Here is a wonderful speech by Dr. Alok Tandon Ji, a well-known Indian philosopher. I encourage you to watch this video to understand his knowledge and personality better. For those who may need it in English, I've summarized some of the video content in writing below for easier understanding. Please take a look.
Prof. Dayakrishna's role in socialist philosophy and his concept of freedom is discussed in his book "Social Philosophy: Past and Future". Prof. Dayakrishna could be compared to Sartre in "Being and Nothingness," and his belief that ultimate freedom is an illusion of freedom is highlighted in the book. Dayakrishna has published three works on empirical freedom and believes that freedom is for everyone. He explains that freedom is negotiation and that without others, freedom is not possible. Although freedom is limited, and determinant, it is available to humans.
Dayakrishna says that "hell is others, but heaven is also others." It means we can create an environment where others are not hell for us. His lectures on civilization, past and others, teach us how to understand civilization and civilization nostalgia. According to Dayakrishna, humans are not just biological beings, but they transcend meaning, and this transcendence creates civilization.
He explains how civilizations differ and how they can be classified. Every civilization is recognized by its goals and aspirations. There is a difference between culture and civilization. Culture is diverse, but civilization is one. Concepts change, rituals and images come first, and then culture originates. Civilization arrives later. Civilization is surrounded by language, which leads to conceptual understanding.
We also need to understand the culture of Western philosophy. Dayakrishna says that it is the inquiry of humans to modify human consciousness. This is the focus of our culture. Western civilization is influenced by Greek-Roman culture. By using same principles of logic learnt from Greeks, we can understand the world and change it, and we can direct our actions. However, experiences have been given more importance than logic.
Now the question is how we understand today's civilization. Is spiritual civilization against Western development? To understand humans, we need to see both the revealed and unrevealed parts of it. There is suppression of thoughts that has not yet revealed our realities. Dayakrishna says that we are suppressed in nostalgia and the burdens of the past. So, do we live in the past or move ahead? He suggests that we understand the past, take knowledge from it, but don't identify with it.
He further adds that we have not done good with women and Dalits in the past, so we cannot accept the past. Dayakrishna suggests that we create a new civilization that is not entirely Western and would take virtuous things from the past. We should also take things from the past that are not present in us. Dayakrishna's creation of civilization is such that it is not entirely taken from the West or the past.
We also need to understand the clash of civilization. Conflict arises between science, politics, and trade. However, if there are clashes in civilization, there should not be conflicts but instead, one civilization should take a stand from others. Nowadays, we are with so many cultures together, so we must behave well with other cultures. We should take from others what they need and give to others what they need. Civilization is based on interdependence. This encounter of civilization will not create a clash, and we will not say that the past civilization could become the world teacher.
The new civilization is based on a vision of the future, and Dayakrishna says that this vision matches the vision of Marx, which is the clarity about the future. This utopia needs our attention, and this continuity should be maintained by all. Dayakrishna's thoughts are the original development in philosophy. He pointed that consistency is not a virtue. Every philosophical thinking has development, and we have to create a trans-intellect that goes beyond intelligence. We need to bring a new civilization, keep what matters to us, and take from others what is meaningful to us. These are Dayakrishna's thoughts in his last three lectures.
Dr Alok Tandon, Philosopher, India
Alok Tandon Ji's further says that his work on cultural identity is similar to Dayakrishna's thoughts. Prof. Dayakrishna thoughts has made a lasting impact on the philosophy that Alok Ji talks about.
PS: I apologize in advance for any errors in the translation. Any suggestions you may have to enhance this brief summary and interpretations would be greatly appreciated and invaluable for improvement.
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