This book presents a proper meaning of the Ramcharitmanas chaupai, Dhola gamvara sudra pasu nari , ye sab tadana ke adhikari using the actual meaning of the word, tadana, in Avadhi language, and by delving into the deep philosophical references of the Pancabhutas, ether, air, fire, water, and earth of the Samkhya and Vaishesika darshanas, as intended by Goswami Tulsidas.
Ancient Indian thought system, well known for its relentless argumentation on varied contentious issues, paved the way for maturing deep philosophical thoughts, and scientific and technological inventions. This volume Vedanta Anvikshiki, Science and Philosophy in Contemporary Perspective, which resonates the current expectations from Vedanta in a fast-changing world, is the proceedings of the 21st edition of International Congress of Vedanta organized by the Center of Indic Studies, University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth during 11-13 July 2013.
The volume presents thirty-one research papers from reputed scholars on wide-ranging topics like metaphysics, knowledge and hermeneutics, science and technology in ancient texts, interpretation of key texts, digital libraries, yoga and ayurveda, spirituality and science, interfaith dialogue, Indian cosmology and psychology, Vedantic pedagogy, history, culture, social systems, corporate world, governance, music and consciousness studies. These papers present vast treasures of Indias knowledge systems and offer potential for multidisciplinary research.
It would be of immense value to the students and scholars of Vedanta, and would stimulate them for more discussions and debates on Vedantic traditions and their contemporary relevance.
The collection of scholarly articles presented in the volume explores various aspects of Vedic traditions, especially relating to global harmony and peace, in the present-day context. The Proceedings of the Sixth World Association for Vedic Studies (WAVES) Conference emphasise Vedic traditions as not confined to the Indian subcontinent today but as having spread to different parts of the globe. They deal with the essence of Vedanta, the contribution of the epic literature, history relating to the Rigvedic Aryans, Vedic sciences, and socio-economic and political aspects of Vedic life. Offering fresh ideas, they highlight the significance of the Vedic system for ensuring global peace and harmony, and satisfaction in the present. They study the concept of harmony and peace, and emphasise on the co-existence in the Upanishads, the Hindu concept of universalism, the importance of the Ayurveda and the Bhagavad-Gita in maintaining mental health, and on the global unity and syncretism in the education provided in ancient India. Attempts are made to cull out management ideas from the Mahabharata, and throw light on the relevance of the Arthashastra in modern-day geo-politics and the special relevance of Sanatana Dharma in the modern world. In the process, the scholars reveal the fictional aspects that have been linked to the Indian traditions and the related social evils.
The volume will interest a range of scholars of Indology and general readers as it explores the ancient Indian tradition, especially the Vedic tradition, in a comprehensive manner.
The volume comprises seminar presentations by experts from India and abroad involved in the study of development of the natural sciences in ancient India. It offers eighteen papers from the seminar that showcase and project the Vedic literature as a treasure trove of vast knowledge that covers various branches of learning. The papers in particular discuss the ancient developments in science and technology: logic, mechanics in Sanskrit literature, Indian mathematics and its application in the Vedas, besides production technology and mechanical engineering, environmental science and roots, applicative wonders and scientific validation of Ayurveda. They involve a deep study of the Vedic understanding and description of sound and speech as para, pashyanti, madhyama and vaikhari. They also deal with the Indian perspective on the spirit and some mahakavyas of Indian philosophy. They scrutinise various theories on matter, causation, metals, dreams and motion, according to the Vaisheshika philosophy and underline the relevance of ancient knowledge to the contemporary world, especially in relation to the Vedic physics, environmental science and Ayurveda. They reiterate in unison the scientific vision of the ancient sages who held the keen eye of a poet-artist even while bringing to light modern and advanced ideas. The papers include references to various commentaries and studies on scientific and mathematical treatises, like Katyayana’s Shulbasutra and Vaimanikashastra of Bharadvaja.
The book will interest Indologists, particularly concerned with the study of ancient science, technology and mathematics, as they evolved in ancient India.
India’s civilization has had a long existence that is documented in a huge amount and variety of literature, its scientific advancements over the centuries, its continuing cultural practices and preservation of art and music. This volume comprises papers that explore various aspects relating to the origin and ancientness of the Indian civilization.
Scholars here present diverse perspectives to delve into the contentions and controversies that surround questions such as the one concerning the origin of the Aryans. The papers examine the events that gave rise to the Aryan invasion theory and debunk the theory as a myth and present evidence and arguments supporting the theory that the Rigveda was composed in its bulk in the fourth millennium bce. An effort focuses on the problem of identifying the earliest region of the Aryan ecumene or homeland, including that of identifying its epicentre in India. Incorporating the latest research in history, archaeology, philosophy, genetics, and other disciplines, the papers explain the origin and evolution of the idea of the ancient South Asian city. Quoting from the epic literature, they attempt to derive the date of the Mahabharata War on the basis of the numerous astronomical references in the epic. They also analyze patterns of Y-chromosome diversity in the contemporary South Asian gene pool to throw light on migrations of modern humans within South-west Asia.
Accompanied by maps and other illustrations, the volume will interest scholars from a range of disciplines who are keen to study the origin and evolution of Indian civilization and culture.
