Marta Kudelska, Why There is "I" Rather than "It"? The Ontology of the Subject in the Upanishads [Dlaczego istnieje raczej Ja niż to? Ontologia podmiotu w Upaniszadach], Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Jagiellońskiego, Kraków 2010.

This book deals with the ontology of the subject in classical Upanishads. All the interpretations are based on the original Sanskrit sources and they are written from the nirguna point of view. All the considerations start with a translation and new interpretation of the Nasadiyasukta (Rigveda X 129). The main thesis is focused on the distinction between verbs originating from two roots: the root as from which the word sat comes and the root bhū, from which the word bhava comes. While the as element primordially implies a static state, the bhū element implies a dynamic one. This distinction is crucial for all given considerations in the book. Based on this idea, the scheme of the classical Upanishads is reconstructed. In the next parts many terms denoting the roles or the functions of the subject are taken into consideration. The analysis of the sentence ‘aham asmi' – ‘I am" is of considerably material importance. This utterance leads to the division into subject and object. ‘Aham' stands for the primordial level of bhava, and ‘asmi' still remains in the sat dimension. The subtlest form of the object appears as the light. In some texts the light assumes the shape of Purusha, the archetype of God, but according to other sources the light assumes the shape of the soul. The main thesis of this book is to show that all forms, all categories are secondary to the primordial, absolute state of being, which transcends all shapes and forms.

The Advaita is still one of the most popular Indian schools of philosophy. Detailed topics in this field are widely discussed on academic and semi-academic grounds. I am certain of the fact that this particular reconstruction of philosophy of the Upanishads is an original one. I also hope that it will be a new voice in the discussion of the sources of Indian philosophy. This book will not only provide the readers with an opportunity to broaden their knowledge of philosophy and Indian religion, but also to find a common philosophical conception, which opens a new perspective in reading the great Western philosophers, whose works are connected with the philosophy of subjectivity.
 

Table of Contents

Introduction
The Nasadiyasukta – a Hymn about the Origin of the World
Cosmogony of the Upanishads
Mandukyakarika – Translation of the Mandukya Upanishad together with Gaudapada Commentary
Atman – An absolute Being Conceived of as the Source and Principle of Reality
Aham –  The universal ‘I', the First Form of the Absolute Being
Purusha – God's Archetype
Sakshin – Witness and the Principle of Subjectivity
Antarjamin – the Inner Chariot Driver, the Immanent Character of the Absolute Being
Jiva – the Individual Soul
The functions and roles of the fourfold psychological organ: 1. Citta – the Inner Cognitive Organ, 2. Buddhi – the Illuminating Power of the Empirical Consciousness, 3. Ahankara – the acting ‘I', the Organ Which Constitutes the Empirical ‘I', 4. Manas – Mind – the Widely Understood Cognitive-Emotional Sphere
Bhutatman – the Soul of the Elements, Ethical Acting Subject. Pracodayita – the Mover
Buddhist Terms in the Maitri Upanishad
Why There Is ‘I' Rather than ‘It'? Concluding Reflections Based upon the Metaphor of the Bow and the Arrow.