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Quote by Ananda Coomaraswamy

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Selected letters of Ananda K. Coomaraswamy

This volume presents a curated selection of personal correspondence written by Ananda K. Coomaraswamy, the pioneering scholar who devoted his career to bridging Eastern and Western philosophical traditions. The letters document his discussions with contemporaries in the fields of art history, metaphysics, and cultural studies, offering insight into the intellectual climate of the early twentieth century. Coomaraswamy's correspondence reflects his deep engagement with questions of tradition, symbolism, and the philosophical foundations of artistic expression. The collection provides readers with a window into the personal dimensions of a thinker whose written works on comparative philosophy and the nature of beauty continue to influence contemporary scholarship in aesthetics and religious studies. more

Author

Ananda Coomaraswamy
Ananda Coomaraswamy

Ananda Coomaraswamy was an Indian philosopher renowned for his profound understanding of Indian art and culture. His research spanned multiple domains including Buddhist art, Indian philosophy, and religion, leaving a lasting impact on posterity. more

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“Gun control advocates need to realize that passing laws that honest gun owners will not obey is a self-defeating strategy. Gun owners are not about to surrender their rights, and only the most foolish of politicians would risk the stability of the government by trying to use the force of the state to disarm the people.”

“How long before we white people get over our bitter resentments about being demoted to the status of equality with non-whites? . . . How long until we white people will stop insisting that blacks exercise personal responsibility, build strong families, educate themselves enough to edit the Harvard Law Review, and work hard enough to become President of the United States, only to threaten to assassinate them when they do?”

“I am against revolution and am proud of it. Democracy cannot be created through revolutions. The most important dichotomy that I make for a society is between those who support democracy and human rights, and those who oppose it. In a totalitarian state, the state views any act of an individual to be political in nature. For example, the clothing that a person wears in a modern state is a private affair whereas in the Islamic Republic all women are forced to wear the hijab (Islamic attire). When women push their headscarf back an inch or two, this is interpreted to be a political act.”