Prolegomena
The site serves a very specific purpose: to make accessible certain aspects of Indian history, culture and thought. The focus of the site is going to be on Dvaita or Tattvavada. It seeks to synthesise different strains of academic and philosophic thought with traditional accounts to create a comprehensive narrative. Though an enterprise of this nature promises neutrality, and that shall be enforced to the best of the author’s ability in the analyses that follow, inclusion of subjective elements and biases are inevitable. Unlike the information on sites such as Wikipedia, there will be a significant amount of original research included. The the author is an insider to the community. That being said, there is no other agenda than to restore, rehabilitate and preserve aspects of a lost Indian culture.
Contents
Description of the site
Information on this site is arranged in articles. These articles are based on the structure adopted by academic research papers, with relevant subheadings, an overarching narrative and references. Concepts which need further expansion will be included under appendices. Though fashioned as academic research articles, the treatment is eclectic. The articles can vary in length and depth. Digressions would be inevitable, but not at the cost of coherence. To limit these flights of fancy, the articles are going to be as specific as possible barring the introductory articles. Footnotes and references will be included at the end of each article. This site is going to be in a state of flux. The articles will improved upon or corrected as I become privy to more information.
Scope
The site is primarily focussed on Tattvavada. The articles will cover the history, philosophy, theology and cultural aspects of Tattvavada. Because the philosophy does not exist in a vacuum, to set the context, other strains of thought are also covered. As the philosophers and the scholars of Tattvavada hobnobbed with and debated other philosophical schools, one cannot be discussed without the other. Articles on philosophies and concepts other than Tattvavada will be included in the appendices. A glossary of Sanskrit terms is going to be included as well for reference. I am going to steer clear of political ideologies though sociological issues such as caste will be dealt with at some point.
Navigating the Site
Approach
The articles featured on the site will be written from a neutral point of view by which I mean a non-hagiographic tone. Though I might err on the side of verbosity, I shall strive to keep the narrative readable and engaging. I shall be approaching the philosophy of Tattvavada and “Hinduism” in general from a variety of perspectives as listed below:
- Anthropology
- Comparative Method
- Historical Method
- Economics of Religion
- Literary analysis
- Phenomenology
- Philosophy
- Psychoanalytic perspectives
- Sociology
- Theology
- Ethics
- Philology
Process of research
The articles will be a product of research culled from a variety of sources (historical and traditional), interviews and observation. Though I will not be providing inline citations, I will be including a list of sources and footnotes in the articles.