For this book the relevant question is: What is the universeand why? So far scientists engaged in this field of investigationoccupied themselves seriously with the answering of the whatpart of the question and have just started to answer the whypart, which should normally engage the philosophers. But thelatter, barring a few, are not fully equipped to go deep into thewhat part revealed by the scientists. The gap has to be filledup. The author has taken courage to bring the what and whyparts in one comprehensive volume, and try to answer both.In fact modern science and philosophy are perhaps talkingabout the same thing but in different languages. The attemptto bridge the language gap is what is most important.Sri Manoranjan Basu, the author of this profound work wasnot only a scholar of great attainments but also a researcherand sadhaka of no mean stature.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR Manoranjan Basu
Sri Manoranjan Basu, the author of this voluminous work, is not only a scholar of great attainments but also a researcher and sadhaka of no mean stature. Soon after completing his academic career he devoted himself to research studies. He was associated first with the post-graduate research department of Government Sanskrit College, Calcutta, and in course of time with different Universities and the Indian Institute of Advanced Studies, Simla. All through his research work he was in close collaboration with late Professor Kalidas Bhattacharyya, formerly Director, Advanced Centre of Philosophy, and Professor-Emeritus, Visva Bharati, Santiniketan. The results of his deep, wide and scholarly studies have been published in some very well known treatises. Among them are Gita Vahini; Tantras-A General Study; Ramkrishnas Spiritual practices- A Study; Ramkrishna Sadhan Parikarma (in Bangali) and Paschatya Darsaner Itihas-Kant and Hegel (in Bangali). He has, in addition, contributed to such works of Philosophy as Pracya O Paschatya Darsaner Itihas (History of Philosophy - Eastern-Western, 2 Volumes) and Bharat Kosh (Enclyclospaedia of India, Volumes 3 & 4). His published papers, to mention only a few, are Pratyabhijna and K. C. Bhattracharyya; Spiritual Aspects of the life of Mahamahopadhyaya Gopinath Kaviraj, (Published by the Univrsity of Calcutta); Sri Aurobindo - a New Type of thinker; Karl Marx's Vision of an Ideal Society; Tantras in the Social Perspective (Visva-Bharati); Bharatiyata Bodh (Commemoration Volume of Jaya-sree, a Bengali Journal); Indian Spiritualism and National Integration - Philosophy of Swami Vivekananda (presented sophy of Swami Vivekananda (Presented at the All India Seminar held at Visva Bharati, Santinketan); and introduction to Hegelian Philosophy (Hegeliya Darsan by Anil Roy in Bengali, Jayasree Prakashan, Calcutta). Through these publications he has established himself as a great scholar and thinker and a consummate exponent of Indian philosophy. His smaller book on Tantra, and another on Shri Ramakrishna have shown beyond doubt hs scholarship in and genuine grasp of not only different Saiva (including Sakta) disciplines - in theory as well as in practice - but also the six classical Hindu systems of Philosophy, and the broad tendencies of Buddhism. To those who know Sri Manoranjan Basu personally, he is undeniably an idealist. An optimist as he is, he does not give up in despair, nor does he allow other to do so. He is outspoken in expressing his sense of disgust and frustration with the current state of this going on throughout the world. But what are happening today, according to his reading, are nothing but steps towards the ushering in of something higher and nobler in the near future.
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