John Levy (philosopher)
Encyclopedia
John Levy was a British mystic, artist, and musician, best known for translating the works of his guru
Sri Atmananda Krishna Menon, Atma Darshan and Atma Niviriti into English.
, especially that of India
. At one point in his life, he gave up his entire fortune and went to live in India with only a loincloth.
He died in London in 1976.
. In The Nature of Man According to the Vedanta, Levy expounds a classic nondualist argument about breaking down subject-object duality and the implications of this on the notion of the self. The Self, he says, can never be fully known, as to know it is to objectify it. Freed from the notion of a Self, we can stop trying to alter ourselves and enter into the stream of experience without hesitation.
Guru
A guru is one who is regarded as having great knowledge, wisdom, and authority in a certain area, and who uses it to guide others . Other forms of manifestation of this principle can include parents, school teachers, non-human objects and even one's own intellectual discipline, if the...
Sri Atmananda Krishna Menon, Atma Darshan and Atma Niviriti into English.
Personal life
Born into a wealthy aristocratic family, Levy was an expert in Asian folk musicFolk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
, especially that of India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
. At one point in his life, he gave up his entire fortune and went to live in India with only a loincloth.
He died in London in 1976.
Philosophy
In India, Levy was a student of Krishna Menon, from whom he learned the Advaita VedantaAdvaita Vedanta
Advaita Vedanta is considered to be the most influential and most dominant sub-school of the Vedānta school of Hindu philosophy. Other major sub-schools of Vedānta are Dvaita and ; while the minor ones include Suddhadvaita, Dvaitadvaita and Achintya Bhedabheda...
. In The Nature of Man According to the Vedanta, Levy expounds a classic nondualist argument about breaking down subject-object duality and the implications of this on the notion of the self. The Self, he says, can never be fully known, as to know it is to objectify it. Freed from the notion of a Self, we can stop trying to alter ourselves and enter into the stream of experience without hesitation.
Books
- The Nature of Man According to the Vedanta (1956), Sentient Publications, 2004, ISBN 1-59181-024-8
- Immediate Knowledge and Happiness - Hindu Doctrine of Vedanta.