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The book presents the text of the Ganapati Upanisad dealing with the worship of äsvara and revealing the nature of the ultimate Reality along with its transliteration in Roman script, followed by a detailed commentary a critical analysis on its meaning.
The Upanishads represent a glorious religious-philosophical thinking that is at the core of the Indian tradition. An important Upanishad is the Ganapati Upanishad, found in the concluding part of the Atharvaveda, which deals with the worship of ä÷vara and reveals the nature of the ultimate Reality in which everything resolves. The book presents the text of the Ganapati Upanishad along with its transliteration in Roman script which is followed by a detailed commentary on its meaning that takes up each line for critical analysis. Beginning with a general discussion on the Upanishads, their association with specific Vedas and their main purpose, Swami Tattvavidananda examines the nature of the Cosmic Power and the universe, propitiation of God, the purpose of living, concepts of ananta, ananda and others as explained in the Ganapati Upanishad. He explains the derivative roots of many words so that the concepts may be better understood by the readers. The commentary, in a language that demystifies esoteric concepts, includes many cross-references. The book will be extremely useful to scholars of Vedantic thought and Indian religious and philosophical traditions as well as general readers.
Retrieving a range of Gandhis social, economic, moral, spiritual, cultural and political ideas from various sources, this work gauges the relevance of Gandhi and Gandhism in the dehumanized, fragmented world of moral decay and unbridled consumerism.
Gandhi (1869-1948) held no political office. Yet he could arouse the conscience of an entire subcontinent! A lean, frail, half-naked fakir armed with a wooden staff and simple dignity of a human being, he fought against the greatest empire, the world has known. It was just the moral grandeur of his soul which enabled him to fight against brute power, in any form, even vanquish it. Generations to come will scarce believe that such a one as this in flesh and blood walked upon this earth, said Professor Einstein of him. A saint, social activist and political philosopher, unlike any other known in the twentieth century, Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi held out a message which, based on a series of his experiments with truth, touched upon every domain of human life: social, economic, moral/spiritual, cultural, political. Retrieving a range of these ideas from a variety of sources, this book tries afresh to gauge how far Gandhi and Gandhism are relevant in this dehumanized, fragmented world, perched dangerously on stockpiles of all-devastating arsenal; or in this age of distrust, moral decay and unbridled consumerism; or yet again when seen against todays aggressive/retaliatory attitudes, or against the growing cult of violence. The book is not just a revalidation of Gandhian philosophy, but a reminder as well, suggesting how in his abiding solutions alone: with their eloquent underpinnings of truth, non-violence and service of humanity, lies the hope for mankind in this conflict-ridden world.
Based on decades scientific research this book projects India as the foremost country of the world where diamonds were discovered first. It explains past beliefs, present status of diamond mines, cutting-polishing industry, trade & marketing, and talks about future challenges and remedies to regain original glory.
India, for many millennia, was the diamond capital of the world and controlled the global diamond business. Indians were the first to discover, mine, curate and market diamonds in the world, and were the first to discover that diamond can be cut only by diamond, and can be polished with its own powder. Vedas, Upanishads and epics stand testimony to it. Diamonds were the quintessential luxury of the Indian royalty. Kohinoor, (Mountain of Light), Hope, Great Moghul, Orloff, Sansi, Hastings, Pigott and Akbar Shah-Jahangir Shah had unparalleled place in the annals of Indian and world history.
Till the seventeenth century, the Golconda Fort City in south India was the World Trade Centre of diamonds and was a dream destination for “who is who” in the diamond business. Though at present, diamond business is about $ 72 billion plus worldwide, India has very little to offer to this market size. New nations/countries are on the block and India has become a trivial entity in diamond production from the colonial period due to the monopolistic policy pursued by the British in favour of the new discoveries made in South Africa, and the socialistic policies of Independent India. Even the environmental concerns stood as stumbling blocks against the growth of Indian diamond mining industry.
The present study explores exhaustive data, based on a decade-long serious research, targeting common man. It brilliantly attempts to make one aware about the birth, history, glory, places of concentration, applications of diamond and about the present Indian diamond cutting and polishing industry. The book also introduces the readers into the reality of imitations, artificial diamonds, and discusses such products in detail. It delves deep into the identification and valuation techniques of diamond, and the tools used for the same. Efforts are also made to present many a superstition associated with diamonds, and to brief those diamonds that have some bearing on history.
