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Contents: Foreword. Preface. Introduction. 1. Aham, Subjectivity and the Ego: Engaging the Philosophy of Abhinavagupta/Sthaneshwar Timalsina. 2. Two Ways of Understanding Consciousness: Naturalism vs. Non-Naturalism/Ramesh C. Pradhan. 3. The Concept of Atman in Nyaya–Vaisesika/Raghunath Ghosh. 4. Notion of Absolute Consciousness (Whatever is of the as well as in the Absolute Sankara, Kant and Hegel)/Raghwendra Pratap Singh. 5. Consciousness: What It Is and How It Is to Be Realized (A Study in Tripura Rahasya)/Shakuntala. 6. On Sartre’s Theory of Consciousness: A Phenomeno-logical Approach in ‘the Transcendence of the Ego’and ‘Being and Nothingness’/Akoijam Thoibisana. 7. The Problem of Alienation and Its Overcoming in Hegel/Arup Jyoti Sarma. 8. Transcendence of Subjectivity: A Contemporary Exploration of Epistemological Social Self in Neohumanism of P.R. Sarkar/Sindhu Poudyal. 9. The Idea of Self and Mahayana Buddhism: A Special Reference to Nagarjna’s Madhyamaka/Saumya Kanti Biswas. 10. The Problematic Mind, Meditation and the Deep Structure of Consciousness: A Buddhist Perspective/Hari Shankar Prasad. 11. Physical Brain’s Self-Awareness of Itself as Physical: A Zombie Who Knows that It Is Not the Real Ego or the I/P. Milan Khangamcha. 12. Dhyana Bhasa or the Language of Meditative Reflection: Understanding the ‘Existence’ or ‘Sat’/Adarasupally Nataraju. 13. Consciousness, Subjectivity and Self: A Study with Special Reference to Pancadasi/A. Nataraju and Munmun Chakraborty. Index.

The book provides a platform to discuss and examine the subtle and complex issues related to the nature of consciousness, self, mental states and subjectivity from Indian and cross-cultural perspectives. It explores contemporary problems of consciousness and tries to find solutions from Indian philosophical traditions. The purpose is to understand how far the views and approaches of classical and contemporary Indian thinkers are relevant in contemporary consciousness studies. The book argues that great thinkers of Vedanta, Tantra, Samkhya and Buddhism have done enormous works which can be explored, examined and enhanced even today for a better comprehension of the subjectivity and conscious experience.

The chapters of this present volume have thoroughly explored and examined many classical Indian theories of consciousness. Keeping in view the objectives of this volume, the contributors have made an effective effort to reflect critically on Indian theories to answer the contemporary problems. There are chapters discussing and examining the standpoints of Indian thinkers like Abhinavagupta, Utpala, Sankara, Ramanuja, Swami Vidyaraya, Nagarjuna, Gautama and many more. On the other hand, there are chapters engaged in reappraising the philosophical positions of Kant, Hegel, Sartre, Chalmers, Searle, Dennett and other contemporary thinkers. The chapters of this volume have addressed the main theme from a wide-ranging stances and have also taken a step towards establishing a platform for an intense and critical study of Indian theories of consciousness.

The book is extremely beneficial for students and scholars interested in classical Indian philosophy and contemporary consciousness studies. It inspires more researchers to ponder upon the concept of consciousness and subjectivity from multiple dimensions.