We investigate the role of social-media-triggered public pressure on corporate social responsibility that includes expectations of transparency and accountability on the firm’s part, and participative/evaluative inputs on the public’s part. Using the date when S&P 500 firms established corporate Twitter accounts, we investigate the impact of corporate social media exposure on CSR outcomes. Results from baseline regressions indicate that firms with Twitter accounts significantly outperform industry peers in CSR rating, after controlling for firm and industry characteristics. To test potential reverse (...) causality, we use a dynamic treatment effect model to explore within firm changes of CSR, and find that firms’ CSR rating improves in year one- and year two after establishing a Twitter account, while no difference emerged in similar comparisons with peers prior to the Twitter account establishment. Additionally, Granger causality tests results show that corporate Twitter presence improves CSR performance; it is also shown that CSR outcomes do not motivate corporations to establish a social media presence on Twitter. Finally, firms with more experience on Twitter, and those with more followers, tweets or Twitter accounts are associated with improved CSR outcomes. We draw on two theories and qualitative interviews with senior CSR executives to explain why social media influences CSR firm behaviors. (shrink)

On the human rights, justice and morality in India.

The paper develops value based management guidelines from the famous Indian treatise on management, Kautilya's Arthashastra. Guidelines are given for individual components of a total framework in detail, which include guidelines for organizational philosophy, value based leadership, internal corporate culture, accomplishment of corporate purpose and feedback from stakeholders.

Provision of additional food supplements for the purpose of biological conservation has been widely researched both theoretically and experimentally. The study of these biosystems is usually done using predator–prey models. In this paper, we consider an additional food provided predator–prey system in the presence of the inhibitory effect of the prey. This model is analyzed in the control parameter space using the control parameters, quality and quantity of additional food. The findings suggest that with appropriate choice of additional food to (...) predators, the biosystem can be controlled and steered to a desirable state. It is also possible to eliminate either of the interacting species. The vital role of the quality and quantity of the additional food in the system dynamics cautions the eco manager on the choice of the additional food for realizing the goal in the biological conservation programme. (shrink)

AbstractŚaṅkara’s Brahma-advaita-vāda and Abhinavagupta’s Śiva-advaita-vāda are well-known non-dualistic systems in Indian philosophy.1In Advaitavedānta, Brahman-Ātman is the sole reality, and there is unanimity about the fact that all the Upaniṣads speak of an attribute-less non-dual reality that is consciousness, existence and bliss. In Trika, Paramaśiva is the only reality with the nature of sat, cit and ānanda.2 This non-dual reality is self-luminous (sva-prakaśa) in both the schools. Both the schools, in different ways, accept the world as an appearance. In Advaitavedānta, the (...) world-illusion is a superimposition on Brahman whereas according to Trika, the world is a spontaneous self-projection of Paramaśiva. Both the systems agree that there is total identity between individual self and the Absolute, ajñāna as the cause of bondage, and jñāna as the means to self-realization. Jīvanmukti as the state of complete freedom and realization of one’s unity with the ultimate reality have been accepted in both the schools. The focus of this paper is to dwell upon the concept of non-dualism (Advaita) from the Trika angle as enunciated by Abhinavagupta and Advaitavedānta as propounded by Śaṅkara. Abhinava has envisaged a non-dualistic dimension of consciousness with the inclusion of prakāśa and vimarśa, which means that within the format of non-dualism, Trika accepts a second in the form of Śakti without compromising the non-dualistic dimension of the school whereas Śaṅkara’s Advaitic non-dualism has no space for anything other than the self, i.e., Brahman-Ātman. (shrink)

