Invisible Fire (ELIPSA, 2021) 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 Philosophy
