Encyclopedia of Indian Philosophies: Vol. XIX

Confronted with a series of volumes called the Encyclopedia of Indian Philosophies, one is likely to ask, what constitutes philosophy in the relevant sense? Introduction to understood as investigation of the nature of and path to liberation from rebirth (moksa;nirvana), a definition which seems to fit most Indian schools of thought as taught and practiced in the classical period (500 B.C. 1000 A.D.) The system that is the subject of the present volume is one such devotional system. As this volume demonstrates, the concern of this system is two-fold: liberation is accepted, but downplayed in the face of the requirements of true devotion.