Description:
ceremony or ritual conducted in remembers of the people who have dead.
in pic, there is one idol of Bootha, sticks symbolizing gods mahadeshwara and siddapaji (regional gods), each symbol of gods are brought by four different people, called as Dasaya, Jogayya, Madappa and siddapaji. this four people are worshipers of those regional gods mentioned above. The ritual is also done in other forms given different names, in the same regional area. different caste people call it in different names.

The belief is that if present generation serves or worship or respects through conducting poojas, there generation would be safe from practices of black magics n problem from there ancestors.
there is lots of symbolic representation of gods, four people identified as regioanl gods, there visit would be blessings to the family

KNOW OUR SCRIPTURES

VEDAS:
1. Rig Veda: 432,000 samhitas; 28 brahmanas; 42 upanishads; total of 707,000 stanzas

2. Yajur Veda: 250,000 samhitas; 32 brahmanas; 60 Upanishads; total of 455,000 stanzas

3. Sama Veda: 600,000 Samhitas; 21 Brahmanas; 90 Upanishads; total of 950,000 stanzas

4. Atharva Veda: 300,000 Samhitas; 11 Brahmanas; 52 Upanishads; total of 480,000 stanzas



UPA- VEDAS:

1. Ayurveda: Chakranuvesha by Sanaka; original works attributed to Dhanvantari, extant works by Charaka, Sushruta and Vegabhatta(also a bacteriologist); the science of longevity.

2. Dhanurveda: Parveshasta-prakasham by Prachetas; original works attributed to Bhrigu and Vishvamitra; the science of warfare.

3. Gandharva Veda: Svarabuvada by Narada; the science of music.

4. Sthapatya Veda: Siddhantopanyastha by Ashvini Kumaras; the science of architecture.


DARSHANAS: SCHOOLS OF PHILOSOPHY:
1. Nyaya: svayambhu’s Prabhantariksha, Sage Gautama’s Nyaya sutras, Tarka-sangraha, Bhasha-parichheda, Siddhanta-muktavali; Kusumanjali by Udayanacharya is an important work on this subject.

2. Vaisheshika: Kratu’s Darshananubhava; subsequent work by Kannada Rishi.

3. Sankhya: Original work is Marichas’s Anubhava; subsequent authoritative work by Sage Kapila.

4. Yoga: Original treatise by Chyamana called Vrithyajitharnava; subsequent works by sage Patanjali, with elaborate commentaries by Bhoja Deva, Vaachaspathi Mishra, Vijnaana Bhikshu and Naagoji Bhatta.

5. Mimamsa: Original work Arthaprakasha of Rishi Angiras; subsequent work by Sage Jaimini; also called Purva Mimamsa or Karma Mimamsa.

6. Vedanta: Also called Uttara Mimamsa; original work is said to be Lord Bramha’s Prahiksha-pradipa; subsequent work is Brahma Sutras by Veda Vyasa.




SHABDA SHASTRAS:
1. Shiksha: phonetics: Maheshvara’s shiksha and Narada Bhashya are also called pratisakhyas and total 172,00 stanzas. This subject is also dealt with in a chapter in Taittiriya Aranyaka and a book called Manduki Shiksha.

2. Kalpa: Design and Construction of Religious Sites: Devi’s Vyavasthanubhava is the original treatise of 248,000 stanzas. Subsequently, several works on this subject came out of each of the four Vedas. Examples include:

a. From Rig Veda: Ashvalaayana, Shankhaayana, Shaunaka.

b. From Saama Veda: Masaka, Latyaayana, Drahyaayana.

c. From Yajur Veda: Aapastamba, Satyaashadha, Hiranyakeshi, Manava, Bharadvaja, Vathula, Vyaakhanaasha, Maitra, Kathaa, Varaaha,etc.(from Krishna Yajur Veda), Katyaayana(from Shukla Yajur Veda).

d. From Atharva Veda: Kaushitaka.

