Vada in Theory and Practice: Studies in Debates, Dialogues and Discussions in Indian Intellectual Discourses c12.1

c12.1

<p class="small-caps">The</p> theories and practices of *vāda* as described in this book belong to antiquity, but they have not been treated as antique or mummified. The issues generated by the changing socio-political situations were taken up in traditional *vāda* discourses. This has led to paradigm shifts. For example, the consideration for *mokṣa* (salvation) has been unique in Indian intellectual discourses. In the past two centuries, the discourse on *mokṣa* did not remain confined to individual aspirations; it was also considered at social and global levels. Paṇḍit Baljinnath, a traditional scholar of Śaivism from Kashmir of twentieth century, redefines the concept of *mukti* with its varieties, and he includes *rāṣṭramukti* (liberation of the nation) as one of them in his *Svātantryadarpaṇaḥ* — an original treatise on Śaiva philosophy.