Kotha Satchidananda Murthy

Kotha Satchidananda Murthy (1924-2011) was an Indian philosopher and professor. Murthy served as the Professor of Philosophy, Andhra University, Visakhapatnam and Vice-Chancellor of Sri Venkateswara University, Tirupati in the state of Andhra Pradesh, South India. He specialized in Buddhist Philosophy and contributed extensively to Mahayana Buddhism. His treatise on the teachings of Nagarjuna is well acclaimed.^[1]

Education

Murthy was born in 1924 in a small village Sangam Jagarlamudi, Guntur district of Andhra Pradesh to Kotha Veerabhadraiah and Ratnamamba. He completed the school study in the village and Intermediate education from Hindu College, Guntur. He graduated from Andhra University, Visakhapatnam and carried out Ph.D research in Philosophy from the same university.

Career

• Professor of Philosophy, Princeton University-1959
• Professor, Andhra University-1960
• Professor, Peoples University, Beijing, China-1963
• Professor, University of Hyderabad, Hyderabad
• Special Officer, Centre for Post Graduate Studies, Guntur-1971.
• Vice-Chancellor of Sri Venkateswara University, Tirupati-1975
• Vice-Chairman, University Grants Commission, New Delhi-1986
• Vice-Chancellor, Central Institute of Tibetan Studies, Sarnath-1989

His Works

1. His lectures on Philosophy of Religion - "The Realm of Between" has gained wide acclaim.^[2] It was published by Indian Institute of Advanced Study, Simla in 1973. It was based on three of his lectures delivered in Oxford and in London in 1963. They are based on the various themes like "Suffering", "Salvation", "Religious Action", "Transcendental Philosophy" etc., Subsequently a group of professors in Andhra University published his lectures in a volume entitled "Collected Criticism of K. Satchidananda Murthy in 1975.
2. Revelation and reason in Advaita Vedanta, Ph.D. thesis submitted to Andhra University and subsequently published by Motilal Banarsidass, Delhi in 1974.
3. Life, thought, and culture in India, c. AD 300-1000, as a Project of History of Indian Science, Philosophy, and Culture and published by Centre for Studies in Civilizations, New Delhi.
4. Ethics, education, Indian unity, and culture : addresses in universities from Kashi to Kashmir, 1980-89, some excerpts, 1991.^[3]
5. Readings in Indian history, politics and philosophy, published by Allen & Unwin, London in 1967.^[4]
6. Current trends in Indian philosophy, published by Andhra University, Waltair in 1972.
7. Radhakrishnan : his life and ideas, published by State University of New York, 1990
8. Philosophy in India : traditions, teaching, and research, 1985.^[5]
9. Studies in the problems of peace, published by Asia Publishing House, 1960.
10. The Indian spirit, published by Andhra University press, 1965.
11. Metaphysics, man and freedom, published by Asia Publishing House, 1963.

Works based on his Philosophy

1. The philosophy of K. Satchidananda Murty by Sibajiban Bhattacharyya and Ashok Vohra, Published by Indian Council of Philosophical Research, New Delhi, 1995.^[6]
2. Philosophical perspectives of K. Satchidananda Murty by P. Boaz, 2013.^[7]

Awards and honours

• President — Indian Philosophical Congress
• Honorary Doctorate — Russian Academy of Sciences - 1989
• Honorary Doctorate — Beijing University - 1988
• Dr. B. C. Roy Award - 1982
• Padma Bhushan, Government of India - 1984
• Padma Vibhushan, Government of India - 2001

Death

He died after brief respiratory illness at Guntur on Monday the 25th of January 2011. He is survived by wife and four children.^[8]

References

External links

• Unofficial blogspot about Kotha Satchidananda Murthy.