3. Vyaakarana: Grammar: First came the Maheshvara Sutras and Narada Bhashya, totaling 100,000 stanzas. Thereafter came the Panini Sutra (Ashtadhyaayi, the world-renowned grammatical work that remains unparalleled to date and is accepted as such by Western scholars also) and patanjali’s Mahaabhaashya, both of which are important and authoritative treaties.

There were other notable grammarians before Paanini, namely, Apishali, Kashyapa, Gaargya, Galava, Chakravarman, Bharasvaaja, Shakataayana, Sakaalya, Senaka and Sphotaayana. Kaatyayana was an outstanding grammarian after Paanini.

4. Nirukta: Vedic Etymology: Ganesha’s Niruta and Shesha’s Bhaashya COMPRISE 55,000 stanzas. Subsequent work was done by Yaaskacharya. A well known work is Amara Kosha, also known as Naama-linga-anushaasanam, written by the worlds first lexicographer, Amarasimha, a great scholar who flourished in the court of King Vikramaaditya and who was a contemporary of the great poet Kaalidaasa.

5. Chhandas: Prosody (Meter): Vishnu’s Chhandornava is comprised of 172,000 stanzas. The subsequent work of Chhanda Shaastra came from Pingala. Many other works came later, including Nidaana Sutra, Shruta-bodha, Vaanibhushana, Vritta-darpana, Vritta-ratnaakara, Vritta-kaumudi, Chhandomanjari, and Savritha-tilaka. Chhandomanjari by Gangadaasa is an important work on this subject.

The number of meters possible in Sanskrit poetry is an astronomical figure. The word for meter in Sanskrit is Vritta. There are three types of vrittas: Saama Vritta, Vishama Vritta, and Ardha-saama Vritta. The categorization depends on whether the composition of each line in a four-line stanza is the same or different. For example, in saama Vrittas, the maximum nuber of letters in a line is 26. With 1-26 hard-sound (guru) and soft-sound (laghu) letters in each line, the maximum number of meter-permutation under Saama Vritta is 87,108,864.

6. Jyotisha: astronomy and Astrology: Surya’s Brihadanka-pradipa has 100,000 stanzas. The subsequent important works are Aaryabhatta, and Surya Siddhaanta by Bhaskaracharya. There are also treaties on the subject by Varaaha Mihira, Gaarga and Brahmagupta.


ARTS AND SCIENCE:
1. Akshara Laksha: Attributed to Sage Vaalmiki; deals with the branches of mathematics: arithmetic, algebra, geometry, trigonometry, physics and applied mathematics; consists of 50 chapters; acknowledges the earlier discoveries of Hanuman, Jaimini, Brihaspathi, Kashyapa; also deals with geography, air/wind, electricity, mineralogy and more.

2. Artha Shastra: Short treatise attributed to Sage Vyaasa, wherein he deals with more than 80 ways of earning wealth through Dhaarmik means; extant work attributed to kautilya.

3. Chitra karma: believed to have been authored by bhima; deals with the science of fine arts; 12 chapters with more than 200 sketches; explains a novel method by which an artist can create the complete figure of a person after having seen only a portion of his body.

4. Dhaatu vaada: Believed to have been written by ashwini kumaras; deals with the science alchemy and the conversion of baser metal into gold; a treatise on dhaatus, or primary substances, and their reactions and combinations.

5. Gaja Shastra: attributed to Kumaaraswami; deals with the behavior and characteristics of elephants; gives methodology to categorize elephants on the basis of certain body marks.

6. Kaala Nirnaya: attributed to lord Kaartikeya; deals with the concept of the time, auspicious and inauspicious occasions, limitations of time and its measurements, and the presiding deities of various dates, constellations, etc.

7. Lakshana Shastra: attributed to sage shakataayana; deals with the determination of gender in both animate and inanimate creation; Babhru Muni’s work Kanyaa Lakshana lists characteristics of an unwed girl that can be used to reveal her future, family life, children, prosperity, chastity, etc.

