Ashok Vohra

Kotta Satchidananda Murty (1924-2011) Padma Shri and Padama Vibhushan awardee was one of the tallest philosopher spheres of his time. Many of his contemporaries considered him to be a 'unique', 'rare', 'dazzling', 'creative' philosopher. He was an ingenious heterodox thinker as well as a critical traditionalist. He was a prolific writer. His writings 'are relevant to our time and its needs'. In his writings he demonstrated that philosophy does not deal with abstract and abstruse issues, rather for him the 'problems of philosophy are nothing but the problems of life'. The vast corpus of his writings contains original ideas, critical observations and insightful explanations and comparisons on themes ranging from Indian and Western Philosophy, far eastern philosophies, ethical and religious studies, social and political philosophy, peace studies, culture and tradition, philosophy of education and philosophical foundations of India's foreign policy. This volume contains critical, interpretative and constructive essays on different aspects of our writings. By evaluating ?s assumptions, starting points, normative prescriptions and conclusions, the authors of these papers point out the directions in which further research on ?s philosophy can be undertaken. The contributors comprise scholars from different universities in India who may have never met Professor Murty, or at the most have had a nodding acquaintance with him.