From Action Towards Freedom – Exploring the Problematics of Difference in Advaita Vedānta Philosophy
Supervisor: Professor Ankur Barua (Faculty of Divinity, University of Cambridge)
Abstract:
My dissertation seeks to make sense of a conceptual gap between ontological and ethical views of the subject (jīva) within the Indic tradition of advaita religious philosophy, by using the works of three of its influential figures, namely, Śaṅkara (c.750 CE), Madhusūdana Sarasvatī (c.1540–1640), and Narayana Guru (1856–1928). Advaita thinkers argue that all qualities of embodiment — including all intentional mental states — are ontologically non-dual with completely unqualified being-itself (brahman). However, despite asserting the ontological non-reality of these categories, advaita thinkers frequently invoke them as righteously determining each person's location on a hierarchical spectrum of socio-religious roles (dharma) and entitlements (adhikāra). Using the works of these three figures as theoretical vignettes on this conjunction, I seek to illustrate some of the ways in which oppressive categories have been rationalised as well as resisted within the advaita tradition. The hope is that such research will contribute vital resources towards decolonising feminist debates around subjectivity, whilst also providing insights regarding the contemporary Hindu afterlives of past advaita taxonomies.
Research Interests:
My research interests include Decoloniality, Indic Philosophy, Continental Philosophy, Queer Theory, Caste Studies, and Philosophy of Emotions.
Academic Background:
I completed an undergraduate degree in Philosophy at St. Stephen’s College, University of Delhi before pursuing my MPhil and PhD at the University of Cambridge Centre for Gender Studies.