8. Shakuna Shastra: sage Garga’s detailed tretise on omens or indications of success and failure in endeavors.

9. Malini Shastra: attributed to sage Rishyashringa; a comprehensive treatise dealing with flowers and their arrangements, including making garlands and bouquets, how women can adorn themselves with flowers, conveying messages of love through flowers, etc.

10. Malla Shastra: attributed to Malla Muni; deals with health-preservation and bodybuilding; the science of gymnastics, athletics, wrestling, etc.

11. Mahendra jaala: attributed to Virabhaahu; deals with the science of magic; describes the art of creating illusions (flying, walking on water, etc.).

12. Parakaaya Pravesha: attributed to Valakhilyas; deals with the eight siddhis:- anima, mahima, laghima, garima, ishitva, vashitva, prapti and prakaashaya; the 32 yogas leading to parakaaya pravesha, or the transfer of ones jeeva, at will, to another body (as was done by Aadhi Shankara into the body of King Amaruka).

13. Ratna Pariksha and Kanaka pariksha: attributed to Sage Vatsyana; deals with the science of testing precious stones and gold for genuineness, including the 24 lakshanaas (signs) of the precious stones and gems, their categories and the 32 tests of their quality and genuineness.

14. Saamudrika Shastra: attributed to Samudra Raaja, or lord Varuna; deals with the various body marks that are said to indicate a person’s character, life, and experiences; said to have started with Varunas reading of the auspicious marks on Lord Vishnus reclining body; further developed through the later contributions of Narada, Varaha, Mandavya, etc. one of its branches is palmistry.

15. Saudamini Shastra: attributed to sage Maatanga of Mount Rishyamukha; deals with chaya-grahana, or the power and use of shadows; also deals with the science of photography and derivations.

16. Shabdha Shastra: attributed to Rishi Kandika; deals with sounds and echoes, their categories and modifications and the mechanical reproduction of sound (pitch, frequency, velocity, etc.).

17. Shakti Tantra Shatra: attributed to Sage Agastya; consists of eight detailed chapters that deals with the various energies and powers in the universe, including the 64 kinds of energy in Nature; the sun, moon, and their shaktis; the practical applicatopns to harness such forces; the unlimited energy contained in the atom; an atom’s fusion and fission; and nuclear science.

18. Shilpa Shastra: attributed to Sage Kashyapa; deals with sculpture, construction of idols, temples, palaces, etc. 22 chapters with 307 categories of sculptures and over 100 types of images and idols, including their dimensions, proportions, and other characteristics; Vishvakarma is said to have contributed much to the development of this science.

19. Supa Shastra: attributed to Sukesha; deals with the science of cooking, which Sukesha is said to have perfected to a science; contains various preparations of condiments, pickles, sweets, puddings, cakes; different dishes to suit the tastes of people in different parts of the world. Supa means “broth” (thus the word soup).

20. Turanga Shastra: comprehensive treatise on horses by Agnivarman; expounds on everything about horses, including breeding, upbringing, pedigree, points for selection, and various uses including war. King Nala is also said to have written a treatise called Ashva Hridaya on this subject.

21. Vaatavarana Shastra: attributed to Sage Atri. Deals with clouds, their categories and characteristics. 12 different kinds of Rain; 64 types of Lightning, 33 types of thunderbolts, etc.

22. Visha Shastra: attributed to the Ashwini Kumaras. Exhaustive treatise on the science of poisons. Elaborated discussions about the 32 broad categories of all poisons, including their properties, preparations, applications and antidotes.

23. Yantra Shastra: attributed to Sage Bharadhvaja; deals with the types of vehicles for movement on land, water and air; also deals with the possibility and methodology of movement in space without any vehicle, using only mantras (mystic sound symbols) and tantras (energy forces).

