Ramchandra Gandhi - The Man and His Philosophy

Ramchandra Gandhi, famous for his rich and varied interests, left behind a large corpus of writings, both philosophical and non-philosophical. Introducing the readers to the creative Indian philosopher, this volume highlights the principal thrust of his works, critically locates them within the larger political, philosophical, literary and socio-cultural context, and accounts for his lasting influence. For the first time, essays on Ramchandra Gandhi's earlier works and later writings have been brought together to take stock of his contribution to contemporary Indian thought as a whole. Written by philosophers as well as those belonging to literature and the social sciences, the essays record his experimental ventures both in form and content, and shed light on key themes in language, communication, religion, aesthetics, spirituality, consciousness, self, knowledge, politics, ethics, and non-violence. The book will appeal to those in philosophy, political science, history, sociology, literature, and Gandhian studies.

List of contents

Acknowledgements. Introduction. 1. Rambling Wisdom V. Sanil 2. Ramchandra Gandhi’s ‘Truth’: Non-Dual Mediations and Meditations Makarand Paranjape 3. On the Primacy of Communication: Introducing Presuppositions of Human Communication Amitabha Das Gupta 4. Human Autonomy and Ramchandra Gandhi P. R. Bhat 5. Human Communication and the Act of Addressing: Re-Understanding Gandhi Tandra Patnaik 6. Pragmatic Presuppositions of Human Communication: Revisiting Ramchandra Gandhi in the Light of Habermas and Derrida S. Panneerselvam 7. Metaphysics Immanent in the Ordinary: Ramchandra Gandhi and Contemporary Indian Philosophy Bijoy H. Boruah 8. The Immanent and the Transcendent in Ramchandra Gandhi’s Metaphysics R. C. Pradhan 9. Embarrassing Suffering, Karma and Collective Morality Amita Chatterjee 10. ‘Now, Kālī! I Shall Eat You Up’: On the Logic of the Vocative Arindam Chakrabarti 11. Writing Advaita: Reading Ramchandra Gandhi’s I am Thou Sundar Sarukkai 12. Ramchandra Gandhi’s Svarāj: What a Single Text Reveals about a Man and his Philosophy Nalini Bhushan 13. Ramchandra Gandhi: The Gachibowli Period Probal Dasgupta 14. The Most Original Gandhi since Gandhi Ramachandra Guha 15. Remembering Ramu Meena Alexander 16. Ramchandra Gandhi: The Personal is the Political is the Philosophical Shail Mayaram 17. The Spiritual as the Moral Mrinal Miri 18. Primary Colours: Gandhi on the Environmental Movement Shiv Vishwanathan 19. Ramanama Tridip Suhrud 20. Lila, Self-Imaging, and Pata Performance in West Bengal Roma Chatterji. About the Editor. Notes on Contributors. Index

About the author

A. Raghuramaraju is Professor, Department of Philosophy, University of Hyderabad.

Summary

Ramchandra Gandhi, famous for his rich and varied interests, left behind a large corpus of writings, both philosophical and non-philosophical. Introducing the readers to the creative Indian philosopher, this volume highlights the principal thrust of his works, critically locates them within the larger political, philosophical, literary and socio-cultural context, and accounts for his lasting influence. For the first time, essays on Ramchandra Gandhi’s earlier works and later writings have been brought together to take stock of his contribution to contemporary Indian thought as a whole. Written by philosophers as well as those belonging to literature and the social sciences, the essays record his experimental ventures both in form and content, and shed light on key themes in language, communication, religion, aesthetics, spirituality, consciousness, self, knowledge, politics, ethics, and non-violence. The book will appeal to those in philosophy, political science, history, sociology, literature, and Gandhian studies.

Additional text

Ramchandra Gandhi — a sage of our times — was a modern teacher, but adapted the methods of the Upanishadic gurus. For me, as a writer he was one of the greatest Indians in that period — passionate, open, searching for the validation of ‘advaitic’ experience in the quotidian lived realities as well as in the imagined transcendent sphere. He was loved and admired by a small circle when he was alive, and this book is a daring attempt to bring him to the attention of a wider reading public.
— U. R. Ananthamurthy, Eminent Kannada Writer and Critic; Chancellor, Central University of Karnataka
　
Ramu Gandhi was a scholar, a thinker, a loner, and a free spirit. He was a great teacher, a good friend, and had a tremendous sense of humour. Often mischievous in his intellectual forays, he was passionately committed to the values of humanism. These essays are a fine tribute to an engaging, interesting and provocative philosopher.
— Sanjaya Baru, Former Media Advisor to the Prime Minister; Director, Geo-economics and Strategy, The International Institute for Strategic Studies

Product details

• Authors: A. Raghuramaraju, A. (Professor Raghuramaraju
• Assisted by: A. Raghuramaraju (Editor)
• Publisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd.
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Released: 21.01.2016
• EAN: 9781138664029
• ISBN: 978-1-138-66402-9
• No. of pages: 370
• Subjects: Humanities, art, music > Religion/theology > General, dictionaries; Non-fiction book > Philosophy, religion > Philosophy: general, reference works; Social sciences, law, business > Social sciences (general)