Utpaladeva (c. 900–950 C.E.) was the chief originator of the Pratyabhijñā philosophical theology of monistic Kashmiri Śaivism, which was further developed by Abhinavagupta (c. 950–1020 C.E.) and other successors. The Ajaḍapramātṛsiddhi, “Proof of a Sentient Knower,” is one component of Utpaladeva’s trio of specialized studies called the Siddhitrayī, “Three Proofs.” This article provides an introduction to and translation of the Ajaḍapramātṛsiddhi along with the Vṛtti commentary on it by the nineteenth–twentieth century paṇḍit, Harabhatta Shastri. Utpaladeva in this work presents “transcendental” (...) arguments that a universal knower (pramātṛ), the God Śiva, necessarily exists and that this knower is sentient (ajaḍa). He defends the Pratyabhijñā understanding of sentience against alternative views of both Hindu and Buddhist schools. As elsewhere in his corpus, Utpaladeva also endeavors through his arguments to lead students to the recognition (pratyabhijñā) of identity with Śiva, properly understood as the sentient knower. (shrink)

For Advaita Vedānta, consciousness is to be distinguished from all contents of consciousness that might be introspectively detectable: It is precisely consciousness of whatever contents it is conscious of and not itself one of these contents. Its only nature is, Advaita holds, prakāśa ; in itself it is devoid of any content or structure and can never become an object. This paper elaborates on this kind of understanding of consciousness in order to next explain why it might be fruitful for (...) developing a clear understanding of the nature of the so-called problem of consciousness. Today’s philosophy of mind tends to conceive of consciousness in terms of qualia, thereby taking it as a special kind of object. This renders the antimaterialist claim of the distinctness of consciousness from all physical features vulnerable to the materialist reply that the difference in question might be a merely epistemological matter, i.e., a matter of different modes of givenness without difference in what is thus given. This move, however – this paper argues –, is impossible without resulting in circularity or infinite regress with regard to consciousness in the sense of givenness itself. (shrink)

The Īśvara Gītā, translated by Andrew J. Nicholson in Lord Śiva’s Song: The Īśvara Gītā, is a quintessentially Hindu post-Vedic devotional text. Extolling Lord Śiva as the highest Truth, it sets out to establish its credentials in ways typical of the devotional traditions: it is located in one of the Purāṇas, already considered to be the fifth Veda by the time of the Chandogya Upaniṣad, thereby appropriating the paramount sacrosanctity of the Śruti tradition. It adopts the setting of Sūta’s address (...) to the sages of Naimiṣāraṇya, made famous by the Bhāgavata Purāṇa for its own outer narrative frame. It engages the great sage Vyāsa as its primary narrator, thereby invoking the cachet of the foremost authority.. (shrink)

While the Bhagavad Gītā is an acknowledged treasure of world spiritual literature, few people know a parallel text, the Īśvara Gītā. This lesser-known work is also dedicated to a god, but in this case it is Śiva, rather than Kṛṣṇa, who is depicted as the omniscient creator of the world. Andrew J. Nicholson’s Lord Śiva’s Song makes this text available in English in an accessible new translation. A work of both poetry and philosophy, the Īśvara Gītā builds on the insights (...) of Patañjali’s Yoga Sūtra and foreshadows later developments in tantric yoga. It deals with the pluralistic religious environment of early medieval India through an exploration of the relationship between the gods Śiva and Viṣṇu. The work condemns sectarianism and violence and provides a strategy for accommodating conflicting religious claims in its own day and in our own. (shrink)

The primary concern in this paper is to examine the nature of Śiva’s aruḷ—his generative and salvific energy—as portrayed in Tiruvācakam, Māṇikkavācakar’s important but understudied text of medieval bhakti poems. Close attention is paid to the poet’s description of Śiva’s aruḷ as inducing seemingly incongruous ontological states of being—one of ecstatic possession that results in rapturous dance and one of spiritual bondage. In doing so, this paper posits that Māṇikkavācakar is using aruḷ as śakti is used in the philosophy of (...) the Sanskrit Śaiva Siddhānta tradition and argues that this is an early attempt to localize the Śaiva Siddhānta in a Tamil milieu, as Tiruvācakam appears several centuries prior to the initial Tamil Śaiva Siddhānta text. In doing so, this paper also highlights the ways in which poetic narratives can embody a broader philosophical debate rather than serving merely as a vehicle for philosophical ideas. (shrink)

Aspects of the Pratyabhijñā philosophical theology for monistic Śaivism of the ninth- and tenth-century Kashmiri thinkers Utpaladeva and Abhinavagupta are interpreted in relation to their relevance and pre-sumptiveness to contemporary Western thought. It is claimed that the Pratyabhijñā system elucidates important features of our past and present deliberations about the role of interpretation in experience and provides us with a sound way of arguing for the reality of God.

