The Circle of Fire The Metaphysics of Yoga

by Mazumdar, P. J.

• ISBN13: 9781556436703
• ISBN10: 155643670X
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2009-11-30
• Publisher: North Atlantic Books

Summary

The Circle of Fireexamines the eternal metaphysical questions "What is God?" and "What is the purpose of life?" The book discusses the answers to these questions given by Western science and different schools of Indian thought, specifically detailing the answers to be found in India's two most developed atheistic traditions, Hinduism and Buddhism. Representative of a generation of Indians who have grown up with the best in scientific education and spiritual values, author P.J. Mazumdar takes a hard look at religion, science, and how two seemingly divergent bodies of knowledge can be brought together. Like Deepak Chopra a generation earlier, Mazumdar is both a medical doctoranda member of a family steeped in Hindu tradition, and is therefore well-placed to elucidate ancient Indian philosophy to the modern analytical mind. Acknowledging the metaphysical insights to be found in both Western science and Eastern spirituality, Mazumdar pays special attention to the highest school of philosophy of Hinduism, Advaita, and its application to practical spirituality through the teachings and practice of Yoga. The book takes its structure from the Vedas, and is similarly divided into Jnanakanda (Knowledge) and Karmakanda (Actions); the first part examines the body of knowledge from European and Indian sources addressing the question of God and the second part looks at practical ways of applying this knowledge through different schools of Hindu and Buddhist philosophy. The book explores the purest form of nondual Hindu philosophy, Advaita, and points out how the theories underpinning Buddhism and Advaita, although they appear to contradict each other, are the only theories that remain consistent with the findings of modern science. The author makes the brave assertion that ultimately one or the other will be the theory realized by science as the ultimate metaphysical truth. Like other books on the meeting of science and spirituality (Fritzjof Capra's 80s classicThe Tao of Physics) and the necessity of a scientifically compatible notion of God (Richard Dawkin'sThe God Delusion),The Circle of Fireis ambitious in scope and a challenging, rewarding read.

Author Biography

P.J. Mazumdar holds an MBBS and MS from Guwahati Medical College in Assam, northeastern India. He works as an ENT surgeon and has published his poetry in India, the UK, and the US.

He is a member of the Assamese community of the northeastern part of India. Originally from Hajo, a town centered on the famous Hayagrib Madhob temple of which his family has been part of the traditional administrators, he has been brought up in the rich traditions of Hinduism.

Mazumdar's influences include the saints Sankardeva of Assam and Ramakrishna Paramahamsa of Bengal, whose syncretic teachings combine the unbending rationalism of Advaita philosophy with the devotion of the Bhakti tradition.

Table of Contents

Jnanakanda: The Path of Knowledge	p. 1
Introduction: The Origins of Life, the Universe, and Indian Thought	p. 3
The Natural Sciences	p. 7
The Physical Sciences	p. 17
The Medical Sciences	p. 25
The Origins of Indian Thought	p. 39
Different Positions in Philosophy	p. 65
Advaita Theory	p. 97
Advaita Compared to Other Philosophies	p. 139
Advaita and Modern Knowledge	p. 201
Karmakanda: The Path of Action	p. 237
Mysticism and the Four Yogas	p. 239
Bhakti Yoga	p. 265
Raja Yoga	p. 313
Karma Yoga	p. 343
Jnana Yoga	p. 359
Advaita in the Modern Context	p. 373
Sources	p. 385
Selected Bibliography	p. 387
About the Author	p. 391
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