LAW OF KARMA

hi guys here is small article by Swami Chinmayanandaji on "LAW OF KARMA" in his book 'THE ART OF LIVING'..



Man's diverse tendencies or vasanas are the prime movers of all his desires and actions. As long as vasanas exist, desires continuously spring forth in his bosom and create mental agitation and discomfort, resulting in actions. These actions in turn leave iprints in our personality as vasanas, which influence and propel our future actions. This cycle is based on law called the LAW OF KARMA, which is one of the significant contributions of the philosophy of vedanta to humanity.

It is a law based on pure scientific reasoning covering the past, the present and the future and is as applicable to mankind and life as any other law of nature. Many hasty readers have misunderstood the LAW OF KARMA as a mere LAW OF DESTINY and condemned it as a pessimistic and ineffectual theory dealing only with ones past experiences in life. The following analysis of it should clear the cobwebs of misunderstanding and reveal its original beauty and strength.

Man is what he is because of his past actions. If his experiences from the time of his birth to the present moment are pure and noble, he is today a man of chastity and dignity. If, to the contrary, they are vicious and immoral, he takes to those qualities. In short, he is a product or an effect of his own past actions or karma. This is the principle of destiny. It may be concluded from this that man is a mere victim of his past action over which he has no control. It then becomes an inert philosophy concerning the dead past which is incompatible with the modern scientific and progressive mind.

On the other hand, the LAW OF KARMA is a vital force in the VEDANTIC philosophy which enables man to be spirited and dynamic and to reach the goal of human existence. Destiny or PRARABDHA is the product or the effect of the past and it forms one aspect of LAW OF KARMA. Man is, in a way, influenced by his destiny since his present status is caused by his past. But, at the same time, he is gifted with the capacity to choose his present action which is called self-effort or PURUSHARTHA. All through his life, he has been exercising this power and an aggregate of all his past self-efforts has determined his present destiny. In other words, the sum total of all past Purusharthas is equal to his present Prarabdha. "What one meets in life is destiny and how one meets it, is self-effort."

The law of karma goes a step ahead of the law of destiny and states that the future lies in mans control, since he has the capacity to change it by regulating his self-effort from now on. Thus, if he had chosen the 'THE PATH OF PLEASANT' (PREYAS) in the past, he has no doubt to suffer the consequences of it at this moment, but his self-effort today may be exercised in choosing with the 'PATH OF GOOD' (SHREYAS) which when combined with the past will make his future better than what it is at present. The future, therefore, is a continuity of the past modified in the present. The freedom to modify the past and to create a future, either for the better or for the worse, is Purushartha or self-effort.

Though man enjoys freedom to choose his action, the effect of his action is influenced by the past. In other words, his self-effort, when exercised, mixes with his destiny to bring about an effect, resultant of their combination. The idea is better understood with the following example: The rate of flow of water in a river is two miles an hour. A log of wood floating on the water will also move at the same speed as the water in the river. If now the log is fitted with a motor with an independent speed of 10 miles an hour, its speed will, in effect, be conditioned by the flow of the river. Its independent speed is no doubt 10 miles an hour, but when it is directed downstream it registers 12 miles an hour and when diverted upstream, the speed is reduced to 8 miles. Similarly, man possesses the faculty of independent movement which is found lacking in the animal and plant kingdoms. Its effect in life, however, is modified by the play of his destiny upon it.

Looking back at the past, man is the product of the past, but looking into the future, man is at once, a producer. At the present moment, he is a product-cum-producer, i.e. he is the son of his father and a father of his son as well, at one and the same time. The Law of destiny only refers to his past and makes him a victim of it, while the LAW OF KARMA infuses the spirit of creation by focusing his attention of self-effort, lest he should get discouraged by the effects produced. Thus the law of karma is governed by the scientific theory of cause and effect. Extending the LAW further, the RISHIS declared that it would be unscientific and illogical to confine the theory to the present life only. The effect experienced in the present life must have had their causes in the past lives and the causes created in the present shall grow into effects in the future.

