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Undergraduate Courses

840:403 SEMINAR ON THE VEDANTA SUTRAS

The Vedanta, or Brahma, Sutras has emerged as the most important of the six schools of Indian philosophy, and, indeed, has almost become synonymous with Hindu philosophy. Written in order to clarify the sometimes abstruse statements of the Upanishads, the oldest philosophical texts in Hinduism, the cryptic nature of the Vedanta Sutras in turn produced a number of distinct streams of commentarial interpretation. This course will attempt an overview of the main schools of Vedantic thought up to the medieval period -- Sankara, Ramanuja, Madhva, Nimbarka, Vallabha and Baladeva. Attention will be paid to some of the prominent points of agreement as well as contestation amongst some of these schools. The course will focus on primary texts. (Only open to majors in their junior or senior year. Some prior knowledge of Hindu philosophy recommended.)