As Acharya Vidyanand writes in the Foreword of Samayasara, it is the ultimate conscious reality. The enlightened soul has infinite glory. It has the innate ability to demolish the power of karmas, both auspicious as well as inauspicious, which constitute the cycle of births and deaths, and are an obstacle in the path of liberation of the soul. Samayasara is an essential reading for anyone who wishes to lead a purposeful and contented life. It provides irrefutable and lasting solutions to (...) all our problems, concerning worldly ways as well as spiritual curiosities and misgivings. (shrink)

Correspondence with a disciple revealing an altogether unknown facet of Sri Aurobindo's personality: his great sense of humour.

Pancreatitis is a complex, progressively destructive inflammatory disorder. Alcohol was long thought to be the primary causative agent, but genetic contributions have been of interest since the discovery that rare PRSS1, CFTR and SPINK1 variants were associated with pancreatitis risk. We now report two associations at genome-wide significance identified and replicated at PRSS1-PRSS2 and X-linked CLDN2 through a two-stage genome-wide study. The PRSS1 variant likely affects disease susceptibility by altering expression of the primary trypsinogen gene. The CLDN2 risk allele is (...) associated with atypical localization of claudin-2 in pancreatic acinar cells. The homozygous CLDN2 genotype confers the greatest risk, and its alleles interact with alcohol consumption to amplify risk. These results could partially explain the high frequency of alcohol-related pancreatitis in men. © 2012 Nature America, Inc. All rights reserved. (shrink)

The Life Divine explores for the Modern mind the great streams of Indian metaphysical thought, reconciling the truths behind each and from this synthesis ...

The seminal treatise and guide to Ashtanga yoga by the master of this increasingly popular discipline There is a yoga boom in America, and Sri K. Pattabhi Jois is at the heart of it. One of the great yoga figures of our time, Jois brought Ashtanga yoga to the West a quarter of a century ago and has been the driving force behind its worldwide dissemination. Based on flowing, energetic movement, Ashtanga and the many forms of vinyasa yoga that grow (...) directly out of it--have become the most widespread and influential styles of practice in the United States today. Mala means "garland" in Sanskrit, and Yoga Mala--a "garland of yoga practice"--is Jois's distillation of Ashtanga. He first outlines the ethical principles and philosophy underlying the discipline and explains its important terms and concepts. Next he guides the reader through Ashtanga's versions of the Sun Salutation and its subsequent sequence of forty-two asanas, or poses, precisely describing how to execute each position and what benefits each provides. Brought into English by Eddie Stern, a student of Jois's for twelve years and director of the Patanjali Yoga Shala in New York City, Yoga Mala will be an indispensable handbook for students and teachers of yoga for years to come. (shrink)

The purpose of this paper is to examine the factors that influence the intention of students to pirate academic e-books by integrating three main theories: ethics theory, deterrence theory, and the theory of planned behavior. The study also examines the moderating role of past piracy behavior on the relationship between the factors in the previously mentioned theories and students’ piracy intention.,The data were collected using a convenience sample of 662 university students. Based on their past behaviors, the students were grouped (...) into “no piracy” and “piracy” groups.,The result shows that the piracy intention of both the no-piracy and piracy groups has a similar influence based on the moral obligation in ethics theory. The factors in the deterrence theory, which includes fear of legal consequences and perceived likelihood of punishment, have no significant impact on the attitudes of the two groups toward piracy. While the intention of the no-piracy group is not influenced by other internal factors, such as self-efficacy, or by external factors, such as subjective norms and facilitating conditions, the behavioral intention of the piracy group is significantly influenced by these three factors.,This study only focuses on piracy attitude and behavior in the context of e-books.,In Indonesia, the insignificant impact of factors from deterrence theory (the fear of legal consequences and perceived punishment) indicates weak law enforcement to combat digital piracy. Thus, it is imperative that law enforcement, especially regarding piracy, should be enhanced.,The significant role of ethics in the attitudes toward piracy indicates that morality serves as a moral compass to fight piracy behavior. The strong impact of subjective norms, especially in the piracy group, suggests that families should raise children and educate youth with beliefs that align with the concepts of morality.,The study integrates three theories that are most often used in piracy behavior studies: ethics theory, deterrence theory, and theory of planned behavior. In addition, the study provides empirical evidence on the moderating role of past experience in piracy behavior. (shrink)

