Deyan Penchev

This article explores the philosophical significance of the sacred syllable Om (Aum) in Indian though tradition, with a focus on the Upanishads, the Bhagavad Gita, and the works of Shankara, Swami Vivekananda, and Swami Sivananda. Special attention is given to the Mandukya, Prashna, and Chandogya Upanishads, where Om is identified with Brahman, the Absolute Consciousness. In the Bhagavad Gita, Om is identified with Krishna, providing guidance on the proper use of consciousness and the role of Om as a means of achieving liberation (moksha). These three classical and modern Indian philosophers discuss the metaphysical dimensions of Om, integrating it into practical experience. Through this semantic synthesis, the article concludes that in Indian philosophy, Om represents a primordial principle for realizing the unity between the individual soul (Atman) and the ultimate reality (Brahman).

Swami Vivekananda (1863–1902) is one of the first modern thinkers to formulate, systematize, and argue for the concept of a universal religion. He lays its foundations in the transcendent essence of religions, which surpasses their doctrinal and ritual differences. According to Vivekananda, all religions represent different paths to God and deserve equal recognition and respect. The present study analyzes his views on religious pluralism, transcendence, the realization of God, and the four yogas as metaphysical paths toward the universal religion. A comparative perspective with other influential thinkers on the topic is also presented. The idea of a universal religion is considered particularly relevant in the context of contemporary interreligious dialogue and global cultural relations.

V.S. Solovyov’s doctrine of «free theosophy», as one of the most significant branches of his philosophy, is considered. The thesis of free theosophy as the foundation of human knowledge, which determines the other important concepts of V.S. Solovyov’s philosophy, such as «free theurgy» and «free theocracy”, is argued. Mystical intuition as a methodological principle, inherent in the free theosophy is analyzed. The aspects and the specificity of V.S. Solovyov’s understanding of mystical intuition are revealed. The types of cognition, which the Russian philosopher distinguishes as aspects of comprehensive human cognitive capability, have been analyzed. Particular attention is paid to the key concept in V.S. Slovyov’s philosophy – the notion of truth, which he dignified as the principle of unity. It is concluded that the doctrine of free theosophy is a central idea in V.S. Solovyov’s philosophy, covering all types of knowledge.

This article explores the metaphysical ideas of Rabindranath Tagore (1861–1941) through a philosophical analysis of his work “Sadhana: The Realisation of Life”. It argues that the central concept in Tagore’s thought is the notion of unity, which functions as a fundamental metaphysical principle in his philosophy. Unity is examined from ontological, epistemological, and ethical perspectives. The article analyzes Tagore’s understanding of the unity of being, the immanent connection between the individual human self and the Absolute, as well as the interrelation of knowledge, love, and evil. Within this framework, Tagore’s original metaphysical conception of universal reality is interpreted and systematized – a conception that transcends the dualisms between subject and object, the empirical and the transcendent, the human and the Divine, affirming the indivisible wholeness of unified being.

This article discusses the principle of self-organization as an important philosophical and scientific problem in the views of Rudolf Steiner and James Lovelock. The Gaia hypothesis, raised by Lovelock, assumes that the Earth is a living organism and its author argues that in a scientific manner. Steiner has defended the same idea years before that and has been developing it by means of philosophical metaphysics. His conceptions are used in a number of international organizations and cultural movements, showing in practice the relevance of theory.

The conceptions of the philosophers Vladimir Solovyov and Swami Vivekananda are presented together for the first time. The author uses the comparative method in order to present their views on fundamental religious-philosophical questions relevant to the role and meaning of the religious, the essence and the manifestation of God, the nature of the human spirit, the limits of knowledge, and the moral meaning of love. The two thinkers were contemporaries, and apart from some understandable differences, their conceptions are closely related in their most fundamental principles. This philosophical agreement between apparently different thinkers makes the theme of the article topical. The text may contribute to a fuller knowledge of world philosophy as well as to interreligious dialogue. The paper also implicitly sheds light on some basic problems confronting philosophical and religious theories, for example, the possibility of unity of concepts among thinkers of different nations and beliefs and the need for a knowledge of metaphysical truths that is deeper and more adequate to our time.

The philosophy of Emmanuel Mounier, as part of the stream of personalism, incorporates the basics of existentialism, discussed in his book “Existentialist Philosophies: An Introduction”. Mounier divides the existential philosophy into two – Christian and atheist, and agrees with fi rst. In this text we will examine the topics of human subject as a real participant in existence, the secret into being and relationship you and I, which have become the center of existential understandings of Mounier.