The law of karma applies not only to an individual but to a community, society or nation as well. Its application is not restricted to the present lives, but embraces those of the past and the future. Thus this law enables one to view life in its entirety which provides a meaning, a purpose and a rhythm to existence. To understand life without applying the LAW OF KARMA, is like seeing a life-size picture with eyes fixed at a distance of a few inches from the canvas. A vision of the totality is lost and one develops a narrow constricted view of life.

The law of karma is an important limb of religion. Religion therefore, is not a mere mechanical worship, but a scientific formula for right living. By adhering to it, man develops himself and enjoys a better and more purposeful life.



hope this article has served your purpose of understanding LAW OF KARMA

Raja Yoga

Click HERE to download the fully English version of Swami Vivekanada's Raja Yoga and HERE to download Patanjali's Yoga Sutra.

PS: The text in the Patanjali file is weird! Also, it has a whole lot of Spanish - IGNORE THAT! The file has a transliteration AND translation of the Yoga Sutra into English (and Spanish).

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summary

I have already mentioned about chitrasen pasayat, book- Tibe, caste and folk culture. chitrasen pasayat research on tribals located in gainpura, kainsar, sambulpur town and koshal of western orissa. Orissa only been selected because of the richness of folk and tribal culture. based on the primary and secondary sources he has done a detail research, from the sociohistory to modern changes in the sambulpur town. He as done a field work, collected information about the region and the culture. some of the field work and secondary sources explains that sambulpur town as separate history where it was under chauhan rulers for 500 years. it is also distributed across two states madhya pradesh and orissa, where it is a indication of culturocide. The history says that sambalpuris are from western orissa and had cultural conflict. The social, history, political and cultural aspects of sambalpuris had been dramatic and drastic.chitrasenas field work focused on the rituals and costomes, where he collected informationa about three festivals, nuakhai, daikhai, and karma. In coming up posts i would discuss on this rituals and festivals.

kiran kumar ctl

The Community Dwelling

To read Neha's articlem click HERE.

Oedipus resistance

I recently told a 21 year old Indian male about Freud's notion of the Oedipus complex. He seemed appalled and said that such a concept was very typically an intriguiging textbookish theory and nothing more. While for a newbie this idea seems quite unplausible, authors have continually pointed to echoes of the Oedipus in Indian mythology. Those who are well versed with these texts seem to have their resistances towards this and thus fail to notice the apparent representations of the complex. Examples are discussed by A.K. Ramanujan in The Indian Oedipus. Parvati cursed Ganesh with everlasting celibacy when he expressed his wish to be married to someone exactly like his mother. A folk tale recited in North Karnataka is that of a girl with a curse on her head that she would marry her own son. She eats a mango on which a passing king has urinated, is impregnated and she gives birth to a male child. She abandons the child into a stream. He grows up in the nearby kingdom and eventually marries his own mother. Ramanujan has found various variants of this story in the neighbouring areas. A recurrent motif in South Indian folktales is of a man returning after a long period of exile to find his wife in bed with another man. He attempts to kill the man until he realises that the man is his own sn who has grown to manhood during his long absense and is still sleeping innocently in his parent's bed. Indian culture even today is shaped such that families live in single bedroom and children continue to sleep in the same bed as the parents well into adolescence. Community bathing is very common and the pivotal position of the mother has been variously documented. Despite this the idea of incestous love is very repulsive for most in the Indian context.

SUMMARY AND REVIEW

This is a review on chapter of book TRIBE, CASTE AND FOLK CULTURE,(1998) by CHITRASEN PASAYAT, he discuss the culture of tribes of orissa, their struggles against the urbanisation, and the debates of issues related to tribes and the Urban's.