This paper seeks to provide a renewed meaning to the idea of truth by enclosing it within Gandhi’s rhetorical use of the term religion. The religion that he seeks to present to us as Hinduism is absurd on all fronts, it is argued here. It is through such absurdity that he infuses notions of validity and obeyance on his own terms to take us to profuse criticisms of not only colonial but civilizational modernity as well. Further a newer meaning is (...) given to Hinduism in a rather unexpected manner even in the context of the Indian national movement. The point about political conservatism, the element of exoticism and God takes us to adventures around truth by a thinker-activist speaking as a colonial subject. (shrink)

Abstrak: Jacques Rancière, pemikir Prancis kelahiran Aljazair (1940-sekarang), konsisten dengan gagasannya tentang kesetaraan bagi setiap orang dan semua orang. Baginya, demokrasi bukanlah bentuk pemerintahan atau tatanan sosial. Kesetaraan yang kontingen dalam tatanan sosial, menurut Rancière, menjadikan demokrasi dapat terjadi kapan saja dan di mana saja, tidak dapat diprediksi. Rancière mengajak kita untuk terbuka pada gangguan-gangguan demos dan kemunculan subyek-subyek baru di masa datang sebagai dinamika dalam tatanan sosial yang tidak perlu ditumpas atau dihambat. Politik demokrasi adalah sebuah perselisihan. Namun perselisihan (...) tersebut bukan tindakan revolusi untuk menghancurkan tatanan sosial yang telah ada menjadi tatanan yang sama sekali baru. Demokrasi adalah subyektivasi politik yang mengganggu tatanan sosial dominan yang dilakukan oleh demos untuk memverifikasi kesetaraan. Kemunculan demos mentransformasi tatanan sosial menjadi bentuk yang berbeda, yang mengakomodasi keberadaan mereka yang tidak terhitung (the wrong, yang salah). Kata-kata Kunci: Demokrasi, kesetaraan, demos, perselisihan, subyektivikasi, yang salah. Abstract: Jacques Rancière, a French philosopher born in Algeria (1940-present), affirms the equality of anyone and everyone. He analyzes the so-called democracy not as a kind of state or social order. Equality which is contingent in the social order, for Rancière, shows that democracy could occurs everytime and everywhere, democracy could not be predicted. Rancière brings us to have an open eye in front of dispute of the demos and the subjectification of any new subjects. This is an inherent and a dynamic of the social order that should not be repressed or stopped. The democratic politics is a dispute. But the dispute is not an act of revolution to destroy the existing social order to create an entirely new order. Democracy is the political subjectification that disrupts the police order by the demos to verify the equality of anyone and everyone. The emergence of the demos transforms the social order into a different form when this order accommodates the existence of the wrong. Keywords: Democracy, equality, demos, dispute, subjectification, the wrong. (shrink)

On Javanese philosophy written in Javanese literary works.

On Ki Ageng Suryamentaram and his thoughts on Javanese philosophy and ethics.

Here is a book with poses, breathing exercises and meditations for the pregnant woman. Photos enhance clear and easy instructions for the poses. Attention to safety, mental, physical and emotional benefits of the poses, and variations are discussed very thoroughly. It is in clear and simple language. A safe and natural way to prepare for a wonderful birth experience. The book could also serve as a reference for midwives. The authors follow-up with their detailed three part course of yogic and (...) breathing exercises for women- before, during and after pregnancy. It is a complete self help book for parents, especially mothers to be and covers both the practical as well as the emotional aspects of conception, pregnancy and childbirth. (shrink)

This book contains 82 questions and answers on the inner life, talks on reincarnation and the soul's evolution, sin, science, individuality, morality, inner peace, God's plan, and the universality of religion.

On development and practices of sufism among Javanese Muslim.

Impact of interfaith marriage on the ethics in Bali Province.

Initiation into yoga.--Symbolism and knowledge.--The sacred marriage.--The forgotten land.--Doubts and their removal.--Past, present and future.--Superstition.--The violence of war.--Religion and philosophy.

