Some postcolonial theorists argue that the idea of a single system of belief known as "Hinduism" is a creation of nineteenth-century British imperialists. Andrew J. Nicholson introduces another perspective: although a unified Hindu identity is not as ancient as some Hindus claim, it has its roots in innovations within South Asian philosophy from the fourteenth to seventeenth centuries. During this time, thinkers treated the philosophies of Vedanta, Samkhya, and Yoga, along with the worshippers of Visnu, Siva, and Sakti, as belonging to a single system of belief and practice. Instead of seeing such groups as separate and contradictory, they re-envisioned them as separate rivers leading to the ocean of Brahman, the ultimate reality. Drawing on the writings of philosophers from late medieval and early modern traditions, including Vijnanabhiksu, Madhava, and Madhusudana Sarasvati, Nicholson shows how influential thinkers portrayed Vedanta philosophy as the ultimate unifier of diverse belief systems. This project paved the way for the work of later Hindu reformers, such as Vivekananda, Radhakrishnan, and Gandhi, whose teachings promoted the notion that all world religions belong to a single spiritual unity. In his study, Nicholson also critiques the way in which Eurocentric concepts—like monism and dualism, idealism and realism, theism and atheism, and orthodoxy and heterodoxy—have come to dominate modern discourses on Indian philosophy.

In The Philosophy of Hinduism, Dr. S Radhakrishnan has explained the central tenets of Hinduism, its philosophical and spiritual doctrine, religious experience, ethical character and traditional faiths. Hinduism is a process and not a result, a growing tradition and not fixed revelation as in other faiths. He has compared Christianity, Islam and Buddhism in the light of Hinduism and stressed that the ultimate aim of these religions is the attainment of the universal self. Radhakrishnan's analysis of religions is highly intellectual and balanced and his lectures have also received a whole-hearted response in the UK. The articles in the book reflect the mind of this great philosopher, who has been hailed as another Vivekananda. Contents: The Philosophy of Hinduism;The Hindu Dharma; Islam and Indian Thoughts; Hindu Thought and Christian Doctrine; Buddhism Indian Philosophy; References.

Hinduism: A Contemporary Philosophical Investigation explores Hinduism and the distinction between the secular and religious on a global scale. According to Ranganathan, a careful philosophical study of Hinduism reveals it as the microcosm of philosophical disagreements with Indian resources, across a variety of topics, including: ethics, logic, the philosophy of thought, epistemology, moral standing, metaphysics, and politics. This analysis offers an original and fresh diagnosis of studying Hinduism, colonialism, and a global rise of hyper-nationalism, as well as the frequent acrimony between scholars and practitioners of Hindu traditions. This text is appropriate for use in undergraduate and graduate courses on Hinduism, and Indian philosophy, and can be used as an advanced introduction to the problems of philosophy with South Asian resources.

Ambedkar was a prolific student, earning doctorates in economics from both Columbia University and the London School of Economics, and gained a reputation as a scholar for his research in law, economics and political science.[11] In his early career he was an economist, professor, and lawyer. His later life was marked by his political activities; he became involved in campaigning and negotiations for India's independence, publishing journals, advocating political rights and social freedom for Dalits, and contributing significantly to the establishment of the state of India. In 1956 he converted to Buddhism, initiating mass conversions of Dalits.

The aim of Hindu Philosophy is the exinction of sorrow and suffering by the method of knowledge that alone can free man from the bondage of ignorance. It points to a clear way of thinking which enables one to understand Reality by direct experience. In this perspective, Hindu Philosophy is an art of life and not a theory. In this book the author presents a precise and illuminating study of six systems of Indian Philosophy classified into three divisions (1) Nyaya-Vaisesika, (2) Samkhya-Yoga, (3) Mimamsa-Vedanta. The first division lays down the methodology of science and elaborates the concepts of Physics and Chemistry to show how manifestations of phenomena come into being. The second division sets forth and account of cosmic evolution on purely logical principles. The third division critically analyses the basic principles, developing them in greater detail and furnishing arguments to substantiate, as well as making incidental contribution on points of special interest. Beside presenting an account of philosophical systems of India, the author adds a study of Kashmir Saivism--a system of Ideal Monism founded by Vasugupta and based on Siva Sutras. In this context the author throws sufficient light on the traditional Tantric literature that has sufered wide criticism both from Western and Eastern scholars. The book is documented with Preface, Introduction and Glossarial Index.