The first chapter of the book called "concepts of folk and folk culture: Reexamined in the Indian context", where chitrasen discuss about the definitional problems and the conceptual problems of term folk and tribes. I will give a summary of the chapter,
Folklore is refered as oral literature handed down to as from generation and generation through oral tradition, through art, dance, songs literature, folk tales, tradition and myths. the folk culture is carried out.Folk culture is everyday life include cos tomes. settlements, cookery, notions, symbols, medicine, play and arts. Chitrasen discuss on the origins of folk culture which is problematic, because the folk culture is taken through the oral tradition where their is no written records, and even it takes in different levels, even the folk dance and songs are seen in rural settings which makes difficult to distinguish between the tribal culture and rural culture. Difference between the elite culture and tribal culture. Elite culture in Indian context is about the Hindus who take higher stratum in the society,(caste based) and where as tribal who are at lower stratum of society. who differs in their culture from the upper caste groups. Even Marx as tried to define the folk or tribal, According to Marxian philosophy tribal are nothing but peasant group, where he majorly divides the society based on the class ideology. So in Indian context the tribals take position of peasant, the division is based on the ideology of caste(purity and impurity), but understanding the tribal group based on the hierarchical structure of society gives an misconception about the tribal group. and even it is complicated in Indian context because of the caste system, which is been misinterpreted by outsiders(western). Rural culture and tribal culture, some scholars have assumed both share some of the characters tics, but research have shown the difference between the both the cultures. Main difference we can see are the tribals are nature oriented people, they are highly depended on the nature, their settlement, social, economic and political system is created based on the nature. where as rural community is referred as the system which is similar to the tribal system but they are considered as cultivators, and rural community as certain social order which is regulated by macro system of caste and other social factors. In simple words we can say that tribal community is micro community and rural is macro community.chitrasen as also discussed on the sanskritisation and tribalisation, where both the terms refers to the following other culture, it is a adaptation of the culture of others to ourselves. Lastly he discusses on the how urbanisation is effecting the tribal community.

I would like to discuss some of the issues and the questions that I have about the concept of folk, tribes and cultures. The question that I have about the concept to what extent we can say that the folk culture is carried away through oral tradition? if we need to understand the tribal culture we need to understand them through their culture itself. the tribals are given the term, concept of folk are used to understand their culture, which are given by mainstream society, where the culture is been recorded in a written form or in any other medium. It would be mistake if we say that tribal culture is passed through generation to generation through oral tradition, their may be other mediums, and other components which play role of passing on culture to generations. my point of view is using the term folk is a mistake to identify the tribal and rural cultures. Another issue is about the Hindu and other group of caste in Indian society. Its said that Hindus are at the higher level and tribals are the bottom down group in the hierarchy of the caste system. my concern is who is the first is it the Hindus are the origin's of the Indian society are the tribal group? this would be the question which raise issues about the hierarchy, the originality's of the Indian society, in later discussions i would try to answer. Lastly talking on rural culture and tribal culture, apart from the living styles I would see both the communities as similar. till now I have discussed sociological perspective about the tribals and rural society. I have started to raise the question about the tribal minds by looking at the larger picture of the rural and tribal society. in simple words macro level to micro level.

kiran kumar ctl

SUMMARY AND REVIEW

hi
This time I will be discussing on my topic tribals, rural and folk minds. In following paragraph I would like to share some of the ideas about a kannada movie called BHOOMI GEETHA, which is state award movie. later I will discuss on the first chapter of the book written by chitrasen pasayat.

As I already mentioned that I would began with summary of the movie, which according me a beginning for my future discussion of the topic. BHOOMI GITA (1997), released in karnataka as won state awards, cast atul kulkarni, vinay prasad, and other theatre artist, music illayaraja, director haravu kesari.

