Release date is 2025-06-07

Albert László from page images generously made available by the Hungarian Electronic Library

Kelet nagy gondolkodói by János Mester is a scholarly study of Eastern philosophy written in the early 20th century. Centered on how potent ideas shape individuals and nations, it defends the serious study of Asian thought and begins by mapping Indian traditions from the Vedas to the Upanishads, with special attention to ritual versus inner knowledge and the concepts of brahman and atman. The work promises a wide, historically grounded survey of major Eastern thinkers and systems. The opening of the work argues that books and ideas govern both public morals and personal character more powerfully than sensational literature, and it urges readers to seek ideas at their sources. It rebuts the notion that the East has only religion and no philosophy, calls for a synthesis that respects culture and epoch but emphasizes great individuals, and outlines the factors shaping the history of philosophy (universal human problems, cultural context, and personal genius). It then sketches the “Indian soul” as yearning for unity and inner peace, inclined to mystic contemplation, often passive and pessimistic, yet sustained by karma and rebirth. From there it introduces the Vedas: the four collections and their priestly functions; the layers (Samhita, Brahmana, Upanishad, Sutra); and the split between outward ritual law (dharma) and inward wisdom (brahman). A brief survey of the Rigveda traces a movement from high monotheistic tones (Varuna) to polytheism and henotheism (Indra), early doubts, and an initial heaven–hell scheme later giving way to transmigration. The section closes by developing the Brahmana and Upanishadic turn to brahman (the absolute and the sacred word) and atman (the self), their identification in the vedanta (“tat tvam asi”), and the four states of consciousness culminating in the ecstatic union. (This is an automatically generated summary.)

Originally published: Budapest: Franklin-Társulat, 1928