India's Intellectual Traditions and Contributions to the World

This presentation of Vedic and Upanisadic ideas of understanding and ahimsa addresses some of the most urgent global problems in today's world. The scholarly articles elaborate on principles of ahiritsa as practised by the Buddhist and Jain traditions and by Mahatma Gandhi. Here scholars from India and other parts of Asia as well as the West explore the scientific and systematic nature of life of the Vedic people. They examine aspects relating to linguistics, the Indian epic literature, and advaita, and study many individual topics like states of consciousness in Indian philosophy and concept of time in Indian heritage. They delve into the meaning and message of the Upanisads as extremely relevant to us in the present century. A study examines festivals to determine the correlation between annual festivals and natural factors and conducts a scientific analysis that establishes a relation between lunar phases and human physiology, and more generally the relation between calendar and culture.