसमुत्पाद), and also to the sociopopitical structures, and the ecosystem in general. 

We will see that Original Position appears (manifests) in various situations and formulations based on samatva (समत्व), neutrality (साक्षत्व), fraternity (बंधुत्व), reciprocity (परस्परत्व), and liberty (स्वातंत्र्य).

Keywords: Atman (आत्मा), Brahman (ब्रह्म), Upaniṣhad (उपनिषद), Bhagavadgita (भगवद्गीता), equality (समत्व), reciprocity (परस्परत्व), neutrality (साक्षिभाव), workability (व्यवहार्यता), consciousness (चित्, संविद, ज्ञ, प्रज्ञा), conscience (सदसद्विवेकबुद्धी) democracy (लोकतंत्र), Advaita (अद्वैत, केवल-अद्वैत, वेदांत, अद्वैत-वेदांत), liberty, liberation (स्वातंत्र्य, आत्मनिर्भरता, जीवनमुक्ती, मोक्ष), Liberated person (जीवनमुक्त)

Many of these terms as well as the Advaita Vedanta theosophy can be understood by reading the basic Advaita texts like 1. Tattvabodha (तत्त्वबोध), 2.  Atma Bodha (आत्मबोध), 3. Vivekchudamani (विवेकचूडामणि), 4. Vedantasara (वेदांतसार), 5. Upadesha Sahasri (उपदेशसाहस्री) etc. These texts can be Google searched and downloaded from Internet as PDF files.

However, the two books written by me viz. (a) "Advaita Vedanta: A Student's Note" and (b) "Advaita: A Contemporary Study" will give the reader a deeper, modern, and constructive exposition. The second (smaller) book is relatively easy to understand. Both books are available on pothi.com

Other references are included in blog-post of Original Position-5 of bibliography.









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Original Position-5: Bibliography

References: A Natural History of Human Morality by Michael Tomesello; Harvard Univ. Press (2016) A Theory of Justice by John Rawls; Harvard Univ. Press (1999) Advaita Vedānta: A Student’s Note by Shashikant Padalkar, CreateSpace Platform, (2013) [AVSN] Advaita-Paribhāshā of Dharmarāja Avadhīndra Trans. and annotated by Sw. Madhavānanda with a forward by Dr. S. N. Dasgupta and published by RK Mission, Belur Math (1942). Advaita: A Contemporary Study by Shashikant Padalkar, CreateSpace Platform, (2017) [ACS] Anarchy, State, and Utopia” by Robert Nozick, Basic Books (1974), Brahma-Sūtra Bhāṣhya of Shrī Shaṅkarāchārya, translated by Sw. Gambhirānanda, publ by Advaita Ashrama, Almora (1956) Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upanishad with commentary by Shaṅkar-āchārya, translated by Sw. Mādhavānanda with introduction by Prof. Kuppuswami Shāstrī. (1950) Chāndogya Upaniṣhad with the commentary by Shaṅkar-āchārya, translated by Dr. Gaṅgānāth Jhā with an introduction and index by Dr Umesh Mishra, published by Poon...
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