The Idea of India

The Idea of India
Author: Sunil Khilnani
Publisher: Macmillan
Total Pages: 292
Release: 1999-06-04
Genre: History
ISBN: 9780374525910

"In his new introduction, Khilnani addresses these issues in the new perspectives afforded by events of the recent year in India and in the world."--BOOK JACKET.

A Student’s Handbook of Indian Aesthetics

A Student’s Handbook of Indian Aesthetics
Author: Sanjeev Kumar
Publisher: Cambridge Scholars Publishing
Total Pages: 145
Release: 2017-03-07
Genre: History
ISBN: 144387583X

Art and life in India have been inextricably intertwined from ancient times to the present day. Art as a way of life, as ritual, as decoration and as unity with the Sublime bore testament to the socio-cultural milieu; the high level of sophistication that developed in ancient India was reflected in the arts in a holistic light. The arts, thus, strived to hone man’s intellectual sensibilities, thus raising him to the level of the transcendental, which in India was Brahma or ultimate reality. This book brings forth the popular theories of Indian aesthetics and Indian poetics. Bharatmuni, Abhinavgupta, Anandvardhana and a number of seers have given substantial dimensions to the concept as found in Natryashastra, Dhvanyavloka, and Abhinavbharati, among other texts. It represents primarily a compilation of commentaries and criticism of these texts, and will serve as a preliminary guide to students, beginners and researchers of Indian aesthetics and poetics. The appendices bring together a number of papers on Indian aesthetics, while there is also an informative and comprehensive bibliography and an exhaustive glossary to provide added aid for non-Sanskrit speakers.

The Bloomsbury Research Handbook of Indian Aesthetics and the Philosophy of Art

The Bloomsbury Research Handbook of Indian Aesthetics and the Philosophy of Art
Author: Arindam Chakrabarti
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Total Pages: 445
Release: 2016-02-25
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 1472524306

The Bloomsbury Research Handbook of Indian Aesthetics and the Philosophy of Art provides an extensive research resource to the burgeoning field of Asian aesthetics. Featuring leading international scholars and teachers whose work defines the field, this unique volume reflects the very best scholarship in creative, analytic, and comparative philosophy. Beginning with a philosophical reconstruction of the classical rasa aesthetics, chapters range from the nature of art-emotions, tones of thinking, and aesthetic education to issues in film-theory and problems of the past versus present. As well as discussing indigenous versus foreign in aesthetic practices, this volume covers North and South Indian performance practices and theories, alongside recent and new themes including the Gandhian aesthetics of surrender and self-control and the aesthetics of touch in the light of the politics of untouchability. With such unparalleled and authoritative coverage, The Bloomsbury Research Handbook of Indian Aesthetics and the Philosophy of Art represents a dynamic map of comparative cross-cultural aesthetics. Bringing together original philosophical research from renowned thinkers, it makes a major contribution to both Eastern and Western contemporary aesthetics.

The Future of Beauty in Theatre, Literature and the Arts

The Future of Beauty in Theatre, Literature and the Arts
Author: Daniel Meyer-Dinkgräfe
Publisher: Cambridge Scholars Press
Total Pages: 182
Release: 2005
Genre: Aesthetics, Modern
ISBN: 1904303595

In recent years, philosophical debate of the concept of beauty has seen a remarkable renaissance. The twelve essays presented in this book provide a broad basis for a thorough reassessment of the European traditions of beauty in the arts (fine arts, performing arts, media arts) and in literature and film, not as a return to some distant, and allegedly ideal past, but as a constructive means of realising the potential of the arts for the 21st century.

Artistic Visions and the Promise of Beauty

Artistic Visions and the Promise of Beauty
Author: Kathleen M. Higgins
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 253
Release: 2017-03-06
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 331943893X

This volume examines the motives behind rejections of beauty often found within contemporary art practice, where much critically acclaimed art is deliberately ugly and alienating. It reflects on the nature and value of beauty, asking whether beauty still has a future in art and what role it can play in our lives generally. The volume discusses the possible “end of art,” what art is, and the relation between art and beauty beyond their historically Western horizons to include perspectives from Asia. The individual chapters address a number of interrelated issues, including: art, beauty and the sacred; beauty as a source of joy and consolation; beauty as a bridge between the natural and the human; beauty and the human form; the role of curatorial practice in defining art; order and creativity; and the distinction between art and craft. The volume offers a valuable addition to cross-cultural dialogue and, in particular, to the sparse literature on art and beauty in comparative context. It demonstrates the relevance of the rich tradition of Asian aesthetics and the vibrant practices of contemporary art in Asia to Western discussions about the future of art and the role of beauty.

Beautiful Adornment of Mount Meru

Beautiful Adornment of Mount Meru
Author: Changkya Rölpai Dorjé
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Total Pages: 435
Release: 2019-12-17
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 1614296243

The most lucid and penetrating survey of classical Indian philosophy in the Tibetan language. Beautiful Adornment of Mount Meru by Changkya Rölpai Dorjé (1717–86) is a work of doxography, presenting the distinctive philosophical tenets of the Indian Buddhist and non-Buddhist schools in a systematic manner that ascends through increasingly more subtle views. It is a Tibetan corollary to contemporary histories of philosophy. The “Mount Meru” of the title is the Buddha’s teachings, and Changkya’s work excels in particular in its treatment of the two Mahayana Buddhist schools, the Yogacara (here called the Vijñaptimatra) and the Madhyamaka. Unlike Jamyang Shepa’s (1648–1722) much longer Great Exposition of Tenets, which was one of the key sources and inspirations for Changkya, Beautiful Adornment is often praised for the clarity of its prose and its economical use of citations from Indian texts. At the same time, like Jamyang Shepa’s work, Changkya’s text is not simply a catalog of assertions; it skillfully examines core philosophical issues, including a number of intriguing ancillary discussions. Also like Jamyang Shepa’s text, Changkya’s is very much a Geluk work, drawing heavily on the works of Tsongkhapa and his disciples. The manageable size of Beautiful Adornment and, more importantly, its lucid literary style, made this work the classic source for the study of Indian thought, used by students the across Tibetan cultural sphere. In contemporary academic circles, it has also been a central source for studying the Tibetan interpretation of the classical Indian philosophical systems.