This book is a guide for one who is ready to diligently walk the spiritual path. Great new vistas open up throughout its 365 daily lessons as Gurudeva shares, in the clearest terms, deep metaphysical insights into the nature of God, soul and world, mind, emotions, ultimate realizations, chakras, purpose of life on earth and much, much more. Simple but effective practices are taught: how to remould our nature and karmas, calm the mind, develop self-esteem, begin to meditate, clear up (...) the past and create a bright future. At the same time, the seeker is guided in establishing a regular devotional and yogic practice whereby the gains of his inner life and realizations are stabilized and used in practical ways. (shrink)

This book examines the beginnings of the non-dual tantric philosophy of the famed Pratyabhija or ''Recognition'' School of tenth-century Kashmir. It includes a critical edition and annotated translation of chapters 1-3 of Somananda's Sivadrsti, the first Pratyabhija text ever composed, along with the corresponding passages of Utpaladeva's commentary, the Sivadrstivatti.

This study accounts for disparate portrayals of divine destroyer Śiva in the normative Rāmāyaṇa and Mahābhārata as opposed to Kālidāsa’s amatory Kumārasaṃbhava and Raghuvaṃśa by contrasting the primary and secondary Sanskrit epic authors’ respective reliances on the Mānavadharmaśāstra and the Kāmasūtra. By arguing, per Richard Johnson’s postpoststructuralism, that these mythological and philosophical differences deliberately reflect those poets’ specific sociohistorical contexts, this inquiry accounts more accurately for Śiva’s classical-epic depictions than do Stella Kramrisch’s and Wendy Doniger [O’Flaherty]’s investigations informed by Claude (...) Lévi-Strauss’s structuralism and Don Handelman and David Shulman’s researches influenced by Gilles Deleuze and Félix Guattari’s poststructuralism. The present work, in revising such prevailing Indological notions as Romila Thapar’s traditional construal of the “classical,” Donald R. Davis Jr.’s anthropocentric definition of puruṣārtha (human aim), and Sheldon Pollock’s unvarying characterization of śāstras (treatises), models a historically aware approach that appreciates the interrelationship of mythological philosophy and philosophical mythology. (shrink)

Mahadeviyakka was a radical 12th century Karnataka saint of whom surprisingly little has been written. Considered the most poetic of the Virásaivas, her vacanas are characterized by their desperate searching for iva. I attempt to convey Mahadevi's epistemology and its struggle to 'know' Shiva, necessitating a lifetime of searching for him; offer an interpretation of the innate presence of Shiva in the world and its consequences for epistemology; and explore the sense of tragic love inherent in devotional searching for Shiva. (...) My primary goal is to offer a powerful and positive, yet critical, interpretation of Mahadevi's beautiful prose on her relationship with Shiva. . (shrink)

ah¯ aras) are defined on the ´ Sivas¯ utras and other similarly organized lists by the convention that if xq is followed in the list by the marker Q, then xpQ denotes the set of elements xp, xp+1, ... xq. The phonological classes defined in this way are referred to in hundreds of rules in the As.t.¯adhy¯ay¯i.

