Kotta Satchidananda Murty (1924-2011) was an Indian philosopher and professor. Murty served as the Professor of Philosophy,

Andhra University Andhra University ( IAST: ''Āndhra Vișvakalāpariṣhat'') is a public university located in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, India. It was established in 1926. History King Vikram Deo Verma, the Maharaja of Jeypore was one of the biggest ...

Visakhapatnam , image_alt = , image_caption = From top, left to right: Visakhapatnam aerial view, Vizag seaport, Simhachalam Temple, Aerial view of Rushikonda Beach, Beach road, Novotel Visakhapatnam, INS Kursura submarine museu ...

and Vice-Chancellor of

Sri Venkateswara University Sri Venkateswara University (commonly referred as S. V. University or SVU) is a public state university located in Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh, India. The university is named after Lord Venkateswara, whose shrine is located in the city. The ...

Tirupati Tirupati () is a city in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is the administrative headquarters of the Tirupati district. The city is home to the important Hindu shrine of Tirumala Venkateswara Temple and other historic temples and is ref ...

in the state of

Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (, abbr. AP) is a state in the south-eastern coastal region of India. It is the seventh-largest state by area covering an area of and tenth-most populous state with 49,386,799 inhabitants. It is bordered by Telangana to t ...

South India South India, also known as Dakshina Bharata or Peninsular India, consists of the peninsular southern part of India. It encompasses the States and union territories of India, Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and T ...

. He specialized in Buddhist philosophy and contributed extensively to Mahayana Buddhism. His treatise on the teachings of Nagarjuna is well acclaimed.

Education

Murty was born in 1924 in a small village Sangam Jagarlamudi,

Guntur district Guntur district is one of the twenty six districts in the Coastal Andhra region of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. The administrative seat of the district is located at Guntur, the largest city of the district in terms of area and with a ...

to Kotta Veerabhadraiah and Ratnamamba. He completed the school study in the village and Intermediate education from Hindu College,

Guntur Guntur () is a city and the administrative headquarters of Guntur district in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. Guntur is spread across 168.49 km square and is the third-largest city in the state. It is situated to the west of the ...

. He graduated from

and carried out Ph.D. research in philosophy from the same university.

Career

Murty served as

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an academic rank at universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who professes". Professor ...

of philosophy at

Princeton University Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the n ...

in 1959. In 1960, he joined

as a professor. 1963 saw Murty join the Peoples University, Beijing, China in the same capacity as before, additionally also serving as a professor at University of Hyderabad. He was then appointed special officer at the Centre for Post Graduate Studies,

in 1971. Murty has also served as vice-chancellor of

, Tirupati(1975) & Central Institute of Tibetan Studies, Sarnath(1989), whilst also being appointed as vice-chairman of The University Grants Commission, New Delhi, in 1986.

Works

* His lectures on Philosophy of Religion - "The Realm of Between" has gained wide acclaim. It was published by

Indian Institute of Advanced Study The Indian Institute of Advanced Study (IIAS) is a research institute located in Shimla, India. It was set up by the Ministry of Education, Government of India in 1964 and started functioning from 20 October 1965. History and establishment The ...

, 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 Murty'' in 1975. * Revelation and reason in

Advaita Vedanta ''Advaita Vedanta'' (; sa, अद्वैत वेदान्त, ) is a Hindu sādhanā, a path of spiritual discipline and experience, and the oldest extant tradition of the orthodox Hindu school Vedānta. The term ''Advaita'' ( ...

, Ph.D. thesis submitted to Andhra University and subsequently published by

Motilal Banarsidass Motilal Banarsidass Publishing House (MLBD) is an Indian academic publishing house, founded in Delhi, India in 1903. It publishes and distributes serials, monographs, and scholarly publications on Asian religions, Buddhology, Indology, East ...

, Delhi in 1974. * 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 The Centre for Studies in Civilizations (CSC), founded 12 October 1995, is a non-governmental organization (NGO) based in India. According to their website, the center "aims at conducting, promoting and facilitating studies and research in the br ...

, New Delhi. * Ethics, education, Indian unity, and culture : addresses in universities from Kashi to Kashmir, 1980–89, some excerpts, 1991. * Readings in Indian history, politics and philosophy, published by Allen & Unwin, London in 1967. * Current trends in Indian philosophy, published by Andhra University, Waltair in 1972. * Radhakrishnan : his life and ideas, published by State University of New York, 1990 * Philosophy in India : traditions, teaching, and research, 1985. * Studies in the problems of peace, published by Asia Publishing House, 1960. * The Indian spirit, published by Andhra University press, 1965. * Metaphysics, man and freedom, published by Asia Publishing House, 1963.

Works based on his philosophy

* The philosophy of K. Satchidananda Murty by Sibajiban Bhattacharyya and Ashok Vohra, Published by

Indian Council of Philosophical Research Indian Council of Philosophical Research (ICPR) was established in March 1977 under Department of Higher Education and Ministry of Human Resource Development as an Apex Level Body under the societies registration Act 1860. However, the council for ...

, New Delhi, 1995. * Philosophical perspectives of K. Satchidananda Murty by P. Boaz, 2013.

Awards and honours

* President — Indian Philosophical Congress * Honorary Doctorate — Russian Academy of Sciences - 1989 * Honorary Doctorate — Beijing University - 1988 *

Padma Bhushan The Padma Bhushan is the third-highest civilian award in the Republic of India, preceded by the Bharat Ratna and the Padma Vibhushan and followed by the Padma Shri. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is given for "distinguished servi ...

, Government of India - 1984 *

Padma Vibhushan The Padma Vibhushan ("Lotus Decoration") is the second-highest civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is given for "exceptional and distinguished service". All persons without ...

, Government of India - 2001

Death

He died after a brief respiratory illness at

on Monday 25 January 2011.

References

External links

Unofficial blogspot about Kotta Satchidananda Murty.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Murthy, Kotha Satchidananda Indian scholars of Buddhism 1924 births 20th-century Indian philosophers 2011 deaths Telugu people People from Guntur district Andhra University alumni Scholars from Andhra Pradesh Recipients of the Padma Vibhushan in literature & education Recipients of the Padma Bhushan in literature & education