Joanna Jurewicz, "Invisible Fire: Memory, Tradition and the Self in Early Hindu Philosophy" (2021)
New Books in South Asian Studies
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Show Notes
Invisible Fire by Joanna Jurewicz explores early Hindu philosophy through the Manusmṛti, Bhagavadgītā, and Mokṣadharma, showing that reality is a single cognitive field manifesting through subject-object perception. Drawing from Vedic roots and cognitive linguistics, Jurewicz argues that creation, bondage, and liberation are all epistemic processes. Misrecognition leads to suffering; liberation arises through refined cognition and self-recognition. The “invisible fire” symbolizes transformative awareness latent in ritual, memory, and selfhood. Integrating modern theories of metaphor, play, and responsibility, the book reveals early Smṛti as a sophisticated philosophy of consciousness rooted in tradition and aimed at ontological and ethical integration.
Fire and cognition in the Rgveda
Fire, Death and Philosophy. A History of Ancient Indian Thinking
Invisible Fire. Memory, Tradition and the Self in Early Hindu
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