Purpose - The aim of this paper is to search for values and ethics embedded in the philosophy of the Gita, and to explore if these can be applied to management, to solve a contemporary problem, identified and defined as -- The Problem: Which philosophy, if any, is complete and adequate in itself to be applied in the areas of values and ethics to management, such that it can transform the individual (manager) and reform the society (organization), leading to economic prosperity? Approach - The approach is a conceptual one, where philosophy as historically, contemporarily and popularly applied to management in the form of applied values and ethics, is examined, arguing a case for the Gita, as a solution. Findings - The Gita is found to be a poorna philosophy which is complete and adequate in itself, passes the tests of Perenniality, Completeness, Adequacy and Practicality, and can be applied to management, using the values and ethics embedded in it, to solve the Problem, proposing the solution as -- The Solution: Conform (to the Gita) <> Transform (the Individual/Manager) <> Reform (the Society/Organization)

Many schools of Indian philosophy stress the importance of knowledge on the path to liberation, but what kind of knowledge is meant? Is it the kind of knowledge that can be had through philosophical thinking, through a path of intellectual inquiry? In this presentation I will sketch the position of Niścaldās (ca. 1791–1863), a late Advaita Vedāntin whose magnum opus, The Ocean of Inquiry, though not well known today, was once referred to by Vivekananda as having “more influence in India than any that has been written in any language within the last three centuries.” For Niścaldās, the central practice on the path to liberation is inquiry, an intellectual process of raising and removing doubts which, I argue, is closely related to the dialectical method (of pūrva-pakṣa and siddhānta) employed throughout Indian philos­ophy. The practice of inquiry presupposes a high level of moral and spiritual qualifications, but once these qualifications are met, philosophical thinking itself becomes, for Niścaldās, a spiritual practice. This practice is the chief means for bridging the gap between purely theoretical awareness and a deeper, liberating knowledge.

In this paper I attempt to uncover the concept of alienation in M. K. Gandhi’s seminal work, the Hind Swaraj. It is my contention that there is an implicit notion of alienation that informs the whole of Hind Swaraj, which is, to some extent, similar to the concept of alienation found in Karl Marx’s thought. The Gandhian and Marxian concepts seem to have affinity and seem to share the same critical, diagnostic spirit, since they are employed for the same purpose, namely as keys to understanding (and overcoming) the ills of modern civilization. However, as far as I know, although Gandhi and Marx have been compared in numerous books and papers, there have been no at­tempts to read the Hind Swaraj as presenting a Marxian-looking concept of alienation. So I propose to do that here. I would first delineate the Marxian concept of alienation (section 1). I would then try to make explicit the implicit Gandhian notion of alienation (section 2). I would then turn to comparing the two concepts (section 3). This comparative study would show that a Gandhian way to a non-alienated state is to make constant use of one’s “hands and feet” (a favourite phrase of Gandhi’s), whereas a Marxian way seems to regard the non-alienated state as something to be achieved once and for all.

My motivation for writing this paper comes from a continuing concern with the role of yoga philosophy in our stress. In today’s world man has become restless. Competition is in every profession. Doctors, engineers, scientists, scholars, philosophers and all professionals have created manifold problems. They feel always stress. Science is a great panacea and curative agent for de-stressing therapies, but it has not found an appropriate remedy answer. In these cases, yoga helps to answering many of these questions related to the health of the human body and mind. Maharsi Patanjali was the founder of the most well-known body – mind harmonizing science of India. He stated that the term yoga implies the communion of the petty self with the higher universal self. Patanjali discloses secrets of bringing under control the divergent characteris­tics, variations and modifications vrittis of the mind. He describes eight steps of Yoga for total health & peace of mind and these are sanskrit yama, niyama, asana, pranayama, pratyahara, dharana, dhyana and samadhi. These eight steps include both the spiritual and physical aspects of curative therapy among human beings. These give us physical, psychological as well as mental benefits most importantly stress reduction. Hence in this conflict- ridden world of today, the philosophy and practice of yoga is one of the most effective relief techniques.

