Mysticism and Ethics

qualified to speak to subject of mysticism and ethics than S. Radhakrishnan and Albert Schweitzer. They address a single problem: modern man must discover a common principle that can lead him through darkness of his age. Both believe that mysticism holds key. But mysticism, no more than other philosophies, enjoys no uniformity of interpretation, and common concern that binds spirits of Radhakrishnan and Schweitzer is challenged by overtones of a cultural and philosophical clash. On one hand, there are characteristic activism and voluntaristic emphasis of West and, on other, characteristic quietism and spiritualism of India. Though neither thinker is wholly characteristic of his cultural origin, dominant strains are there. More significant, however, is fact that more than most of their contemporaries, Radhakrishnan and Schweitzer have moved toward an accord which transcends interand intra-cultural differences that engulf them. The issue is not solely Hindu vs. Christian or Indian vs. Western but one deriving from problems of interpretation that are deepseated in individual traditions of both Indian and Western philosophy. These differences are deeper than mere polemic of Schweitzer's Christianity and Religions of World or Radhakrishnan's Eastern Religions and Western Thought. Yet, they resolve themselves in a manner which opens way to a rapprochement of certain areas of Western and Indian thought. By their own admission, both understand their problem to be one of diverging understanding of world and life rather than one of diverging spirit and purpose. Both would agree, for example, that the future of civilization depends upon return of spiritual awareness to hearts and minds of men.1

Epistemology · Mysticism · Theology · Indian and Buddhist Studies · Indian History and Philosophy · Philosophy · Theology and Philosophy of Evil

• Resurrection of the Self

  Open Access•Shazia Parveen, Nadia Anwar•Journal of Islamic Thought and…•2021

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