Among 108 Upaniṣads, the central theme of the true knowledge of Self is consistent. The wholesome philosophy of Upaniṣad is focused towards the enlightenment or proliferation of mind through the knowledge of Self as the source which is both Constitutive as well as Regulative source. According to Upaniṣadic view, only when we understand and realize the true nature of self, we can understand the concept of reality. In this article, I would concentrate on the idea of Self and Reality from (...) the perspective of Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad, which portrays that the manifestation of the universe is done out of self, which is identical with the ultimate reality Brahman, through consciousness. Moreover, with the reference to Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad, I would make an attempt to highlight the nature of Self, methodologies to understand the Self, the ground of this empirical reality with diversity, and the ungendered Self. (shrink)

Purpose This study aims to endeavor to explore the extent of gender digital divide in Uttar Pradesh, a most populous state of India, with a particular focus on the first and second order of digital divide, including availability, access time and use of the internet. Design/methodology/approach The authors have adopted stratified multistage sampling procedure for this research and conducted an empirical study on the data set of 600 respondents of six districts of U.P. to perform the inter-regional analysis. Furthermore, χ2 (...) method has been used to reveal the factors responsible for the GDD among selected districts of UP. Findings Statistical results clearly indicate that out of 12 sub-districts, most of the districts suffered from first order as well as second order of GDD, and this gender disparity within an increasing digitization environment is due to the existence of exclusion from basic technological skills, social norms and financial constraints. Practical implications The results have implications for the U.P. Government in general and policymakers behind digitization projects in particular as well as the promoters of gender equality including researchers and fellows. Originality/value This study is the first to illustrate the orders of the digital gender gap in a developing economy such as India and to gain an insight into the factors behind it. This research will also consider a promising avenue for future work. (shrink)

Veiling is one of the sources of seclusion of women from and within society. _Ghūnghat_ (_avagunṭhana, purdāh_) or veiling is primarily associated with covering one’s face which performs various functions. The rationale for veiling could be that it becomes a source of refuge to women from the gaze of others, sometimes providing them with a place of their own, without any interference from others, maintains their respectability and _mān_ or _izzat_ (honour), and becomes a sign of their modesty in society. (...) On the other hand, on analysis, it turns out to be a source of concealment of one’s identity, suppression of one’s sexuality, and a life without any agency. This paper, in the context of the dominant caste of the North Indian Hindu community, will bring out the cultural, social, and gendered aspects of the practice of veiling to show how the acceptance and deference to this practice is the byproduct of women’s conditioning in a patriarchal society. By bringing in the physical and symbolic aspects of veiling, this paper attempts to show how this discussion is significant for the attainment of a ‘good quality of life’ as mentioned by Martha Nussbaum and to come out of the state of an internalised sense of oppression. (shrink)

This review studies Tantra as essentially Vedantic and comments on Swami Swahananda's genius as a syncretist.

Topic of the book is the project by Francis Bacon, a philosophical plan of the great instauration.

Ayudha Puja, a South Indian festival translated as “worship of the machines,” is a dramatic example of how religion and science intertwine in political life. Across South India, but especially in the state of Karnataka, scientists and engineers celebrate the festival in offices, laboratories, and workshops by attending a puja led by a priest. Although the festival is noteworthy in many ways, one of its most immediate valences is political. In this article, we argue that Ayudha Puja (...) normalizes Brahminical Hinduism within scientific culture through the inclusion of non-Hindus and through scientists' description of the festival as “cultural” rather than “religious.”. (shrink)

Śākta tradition is one of the major branches of Hindu Theism which focuses on the divine feminine. Recent scholarly researches on Śākta tradition mainly orient toward either its sacred text or its ritual customs; however, textual exegesis and ritual studies have mostly been two separate spheres. This paper presents an attempt to integrate the two. It explores one of the most essential practices of Śākta tradition, the Caṇḍī pūjā, and discusses its relationship with Śākta theology in the principal Śākta text (...) Devī Māhātmya. My research revolves around two questions: in what ways does the theology in Devī Māhātmya inform the praxis of Caṇḍī pūjā? How does ritual practice help its practitioners to understand the theology of Śākta faith tradition? The paper examines the pūjā practice from three aspects: ritual structure and the liturgical use of the text; ritual materials and their theological functions; and ritual activity—spotlighting one specific moment of the Candā pūjā. I draw the conclusion that there is a reciprocal interaction between ritual and theology—the theological message in Devī Māhātmya provides the foundation for the ritual and the ritual acts as an experiential way for understanding Śākta theology. (shrink)

