Indian Metaphysics Lab: Text, Debate, and Lived Philosophy

This program pairs structured textual study with immersion in Varanasi, one of South Asia’s historic centers of philosophical exchange. Students examine Upanishadic themes, Vedanta interpretations, Nyaya logic, and Sankhya cosmology not as isolated doctrines but as interlocking debates about reality and liberation.

Seminars in New Delhi establish conceptual foundations. In Varanasi, philosophical study is deepened through place based reflection and observation, asking how metaphysical assumptions shape ritual, discourse, and ethical life.

The program emphasizes disciplined argument construction. Students build comparative matrices, test theoretical claims, and refine analytic clarity before drafting structured comparative essays.

Students will:

Build structured conceptual maps comparing Nyaya, Sankhya, and Vedanta positions.
Analyze how the Upanishads are interpreted differently across philosophical traditions.
Practice logical reasoning using classical epistemological categories such as perception, inference, and testimony.
Ask: Is the self permanent, relational, or illusory?
Examine how metaphysical commitments influence ethics and social thought.
Develop comparative matrices that clarify points of agreement and divergence across schools.
Produce a faculty assessable analytic essay outline grounded in disciplined comparison.
Translate philosophical abstraction into lived observation prompts within sacred and intellectual geographies.

Religious Studies

Consciousness Studies

Cognitive Science

Ethics

Intellectual History

Comparative Civilizations

Anthropology

Political Theory

New Delhi

Varanasi

Sarnath (Optional Extension)

Day	Location	Academic Focus & Activities	Learning Emphasis
1	New Delhi	Arrival; orientation; introduction to metaphysical inquiry	Establish intellectual framing
2	New Delhi	Seminar: What is metaphysics; core Indian philosophical categories including atman, karma, moksha	Building conceptual foundation
3	Travel to Varanasi	Transition dialogue on sacred intellectual geographies	Linking philosophy and place
4–5	Varanasi	Upanishadic textual study; Vedanta interpretive traditions	Understanding non dual and dual readings
6	Varanasi	Nyaya logic workshop; epistemology lab	Practicing structured reasoning
7	Varanasi	Sankhya cosmology seminar; comparative debate exercise	Exploring dualism and metaphysical structure
8	Varanasi	Theoretical framework building workshop; concept mapping	Producing analytic scaffolding
9	Varanasi	Field observation prompts; philosophy in lived practice dialogue	Connecting abstraction and embodiment
10	Return to New Delhi	Comparative debate lab	Refining argument clarity
11	New Delhi	Writing studio; analytic essay framework drafting	Converting insight into structured output
12	New Delhi	Guest scholar session; peer critique workshop	Strengthening intellectual rigor
13	New Delhi	Departure	Closure