Tending Immanence, Transcending Sectarianism: Plane of Mixed Castes and Religions

The attempt in this article is to extrapolate the notion of hybridity latent in B. R. Ambedkar’s reflections on mixed castes, and outcastes, which subsequently leads to the causal link that he then derives gesticulating to social evils, namely, the origin of untouchability. Whether this embryonic notion of hybridity present in Ambedkar’s work is amenable to the extrapolation of Dalit identity thought along the lines of Gilles Deleuze’s notion of “immanent mixtures” is a thread that this study pursues. This certainly has broad implications for the prevalent notions of Dalit identity. This study ventures to read Ambedkar’s work, Riddles in Hinduism (1987) alongside Deleuze, probing into the intuitive link between notions of hybridity and the plane of immanence. Ideological distancing from predetermined categories of identity considered to be reductive in nature by the intellectuals of Indian philosophical thinking view such predetermined notions as facile conceptions that run short of representative qualities of complex and varied particularities of reasoned engagement with one’s resources. Amartya Sen heralded this ideological position in his work titled, The Argumentative Indian (2006), in favor of heterodoxy and reasoned choice determining priorities between different identities. Lacunae regarding identification of resources prominent in Sen’s work is pointed out by Jonardon Ganeri, who hails from the cluster of contemporary Sanskritists competent in philological and theoretical exegesis of “sastric” philosophical literature from the classical period of India. This study is a close reading of Jonardon Ganeri’s concept of ‘resources within’ which he develops in his work, Identity as Reasoned Choice (2012) to examine the potentiality of this concept to advance a theoretical framework that could counter a sectarian view of Indian tradition, as it is professed at the outset of his work. Sectarianism, which Ganeri opposes, identifies mysticism to be its chief trait which he shows to be selectively usurping only those resources grounded in Vedantic wisdom from India’s past.

THE VEDAS AND BHAKTI HARMONIZED - KŌVALŪR: THE MUTAL ĀḺVĀRS AND TIRUMAṄKAI

The unanimous opinion among religious philosophers is that the Vedas and bhakti are two different denominators of approach to God in Indian tradition. However, the Tamil Vaiṣṇava mystics, the Āḻvārs find a harmonious blend of the two modes in ritual worship. The present article examines the pros and cons of the problem from a study of the hymns beginning with the Mutal (Early) Āḻvārs and last in the train, Tirumaṅkai. The cited hymns are replete with the bounties of nature associated with the divyadeśa-Kōvalūr that we examine for a case study. Bhakti or the Veda is the euphony linked with nature. The present article explains how the Āḻvārs had harmonized the Veda with bhakti. These are complementary modes of approach to God. They are not conflicting phenomena. By the way, data bearing on flora and fauna dumped in the twenty-one hymns on Kōvalūr are presented in a capsule (Attachment).

Natural ingredients for a bacteria-free library collection

Fumigation is widely used for getting rid of pests. This treatment makes use of chemicals. However, if repeated applications are not made, the insects and pests tend to breed again. This treatment also does not take care of the growth of microorganisms that feed on organic substances. India has a warm and humid climate that encourages the growth of microorganisms. Indian tradition makes use of various herbs and spices to preserve reading materials. This study was therefore undertaken to view the effect of locally available herbs and spices on paper. Experiments were carried out in a college laboratory. This was done with the objective of studying the inhibitory action of neem, cinnamon, cloves, pepper and a mixture of all of these herbs and spices.

Yogic Tradition and Well-being

This paper delineates the concept of well-being in modern psychological literature, the variety of pathways studied and its relationship with meaning and spirituality. It further discusses the cultural criticism of modern study of well-being and makes a case for insights from non-western cultures to be included in the mainstream literature. It further discusses the various types of happiness as well as pathways towards them, as discussed in the Indian tradition. These ideas have been substantiated by empirical research and some of the results have been presented in this chapter. It further presents a yogic psycho-spiritual model, based on thematic analysis of core yogic texts, which may be utilized in future for well-being interventions.

