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«IZVESTIYA IRKUTSKOGO GOSUDARSTVENNOGO UNIVERSITETA». SERIYA «POLITOLOGIYA. RELIGIOVEDENIE»
«THE BULLETIN OF IRKUTSK STATE UNIVERSITY». SERIES «POLITICAL SCIENCE AND RELIGION STUDIES»
ISSN 2073-3380 (Print)

List of issues > Series «Political Science and Religion Studies». 2023. Vol 45

Typology of Religions in the Scientific Heritage of the Indian Philosopher Bhaktivinoda Thakura (1838–1914)

Author(s)
A. K. Aitzhanova, M. A. Subotyalov
Abstract
The typology of religions is one of the most important topics in religious studies, since it allows classifying and analyzing spiritual currents based on their basic characteristics. The article is devoted to the little-studied topic of scientific typology of religions in the legacy of the Indian philosopher of the 19th-20th centuries Bhaktivinoda Thakur. In his works, a five-term classification is formed, which goes back to the teachings of the Taittiriya Upanishad. This ancient monument of Vedic literature offers the concept of five levels of consciousness, corresponding to certain levels of development. Based on this approach, Bhaktivinoda Thakur classifies the religions known to him. The five-step concept he proposed includes atheism, morality, outward religiosity, the search for liberation, and the mysticism of divine love. Its axiological basis makes it possible to cover teachings that are distant from each other in time and space and build them into a single system, and therefore may be of interest for further historical-philosophical and comparative studies. Bhaktivinoda's typology makes it possible to fill a certain gap in modern religious comparative studies by providing philosophical value criteria for the classification of religions.
About the Authors

Aitzhanova Asel Kazbekovna, Candidate of Sciences (Philosophy), Associate Professor, Department of History of Kazakhstan and Socio-Political Disciplines, Karaganda Medical University, 40, Gogol st., Karaganda, 100000, Republic of Kazakhstan, e-mail: assel_avdd@mail/ru

Subotyalov Mikhail Albertovich, Doctor of Sciences (Medicine), Professor, Department of Anatomy, Physiology and Life safety, Novosibirsk State Pedagogical University, 28, Vilyuyskaya st., Novosibirsk, 630126, Russian Federation, Associate Professor, Fundamental Medicine Department, Novosibirsk State University, 1, Pirogov st., Novosibirsk, 630090, Russian Federation, e-mail: subotyalov@yandex.ru

For citation
Aitzhanova A.K., Subotyalov M.A. Typology of Religions in the Scientific Heritage of the Indian Philosopher Bhaktivinoda Thakura (1838–1914). The Bulletin of Irkutsk State University. Series Political Science and Religion Studies, 2023, vol. 45, pp. 146-155. https://doi.org/10.26516/2073-3380.2023.45.146 (in Russian)
Keywords
typology of religions, Bhaktivinoda, history of religion, philosophy of religion, religious studies.
UDC
2-81
DOI
https://doi.org/10.26516/2073-3380.2023.45.146
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