Vedanta has retained its fundamental ideas as enshrined in the Upanishads over the centuries. But it is still extremely relevant in addressing the contemporary problems of globalised and liberalised societies. It is in this context that the Vedanta Congress has met at regular intervals to debate and discuss challenges faced by contemporary societies.
This volume presents a compilation of papers presented at the Twentieth International Congress of Vedanta, held at the Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. The papers cover a variety of topics in English, Hindi and Sanskrit: philosophy of the origin of the universe, the behaviour of matter, social structures, political systems, role of language, yoga and meditation, among others. The insightful papers discuss the Advaita concept of testimonial perception, the concept of maya, the notion of time and space in the cosmology of the Samkhya system of philosophy and the Vedantic perspective on the spiritual quest and science. They deal with the nature and theory of origin of varna in the Bhagavad-Gita, Vedantic perception of organisational behaviour, importance of Vedanta in the corporate world, and value systems in governance with reference to Indian dharmic perspectives. These papers also highlight the essence of Vedanta as it applies to modern philosophy, science and business and the influence it exerts on culture, language and lives of people in India and the world.
The volume will prove valuable to scholars and students of Indology, religion and philosophy, particularly researchers of Vedanta and its relevance to modern times.
The conference papers make up a presentation of Vedic and Upanishadic ideas of understanding and ahimsa to address some of the most urgent global problems in todays world. The scholarly articles elaborate on principles of ahimsa as practised by the Buddhist and Jain traditions and by the Indian leader, Mahatma Gandhi. Scholars from India and other parts of Asia as well as the West here explore the scientific and systematic nature of life of the Vedic people. They examine aspects relating to linguistics, the Indian epic literature, and advaita, and study many individual topics like states of consciousness in Indian philosophy and concept of time in Indian heritage. They delve into the meaning and message of the Upaniùads as extremely relevant to us in the present century. A study examines festivals to determine the correlation between annual festivals and natural factors and conducts a scientific analysis that establishes a relation between lunar phases and human physiology, and more generally the relation between calendar and culture.
The thought-provoking papers present insights into the vision of Dharmic traditions for nourishing mutual appreciation and respect among religious traditions. They also reveal the abuses and distortions that the tradition has suffered from within over the ages. They call for a scientific analysis of human traditions so that their time-tested values can prove relevant to the present day.
The joint family system has ancient roots in India, being traceable to the Vedic times when four generations lived together. The tradition helped in maintaining strong bonds of kinship and keeping alive customs and traditions of the past. This book seeks to examine the joint family system in India: its evolution and relevance and practicality in the present times. It deals with the changing social norms, value systems and human behaviour over time and views the role of religion in promoting human values and fellowship which are an essential ingredient of joint family norms. With case studies, it explores aspects of the Indian family like its cultural and ritualistic traditions, the importance and role of the woman as the backbone of the Vedic society, the position and status of the aged with the decline of the joint family system, and the importance of the joint family as a vehicle for accumulating wealth — both material and in terms of serving and benefiting all. The volume will prove a useful contribution for scholars and students in the field of Indian social and cultural studies.
Philosophical and cultural factors play a significant role in developing scientific theories and interpreting data. These factors are also influential in assessing science and technology. We experience a visible distinction in the philosophy and culture of the West and East, mainly due to geographical and climatic reasons. And this difference reflects in their approach to science and technology too. Modern science has many roots in Vedic and Upanishadic knowledge. For historical reasons or so, this has been deliberately disassociated even from the philosophical bases. Vedic traditions or dharma traditions address many a question that modern science addresses. These include the origin of matter and universe, origin of life, origin of species and evolution, state of consciousness and mind, among others.
This book addresses topics such as the basic premise of scientific approach to examine reality; mathematical and scientific knowledge, derivation, and application of Vedic perspective; and models for current scientific issues with Vedic perspective, and thus covers ideas of matter and universe, consciousness and mind, and fundamental questions of defining and applying science and scientific approaches. It also deliberates on more attractive aspects of Vedic knowledge such as Ayurveda and yoga, which are fast finding base across the globe.
The volume is an effort to lay down some of the fundamental principles of Vedic traditions and practices for improving the efficacy of modern science. As ancient Indian texts contain many advanced technologies and scientific developments, it is for one’s surprise that what technologies were in use and what scientific developments are relevant in our time.
Vedānta texts have been well known for their richness in fundamental scientific and technological principles with strong potential for research and development today. In fact, much of ancient India’s remarkable achievements in science and technology can be credited to Vedantic texts.
This volume – proceedings of the 22nd International Congress of Vedanta held during 27-30 December 2015 at Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi – features 53 scholarly articles from a wide variety of areas of study. The 22nd Vedanta was a confluence of scholars from various disciplines and the papers in this volume bear the imprint of an intense discussion that is usually expected from a good Vedanta seminar. Though the majority of the papers are in English, a few are in Sanskrit and Hindi as well. The papers are grouped under Vedānta Studies, Vedānta and Philosophy, Vedānta and Science, Vedānta and Culture, Applied Vedānta, and Digital Access and Search of Sanskrit Texts.
This multidimensional approach extends the core scientific ideas of Vedānta to social, cultural, aesthetic and religious aspects of studies, creating a wide spectrum of intellectual discourse and trying to discover fundamental scientific and technological aspects of Vedānta studies.
Being a worthwhile addition to Vedānta studies, this volume should invoke keen interest among all those who are deeply into it, be a student, a researcher or a common reader.