Skepticism

This chapter entertains a series of skeptical criticisms of the very project of epistemological theorizing—criticisms leveled by the Buddhist philosopher Nāgārjuna. The chapter begins with a discussion of the role of skeptical scenarios in Western and Buddhist philosophy. The remaining portions of the chapter explore a series of criticisms of the whole pramāṇa-based epistemological program that is predominant within the Indian tradition of philosophy. It examines a series of arguments provided by the Buddhist philosopher Nāgārjuna against the very idea that epistemic instruments can be used to establish the existence of epistemic objects.

On the Indian Tradition of Mathematical Names: A Scientific Analysis

The current paper explores the potential interlink between names of individuals in a society and its collective social consciousness, particularly with reference to the pervasive occurrence of the ‘mathematical names’ in the current Hindu society in the Indian subcontinent and beyond. Initially, an attempt is made to put things into mathematical perspective by drawing a quick sketch of some of the stellar achievements of the Indian mathematicians. Under the six broad categories of geometry, trigonometry, numeration, arithmetic, algebra, and mathematics in the Vedic tradition, a concise simple description of these subdivisions is presented, underlining the names of the concepts and terms, sometimes by producing the textual references. Then, upon identification of such mathematical terms, an attempt is made to juxtapose these with the names current in the Indian Hindu society. By employing an extensive dataset of university student names in India and the directories of Facebook and LinkedIn, we produce both qualitative and quantitative evidence of the presence of such names in the Indian subcontinent. Evidently, these names reflect the impressions of the tremendously rich mathematical heritage left by the Hindu stalwart mathematicians. This hypothesis has also been examined by taking surveys of people bearing these mathematical names, as well as by documenting the ‘conscious procedures’ that go behind the naming of a Hindu Indian child. In trying to investigate if such a phenomenon is unique to the Indian tradition, a stark contrast with the ‘names in mathematics’ as prevalent in the European mathematical traditions is presented, as cultural roots of mathematics are explored. Further, we ascribe the presence of these names as the extant remains of the colossal impact of multifarious mathematical traditions existing in India. Interestingly, the present research also brings to the fore, certain unseen facets of the Indian Hindu society as regards the education of mathematics to women – through an indirect exploration of their names. We also show that the pervasive occurrence of these names is not merely the result of semantic chance events, but denotes the richness of the Indian mathematical legacy. Next, we also present cross-cultural comparisons to show the uniqueness of Indian mathematical and scientific traditions that led to the pervasiveness of ‘mathematical names’ in India. Finally, an attempt is made to clarify some subtle points on the associations between mathematics and religion in India and other cultures of the world. It is sincerely hoped that the present study may shed light on the cultural roots of mathematics and may furnish a new dimension in the study of mathematics, culture and civilizations across the world.

On the Indian Tradition of Mathematical Names: A Scientific Analysis

The current paper explores the tenuous interlink between names of individuals in a society and its collective social consciousness, particularly with reference to the pervasive occurrence of the ‘mathematical names’ in the current Hindu society in the Indian subcontinent and beyond. Initially, an attempt is made to put things into mathematical perspective by drawing a quick sketch of the mathematical achievements of the Indian mathematicians. Then, under the six broad categories of geometry, trigonometry, numeration, arithmetic, algebra and mathematics in the Vedic tradition, a concise layman description of these subdivisions are presented, underlining the names of the concepts and terms, sometimes by producing the textual references. Next, upon identification of such mathematical terms, these names are juxtaposed with the names current in the Indian Hindu setting. By employing an extensive dataset of university student names in India and the databases of Facebook and LinkedIn, we produce both qualitative and quantitative evidence of the presence of such names in the Indian subcontinent. Evidently, these names reflect impressions of the rich mathematical heritage left by the Hindu stalwart mathematicians. This hypothesis has also been examined by taking surveys of people bearing these mathematical names, as well as by documenting the ‘conscious procedures’ that go behind the naming of a Hindu Indian child. In trying to investigate if such a phenomenon is unique to the Indian tradition, a stark contrast with the ‘names in mathematics’ as prevalent in the European mathematical traditions is presented, as cultural roots of mathematics are explored. Further, we ascribe the presence of these names as the extant remains of the colossal impact of multifarious mathematical traditions existing in India. In fact, the present research also brings to the fore, certain unseen facets of the Indian Hindu society as regards the education of mathematics to women – through an indirect exploration of their names. We then show that the pervasive occurrence of these names are not merely the result of semantic chance events, but denote the richness of the Indian mathematical legacy. We also present cross-cultural comparisons to show the uniqueness of Indian mathematical and scientific traditions that led to the pervasiveness of ‘mathematical names’ in India. Finally, an attempt is made to clarify some subtle points on the associations between mathematics and religion in India and other cultures of the world. It is a sincere hope that the present study may shed light on the cultural roots of mathematics and may provide a different dimension in the study of mathematics and society, across other civilizations.