The discussion about abhava or non-existence is an important as well as an interesting issue in Indian philosophy both from the logical and epis­temological points of view. The reality of non-existence cannot be denied. According to the Nyaya-Vaisesika thinkers an absence is as much an item of reality as any presence. It is to be noted that I shall discuss the problem of non-exis­tence from epistemological point of view. My discussion will centre round the question ‘how is abhava known?’ Both the Nyaya and the Bhatta Mimamsakas admit the reality of non-existence, but differ as to how abhava on non-existence is known. According to the Naiyayikas, abhava is known by sense-perception while according to the Bhattas abhava can never be known by perception but by a distinct pramana (source of knowledge) namely anupalabdhi or non-cognition. So the bone of contention between these two schools of philosophy is about the process of knowing non-existence. Both perception and non-cognition are essential for the knowledge of abhava. According to the Naiyayikas perception is the karana or special cause and non-cognition is the karana or cause, while according to the Bhatta Mimamsakas non-cognition is the karana or special cause and perception is the karana or cause for knowing non-existence. And for me the position of the Naiyayikas is better than that of the Bhatta Mimamsakas.

At the outset, I would like to clarify that Indian philosophy does not seek image-management. In the same breath, I would like to assert that it does contribute substantially to all branches of management. The role is too vast but here I have confined myself to a recent branch of management and it is image management. Similarly, I have focused here only on Vivekananda though it is possible to bring out the contribution of other thinkers as well. In the age of globalization new concepts are emerging rapidly. Some of these concepts are related to individual development. So here I propose to consider how Vivekananda’s life and philosophy leads to personality development and teaches lessons in Image management. Let us begin with the definition of man­agement. Management is what management does. So a manager is one who manages something for better result. So there is need to develop good manager through his image management. So I think that through the lessons we learn from Swami Vivekananda’s life and philosophy, the manager’s image gets developed which helps him a long way. Through certain virtues like confidence, patience, concentration, positive thinking, fearlessness, considering problems as opportunity, decision-making, modernity, and truth. So “It is time to Arise! Awake; stop not till the goal is reached”. In short on every stage everyone is working as manager, leader. For that image management is essential for one and all. We are enriched by reading Swami Vivekananda’s life and philosophy. To succeed we need to emulate Swami Vivekananda. Unless we hearken unto his words of advice and wisdom, hope and inspiration, we can neither prosper individually nor achieve collective progress. His life and teachings are our last hope, our last refuge. I have made here a humble attempt to show its relevance in image management.

The law of karma is widely and popularly accepted in India. In the process of change and development of human potentiality of creativity, unfortunately man has reached a mental state of homo- fabricus, making and re-making false things as if they were real in order to deceive others. The law of karma has been stated prominently in Vedic literature, the Bhagavad Gita and in Indian traditional philosophical literature. According to this, no man can escape the consequences of his actions. To discuss it, which is relevant and important in the present conditions and circumstances, I would like to adopt the hermeneutic- phenomenological and holistic methodologies. The Bhagavad Gita is the quintessence of Vedic literature and Vyasa’s Mahabharata; there, Arjuna is taught by Srikrishna to perform his svadharma by fighting a battle. One has to perform one’s actions for the sake of duty in a detached and disinterested (anasakta) way without desiring the consequence (karma-phala), with love and devotion (bhakti), and integral fifth dimensional human reality. Beliefs in rebirth (punarjanma)-metempsychosis, and in the supreme Being (paramarthika satta) are the two implications of karma. In order to realise permanent peace, bliss and joy, man has to lead an alternative way of spiritual life of anasakta yoga.

On the advent of 150th birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda (Jan 12 1863–July 4 1902), this paper aims to revisit the philosophical messages of Swami Vivekananda on women and empowerment. Organized in three separate sections, this paper tries for an in situ reading of Swami Vivekananda’s utterances and writings on women in section 1 to situate his vision in the broad socio-political context of his time, and amidst his personal life-experiences. For, I agree with many feminist philosophers that the lived, situated context of experiences mold them, make them what they are, and is an integral factor in coloring our ‘gaze’ on an issue. In section 2, salient points from Swamiji’s vision of women will be presented gleaned from his various speeches, writings, and epistles. The amalgamation of the normative, absolutist elements from Hindu orthodox system with his own bold, radical ideas in his outlook will be pointed out; and will be argued for as a characteristic of his era. In the last section this paper aims to highlight his message of spiritual equality for enriching the contemporary discourse of empowerment.

