Synopsis
SOCRATES GURU utilizes Plato's complete works to describe a unified spiritual philosophy that is fundamentally distinct from what is commonly considered Western philosophy and at the same time, is closely aligned with the major traditions of philosophy within India as represented by the Upanishads, the Bhagavad Gita, Patanjali's Yoga Sutras and the Buddhist Pali Suttas. The argument put forth is extensively referenced and logically compelling. It shines a bright light not only on how the dialogues present a cohesive but heretofore misunderstood spiritual form of philosophy but also on how the exact same structure exists within the major Indian philosophical traditions. Adding even greater clarity to this description of a distinct form of spiritual philosophy is its antithetical relationship with what is commonly called Western philosophy. This natural antagonism is used to explain why Plato's dialogues have proven so difficult for Western philosophers to come to terms with and at the same time, why there has been such great Western interest in the Indian philosophies. SOCRATES GURU, in that way, explains the modern day Western interest in Eastern spirituality as influenced by a historical inability to digest, on its own terms, the spiritual philosophy described by Plato's dialogues. This book allows the West to reset its efforts to understand these Indian classic texts with the help of newfound clarity on our own prior philosophical limitations in understanding Plato.
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