On the Indian tradition of mathematical names: A scientific analysis

The current paper explores the tenuous interlink between names of individuals in a society and its collective social consciousness, particularly with reference to the pervasive occurrence of the ‘mathematical names’ in the current Hindu society in the Indian subcontinent and beyond. Initially, an attempt is made to put things into mathematical perspective by drawing a quick sketch of the mathematical achievements of the Indian mathematicians. Then, under the six broad categories of geometry, trigonometry, numeration, arithmetic, algebra and mathematics in the Vedic tradition, a concise layman description of these subdivisions are presented, underlining the names of the concepts and terms, sometimes by producing the textual references. Next, upon identification of such mathematical terms, these names are juxtaposed with the names current in the Indian Hindu setting. By employing an extensive dataset of university student names in India and the databases of Facebook and LinkedIn, we produce both qualitative and quantitative evidence of the presence of such names in the Indian subcontinent. Evidently, these names reflect impressions of the rich mathematical heritage left by the Hindu stalwart mathematicians. This hypothesis has also been examined by taking surveys of people bearing these mathematical names, as well as by documenting the ‘conscious procedures’ that go behind the naming of a Hindu Indian child. In trying to investigate if such a phenomenon is unique to the Indian tradition, a stark contrast with the ‘names in mathematics’ as prevalent in the European mathematical traditions is presented, as cultural roots of mathematics are explored. Further, we ascribe the presence of these names as the extant remains of the colossal impact of multifarious mathematical traditions existing in India. In fact, the present research also brings to the fore, certain unseen facets of the Indian Hindu society as regards the education of mathematics to women – through an indirect exploration of their names. We then show that the pervasive occurrence of these names are not merely the result of semantic chance events, but denote the richness of the Indian mathematical legacy. We also present cross-cultural comparisons to show the uniqueness of Indian mathematical and scientific traditions that led to the pervasiveness of ‘mathematical names’ in India. Finally, an attempt is made to clarify some subtle points on the associations between mathematics and religion in India and other cultures of the world. It is a sincere hope that the present study may shed light on the cultural roots of mathematics and may provide a different dimension in the study of mathematics and society, across other civilizations.

The Enduring Greatness: The Mahāpuruşha Paradigm—An Indian Perspective

Greatness, a relative concept, has been historically approached in different ways. Considering greatness of character as different from greatness of talents, some cultures have conceptualized greatness as an expression of human spirit leading to transcending existing patterns and awakening inner selves to new levels of consciousness, rising above times and circumstances, and to change the direction of human tide. Individuals characterized by such greatness working with higher selves, guided by moral and ethical imperatives, and possessing noble impulses of human nature are considered to be manifesting spiritual greatness. Examining such greatness is the goal of this article. Keeping Indian tradition in focus, this article has studied how greatness has been conceptualized in that particular tradition and the way in which life and times have shaped great individuals called Mahāpuruşha who exhibited extraordinary moral responsibility relentlessly in pursuit of their visions of addressing contemporary major issues and changing the direction of human life. Four Mahāpuruşha, who possessed such enduring greatness and excelled in their thoughts and actions to give a new positive direction to human life, have been profiled in this article. Suggestions have also been made for studies on moral and spiritual excellence to help realize our true human path and purpose.