ABSTRACT
This chapter shifts geographical locations from Europe to India and examines the work of three Bengali philosophers of the early twentieth century: Dasgupta, Radhakrishnan, and Bhattacharyya. The discussion focuses on their respective interpretations of Patañjali and the Yoga Sūtras. Dasgupta and Radhakrishnan helped inaugurate a tradition of reading the Yoga Sūtras as a philosophical system that gives the ethical principle of non-violence a foundational role. Bhattacharyya offers one of the most powerful reconstructions of Patañjali, one that presents his system in terms of striving for absolute freedom. The chapter closes with a reflection on the importance of interpretive sympathy for Bhattacharyya’s view of how to engage the history of philosophy responsibly and inclusively.