After decades of Independence, India has failed to regain its lost splendour and leadership position. There is a need to bring changes in its approach to this industry to put it back on track and compete with the present world leaders. The author has given special attention to analyse the present diamond scenario in India and suggests remedies
The book explores the concept and experiences of life after death based on religious insights on the subject and experiences of human souls on the threshold of death as recounted by doctors. It examines the sacred texts of religions, like the Holy Bible, the Vedas, the Srimad Bhagavad Gita and the Upanisads for a broad understanding of the subject.
The book explores the concept and experiences of life after death based on religious insights on the subject and experiences of human souls on the threshold of death as recounted by doctors. It examines the sacred texts of religions, like the Holy Bible, the Vedas, the Shrimad Bhagavad Gita and the Upanishads for a broad understanding of the subject. It deals in particular with aspects of life after death as detailed by Christianity: the General Resurrection, Last Judgement, Hades, Paradise, Heaven and Hell, the concept of the Son of God and His dying on the cross as propitiation for the sins of man. It elaborates on the experiences of the soul after death and on the life after death as such by thoroughly studying the Bible. It reveals Biblical insights on Satanic deceits to enter the minds of people who are spiritually devoted, the soul departing from the physical body, and compassion, solace and love in the spiritual world. The volume showcases the experiences of those nearing death which include new feelings and sensations as a spiritual being, meeting with other spirits and viewing the Light, that is, Christ Himself when passing through death. Mr Isaac emphasises the need to be faithful and perform acts of divine love and righteousness in all sincerity in order to prepare oneself for the eternal life in the hereafter.
The study, beautifully illustrated, focuses on the masks of gods, goddesses and demons worn by the Newars of Kath-mandu Valley. It deals with contexts in which the dancers wear the masks and with legends concerning the dances.
The presence of masks as both ritual and art objects is attested among the traditions of mankinds oldest civilisations. Cutting across cultural and geographical barriers, they have exhibited a remarkable range and diversity of meanings throughout history. The present study focuses on the masks worn in the Kathmandu Valley by the main ethnic group, the Newars. A specific aspect of the Newars is that, despite the political dominance of Hinduism, Buddhism is still alive. The masks represent gods, goddesses and demons, but never the dead or the ancestors. The author argues that the reason for the absence of figurations of the dead or ancestors is to be explained by the funerary rituals. There are no memorial monuments or other objects which perpetuate the memory of the deceased: It is through rituals performed after their death that the memory is preserved. The distinction is made between statue-masks and the masks worn during ritual dances. The author focuses on the contexts in which the masks are worn by professional dancers and draws attention to the legends which explain the origin of the dances and their ritual role. Detailed descriptions are given of the dances performed during different festivals in the localities of the Kathmandu Valley. The masks then worn are destroyed and re-made ritually each year by painters. Anne Vergati explains the relation between the dancer as a social person with a social identity and the mask which represents a god or a goddess. The mask is not supposed to hide the face of the dancer but to transform his identity in such a way as to make of him a deity. Supported by numerous illustrations in colour, the book will appeal to historians and connoisseurs of art as well as to scholars of the cultures of the Himalayan regions.
The book explores the ancient Indian art from the perspective of gender and delves into the development of engendered representation in art, with the emergence of aesthetic and sexual archetypes and stereotypes of women: goddesses, mothers, wives, nuns, semi-divine yakshis, ogresses and others by giving insights into the intention, agency and patronage patterns in early Indian art.
The book is an exploration of ancient Indian art from the perspective of gender. It focuses on the period from 181 bce to ce 320 a period of great turmoil in the politico-economic, socio-cultural and religious spheres that gave rise to contesting ideologies and gender complexities in ancient India. It delves into the development of engendered representation in art, with the emergence of aesthetic and sexual archetypes and stereotypes of women: goddesses, mothers, wives, nuns, semi-divine yaksis, ogresses and others. It examines the nature of the stereotypes and archetypes that were constructed on the basis of gender roles rather than on sex and how these were reflected by various attributes of the representations nudity or its absence, ornamentation, gestures, direction of gaze and context. It gives interesting insights into the intention, agency and patronage patterns in early Indian art.
The volume with its scholarly approach, providing fresh insights into early Indian art, will prove useful to scholars, students and researchers of Indian art and history alongwith the cognoscenti.
