James Madaio delivered a lecture on ‘Ramchandra Gandhi and the Mirror of Consciousness’ (The Daya Krishna Lectures on Philosophy). It was chaired by Shail Mayaram.
ZOOM ID: 81579010553 PASSCODE: csdsdelhi
This lecture explores how the philosopher Ramchandra Gandhi (1937-2007) approaches plurality and ‘the other’ through a transformative investigation of communication and an advaita-informed philosophical hermeneutics. Broadly, it argues that R. Gandhi’s understanding of the play of communicative relationality parallels his understanding of the līlā of consciousness, which becomes an alterity to itself in order to ‘play the great game’ of self-discovery. Situating his approach within a post-sampradāyic context, the speaker examines the genealogy and philosophical implications of his mature model of understanding plurality as images on the mirror or screen of consciousness. It pursues how his approach to identity and difference disrupts the divide between ontological monism and pluralism, offering a sophisticated vision of others without otherness.
James Madaio is a research fellow at the Oriental Institute of the Czech Academy of Sciences in Prague and at the Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies. He is Editor of the Journal of Hindu Studies (Oxford University Press) and Regional Editor (Indic traditions) of Bloomsbury Academic’s Introductions to World Philosophies book series.
Shail Mayaram is Honorary Fellow at Centre for the Study of Developing Societies, Delhi.
Monday, 29 January 2024, 4 pm, Seminar Room and Zoom https://bit.ly/3RRQmzC
