Schopenhauer and Indian philosophy

The influence of Indian religion on Arthur Schopenhauer (1788-1960) falls within a growing interest of Western thinkers in Eastern culture. In the field of art, such a tendency has been named “Orientalism” and is observable particularly amongst French painters. In the period 1810-1820, #Schopenhauer became acquainted with Indian #philosophy by reading its foundational texts. I am referring to the Upanishads and the Bhagavad Gita. Those give an outline of the three key concepts in Indian religion, namely, the concepts of Maya and #Atman. By “Maya,” Hindus mean a world perception that is tainted by delusion or prejudice. Hindus consider that we can perceive reality only through the veil of Maya, that is, in a distorted and biased manner. Schopenhauer drew a parallelism between the veil of Maya and his theory of the will (“life force”) presented in his book “The world as will and representation,” published in 1818. For persons unfamiliar with the theory of the will, the world cannot be perceived without distortions. The observer is going to prove unable to see things as they are. He is going to arrive at wrong conclusions because the will is blurring his thoughts. By “Atman,” Hindus refer to the individual self or soul. It is the decisive element in establishing one’s relationship with the world. However, the individuality is not total because Hindus regard the “Atman” as part of the universal #consciousness. Schopenhauer drew a parallelism between the “Atman” and self-aware individuals, that is, those who are familiar with the theory of the will. If you cultivate your self-awareness and take measures to protect yourself against the dire influence of the will, you are going to enhance your “Atman.” In his book “On the will in nature” (1832). Schopenhauer employs concepts similar to “Maya” and “Atman.” The former drives human existence because it taints all perceptions with a deceptive veil. It obscures the nature of reality and prompts all persons to focus on the short term and make poor decisions. Here is the link to the original article: https://johnvespasian.com/schopenhauer-and-indian-philosophy/