Religious Consciousness
Katyayanidas Bhattacharya
Journal of Indian Philosophy and Religion 2020 DOI: 10.5840/jipr2020253 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Key points | Argues that religion is based in humans' nature as thinking, self-conscious beings: thought lets a person make both the self and the opposed world objects of thought, transcend their opposition, and rise to a higher unity. This participation in a universal and infinite life, the author proposes, is what religion consists in. |
Abstract
The basis of religion lies in the nature of man as a thinking self-conscious being. As a thinking being, I can make my individual self and the world, which is opposed to it, the object of my thought and have the capacity to transcend the opposition and rise to a higher unity in which both these -- the self and not-self are comprehended as elements. It is by thought that we transcend the limits of finitude and share in a life which is universal and infinite, in which religion may be said to consist. Thought or self-consciousness is a universal principle in us and being universal, enables us to rise above our particularity and participate in the universal and absolute life or God.