Wide in content like an encyclopaedia, it covers everything about gold right from its physical and chemical properties, uses, history, birth inside the earth, the searching methods, exploration, mining, extraction, worldwide occurrences, world production, stockpiles, trade, marketing in the past, present and future, and usage as jewellery.
Gold has made a strong inroad into the human consciousness from time immemorial and we find its presence in the Indian Puranas, the Bible, the Koran and in many a religion including Sikhism. Being in human memory from 40000 BCE, it fascinated the Egyptians in constructing sacred gold artefacts, prompted Alexander the Great for gold coinage resulting into numerous invasions, inspired the Romans to mint gold coins, made Queen Cleopatra to wear gold facial foils to enhance her charm and decoratively covered many domes palaces and place of worship, including the Golden Temple, the citadel of Sikh faith and philosophy, and thus gold has maintained the most sought-after status among all precious metals. As jewellery, it is the quintessential part of the Indian psyche. It has survived all odds and is going strong even during the present economic turmoil. The book covers everything about gold right from its physical and chemical properties, uses, history, birth inside the earth, the searching methods, exploration, mining, extraction, worldwide occurrences from continent to continent, country to country and mine to mine, world production, stockpiles, trade, marketing in the past, present and future, and usage as jewellery. Like an encyclopaedia, this book describes everything about gold. This data-rich coffee table book is the first of its kind and is a sure hit with any avid reader of exploration, mining, geology and general knowledge.
The research examines the nature, development and function of the civil service in ancient India. It explains the ancient perceptions of good and ethical governance study literary, inscriptional and numismatic evidence.
From the Vedas to Sutra and Smriti texts, from the time honoured epics to the foreigners travelogues and literary classics leave alone Kautilyas far-famed Arthashastra and other treatises of its genre, ancient Indian literature carries myriad references, bearing out not just the principles, philosophy and mechanisms of good governance, but the existence of a well-organised, hierarchical civil service as well. Yet Dr. Pandeys happens to be the first ever research effort to consider governance/civil service in ancient India: in all its different manifestations. Covering a vast time-span: from the Vedic times to about the seventh century ad, Anup Pandeys research explores the evolution, nature, scope, functions, importance, and other kindered aspects of the ancient Indian civil service with meticulous description of its varying contours during the reigns of the Mauryas, Indo-Greeks, Shakas, Pahlavas, Kushanas, Imperial Guptas, and Harshavardhana. Also, the book tries to unveil the ancient Indian politys perceptions/norms/modes of good, ethical governance, largely on the basis of sacred works, like the Ramayana and the Mahabharata. Together with inscriptional and numismatic evidence, the author has marshalled an astonishing mass of literary sources to show, beside a lot else, how an efficient civil service in ancient India was viewed as an imperative for the vitality of the state; and why, therefore, high-ranking functionaries/bureaucrats, entrusted with legislative, executive, financial and the like offices, or with policing and military duties, were often scrupulously chosen from among the politys best talent. Invaluable to the scholars of anceint Indian history, political science and government.
Japuji, Guru Nanak’s seminal work, also a daily prayer book, is the quintessence of his teaching. This book also attempts to explain the order of Guru’s prolific utterances, be they invocatory or just eulogistic. It has the Mul Mantra well interpreted. It also has the entire text of Japuji in Punjabi and Devnagari with Roman transliteration.
The ultimate reality, God or Brahman, may well be said to outstrip the reach of thought; but if we do not try, as thoughtfully as we possibly can, to get at what Guru Nanak really says in this seminal work Japuji a daily prayer book Þ how will we be able to benefit from his teaching, as he surely wanted fervently? In the entire history of mankind very few men have been so acutely sensitive to our multifarious suffering, and so keen to show us the way to transcend it for good, as Guru Nanak was. This makes the authors approach this holy work in a new perspective.
This volume tries to interpret Mul Mantra in such a way that the celestial attributes listed in it come to be interrelated, as they must be taken to be. It also attempts wherever possible to explain the order of Guru’s prolific utterances, be they invocatory or just eulogistic. However ebullient the Guru’s utterances may seem to be, they are always significant vehicles of some profound meaning; and also warranted by the running context.
Guru Nanak’s Japuji is a great work, yet this volume is expected to do some good to every thoughtful reader. At the end, the entire text of Japuji in Punjabi, Devnagari with Roman transliteration is given, making the text accessible to the masses who live outside India and need this prayer to be read in English.