The term ‘identity’ designates a sense of self that develops in the course of a man’s life that relates him to and sets him apart from his social milieu. It is generally through language, culture, customs, region and religion that one’s identity gets formed. But when there is an interference with these determinants, it affects the very identity of the group. British colonization and British rule for around 200 years in India interfered with the identity of various tribal groups. Current paper talks about the impact of British colonization on the identity of the tribes of Arunachal Pradesh - one of the states in North East India and will try to say that these tribes face a two-fold identity crisis. One crisis is a result of different policies adopted by the British during their rule to keep these tribes secluded and isolated. It has created a gap between them and the mainstream India and has adversely affected the process of national integration and formation of ‘national identity’ of these tribes even after India’s independence. With the advent of British, even the Christian missionaries came to this region. They wanted to ‘civilize’ these tribes by giving them modern education, health care and most importantly their religion. The increasing number of conversions has given rise to another crisis namely that these tribes losing their tribal identity and consequently becoming alien to their own culture. The current paper will try to throw light on both these issues which have resulted into tribal alienation and will also suggest that a developmental model focusing on their total integration can resolve their identity crisis.

Jiddu Krishnamurti is a great Radical Revolutionary philosopher in the world. According to Jiddu Krishnamurti, world means humanity or human race or human beings. World predicament is an unpleasantly difficult, dangerous, severe, unfavorable, disagreeable, shocking and conflicting situation of humankind. The present world predicament consists in its division, separation, contradiction, disintegration, conflict, violence and war which are unprecedented. Human beings are quarrelling, killing, destroying, butchering and liquidating each other for the things made by the hand or by the mind. They have been passing through a great deal of anxiety, sorrow, uncertainty, constant striving, depression, agony, hatred, ambition, jealousy, fear, torture, dishonesty and cruelty. Jiddu Krishnamurti says that thought is the cause of world predicament. Thought is responsible for all the cruelty, the wars, the war machines and the brutality of war, the killing, the terror, the throwing of bombs and taking of hostages. The solution of world predicament is choiceless awareness which is meditation, intelligence, wisdom, peace and love. In this paper, I explain the state of world predicament, the cause of world predicament and the solution of world predicament according to Jiddu Krishnamurti.

The author aims to provide an insight into Hindu world view in general and that of Viśistādvaita Vedānta in particular with regard to sensitivity and richness on issues concerning the environment. Contrary to the anthropocentric model of the West, Indian culture primarily has the reverential attitude towards nature and its strategic extension as a tool for environmental conservation which are reflected in Hindu beliefs and practices, myths and ethical injunctions, hymns and incantations. Such reverential attitude to nature and total world-view are deeply rooted in the philosophy of Viśistādvaita. Its ethics influences resource use and distribution, religion influences an individual’s attitudes and behavior; philosophy builds a strong foundation. Impelled by greed and arrogance, modern man may claim to be a presiding deity Brahmā, the creator or Śiva, the destructor. But he cannot claim to be Visnu, God of Love, the Sustainer of the universe. To meet the challenge of modern man, western world started inventing a new philosophy. In India, attempts are made to revive the resources within the tradition. Viśistādvaita Vedānta provides a good paradigm.

The advancement of Science and Technology has attained so much height that the present age is rightly called the age of science and technology. But we have forgotten that the aim of science and technology is only the promotion of well-being and all round development of human life. Today the whole world faces a crucial problem of violent activities and we are under fear that if all these new research and technology attacks as a boomerang on society, there will be the possibility of destruction of human life. For Gandhi cooperation, inter-religious harmony and peace rather than conflict and struggle constitute the fundamental law of the universe. In modern times on the eve of twenty first century we have gained a lot of material progress, but we are not able to satisfy the human being in its real sense. The present society is facing the vary crisis of social integration. The civilization of mankind could be saved from destruction only through the means of non-violence. In order to establish social peace and order, the individual minds should be molded in such a way that there remains no room for communal hatred and social fragmentation. Therefore, approaching by the way of Gandhiji cannot be regarded only as an ethical or moral virtue but it is rather a growing demand of sustainable world.