Movie is an narration of the displacement of the tribal group living in southern karnataka near to the bank of river thungabhadra, the government officials who come over their to construct a dam across the river, which effects the living of the tribal community. The clashes and the troubles of tribal group is pictorically narrated in the movie. The movie depicts the psychological, social, economic and political arena of the tribal group. It shows the daily living of the tribals, their culture, art, traditions, rituals and the system where they will be dependent on the nature. the movie also depicts the difference between the tribal system, closer villages to the tribal group their communication witht he tribes, an rural system and the relationship with government official, where it shows the three different categories of the people, at the end of the movie tribes will be displaced because of their own ritualistic traditions. which is nicely depicted in the movie. Some of the major points which I am interested share through this summary is how movie as given an identity are explained the tribals. The movie depicts the TRIBALS as nomadic, barbaric and still in an infant state of society. the sociological theory of evolution of society explains nomadic society is the beginning of the evolution of society. Even still dependent on the barter system of earning some of the practices as hunting to mary a girl, not using slippers inside their region of living. such things are very interested and raise the questions about the tribal mind settings. what is that made them to come up with their own way of their living? which is different from urban and as well as rural which are closer to them. this also raise question about the evolutionary psychology of man. movie perspective it is very simple and self explanatory movie. sociologically it raise lots of question and kind of revolutionary movie against SEZs and other government policy. psychologically that i would look into the movie as a key to define the tribes, understand their behavior through their everyday life practices, rituals, costomes and behavior.


kiran kumar ctl

Introduction

Hello all,

First of all apologies, for the delay. Having grown up as a kid around various practices and customes unique to this land with several religious and spiritual dimensions to it, I would like to explore the underlying philosophies of these practices. Hence my work in the area in a way will focus on understanding these aspects, weather these practices are just mere traditional customs or but more worthwhile deeds benefiting one and all. For this I would like to get my self equipped with the substantial knowledge as to advocate the cause. For this I beleive that Chinthana is the best platform for me to start of with my ideas of going about this process. In the longer run I would like to work for the similar purpose with better clarity when it comes my vision and direction. I would like to go back to the ancient scriptures and understand the underlying essences of the work not from mere intrepretations alone but to rework on the frame not just on those provided by these previous works alone.This understanding I believe would help us to bring out these philosophies confined within boundaries without reaching out to the mankind beyond aspects like religion, caste etc. This would not be entirely possible for the time being as I m not qualified enough to carry out this process. In this dream project of mine I might not be able to work on everything i wish to, but would like to produce quality in whatever, be it single piece of research I don t mind dedicating my lifetime for the cause. This in turn I believe would make us think and look at things differently facilitating more research of the kind. Chinthana is a platform for me, not only to put across my ideas but more than that to learn from like minded people with similar interests in understanding the thoughts from the roots our ancestors. In this process I hope good quality knowledge is generated from the interactions with one another. I hope to learn and acquire knowledge from all my friends.As I look up to this exciting journey with all you guys , with hope and a lot of expectations I would like to wish all my fellow contributors all the best with their efforts to understand ' Indian Thought- Cinthana'.

Hi everyone
I'm one of the late joiners or the lazy one you may all say. I joined chintana with a thought to put across all my observations of people from different parts of india, as i have been travelling a lot. though the culture is different evrywhere the people somehow hold some basic similarity in their way of living , thinking and expressing. what i have found is that the generation that is old ahave this simple saying that kids of now a days have gone far beyond values n culture n forgotten to respect the olders and elders.... whereas if u consider the ones in middle they hang somewhere in middle they can't give up their culture inherited from their parents nor can they ignore the demands of their children of mordern days. and the youngest of all generation they don't disrespect what their older generations follow , its just that they want to do things differently. i feel i being one of them, is struggling to do the same; infact all of us are trying our best.
now u would wonder where is the psychology here, i find its there u jus need to peep deeper or jus hear all that u have been eavasdropping. i mean have u seen a corporate lady going to office attired in a office suit all westren but still putting sindoor, n some bangals because she is married. its jus like western where they look for the ring we look for these signs. i jus want to say however we turn westernised deep down the indeginous indian thrives... jus got to look in.
thnx for reading
NEHA

review

hi
I am going to provide a summary of the chapter of the "THE INDIAN MIND" "essentials of indian pohilosophy and culture (1967) by CHARLES A MOORE,also an review of the chapter.I will try to critically look at the moores explaination of indian mind.

