ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the early German reception of Indian systems of thought. The discussion begins with Friedrich Schlegel, who urged his contemporaries to translate ancient Indian classics in order to bring about a revival of culture in modern-day Europe. The chapter then shows how Indian themes animated the fictional work of Karoline von Günderrode, whose preoccupation with questions of mystical self-negation seemed to find expression in her own act of suicide. The remainder of the chapter shows how concerns over Indian pantheism and nihilism became central to Schlegel’s later work. This provides further context for the coming chapters, as the association Schlegel made between Indian systems of philosophy and nihilism lasted well into the nineteenth century.
