Dasgupta, Surendranath

Surendranath Dasgupta (1887-1952) was an influential Indian philosopher and scholar who made seminal contributions to the Western understanding of Indian philosophical traditions and their approaches to divinity. His magnum opus, A History of Indian Philosophy (5 volumes, 1922-1955), remains the most comprehensive English-language survey of Indian philosophical systems. In Volume 1, Dasgupta systematically examined the Vedic conception of the divine, early Buddhist philosophy's approach to ultimate reality, and the Upanishadic doctrine of Brahman. His work was groundbreaking in presenting Indian philosophy as rigorous intellectual traditions rather than merely religious mysticism. By analyzing concepts like Brahman, Atman, and Maya through both historical and philosophical lenses, Dasgupta demonstrated how Indian thought offered sophisticated alternatives to Western metaphysics and theology. His scholarship established Indian philosophy as essential to global philosophical discourse on the nature of ultimate reality and divinity.