It gives me great pleasure, Indeed, in publishing Dr. J. A. Yajnik's thesis entitled "The Philosophy of Sri Svaminarayana." It was really a difficult task to reconstruct a philosophical system out of the teachings and gospels of the saint who was naturally interested more in religion and morality than in Logic and Metaphysics, Stray attempts have been made to interpret the philosophy of Srı Svaminarayana. But credit goes to Dr. Yajnik, a sincere student of philosophy, for reconstructing for the first time a comprehensive philosophical system on the basis of the sayings of Sri Svaminarayana, I congratulate the author on his success in carrying out the admittedly difficult task in a manner befitting a scholar, One fact emerges prominently that Srı Svaminarayana was consistent in his teachings though he had expressed himself only in answering different questions put to him at random at various places and at various times. The author clearly shows how the philosophical position of Srı Svaminarayana is comparable to that of Ramanujacarya, a propounder of Visistadvaita Vedanta, It is worthy of note that the points of difference between the two have not escaped the critically of the author in spite of the declaration of Srı Svaminarayana himself that his philosophy is not different from that of Ramanujacarya.
Gujarat is very much indebted to Srı Svaminarayana for what he did even in those days for the uplift of the lower classes of our society. And his moral influence is evident even now in Gujarat. But his philosophical ideas which constitute the basis of his moral and religious teachings were never explained in the past in the manner in which Dr. Yajnik has explained them in this book. He has not only critically expounded the Philosophical system of Srı Svaminarayana, but also attempted a comparison between Srı Svaminarayana and the different schools of Indian and Western philosophy.
I am most thankful to Dr. J. A. Yajnik for agreeing to the publication of his thesis which earned him the Ph. D. Degree of the M. S. University of Baroda. The book will be welcomed by all students of philosophy.
In the present work I have undertaken to make a comprehensive and critical survey of the philosophy of Sri Svaminarayana, the founder of the Svaminarayana Sect. By 'critical' I primarily mean 'rational'. Thus, I have humbly attempted to grasp systematically the philosophical principles of Srı Svaminarayana and to give them as rational a foundation as lies with-in my critical abilities. Every philosophical system has something valuable to offer and it is the prime duty of a sympathetic student of that system to bring this out, It is this constructive approach to Svaminarayanism that has motivated my study.
I have divided the study of Svaminarayanism into four parts. Part I consisting of only the first chapter is meant for the general introduction. Part II comprising three chapters (chapters two to four) deals with the epistemological principles of Sri Svaminarayana. Part III consisting of ten chapters (chapters five to fourteen) is concerned with the study of the ontological categories of Svaminarayanism and attempts to determine the philosophical position of Sri Svaminarayana. Part IV which contains four chapters (chapters fifteen to eighteen) tries to expound Sri Svaminarayana's views regarding the psychology of the jiva, nature of religion, the theory of ethics, and the problems of society and morals.
The results of my study of Svaminarayanism clearly bring out the following basic principles of Srı Svaminarayana's philosophy.
The standpoint of Srı Svaminarayana's epistemology is thoroughly realistic. It is, however, not naturalistic for together with the recognition of the importance of sense experience and reason, there is in it a full consciousness of the limitations of empiricism and rationalism as methods of knowing reality. It, therefore, maintains that the things which are of Ultimate Concern' are known not through sense perception or logical reasoning, but only through intuitive experience. With regard to the problem of the relation of intuition with sensuous perception and reasoning, Svaminarayanism believes that intuition is not opposed to the other methods of knowing. It is, on the contrary, continuous with and complementary to them. Svaminarayanism recognizes the importance of faith in life, but at the same time holds that the beliefs accepted on faith must be agreeable to reason and realizable through direct personal experience.
The standpoint of Srı Svaminarayana's epistemology is thoroughly realistic. It is, however, not naturalistic for together with the recognition of the impotance of sense experience and reason, there is in it a full consciousness of the limitations of empiricism and rationalism as methods of knowing reality. It, therefore, maintains that the things which are of Ultimate Concern' are known not through sense perception or logical reasoning, but only through intuitive experience. With regard to the problem of the relation of intuition with sensuous perception and reasoning, Svaminarayanism believes that intuition is not opposed to the other methods of knowing. It is, on the contrary, continuous with and complementary to them. Svaminarayanism recognizes the importance of faith in life, but at the same time holds that the beliefs accepted on faith must be agreeable to reason and realizable through direct personal experience.
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