A Conservative Approach to Sanskrit Śāstras: Madhusūdana Sarasvatīs “Prasthānabheda”

In: Journal of Indian Philosophy, 27 (1999), pp. 575-581. ISSN 1573-0395

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Abstract

It is one of the most fascinating, and confusing, facts about the history of Hinduism that it displays both conservatism and adaptability to an almost mutually excluding degree. As instruments for dealing with religious plurality these trends have been often described and the positions of some important authors about their application, that is the scope of the valid dharma, have been analyzed. As a result the pre-history of the Indian concept of Hinduism can be formulated more precisely, and, as demonstrated by Halbfass, the continuities and differences between the ‘classical’ positions of, for instance Śaṅkara, Kumārila or Jayanta, and the proponents of Neo-Hinduism, can be outlined.