On Ki Ageng Suryomentaram and his thoughts on Javanese philosophy.

OM en memoria de Patanjali Maharshi, Yogi Bhusunda, Sadasiva Brahmán, Matsyendranath, Gorakhnath, Jesucristo, Señor Krishna y todos los otros Yogins que han explicado la Ciencia del Yoga.

Understanding Javanese philosophy through wayang wong performance.

Prolonged conflict on the southern Thailand border still continues, especially in four provinces – Pattani, Yala, Narathivat, and Satun. These four provinces are the home base of the Malay-Muslim community. However, conflicts have almost never occurred in the province of Phattalung, particularly in the region called ‘Two Religion Community Life’. This is because people can find solutions to every problem using cultural negotiation. This research aims to describe the results of cultural negotiation and social learning between Muslims and Buddhists in (...) solving daily life problems. The most important data collection techniques are in-depth interviews and observations. There are five critical informants chosen purposively: Islamic and Buddhist religious leaders, community leaders, school principals, and community members in the Tamot and Khaocan regions. The results found that there are several forms of cultural negotiation in Phattalung, including annual ritual prayers conducted together by Muslims and Buddhists, agreement on how to slaughter animals to be served during ceremonies, tradition of food bartering, and agreement on animal caring. Furthermore, social learning to preserve the results of the negotiations is carried out through the establishment of voluntary medical groups whose members consist of young men and women from the Muslim and the Buddhist community, sports and arts activities, commemorations of national holidays, and conducting annual religious rituals at the same place and time. This study also found four important aspects to strengthen the social learning in multireligious society – moderate values derived from their respective religious teachings, moderate values taught by the country, the existence of trust among citizens, and win-win solutions to the emerging problems. Contribution: This research promotes the world that there is a heterogeneous religious community in the Phattalung province, Thailand which has a building construction of tolerance and harmony of locality namely the ‘Two Religion Community Life’ by preserving the cultural negotiation values through social learning. (shrink)

Can the use of focus groups be helpful to get to the roots of ethical issues in the accounting profession? The activities of one such group at Cranfield throws considerable light on the pressures to which individual accountants can be subjected. Professor Vyakarnam has recently been appointed to the Chair of Enterprise at Nottingham Trent University. Sri Srikanthan is Senior Lecturer in the Finance and Accounting Department at Cranfield University School of Management, where Sharon Fitzsimons is Research Officer in the (...) Economics Group. (shrink)

Any healthcare systems during a pandemic undergo tremendous pressure in pursuit of effective treatment to treat and limit the spread of the disease and its implications. Conducting clinical trials to find the potential therapy is the only way to battle the current coronavirus disease-2019 pandemic. The majority of the countries have joined the cause and are carrying out clinical studies in various capacities. As a result, the ethical committees have encountered a sudden inflow of a large number of trial proposals (...) that have placed them under pressure. Although ethical committees play a vital role in protecting patient safety and preserving research integrity, they need to make sure the efficiency and integrity of review are preserved and the standards of review are not relaxed. Thus, the participants’ dignity is well guarded while keeping a close check on their safety. (shrink)

Due to technological advances, English as a Foreign Language (EFL) students who previously relied on printed books have switched to digital books. Higher education is, therefore, one of the levels of education currently one of the most heavily touched by digital technologies. This study aims to determine Indonesian students' perceptions regarding using digital books in reading classes. 127 students from a private university in Indonesia took part in this research. This type of research was a mixed-method design that used a (...) five-point Likert Scale survey and semi-structured interviews to improve and support the results of the previous quantitative methods. The conclusion of this study covers students' past experiences, usefulness, preference for digital books vs. printed books, and English learning with digital books. In terms of students’ past experiences, 84% of students have read digital books on computers or tablets, and 92% always use their phones. Moreover, in terms of usefulness, the interviews showed that many participants did not know the highlighting and note-taking features of the digital book. 64% of students prefer digital books, but some interviewees prefer printed books with some justification. In addition, 88% said digital books helped them learn English, especially in reading class, supported by interviews with several participants who said they were better at learning vocabulary from the digital book. (shrink)