The connection between advaita vedanta
is one that is quite interesting, deserving of far more attention
that it currently receives (as far as I'm aware). Here I will briefly
outline a few points at which advaita vedanta/certain forms of yoga
and dialectics intersect.
- The formless Brahman is nothing but the experience of the Totality.
- This Totality/Brahman is non-dual and contains both everything and nothing (understood of course in different senses).
- Because (in my understanding) Brahman is not a substance and not a primal thing from which all else is produced (as in a traditional theory of God-emanation) there is no logical conflict of cause and effect, of perfect and imperfect, which grips traditional theology.
- Advaita vedanta, if it steers clear of theism, traditional Hindu dharma, organization, &c., is thus not in conflict with dialectics.
Of course, the traditional
understanding of advaita vedanta (even in Gaudapada and Shankara) is
marred by traditionalism, hints of theism, casteism, sexism, and most
of all slavery to scriptural authority and textual exegesis. However,
I hope to develop a combination theory of advaita vedanta and
dialectics, because I see there is no conflict and yet so much to
gain. Too much thought is analytical only, lacking the experiential
component. Hopefully, with this combination an experiential component
can be made explicit within dialectical thought. At the very least,
it will be an interesting curiosity.
Of interest is the book “Advaita
Vedanta: A Philosophical Reconstruction” by Eliot Deutsch. However,
Deutsch is not explicitly a dialectician, and his reconstruction left
me a bit disappointed.
