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Ethics and Culture:S...
Ethics and Culture:Some Indian Reflections
by: Indrani Sanyal , SashinunglaThe book explores values that involve mans existence and his interaction and interrelations with others and deal with the Vedantic, political and economic thoughts of eminent saints and thinkers of India. The articles also include various viewpoints with the hope to ignite the spirit of better understanding of values.
₹795.00 ₹716.00
ISBN: 9788186921524
Year Of Publication: 2010
Edition: 1st
Pages : viii, 364
Language : English
Binding : Hardcover
Publisher: Decent Books
Size: 23
Weight: 700
The anthology Ethics and Culture: Some Indian Reflections looks into global and local questions pertaining to individual morality and social ethos in the larger domain of man in relation to man, in relation to various domains of society and also in relation to nature/world/cosmos. A group of philosophers have presented a panorama of pluralistic Indian perspectives that include classical, traditional Vedic, contemporary and tribal viewpoints with the hope to ignite the spirit of better understanding of values. The result is a well-planned text for students of philosophy, sociology, anthropology and politics and an analytic and authentic reference for researchers with interest in these areas of thought.
Any forward-looking reader with a wider interest may find this anthology to be quite useful.
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Sale!Ancient Gods and Heroes of East and West by: Marta Vannucci
₹900.00₹810.00This book is a study of the people of nomadic groups or clans of Central Asia from about 6000 bce to the last millennium bce to explore why cultures and history developed the way they did in Central Asia by taking up the Indo-European and other settlements notably, the Greeks, the ancient Iranians and Indo-aryans of the Indian subcontinent for in-depth study. It deals with the quest for knowledge which led to evolution of cultures from simple primitive life to a society complex in structure, from philosophy to religion. The study of gods and heroes examines stories relating to migration and settlements and the geography of ancient civilizations. It is in this setting that their unique philosophies and religious beliefs flourished, giving rise to belief in numerous gods and heroes. It discusses the myths and legends of the ancient cultures, highlighting names, deeds and events relating to honoured gods and much-praised heroes. Dr Marta Vannucci significantly concludes that both Indo-aryan and Indo-Iranian people had been able to maintain their traditional customs and habits backed by technical developments up to the last centuries bce. Throughout, she bases her observations on reliable information provided by archaeology substantiated by oral and written traditions of Central Asia, Greece and Rome. The volume will be invaluable to scholars of history, anthropology and archaeology who are keen to systematically unravel the obscure origins of the great human civilizational march.
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Sale!Absence of the Buddha Image in Early Buddhist Art by: Kanoko Tanaka
₹1,500.00₹1,350.00It is next to impossible today to even think of Buddhism without the presence of the Buddha image! The image of the Buddha, in truth, has not only come to symbolise the essence of Buddhism but is also a brilliant expression of the cultural/artistic achievements of the Buddhists since ancient times. Surprisingly, the Buddha image developed at a later stage of the evolutionary process; after the parinirvana of the Buddha, the Buddhists for a considerable time beheld the Buddha and experienced him in their own minds without taking recourse to the Buddha image itself. In Absence of the Buddha Image in Early Buddhist Art, Dr. Tanaka, a well-versed scholar, has for the first time ever explored the absence of the Buddha image in Buddhist art particularly in the period from third century bc to late first century ad in order to rediscover the significance of this phenomenon. Dr. Tanaka observes Bharhut and Sanchi sculptures to point out the most essential motifs and elements of stupa-art design the visible facts pertaining to the absence of the Buddha image. The author studies the religious, philosophical, artistic and political significance of the visible facts, highlighting the concept of the empty throne as the motif representative of that absence. She applies the empty throne concept to the sanctuaries of monotheistic religions, and thus undertakes a comparative study of Buddhism and other religions, particularly, Zoroastrianism, Judaism, Christianity, Islam and Sikhism to suggest that present-day discussions on the linkage between religions can centre on this theme. The dexterous handling of the topic combined with the authors use of first-hand research material makes this an erudite study. The directness in the authors approach and the unwavering eye on the theme sustains the interest throughout. An abundance of visual material, i.e., drawings and photographs, and tables immensely aid in analysis of the visible facts. This intense work on a rich theme offers well-researched and interesting material that will be useful to scholars of religious studies, fine arts and even philosophy.
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Sale!MAHAMUDRA AND ATIYOGA by: Giuseppe Baroetto
₹650.00₹585.00Mahāmudrā and Atiyoga are particular forms of Buddhist spirituality: Mahāmudrā, the ‘Great Seal’, is considered by Tibetan teachers to be the essence of both the short path and the final instructions that conclude the gradual common and esoteric paths of Buddhist doctrines; Atiyoga or ‘Extreme Union’ represents the Buddhist Dzogchen or ‘Great Completeness’ doctrine.