I would like to mention here that this blog is created with the objective of understanding indian thought and mind based on the indian understanding(scholars and texts of indian thinkers),moores articles tries to picture western understanding of the east.
Before the beginning of the summary here is an introduction about charles a moore: senior professor philosophy of university of hawwaii, he was known internationally as the innovative and driving force behind the east west philosopher conference,1939 to 1964, held in honolulu which brought together some of the leading thinkers of the orient and occident to exchange ides and to enhance their understanding of other tradition.
summary:
charles a moore,introduction: the comprehensive indian mind,
chapter is an overview about the comprehensive understanding about indian mind which is based on philosphies of indian tradition on the many sided culture throught the ages.he starts with reason for need of understanding of philosophy of indian thought.
criticizes the western view about the indian minds, where they have misunderstood, westerners who have seen in india the source of fulfillment of their own selfish search for power and riches.he criticize the misrepresentation, confusion, misconception about the indian spirit "mind", philosophy, tradition and culture. west have destroyed the spirit of indian, but today its differnt case, it becomes a mistake if we use the loop of west to see india, we must concern ourselves, to understand indian mind need to look into the richnes, profudity, heights and depths of indian philosophy which is grounded in the sociopolitical and economic traditions and culture of everyday life of indian thought. understanding the thought of indian mind one as to have certain attitudes where he will be open minded, coridality to alien ideas and ideals , reconstruction of western misconception about indian thought, genuine understanding is required,should not oversimplifiy things.
philosophy is the main concern in this chapter so he looks into the different period of indian civilization which is carried from 4000 yrs of high level of culture and tradition. he divideds into three periods firstly vedic period he covers up with vedas upanishads, second period this is the period of two great epics the mahabharata and ramayana which are a comvination of history, mythology, and religo-philosophical, third period is sutra period.during this period the great six systems of hindu philosophy were formulated, systematized, and written in terms of the origianl basic texts of these great and greatly varying schools of philosophy, lastly he provides an account on western entry into indian where how the west as effect the indian philosophy. based on the historical account where moores focuses on the philosophical side of indian thought, ends up his article by concluding his philosophical understanding by stating 17 principles of indian thoughts,such as belief in sould spiritual goal of man is moksa, god as the ultimate, monism, karma, reibrth, the degree of tolerance introspective approach to truth, self having the infinitely greater powers, belief idealism, charity, values of soical life,welfare of society, moral purification of knowledge, transforming one's nature in accordance to truth,yoga for spiritual truth and lastly ultimate optimism. this may be and may not be the characterstics of indian thoughtas a whole, but he says it is important for 'understanding' in indian minds.

chalres a moore a intorductor note where his book the indian mind, essential of indian philosophy and culture, which is totally oriented with the pilosophy of indian people,based on the conference 1964, an collective idea about the indian mind is provided in his article, great scholars such as sakesna, raju, mohan datta, swami nikhilananda, mahadevan, s.radkhakrishnan, murti, tara chand,and others this book is published.
as mentioned by moore its important to understand indian philosophy which is the foundation for understanding of indian mind, but the question whiich i would raise here is the philosophy of indians which are mentioned above is based on the vedics, epics and only a philosophy of superiors, where the account provided is by intellectuals who hold good positions, this understanding of philosophy of one part of the indian culture, tradition and religion does not provide an total indian mind. in other words what about the commmon man or minority group, especially such as tribles, and rural unseen minds which are major group of people in indian,as we know india is a vast multicultural country containing very typical and various race, religion, cultural groups and communities. the understanding of the philosophy of which is based on the vedics and epics doesnot provide an detail account about the indian thought, its an half a truth, they dont provide an account on rural settings tribles and minority groups. which is missing in the charles a moore book
kiran