Death In Indic Thought – Part I: An Interpretation Of The Katha Upanisad



 The Kaṭha Upaniṣad evokes death and turns it on its head – it reveals the true nature of death as the greatest teacher that man can ask for

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

खगोल, धातु, प्रकाशिकी विज्ञान के वैश्विक इतिहास तथा भारत के वर्णमाला लेखन और ज्ञान प्रणालियों के इतिहास के लिए निरुक्त का महत्व

Image
  निरुक्त की रचना का श्रेय आचार्य यास्क को जाता है। यास्क नाम पाणिनि की अष्टाध्यायी में प्रमाणित है।   कल्याणसुंदरम (2020ए) के तालिका एक (कल्याणसुंदरम 2020ए:12-15) में निरुक्त की शताब्दी पर कुछ विचारों का सर्वेक्षण है । कल्याणसुंदरम (2020बी) के पृष्ठभूमि नामक उपखंड (कल्याणसुंदरम 2020बी 2-3) में स्पष्टीकरण है कि यह विचार करना अकादमिक रूप से अनुचित क्यों नहीं है कि निरुक्त छठी शताब्दी ईसा पूर्व या उससे पहले का था। उपरोक्त पृष्ठभूमि के साथ, आइए अब हम खगोल विज्ञान, धातु विज्ञान और प्रकाशिकी विज्ञान के वैश्विक इतिहास तथा भारत के वर्णमाला लेखन और ज्ञान प्रणालियों के इतिहास के लिए निरुक्त के महत्व को देखें। खगोल   विज्ञान : डैनियल ग्राहम [Daniel Graham] ने “हेलिओफोटिज्म” [Heliophotism] की खोज का श्रेय परमेनाइड्स को दिया है [1]  । स्टैनफोर्ड इनसाइक्लोपीडिया ऑफ फिलॉसफी (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy) के अनुसार परमेनाइड्स [Parmenides] पांचवीं शताब्दी ईसा पूर्व के शुरुआती भाग में सक्रिय थे [2] । लेकिन छठी शताब्दी ईसा पूर्व (या उससे पहले) निरुक्त “हेलिओफोटिज्म” (Heliophoti...
Read more

The Vedas And The Principal Upanishads – Part III

Image
  Relevance of the  Shrutis   for modern society What relevance do these ancient scriptures of the Hindus hold for the present society? I examine this in the following paragraphs: 3.1 The caste system The first mention of the caste system anytime in the scriptures is to be found in the  Purushsukta  of the Rig Veda.  Purushasukta   (10.090.11 and 12) asserts: ‘When they divided the purusha how many portions did they make? What did they call his mouth, his arms? What did they call his thighs and feet? The  Brahman  was his mouth, of his both arms the  Rajanya  made, His thighs became the  Vaishyas,  from his feet the  Sudra  was produced (Griffith, 1896:) [1] . Accordingly, one can see that the Varna’s were just labels given to the body parts of the same  Purusha.   As they were just the designations of the different parts of the  Purusha , the question of inequality therein is irrelevant.  The...
Read more

Sports And Menstruation: Exploring Indigenous Knowledge

  Female martial artists, as with all serious female athletes, have a distinct advantage over their male counterparts in one very crucial area: The menstrual cycle .” This monthly occurrence provides a window into the functioning of the female body. The smooth functioning of the cycle and periods indicates smooth functioning in many internal dynamics of the body. Sharp cramps, excessive bleeding, and inconsistent or missed periods can be an indication that the body is not functioning at its peak performance. The biggest concern is amenorrhea, or lack of a period. Many women athletes can train hard enough to create this situation. Some female athletes even use this as an indicator of whether or not they are tough enough or training enough. Amenorrhea is actually an indication that you are training too hard, and you are starting to do damage to your body. Men do not have this obvious signal, and are more prone to overtraining to the point of permanent damage.” –  David Bock , a ...
Read more