Intrinsic and essential nature (svarupa) of Brahman, as Light luminous-in-self of Witness Consciousness (sakshi chaitanya) requires a radically apophatic discourse. Brahman is Ātman, the inner Self, of all beings, is uniform, nondual (ekam-eva-advitiyam), unchangeable, Ultimate Reality which cannot be objectified in any way, since It is the unseen seer, the unthinkable thinker, the unknown knower. The Upanishads require the unique method of excluding all empirical modes of teaching or knowledge about Brahman. And, this method shows Brahman revealed by itself, by simply removing the imaginary veil of wrong thinking, constructed by projecting limiting adjuncts of ignorance (avidya). Brahman, as the inner Self, needs no definition or evidence to be known. Really speaking, it is impossible for anyone „to define” in words or „to formulate” an idea about Brahman, for the simple reason that It is beyond to discursive thought. Brahman, Ultimate Reality, is non-dual light, pure Consciousness as intuitive experience, through which all human activities are performed. Just in this spectrum of non-dual experience, must be understood the negation neti, neti in Sankara`s thought: far from being a mere exercise of philosophical dexterity, via negativa has a practical application, experiential in knowledge of Ultimate Reality.

Though not a conscious philosopher, yet Sri Aurobindo’s contribution to world philosophy can hardly be over-estimated. His invaluable gift to posterity has been to show humankind the way to rise to higher levels of consciousness. For he was a Yogi who verified the Truth of the scriptures in the laboratory of his own soul, and upon it based his philosophy of dynamic, progressive spirituality. In the course of his Yoga he came to realize that Man, as he is today, is in a transitional phase. The journey of evolutionary man is from animality to Divinity and the final goal, the return to God. Man must be superseded by Superman, the next evolutionary emergent. In the Aurobindonian scheme, supermanhood is not an option, but a compulsion, satisfying a teleological necessity. My paper seeks to explore what this ‘supermanhood’ entails in terms of cosmic salvation and world transformation.

This paper takes an Indian philosophical approach to explore the play of reality with imagination in the realm of poetic creation. Endowed with the impulse of creation, the poet referred to as ‘ṛṣi’, i.e., the seer, in Sanskrit, seeks to express his vision of the world through his literary creation, the kāvya. ‘Sŗṣṭi’, the Sanskrit word for ‘creation’, signifies three things simultaneously - an activity, a process and the result of them, i.e., the created one. Here, attempt is made to show how in poetry all these co-mingle, and the known world is created anew by the poetic genius. It is then akin to experiencing the Supreme Bliss. Further, it shows how aesthetic imagination creates poetry with the coagulation of bhāva (emotion) and rasa (signifying the taste of the blissful) which are the heart and soul of poetry. It is believed that if a poetic creation is to reach out to another soul, a poet, in the true sense of the term, has to be an ardent worshipper of ‘speech’, referred to as ‘Vāk’ in Indian Philosophy. This paper tries to reflect the journey of speech towards its divine elevation - through the stages of vaikharī, madhyamā, pasyanti to the ultimate, parā.

Madhyamika School originated with the teacher Arya Nagarjuna in the 2nd century CE. A galaxy of thinkers such as Aryadeva (3rd century CE), Buddhapalita (5th century CE), Bhavaviveka (5th century CE), Candrakrits (6th century CE), and Santiveda (7th century CE) followed Arya Nagarjuna. The Madhyamika-karika, written by Arya Nagarjuna, is the masterpiece. It represents in a systematic way the philosophy of the Madhyamika school. It says that sunyata (the indescribable absolute) is the absolute. There is no difference between sansara and nirvana. Nagarjuna gives the fundamentals of his philosophy in a nutshell. He describes Paticca Samuppada by means of eight negatives: “There is neither origination, nor cessation; neither permanence nor impermanence; neither unity nor diversity; neither coming in nor going out in the law of Paticca Samuppada.” There is only non-origination which is equivalent to sunyata. Thus this paper is analyzing the theory of Paticca Samuppada from the point of view of Theravada Buddhism.