This volume comprises commentaries on and the transliteration of some ancient Tibetan texts, authored by Buddhist mystics and Tāntric teachers of Mahāmudrā and Atiyoga.
Translated from the Italian, the book is based on oral instructions received by the author from Tibetan teachers. It discusses the insights of the sacred texts and the commentaries on them with respect to the nature of consciousness and phenomenal existence, meditation on guru and deity, Tāntric sexuality, and the introduction to and realization of non-dual awareness.
Simple to understand, the commentaries explain the many meanings of the texts and the symbols and images used. They motivate readers to observe for themselves and personally experience the significance of the traditions and the application of their methods of practice.
The volume will be useful to all students and scholars of Buddhist studies, particularly of the Buddhist Tàntric tradition, and of Tibetan religion and culture. -
Sale!Sleeping to Dream and Dreaming to Wake Up by: Vijay Srinath Kanchi
₹1,600.00₹1,440.00“Dreams play a significant role in our life, meaningfully affecting us in the development of our personality and our spiritual journey. They are an everyday experience for any human being. Dreams have always been of great interest to poets and philosophers alike since ancient times and examples are aplenty in Indian and Western scriptures. However, it is an uphill task for an ordinary person to fully appreciate the intricacies and significance of dreams in the day-to-day life. It is here that this book proves as an invaluable guide providing deep understanding on the nature of dream and sleep.
This book is a repertoire of human wisdom – gathered for centuries and attested by the modern science – offering enormous insights into our dream and deep-sleep states. It asks, from a common man’s point of view, many a question that perturb us and provides answers to them from the scientific and spiritual perspectives in a captivating way. Some such questions include:
• Do we see dreams in black and white or in colour?
• What does a visually-challenged person see in his dreams?
• Why are some of our dreams extraordinarily vivid with electric colours, the clarity and brilliance of which, we may never encounter in our ordinary waking lives?
• Why are we non-reflective, irrational in our dreams?
• Are the dream time and waking time equal?
• How does our memory work in dream state? Why do we forget our dreams and is it possible to improve dream recall and cultivate awareness in dreams?
• Why do we fail to distinguish a dream object from the physical world object while we are dreaming?
• If the dream experience exactly feels like the real world and we fail to distinguish it from the waking world while we are dreaming, how can we be certain that we are not dreaming now?
• How does a dream contain various persons exhibiting opposite emotions at the same time when all the dream characters including the witnessing dreamer are produced out of single mind of the dreaming person?
• Can we intentionally transform the dream scenarios? If so, what would be the philosophical implications of it?
• Can dreams and sleeps be utilized for spiritual elevation?
… and many more questions we always wondered about the daily eight hours of our bed time, but never got the right answers to! We find new meanings and ways in dealing with our dreams in this volume, therefore, it is a must read for every dream enthusiast as well as any serious spiritual seeker.
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Sale!Journey to the Centre of my Being by: Jim Wilson
₹350.00₹315.00Jim Wilson is an adventurer: mountaineering; Antarctic exploration; adventure films with Sir Edmund Hillary (on one of which he drove a jet boat up Mother Ganga from ocean to sky); climbing and school building with Sir Edmund in the Everest region of Nepal; and sailing to Pacific islands in a small yacht. These physical adventures provide an exciting backdrop to this book.
But Jim is also a religious adventurer. He relates in depth, with clarity and humour, his long journey in search of a satisfying way of understanding and experiencing the true nature of his self, and of his place in this mysterious universe. Studying Western philosophy and theology moved him away from intense involvement in the liberal Christianity of his parents. So he looked to India, inexhaustible source of inspiration. For two years he studied Indian philosophy and religion at Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi. Then he taught for 23 years in the Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies at the University of Canterbury, New Zealand, returning many times to India and Nepal.
Though profoundly moved by the religions he studied and taught about, he was unable to accept the metaphysical beliefs underpinning them. Increasingly, though, he became fascinated by modern scientific discoveries about the universe, and about our planet and the evolution of life on it. So he wove together elements from religious and scientific traditions. In particular, he took Adi Shankara’s Advaita, also known as spiritual monism, and applied it to the physical universe, adding in also feelings and attitudes from New Zealand’s indigenous Maori religion. He now believes that the centre of his being is the physical energy of the universe, with which, therefore, he is at one. He finds this deeply satisfying in understanding, and emotionally and morally experiencing, his place on this planet and in the universe. Because it owes so much to spiritual monism he calls it physical monism, or physical Advaita.