In the context of the main principles, modernity has affected the relationship of individuals with society in two ways; either by promoting a comprehensive individualization or by paradoxically surrendering individual freedoms to new relations due to the many risks it carries. In the modernization process, religion has been affected not only in the context of traditional and everyday patterns; but also, it has been significantly influenced in terms of its dimensions corresponding to the public space. This study examined the relationship (...) between religion and modernization in the sample of Theology Faculty at Sivas Cumhuriyet University which is an organized and official field of religion. The aim of the research is to understand and explain the aspects of modernization in theology faculties that look at individual identity through some concepts such as religion and world designs, pluralism, perspectives on lifestyles, attitudes towards gender, and consumption. In line with these goals, the article problematizes the relations between the attitudes and behaviors of the participants due to modernization and the religious theory of orthodox Islam, political secularism, globalization, and socioeconomic and cultural environments. Within a qualitative method, the research was planned as a "single event" study. With the help of semi-structured interview questions, the data obtained from a sample group consisting of male and female students from different classes by techniques such as "problem-centered interview", "narrative", "participated observation" were theoretically analyzed from interactionist, ethnomethodological, and phenomenological perspectives. Considering its sources, theology in Turkey was shaped under the intense influence of Jacobin and elitist political secularism during the first three quarters of the Republic. In the last quarter of its century-old history, it can be said that a conservative, Islamist secularism was effective there. In this context, the status accorded to religion by the political institution in its authoritarian structure in Turkey, on the one hand, makes sense in terms of the shape and direction of religion and society relations, on the other hand, it gives an idea about the general situation of theology as an official educational institution and the contents of the roles and functions expected from it. For this reason, it is understood that the future of theology in Turkey will be shaped depending on the politics, religion, human, and society paradigms of the political bureaucracy for now, whether in terms of human resources and public visibility or within the scope of the relations of institutional religion with society. All these are related to the social realities as well as the central position and character of politics in the society in Turkey. Besides, these realities strongly show the close relationship of theology with Turkish modernization. For this reason, in this study, political secularism has been seen as an important component of religion and modernization relations in theology. However, this relationship is not with a one-sided point of view that secularism affects theology; from the perspective that theology also affects the direction and forms of modernization and secularization in Turkey, it is discussed in a mutual way. As a matter of fact, as it can be seen, while theology was functionalized for the construction of the nation-state and a secular society paradigm in most of the history of the republic, it also produced an alternative, Islamic secularization related to a postmodern ethics by approaching the ontological, epistemological, and aesthetic designs of religion and world of environmental movements in more modern periods. Today, theology students, like every student, are faced with fluidizing all the artificial and natural boundaries of modernity and their traditional environments outside their own borders, and at the same time being a member of a wider world without borders. These developments, which clearly point to a change in attitude and attitude towards the secular field, are not only for theology students to reach new values in religion and world relations; it has also been important in the context of their entering into very important conflicts and tensions in the context of their individual identities. Finally, when it was associated with “orthodox Islam”, it was seen that this new socialization environment and the tension created by these created a series of alienation in theology in the context of gender, lifestyles, leisure activities, and consumption. (shrink)