Mankind has always been deeply interested in resolving the mystery of our existence and the world. Human life is very short and has two poles-birth and death. The experience of phenomenal world brings many questions, such as – ‘what it is?’ and ‘who we are?’ The question ‘what it is?’ is existential and ‘who we are?’ is related directly to our being. This paper is a humble attempt to expound these questions in context of Greek and Indian viewpoints. Fantasy begins with these two simple questions, which have been existent since centuries. Broadly speaking, Greek philosophers have been considered to be existential in nature and they want to describe the relation between our life and the world. On the other hand, Indian philosophy or ‘Darshan’ begins with ‘that what really exists’. There are so many answers but matter or consciousness is the chief points of debate. Matter is something phenomenal and it changes, so it is not really existential. According to Indian philosophy, the reality (Sat) never changes. It is an absolute entity (Brahman) or consciousness (Ātman). Now, we can say that the basic problem of philosophy has been the same in Greece as well as in India. Both systems of thoughts want to resolve the mystery of existence, yet the methodology of philosophical enquiry has been different. For the sake of clarity and precision, the whole exposition has been divided into three sections: i. Exposition of Greek Metaphysics, ii. Exposition of Indian Idealism, iii. Comparison and Contrasts. On the basis of a detailed discussion, we arrive at the conclusion that there are several striking similarities between these systems worth reviewing and a lot of further work is required in the field.

Since later 1990’s, a large number of researchers of information science have engaged in the systematization of credibility assessment of online information. On the other hand, Indian philosophical tradition has a 2000-year history of discussion on credibility assessment of others’ reports, which is called śabdaprāmāṇyavāda in Sanskrit. The discussions of these two disciplines share the same interest, but their methodology is substantially different: the former is based on descriptive analysis of the information that we tend to credit, and the latter gives normative formulation of information that we ought to credit. This paper tries to show that the former methodology is not sufficient for the purpose shared by information scientists. It seems necessary for information science to incorporate normative approaches to credibility, and Indian philosophy may be able to help it. I will introduce some theories of Naiyāyika-s (logicians) such as Jayanta (9C), Udayana (10-11C) and Gaṅgeśa (14C) for assessing the credibility of other’s reports, and examine their applicability to the contemporary issues. I will also show the possibility of getting benefit from the studies of information science to improve understanding and evaluation of Naiyāyika-s’s theories.

Consciousness associated with the subtle body and gross body. In the spiritual science of Indian philosophy the art of yoga has two main kinds first is called Rāj yoga then other one in called Hatha Yoga. Hatha yoga starts its techniques from physical purification but Rāj Yoga gives attention on the moral and physical purification. The science of Medicine targets to the ill cell of body but Meditation targets to only the soul of human body. The consciousness is compulsory part for Medicine or Meditation. Without the consciousness there is no meaning of Medicine or Meditation. Meditation creates harmony between the sympathetic and parasympathetic system. Meditation creates wisdom. The wisdom full personality of a human being is able to fight every problem of the life. Meditation provides a stress free or fear free way of life. Peace is a key of happy life and an intellectual life. The peace management of our modern life style can be achieved by the practices of Meditation.

This paper is inspired by a small manuscript, Vyākaraṇakhaṇḍanam by Vacaspati Bhattacharya. Though my paper is absolutely based on works of Pāṇini’s Astadhyayi, Kātyāyana’s vṛtti and Patañjali Māhābhāṣya, culminating to the works of Nāgeśa and Bhartṛhari.In this paper I have attempted to show two ways of learning a language. First, one can adopt the grammar of a particular language and then can have the mastery of that language. Or one can live within the community of that language group and can acquire the mastery of that language. This latter view is supported by ancient Indian tradition of Trimuni---Pāṇini, Kātyāyana and Patañjalis who gave much importance to the lokavijñāna and lokavyavahāra. It is the popular usages that determine the rules, grammatical operation and syntactical-semantic relationship among the words. The two methods mentioned by Nāgeśa are Lakṣaṇaikacakṣuṣa, and Lakṣyaikacakṣuṣa. It has been concluded with Bhartṛhari that two methods are not separated from one another; they complement and supplement each other.