Reviews for Philosophy and Development of Religion, Volume I

The average rating for Philosophy and Development of Religion, Volume I based on 2 reviews is 3 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2017-10-23 00:00:00 Jeffrey C Millman Thousand year old genius describes India Over the course of history only a few people stick out as truly exceptional. Some are leaders,some religious figures, and even fewer, intellectual giants. Al Biruni, born in 973 A.D. in what is now Uzbekistan, was one such. He had access to learning, became attached to several different courts, and died at the age of 65 in Ghazni, Afghanistan. Muslim cultures had inherited Greek learning and were advanced in science, mathematics, medicine, and literature at the time. The Ummayad Empire, which encompassed Central Asia, was a main center of world culture then. During his life, Al Biruni had many opportunities to visit India in the entourage of Mahmud Ghaznavi, not a very savory figure in Indian history.. The very different civilization he found there fascinated him, though as a devout Muslim he could not approve Hindu religious doctrine or practice. Still, he learned Sanskrit, collected as many texts as he could, and wrote a huge compendium about India. It covers many fields which may not be very interesting to modern readers---esoteric doctrines, astrological details, inheritance customs, and Hindu astronomical knowledge. But within lie an amazing amount of detail which can be found almost nowhere else. The Indians did not write such books and for centuries there were few foreign visitors who wrote anything. Much of our knowledge of medieval India is based on Al-Biruni. In this book you can get it from the horse's mouth, as it were. Not only did Al Biruni leave this giant work (which is only partially translated here). We should also remember him as one of the only Muslim authors in history to take an interest in Hindu religion and culture, trying to understand it on its own terms. This required a leap which was not made by Europeans till the 19th century, the early visitors from the West having ignored or condemned Indian belief systems out of hand. So, not only can you develop a picture of 11th century India from Al Biruni, but you can admire the prodigious work of a man who could stretch the boundaries of knowledge, casting aside the prejudices and boundaries of his times. I won't tell you that you can easily read ALBERUNI'S INDIA from cover to cover, but if Indian history interests you, you'll find some sections worthwhile. I have given the book only three stars because much of it is not very readable, but as a historical document, it of course deserves five.

Review # 2 was written on 2015-10-10 00:00:00 Chanchal Sharma هذا الكتاب استعنت به في داستي عن المذهب الذري في الفلسفة الهندية القديمة .. ووجدت به الكثير من المعلومات المهمة التي فتحت لي الباب لكثير من النقاط بعد ذلك .. علي الرغم من إسلوب الكتابة المميز .. وقدم الكتاب نفسه .. إلا أنه يعد مصدراً مهماً لمحبي التعرف علي عادات الهنود القدامي واعتقادهم في التناسخ وغيرها من الأفكار .. اكيد ستكون رحلة مميزة مع هذا الكتاب (: