Five Day Certificate Course in Bhartṛhari (भर्तृहरि) and Philosophy (Sanskritic as well as Western)

[Nagaraj Paturi]

Prof. Ashok Aklujkar sent the following post: Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute (Academic Development Programme, supported by Infosys Foundation) Announces Five Day Certificate Course in Bhartṛhari (भर्तृहरि) and Philosophy (Sanskritic as well as Western)   Course Instructor: Ashok Aklujkar, Professor Emeritus, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada and Infosys Foundation Scholar, BORI, Pune   Bhartṛhari (भर्तृहरि) (not later than 450 AD) has been a relatively rarely studied philosopher in the second millennium of Sanskrit philosophy. Although attempts were made by paṇḍitas in the twentieth century to write traditional type of commentaries on parts of his Vākyapadīya or Trikāṇḍī, although the seminal first part, Brahma-kāṇḍa, of VP/TK has been prescribed in several Indian universities as a textbook for post-graduate Sanskrit students specializing in Vyākaraṇa, and although the publications of I. K.A. Subramania Iyer, Wilhelm Rau, Jan E.M. Houben, Toshiya Unebe, Vincenzo Vegiani, Adriano Aprigliano, et al. have contributed much toward making the Vākyapadīya accessible.  Bhartṛhari has still not been reinstated in the intellectual tradition to the extent he deserves to be. The objective of the course or lecture series being announced here is to take some initial steps to make up for the desideratum.   The course will not concentrate on the prakriyā or form derivation side of the Pāṇinian tradition or Sanskrit as language. After giving a historical introduction to the author-thinker and his works to the necessary extent, it will concentrate on what might in our time be described as (a) philosophy/theory of language, (b) philosophy/theory of grammar, and (c) philosophy approached from the vantage point of language (principally semantics).   Relevant readings from the works of Bhartṛhari and his ancient commentators will be provided in Deva-nāgarī or transliteration Roman script to those who complete registration for the course.   In going through the readings, registrants may adopt a ‘buddy system,’ that is, work with other registrants who read the script concerned well or are more proficient in Sanskrit as a language. The lectures will involve reading of the selected texts, preceded and followed by an elucidatory commentary in English (and occasionally in Sanskrit, Hindi and Marathi). Their incidental benefit may be exposure to manuscriptology and textual criticism.   It is hoped that the conclusion of the course will see a set of readings that could be viewed as a first draft of 'Bhartṛhari: a philosophical or theoretical reader’ — a book that Bhartṛhari would have written if he was writing for a modern reader. It is further hoped that, by the end of the lecture series, the participants will realize how Bhartṛhari deserves a place of great honour in the history of world/global philosophy and how he has anticipated much of the relatively recent 'linguistic-turn’ or analytical trend in modern Western philosophy. I All meetings will be preceded by tea/coffee at 4:30pm and start at 5:00pm. They may go a few minutes beyond 7:00pm if the discussion of an important topic needs some extra time for completion.   Course dates: 02 to 06 December 2019   Time: 5 p.m to 7 p.m   Venue: Firodia Auditorium of Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, Pune 411004   Eligibility criterion: Graduate in any discipline Last date of registration 25th November 2019   Course Fees: Rs. 500/- for physical attendance as well as Webinar for Indian participants. USD 50/- International participants by webinar Payable in cash or by cheque at BORI office between 11 a.m. to 4 p.m ( Monday to Friday except on public holidays) Or Account details for NEFT: Account Name: Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute Bank name: State Bank of India, Deccan Gymkhana Branch Account number: 11100354557 IFSC/NEFT code: SBIN0001110, MICR code: 411002003 Kindly do not deposit the money without getting a confirmation on mail or Whatsapp regarding availability of the admission.   For registration and other queries please write to: Cordia...@gmail.com, Mobile no. 7796699822 (Please whatsapp with your name. Anonymous messages will not be responded to) Attachments area

[Irene Galstian]

Thank you for this wonderful announcement. 

Sent email to register at once.

Irene

For registration and other queries please write to: Cordi...@gmail.com,

Mobile no. 7796699822 (Please whatsapp with your name. Anonymous messages will not be responded to)

Attachments area

[Irene Galstian]

If anybody from the list is registering from outside of India, where did you find the IBAN/BIC/SWIFT numbers for the Institute's bank account? 

IFSC and MICR are for within-India transactions. I've emailed the coordinator, but time is short, so I'm posting the question here in case someone has this information already.

Thank you,

Irene

[Chittaranjan Naik]

Thank you Prof Nagaraj Paturi-ji for posting this message. Something in it piqued my interest and I would like to respond to it.

"The course will not concentrate on the prakriyā or form derivation side of the Pāṇinian tradition or Sanskrit as language. After giving a historical introduction to the author-thinker and his works to the necessary extent, it will concentrate on what might in our time be described as (a) philosophy/theory of language, (b) philosophy/theory of grammar, and (c) philosophy approached from the vantage point of language (principally semantics)."

"It is hoped that the conclusion of the course will see a set of readings that could be viewed as a first draft of 'Bhartṛhari: a philosophical or theoretical reader’ — a book that Bhartṛhari would have written if he was writing for a modern reader."

I would like to mention that in my book 'Natural Realism and Contact Theory of Perception', I have drawn from the philosophy of Bhartrahari, more specifically from his philosophy of language and the stages of speech as laid out therein, to resolve two of the most perplexing and seemingly intractable problems that have plagued Western and Contemporary philosophy till date, namely (i) the relation between mind and matter, and (ii) how an object that has the datum of consciousness can be mind-independent.

I would be happy if more scholars of Indian vidyas take up this topic for research because I am convinced that it will demonstrate that Indian philosophy is not something that belongs merely to the past but something that has tremendous potential to contribute towards redefining both contemporary philosophy and contemporary science.

My book was announced on this forum on the 3rd of Nov 2019. For those who missed the announcement, it may be found here:

https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/bvparishat/D0wR58qQRC0

Warm regards,

Chittaranjan

  

 

For registration and other queries please write to: Cordi...@gmail.com,

Mobile no. 7796699822 (Please whatsapp with your name. Anonymous messages will not be responded to)

Attachments area

[Jagannathan Ramaswami]

It is very thoughtful of the organizers to offer the course on Webinar too. It will be immensely helpful to those who can't attend the course personally. I would be greatly interested in joining the group. Please guide me further on this.

Thanks and regards

Jagannathan

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