Ahimsa In The View Of Indian Sages

Ahimsa (Ahinsa) is a complicated question. It is a Yogic word, the word which points out to the inner spiritual Sadhana, but later on people linked it with the violence of living beings of the external world. In this book, we will find how our ancestors, great sages, have taken non-violence. In this book - 'Ahimsa' in the light of the Srimad Bhagavad Gita, Mahabharata, Shri Ramcharitmanas, Mahavira Swami and Gautama Buddha have been explained.

Today there is a new battle going on over the 'idea of India', with some groups questioning if there ever was any real nation called 'India' prior to the British rule. Challenging this notion are those who claim that India has a profound national and cultural heritage since ancient times and was one of the main centres of civilization in the world, with its own characteristic ideals and practices born of dharma and yoga. The Constitution speaks of India that is Bharata, proclaiming this ancient name for the country. If we look at India as Bharata, the idea of the country and its unique identity and history become clear. Awaken Bharata is a plea for that eternal India to awaken and reclaim its esteemed place as the guru of nations, expressing once more its vast civilizational ethos. The book encourages a new vision of the country, linking its magnificent past with a more brilliant future. It emphasizes the role of a new 'intellectual kshatriya'-intellectual warriors of dharma-to challenge the inimical forces seeking to deny or displace India's great civilization.

The focus of this issue, being always conceived of with its usual and overall emphasis on Nonduality and Universality, falls upon the sacred traditions of Jainism, Tibetan Buddhism, Tantra, and Vedanta, with tidbits of all the other religions of the world present and included in revolving fashion. As a mention and an invitation, the Nectar staff asks for writers associated with Taoism, Zoroastrianism, American Indian, and Western Philosophy to submit articles on their respective faiths and ideologies. It seems that in our eight-year history of producing and distributing a religious and philosophical publication, it has been hardest for us to find authors and practitioners from these four paths to contribute to the journal. If you profess these paths, or know anyone who does who is capable of writing an article to share, please get in touch with us at your earliest convenience. We welcome to the present issue of Nectar a follow-up article on Jainism, a radio interview from the 1970s by Lex Hixon on “Divine Mother Transmission,” an article in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition on destroying delusion by the honorable Anam Thubten Rinpoche, and another article by D.S. Lokanath out of Portland, Oregon. Additionally, we are very gratified to see another of our guru’s articles in print, transcribed from a host of programs I myself recorded at the Vedanta Society of Oregon when he was still alive. In tandem with his discourse, I have offered a fresh article called “The Illusion of Change,” designed to complement the nondual message so expertly put forth by him. May the guru be pleased!

Welcome to the 10th national teacher training program focusing on the spiritual traditions originating from the Indian subcontinent! For the past 10 years, we have had this training program organized for embodied workshop, but due to Covid-19 this year the entire program has been converted into remote sessions. There are some challenges in this process, but we are very confident that we can make the experience fruitful for you. There is a national team consisting of myself, Ms. Kelly O’Riley (Regional Coordinator in Kentucky), Ms. Shivi Chandra (a K-12 Education Researcher), Mrs. Esha Walia (Regional Coordinator in Colorado), Professor Swasti Bhattacharyya of Ohio, Mrs. Katharine Nanda, Secretary, Uberoi Foundation, Mr. Jim Polsfut, Executive Director, Uberoi Foundation, and Prof. Yashwant Pathak, Chairman, Uberoi Foundation Board of Trustees. Kelly O’Riley will be communicating with you on the content and schedule of the program shortly. Shivi Chandra may directly or indirectly communicate regarding setting up separate chat rooms for you to discuss different issues being presented at the Workshop, and my assistant, Ms. Hollie Jones will be communicating regarding logistics issues. We are excited to have you part of this very engaging experience.

The foundations of Hinduism are the eternal and super sensuous truths discovered by ancient Indian sages. Most of them are unknown. The truths discovered by them are known as the Vedas. Sages are the great souls who have found out the truth and devoted their life, energy and experience for the welfare of the people. They are extraordinary human beings having great wisdom, vast experience and character worthy of imitation. They gifted everything to the world without seeking fame or any kind of gain. Welfare of the world was their sole objective. According to Hindu chronology, the period of the ancient sages is till the end of Dwapara Yuga, which is about 5000 years back. The penetration of these sages in the subjects they dealt with is very profound and clear. The later generation just interpreted their work and followed their footsteps. India has been blessed from time immemorial by the advent of innumerable sages. In this book you can read the stories of some of these known sages.

A scintillating collection from one of our most original minds Eminent philosopher, professor and public intellectual, Ramchandra Gandhi (1937–2007) was regarded as a sage in his lifetime. This book brings together some of his long essays and hitherto unpublished talks and writings on themes ranging from non-violence and karma to svaraj, brahmacharya and modern Indian spirituality, that are contextualized in an introduction by close disciple A. Raghuramaraju. Bridging the moral, religious and social, the book offers many original insights: on how Sri Ramakrishna and Sri Sarada Devi’s catholic vision of religion annihilated exclusivism; the manner in which Gandhi’s martyrdom broke the prevailing power of evil and violence worldwide; how going beyond celibacy, brahmacharya is a joyous renunciation of sex; and on svaraj being ‘a struggle for the kingdom of self and autonomy’, not mere political independence. Brilliantly argued and inspiring, The Seven Sages brings Ramchandra Gandhi’s ideas to a new audience, beyond his admirers.

This volume is designed to revolutionize the field of communication by identifying a broad ethical theory which transcends the world of mass media practice to reveal a more humane and responsible code of values. The contributors, representing a diverse range of intercultural perspectives, defend the possibility of universal moral imperatives such as justice, reciprocity and human dignity. Through an examination of the values in which their cultures are grounded, they provide a short list of ethical principles which form the common ground from which to view contemporary issues in the media, interpersonal communication, mediation and conflict resolution.

A critical examination of post-colonial Indian history-writing. In the years preceding formal Independence from British colonial rule, Indians found themselves responding to the panorama of sin and suffering that constituted the modern present in a variety of imaginative ways. This book is a critical analysis of the uses made of India’s often millennial past by nationalist ideologues who sought a specific solution to India’s predicament on its way to becoming a post-colonial state. From independence to the present, it considers the competing visions of India’s liberation from her apocalyptical present to be found in the thinking of Gandhi, V. D. Savarkar, Nehru and B. R. Ambedkar as well as V. S. Naipaul and Salman Rushdie. It examines some of the archetypal elements in historical consciousness that find their echo in often brutal unhistorical ways in everyday life. This book is a valuable resource for researchers interested in South Asian History, Historiography or Theory of History, Cultural Studies, English Literature, Post Colonial Writing and Literary Criticism.