Dear Jeyamohan,
I am an avid fan of your videos. I appreciate how you express your ideas clearly while maintaining a conversational tone, as if you are speaking directly to us. I am truly impressed by your balanced perspective on religion and philosophy.
The major issue with Indian philosophy is that we often view it solely as a part of religion, either Hinduism or Buddhism. We rarely criticize our masters. In contrast, Western philosophy has advanced significantly because its thinkers continually critique their predecessors and address gaps in their ideas. Their followers approach every major philosopher in the West critically. Even the followers of Schopenhauer and Hegel are known to be severe critics of their masters.
We often bestow simple praises on most of our masters and rarely approach them critically. Instead of engaging in critique, we write commentaries on their texts and assign new meanings to protect them from criticism. This style reflects a religious mentality, as religious individuals often cannot accept that their masters could be wrong.
That is why our philosophical discussions often become rigid and stale. Our philosophical visions evolve into groups that resemble cults or religions. We need to move beyond that. Only through a Western mode of criticism and analytical approaches can we truly understand and develop Indian philosophies. I appreciate your efforts in this endeavor. Thank you.
Rajakrishnan Nair
