The Spirit of Modern India

A new edition of a book first published in 1974 giving some essential background in Indian philosophy, religion and culture. I had not realised that Radhakrishnan's history of Indian philosophy was the first such volume - his idealism was influenced not only by his native tradition, but also by his training through reading the works of Hegel and late 19th-century British idealists like Bradley. I have a complete shelf of his work and remember finding his Idealist View of Life when I first came to London and paid a visit to Foyles in the mid-1970s. The volume covers philosophy, Dharma, Karma yoga, aesthetics, education, spiritual discipline and national consciousness, with speeches given on Independence Day by Nehru, Radhakrishnan and Sri Aurobindo. Other thinkers featured include Gandhi, Vivekananda, Coomaraswamy, Tagore and Krishnamurti. As such, the volume represents an excellent introduction to modern Indian thought and a point of departure for further study.