Through my personal lenses as a scholar/sevak at the Parmarth Niketan Ashram in Rishikesh, I explore the ashram’s efforts to raise environmental awareness through the performative practice of Ganga aarti. Simultaneously a religious event and an environmental rally, the daily Ganga aarti on the bank of the Ganga River represents an environmentally focused innovation upon an existing religious practice. Aside from being a devotional act of reverence to the goddess Ganga Ma, Ganga aarti at Parmarth Niketan is a self-consciously performative (...) practice intended to draw and entertain audiences from all walks of life and from all over the globe. Ganga aarti combines the ritual practice of Ganga puja, bhajan-kirtan, guru darshan, bhakti, and sometimes bliss via the total sensorial experience. “Mobile” Ganga aarti performances in other parts of North India are often day-long events featuring impassioned lectures about the importance of the environment, a traveling puppet show in which Shiva and Ganga Ma urge the crowds not to dump rubbish in the river, classical dance performances, distribution of hats and t-shirts, and girls dressed as the swarup of various river goddesses. I argue that as religious institutions increasingly engage in pro-environment endeavors with the public support of government officials, this public performance style will become an increasingly visible and influential feature of Indian environmentalism. (shrink)

The karma-rebirth doctrine is one of the core doctrines of the Buddhist worldview. Some forms of Western Buddhism emphasize doctrinal study and meditation practice over traditional Buddhist elements that have their foundation in the karma-rebirth doctrine, such as merit-making practices and other forms of ritual. Conversely, the worldwide Gelugpa Tibetan Buddhist Foundation for the Preservation of the Mahayana Tradition (FPMT) encourages its affiliates to perform traditional ritual such as chanting and pujas to make merit for oneself and others, in addition (...) to attending teachings and developing a regular meditation practice. During their exploration of the FPMT's activities, participants undergo a process of experimental validation of the teachings and practices, in which they come to accept doctrinal notions in one of two ways: the notion's capacity to validate and give meaning to personal experience, or to lend conceptual support to the newly acquired framework of ideas. Utilizing data obtained from fieldwork undertaken between 2003 and 2006 at Vajrayana Institute (VI), an FPMT centre in Sydney, Australia, I illustrate the way in which the karma-rebirth doctrine supports those aspects of the belief-system more capable of experiential validation through their capacity to frame and give meaning to personal experience. The acceptance of notions such as karma, rebirth and merit-making involves an interpretive shift from previously held notions about cause and effect and the nature of this-worldly existence, toward a Buddhist appreciation of these concepts. (shrink)

"End-Of-Law week drinkS @ ACT Magistrates Court: Friday 20 May 2005." Ethos: Official Publication of the Law Society of the Australian Capital Territory, (198), pp. 24.

A critical edition with facing-page translation, of Guglielmo Ebreo's treatise of 1463. It also contains dance tunes in facsimile and in annotated transcriptions based on the choreographies.

An ethnographic approach to the South Indian festival Ayudha Puja reveals that the celebration plays a role in the construction of scientific communities. Ayudha Puja has the ability to absorb westerners, non-Hindus, and non-Brahmins into Indian science and engineering communities and is thus widely practiced in South Indian industry and academia. The practice of Ayudha Puja thus parallels what M. N. Srinivas labels “Sanskritization.” Within India, the process of Sanskritization refers to the adoption of high-caste habits and (...) diet by upwardly mobile lower-caste communities. While not actually an example of Sanskritization, participation in Ayudha Puja is analogous to that process: by joining a Hindu rite within the scientific and professional workspace, outsiders become part of local laboratory, department, or office culture. Such practices reveal the need for scholars to investigate scientific community building outside the domain of how scientists reveal new facts about the world. (shrink)

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and (...) made generally available to the public. To ensure a quality reading experience, this work has been proofread and republished using a format that seamlessly blends the original graphical elements with text in an easy-to-read typeface. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant. (shrink)

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the "public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be (...) preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant. (shrink)

Objective Apeiron was founded in 1966 and has developed into one of the oldest and most distinguished journals dedicated to the study of ancient philosophy, ancient science, and, in particular, of problems that concern both fields. Apeiron is committed to publishing high-quality research papers in these areas of ancient Greco-Roman intellectual history; it also welcomes submission of articles dealing with the reception of ancient philosophical and scientific ideas in the later western tradition. The journal appears quarterly. Articles are peer-reviewed on (...) a double-blind basis. Topics ancient philosophy ancient science reception of ancient philosophical and scientific ideas in the later western tradition Article formats Original Articles. (shrink)

Ernest Gellner's final book, first published in 1998, is a synoptic interpretation of the thought of Wittgenstein and Malinowski.