The Indian market of English-language literature on itihāsa grew considerably in the years preceding Modi’s election. This paper analyses how Amish Tripathi draws on elements of Indian myth and pseudohistory, temporalising and localising them to map them onto historical discourses and contemporary India. By blending fiction and nonfiction, Tripathi distances himself from post-independence Westernised Indian elites and constructs a nativistic representation of contemporary India, reflecting a decolonial tendency to purge foreign influences while cultivating those associated with precolonial India.
This paper is about a hypothetical reasoning machine called Pansophos. It is constructed by a group of hypothetical people, who study a hypothetical world called W. These people store the information they gather about W in the mechanical brain of Pansophos. Their knowledge is stored in the form of an abstract mathematical model M. Pansophos’ job is to evaluate the inferences made by its makers, who use a language called LINF for interacting with Pansophos. This paper describes M and LINF. It also describes the rules Pansophos follows for evaluating inferences. These rules are based on the inferential system of Neo Nyāya, a classical Indian philosophical school. Pansophos uses a model-theoretic non-probabilistic semantic system that can be easily described by first-order logic. The system is a close cousin of Description Logic Systems. We shall argue that Pansophos’ reasoning system is essentially nonmonotonic.
This article examines the Integral Advaitic response to the problem of evil through a comparative analysis of Sri Aurobindo (1872–1950), Sri Ramakrishna (1836–1886) and Swami Vivekananda (1863–1902). Integral Advaita views the world as God’s self-concealed play of “hide-and-seek” (līlā), in which He manifests as the universe and all living souls under a cloak of self-fashioned ignorance (māyā) for the sport of self-discovery. This account offers a nuanced theodicy that replaces the retributive and punitive intentions attributed to God in traditional, karma-based Vedāntic theodicies with creative, sportive, and teleological ones. At the same time, significant internal differences within the Integral Advaitic family merit reflection. Building on an earlier article that offered an Aurobindonian critique of the theodicies presented by Ramakrishna and Vivekananda, this article reconstructs, examines and defends Aurobindo’s consent-based, ‘world-building’ theodicy along two lines. First, Aurobindo rejects the near universal consensus that karma offers Vedānta’s best, and selfcontained, answer to the problem of evil. He instead advances a novel account of the Divine’s will for creation and the soul’s consensual descent into birth for the adventure of “world-building”. Second, Aurobindo critiques the theodical implications of the dominant Vedāntic soteriology that defines salvation as the cessation of the cycle of birth and death. Rather, his theodicy rests on the soul’s terrestrial or supramental realization on Earth as the logical outcome of God’s līlā of self-manifestation in the material world. The article finally advances a synthetic and diachronic reading of the three figures and proposes a non-sectarian articulation of the Integral Advaitic tradition.
The deep influence of chanting mantras on mental and physical well-being is well known and a keystone of Vedic tradition. Vedic chanting has been associated with improved mental clarity, emotional calmness, and overall well-being. Recent neurophysiology research indicates that it can aid in concentration, reduce stress, and enhance brain activity. This paper addresses two research questions: (i) the relation between Vedic chanting and the human brain. (ii) Potential implications for holistic health, drawing on physiological and psychological factors. To address the above research questions, this paper aims to harmonize modern science with ancient wisdom by evaluating the effects of Vedic chanting on integral health. It provides a comprehensive analysis of scientific evidence from existing studies on Vedic chanting employing standard techniques such as Electroencephalogram (EEG), Heart Rate Variability (HRV), Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI), Galvanic Skin Response (GSR), and spectral frequency analysis to assess its physiological effects. After rigorous analysis, the study found that among existing mantras used in Vedic chanting, the Gāyatrī Mantra (GM) offers significant cognitive benefits, particularly in enhancing memory, attention, and executive function. On investigating the impact of Vedic Chanting on various health parameters, it has been found that daily chanting may improve memory, concentration, and emotional control, while also decreasing stress and anxiety, according to research that includes electroencephalogram (EEG) and psychological testing. This study supports Sustainable Development Goal 3 (SDG 3) (Good Health and Well-Being) by integrating traditional knowledge with modern science to promote human wellness. It highlights the need for more longitudinal research and standardised frameworks to incorporate Vedic chanting into holistic health and educational paradigms.