Court (Shar’iyya) recordings are at the forefront of primary written sources, which contain important documents related to Turkish history, sociology and culture. The court records shed light on city history of the period concerned with rich information and documents. These records are important books in which the documents related to the judicial, administrative, economic, architectural and social structure of a city as well as diplomatic correspondence between the center and the province were recorded. The purpose of this study is to (...) prepare a detailed catalog in addition to the catalog which was made in 1963 and contained only 119 books specifying only the dates covered by the book number. As we have seen in this study, all of the 119 notebooks in the records do not consist of the court registers in the known form. They are the books that include the records of court proceedings, which are different from those of the court, especially after the Tanzimat e.g. Qassam, Enkiha, Zabt al-Da’wa, Permission and so on. The microfilms of the books were presented to the service of researchers in Sivas Ziya Bey Library of Ancient Works. The originals of the books are in the Prime Ministry State Archives.SummaryShar’iyyaregisters are one of the primary written sources about Turkish history, sociology, and culture relevant to our life. Registry records shed light on the history of city in the relevant period by containing rich information and documents. They are important notebooks, which are related to the judicial, administrative, economic, architectural and social structure of a city, and also in the form of diplomatic correspondence between the central and provincial posts.After the Anatolian Selçuk (Saljūq) State, which collapsed under the pressure and domination of the Iranian Mongols in the last half of the XIIIth century, a state was established in the Selçuk-Byzantine border in the north-west of Anatolia in XIVth century, which did not even lasted a hundred years and had a reign in three continents. In the Bursa inscription, which dated to 1337/8, the second Ottoman Sultan (Sulṭān) Orhan was titled as the mujahedeen (warrior), the sultan of the veterans, son of veteran of veteran. The fact that Orhan carring these titles shows that since the earliest times, the Ottoman sultans considered themselves as the leader of the religious war against the infidels. Since the first years of the establishment of the Ottoman State, the Sharīʿa ruled on the establishment of administration and for this reason, they established institution of the Shaykh al-Islām(the chief juristconsult). Firstly, by appointing a subaşı(subashi, an Ottoman gubernatorial title) to the conquered places, then it gradually began to establish judicial courts from the smallest areas.In the XVth century, the number of qāḍī increased in parallel with the increase in their jurisdiction as a result of the expansion of the Ottoman Empire, and the proliferation of the administrative units called sancak, (sanjaq, division of a province) and so the failure of oneqāḍīto satisfy court affairs of an entire sanjaq. New districts arose from some of the former large districts. As a result of this in the XVIth century, the administrative system of the sanjaq's Tımar system and at the same time a geographical integrity of the districts/provinces to see the legal work of a qāḍī to pass by the districts and sub-district as a legal caused to occur two legal definitions that is legal and military administrative. Records of qāḍīs, which is called as sicilemerged because it was their duty to record their works and orders issued to them and the answers and the provisions given to them.The courts of Shar’iyyaserved as primary general courts (maḥākim-i ʿumūmiye) until the declaration of the Tanẓīmāt in the Ottoman Empire and heard the suit at legal, criminal, administrative, military, financial and all kinds of cases. Tanẓīmāt period, or rather Maḥmūd II and the period following him, the judicial organs in terms of reorganization was a circuit that was on the scene.In this way, which was occurred in the judicial system, records which were kept in the Meşihat (Mashīkhat) began to diversify depending on this change. Since in the registry books, which we call classical, all correspondence between the central and provincial offices were recorded. Records such as pleas, letters of patent, verdicts, order of the high, bonds etc. could be found in these documents.These records, which are one of the most important sources of an Ottoman city history, were kept in the museums and libraries of the cities until recently. A few years ago, these records, with a correct decision, were collected in the Prime Ministry Ottoman Archives and it was preserved and presented to the use of researchers by transferring them into digital. The Sivas Court building as it is known in history is now in the Pāshābeg quarter and known as the Court Bazaar in these days. There is no clear information about when the court was built in Sivas. In time, changes have occurred in cities and we are losing the historical side of them. In addition, the fact that people acted in an unconscious manner that would harm the historical texture was the biggest factor in disappearance of material remains. With the remaining physical materials available, we can only access crumb information and we can only make predictions. In this evaluation, the biggest materials are the documents and notebooks, which are the memory of city dates. However, it is understood from the records that there is a foundation belonging to this court and some of the court's repair and maintenance works were carried out by this foundation. As it is understood from a document dated 14 August 1798, one of the repairs was sponsored by Ḥüseyin Efendī. In an inscription dated 1906, which was found during the renovation of the basement of an apartment building owned by the General Directorate of Foundations in May 2018, the location of the building was previously known as the Sivas Muftī 's Office.In this study, a total of 240 registry books belonging to Sivas were prepared as in a catalog system. In this study, we have seen that a great deal of records have been lost, burnt or destroyed in a certain way through history. The burn marks in the records of 79 is a striking example in this regard. The book number 139, which is not shown in Osman Ersoy's work, is a record book in classical form. An important case in this study is that the register number 206, which is registered to Sivas, belongs to the province of Burdur and it is also a registry book in classical form. This book covers the dates of 18 M. 1248/23 N.1250 - 1832-1835. (shrink)

Critical study of selected portion of Yogavāsiṣṭha, treatise on Vedanta philosophy; includes translation of text and commentary.