R.D. Ranade was a philosopher who believed that the highest goal in life was God-realisation, meaning a direct experience of God. He believed that this experience was the basis of his entire philosophical system, which included epistemology, metaphysics, ethics, and religion. Ranade argued that mysticism is not simply an emotional experience, but also an intellectual pursuit. He called his philosophy “rational mysticism” because he believed that reason and intuition must work together to help people understand God.
- Mystical experience is essential: Ranade saw mystical experience as more important than simply a belief in the omnipresence of God. He considered “spiritual experience” to be the most reliable foundation for understanding reality. He argued that philosophy should not just be a collection of intellectual debates, but should also be rooted in direct, firsthand experience.
- Reconciling reason and intuition: Ranade believed that reason can take us only so far in our search for truth, and that we eventually need to take a “step out of… reason” and rely on intuition. This “leap of faith,” however, should not be blind or superstitious, but should be guided by reason. In his view, rational mysticism is not an esoteric doctrine, but rather a way of approaching philosophy that values both reason and experience.
- Intuition as a higher faculty: Ranade saw intuition as a faculty that goes beyond reason and allows us to directly grasp the real. He believed that intuition is not opposed to reason, but rather complements it. While reason analyzes the world into categories and concepts, intuition allows us to see the world as a whole.
- The goal of philosophy: Ranade believed that the goal of philosophy was to achieve God-realisation. He argued that all of the different schools of Indian philosophy, despite their differences, were ultimately pointing towards this same goal. He saw his own philosophical system as a synthesis of these different schools, which brings “all things under the focus of mystical union with God.”
Ranade’s philosophy was heavily influenced by both Indian and Western philosophical traditions. He drew on the Upanishads, the Bhagavad-Gita, and other Indian philosophical texts to develop his own unique system of rational mysticism. He also engaged with the works of Western philosophers such as Kant, Hegel, and Bergson, and incorporated some of their ideas into his own thinking.