Simone Weil, the Gita and the Upanisads
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1989
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Abstract
This thesis is a study of the influence of the Bhagavad-Gita and the Upaniads on the religious and philosophical thought of Simone Weil. It will examine the major tenets of Weil's thought in an attempt to determine where Weil was influenced by the teaching of these texts and where she rejected them. Chapter One will be a brief introduction to Weil's relationship to the Gita and the Upaniads. Chapter Two will look at Weil's cosmology paying particular attention to her concepts of decreation, necessity gravity and grace. It will then look at the Indian notions of dharma, karma, and the Samkhya teachings found in the Gita in an attempt to determine where she was influenced by these concepts and where she rejected them. Chapter Three will look at Weil's views on knowledge paying particular attention to her notions of reading, levels of reading and levels of knowledge. It will then look at the teachings on knowledge in the Gita and the Upaniads in an attempt to determine their influence on Weil's thought. Chapter Four will examine Weil's soteriology, including her views on 'actionless action', detachment and affliction. It will then turn to these concepts in the Upanisads and Glta again looking for ways in which they influenced Weil. Chapter Five will draw together the preceding chapters, in an attempt to assess the overall influence of the Bhagavad-Gita and the Upaniiads on Weil's thought. It will conclude with suggestions for further study of Weil's work.
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Bibliography: p. 125-128.
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Citation
Jensen, D. J. (1989). Simone Weil, the Gita and the Upanisads (Master's thesis, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada). Retrieved from https://prism.ucalgary.ca. doi:10.11575/PRISM/18618