Japuji, Guru Nanak’s seminal work, also a daily prayer book, is the quintessence of his teaching. This book also attempts to explain the order of Guru’s prolific utterances, be they invocatory or just eulogistic. It has the Mul Mantra well interpreted. It also has the entire text of Japuji in Punjabi and Devnagari with Roman transliteration.
The ultimate reality, God or Brahman, may well be said to outstrip the reach of thought; but if we do not try, as thoughtfully as we possibly can, to get at what Guru Nanak really says in this seminal work Japuji a daily prayer book Þ how will we be able to benefit from his teaching, as he surely wanted fervently? In the entire history of mankind very few men have been so acutely sensitive to our multifarious suffering, and so keen to show us the way to transcend it for good, as Guru Nanak was. This makes the authors approach this holy work in a new perspective.
This volume tries to interpret Mul Mantra in such a way that the celestial attributes listed in it come to be interrelated, as they must be taken to be. It also attempts wherever possible to explain the order of Guru’s prolific utterances, be they invocatory or just eulogistic. However ebullient the Guru’s utterances may seem to be, they are always significant vehicles of some profound meaning; and also warranted by the running context.
Guru Nanak’s Japuji is a great work, yet this volume is expected to do some good to every thoughtful reader. At the end, the entire text of Japuji in Punjabi, Devnagari with Roman transliteration is given, making the text accessible to the masses who live outside India and need this prayer to be read in English.
The book, examines the relevance attached to the institution of the guru with special reference to the religions and philosophies of India and explores the nature and function of the guru figure and the master-disciple interaction in the religious traditions of the world. It throws light on the link between overcoming fear, ritual death and immortality, and the guru figure in Indian traditions. The book will interest scholars of religion and philosophy particularly those studying Hindu and Buddhist religious-spiritual traditions.
The book, containing papers presented at a conference held in Venice, Italy, examines the relevance attached to the institution of the guru with special reference to the religions and philosophies of India. It explores the nature and function of the guru figure and the master-disciple interaction in religious traditions of the world including those of Hinduism, Buddhism, ancient Greek, Judaism, Islam, Christianity, Confucianism and native American traditions. It delves into the dynamics of the gurus influence and guru-disciple interaction that involves two aspects of power spiritual power and the very worldly socio-political and economic interests. It deals with characteristics and charisma associated with the figure of the spiritual master, his authority, pupils devotion for him, trials for a pupil, motivations of a guru, pandita as guru and recognition of the true master. It scrutinizes the difference in the Eastern and Western traditions vis-a-vis the guru-disciple relationship referring to a variety of sects, thinkers and works: the Mahabharata, Sufism, tantric traditions, Theravada and Vajrayana Buddhism, and the guruvada among Bauls of Bengal. The study meticulously unravels certain fundamental questions like sources of legitimation of religious authority within a religious-spiritual tradition. It throws light on the link between overcoming fear, ritual death and immortality, and the guru figure in Indian traditions. The book will interest scholars of religion and philosophy particularly those studying Hindu and Buddhist religious-spiritual traditions.
The book speaks about the usefulness and advantages of acupuncture and acupressure therapies. It also attempts to understand the concept of kundalini energy and its association with acupressure.
The Energy Pathways in our Body
Acupuncture and acupressure are drugless therapies that are safe, simple, economical and yet very effective for treatment and prevention of a range of common diseases and ailments. The volume is an attempt to understand acupuncture: its effects and the theory of yin and yang that forms the basis of acupuncture. It examines the causes of diseases and functioning of organs of the body. It discusses the nature of the acupuncture points present in the 14 channels and the way the activation of these points helps in treatment of various disorders in the body. With numerous drawings depicting the various body parts and acupuncture points, it deals with the specific acupuncture points for treating specific tissues. It also notes the symptoms of diseases of different organs.
The book details the advantages of the ancient therapy of acupuncture, especially as it doesn’t have side-effects and can be followed along with other modes of treatment like homoeopathy. There is also an attempt to understand the concept of kundalini energy and its association with acupressure. A list of important instructions for the acupuncture practitioners explains the correct procedures of applying pressure at points. A chapter on case histories mentions successful treatment given to patients with a range of ailments.
The book will be useful to scholars and students of medical science in general but particularly those interested in alternative medicines and medical therapies.
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