Mahatma Gandhi's view on euthanasia and assisted suicide.

To many in India and elsewhere, the life and thoughts of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi are a source of inspiration. The idea of non-violence was pivotal in his thinking. In this context, Gandhi reflected upon the possibility of what is now called 'euthanasia' and 'assisted suicide'. So far, his views on these practices have not been properly studied. In his reflections on euthanasia and assisted suicide, Gandhi shows himself to be a contextually flexible thinker. In spite of being a staunch defender of non-violence, Gandhi was aware that violence may sometimes be unavoidable. Under certain conditions, killing a living being could even be an expression of non-violence. He argued that in a few rare cases it may be better to kill people who are suffering unbearably at the end of life. In this way, he seems to support euthanasia and assisted suicide. Yet, Gandhi also thought that as long as care can be extended to a dying patient, his or her suffering could be relieved. Since in most cases relief was thus possible, euthanasia and assisted suicide were in fact redundant. By stressing the importance of care and nursing as an alternative to euthanasia and assisted suicide, Gandhi unconsciously made himself an early advocate of palliative care in India. This observation could be used to strengthen and promote the further development of palliative care in India.

Suttee Sainthood through selflessness: pain of repression or power of devotion?

The immolation of Hindu widows has generated much horror while remaining tenaciously mixed with clandestine admiration. Reported in many eyewitness accounts and literary works, the topic has given rise to highly contested sociocultural, legal and ideological debates, strongly linked to women's rights. But the root question has not gone away: is suttee/sati just painful female victimisation or can it also reflect powerful female agency and the power of devotion? This article examines two literary works, Maud Diver's Lilamani, in which an Englishwoman unreservedly idolises a suttee, and Krupabai Satthianadhan's Kamala, where an Indian woman expresses deep pride in sutteehood. Engaging in a search for deeper meanings, this article asks what makes these two women writers revere a suttee so totally. Can one really be a suttee-saint through selflessness, or are there some deeper meanings yet to be uncovered? A wider political interpretation is suggested to re/present the root meaning of suttee.

Grasping at ontological straws: overcoming reductionism in the Advaita Vedanta-Neuroscience dialogue.

Contemporary neuropsychology reveals that the parietal lobe contains neurons that are specifically attuned to the act of grasping and this act may be fundamental to the establishment of the phenomenal boundaries between subject and object. Furthermore, alterations to this process, such as the hypoactivation of this region during meditation or the hyperactivation associated with schizophrenia, may eliminate or confuse, respectively, the phenomenal boundaries between subject and object. Traversing disciplines, the Advaita Vedanta school of Hinduism traces some of its key terms for subject and object to the verbal root grah, to grasp. The subject is literally the grasper. Furthermore, the practice of asparsa yoga, the yoga of no-touch, is aimed at stopping, hypoactivating, the grasping process in order to transcend all subject-object boundaries. This paper will argue that while we have not uncovered an identity of thought, we have uncovered a confluence of ideas between these two disciplines. We will see that this confluence of ideas has not pitted the believer against the critic-not forced us into the great reductionism debate that has dominated so much of the interchange between religious studies and the sciences. This case study will illuminate some of the methodological ways around this reductionism battle and also the boundaries of both disciplines for the intellectual benefit of each.

Comparison of the conceptualization of wisdom in ancient Indian literature with modern views: focus on the Bhagavad Gita.

The study of wisdom has recently become a subject of growing scientific interest, although the concept of wisdom is ancient. This article focuses on conceptualization of wisdom in the Bhagavad Gita, arguably the most influential of all ancient Hindu philosophical/religious texts. Our review, using mixed qualitative/quantitative methodology with the help of Textalyser and NVivo software, found the following components to be associated with the concept of wisdom in the Gita: Knowledge of life, Emotional Regulation, Control over Desires, Decisiveness, Love of God, Duty and Work, Self-Contentedness, Compassion/Sacrifice, Insight/Humility, and Yoga (Integration of Personality). A comparison of the conceptualization of wisdom in the Gita with that in modern scientific literature shows several similarities, such as rich knowledge about life, emotional regulation, insight, and a focus on common good (compassion). Apparent differences include an emphasis on control over desires and renunciation of materialistic pleasures. Importantly, the Gita suggests that at least certain components of wisdom can be taught and learned. We believe that the concepts of wisdom in the Gita are relevant to modern psychiatry in helping develop psychotherapeutic interventions that could be more individualistic and more holistic than those commonly practiced today, and they aim at improving personal well-being rather than just psychiatric symptoms.

Medical information in Agnipurana.

Agnipurana is one amongst the 18 Purana of the Hindu literature. Its title is so because it was narrated by Agni to Vasistha. It consists of 16000 stanzas distributed in 383 chapters. It has not only the compilation of special topics from different Ayurvedic texts but also carries information regarding some missing links, serets and some issues which are not disussed in Ayurveda. There is deference of opinion regarding the date of this Purana. Medical information given in Agnipurana was taken from Susruta Samhita, Astanga Sangraha, Vrnda Madhava and Cakradatta etc. At some places slokas were reproduced and at some places zist has been taken. Basic principles, anatomy, physiology, medicine etc. medical information is available in Agnipurana which is being presented in this article.

Medico-historical study of "asvattha" (sacred fig tree).

Asvattha (Ficus religiosa Linn.) is a tree which has got mythological, religious and medicinal importance in Indian culture since ancient times. As per Vedic Index Asvattha means horse stand, a place or site or an object where or under which horses stand. Asvattha is also known as Pipal and Bodhidrma. This tree is the oldest depicted tree in India. In Vedic times it was used to make fire by friction and considered sacred. Atharvaveda associates it with the third heaven. It discusses medicinal properties of Asvattha along with Soma and Kustha. Asvattha is associated with the triad of Gods-Brahma, visnu and siva. Reference to Asvattha is found in Ramayana, Mahabharata, Bhagavadgita, Buddhistic literature, Arthasastra, Puranas, Upanisads etc. non-medical literature also. According to Ayurveda it has several synonyms. Most of them symbolize its sacredness. Asvattha is useful in various ailments like consumption, vomiting, ulcers in oral cavity, burns, gynaecological problems etc. Thus its medico-historical importance, regional nomenclature, morphological features in brief etc. are being presented in this article with few illustrations.

Influence of Tantra on ayurveda and Kamasutra.

A close study of ancient works of ayurveda and Kamasutra shows that the knowledge of anatomy and physiology of different parts of reproductive organs particularly of female genitals is lacking. Hymen, defloration and clitoris do not find any mention in earlier works. Works of medieval and late medieval period mention the different parts and their utility and function especially in the sexual enjoyment. Worship of vagina or Yonipuja was a common practice in some sects of Tantrists like Kaulas, Kapalikas and others. This practice resulted in the close observation of different parts and thereby knowing their importance and role in the sexual enjoyment, which was also a part of the practices of Tantrism. This knowledge appears to have been incorporated in works like Bhavaprakasa of ayurveda and Paururavamanasijasutra and others of Kamasutra. They describe three Nadis in the female genitalia and clitoris others.

The damage of separation: Krishna's loves and Kali's child.

The publication of Kali's Child by Jeffrey Kripal in 1995 ignited a furious debate that persists unresolved today. Two questions are paramount. First, is it right to think of the religious and erotic realms as overlapping, particularly when a homosexual dimension is involved? Second, if Hindus and Hinduism are the subject, should non-Hindus refrain from speaking? In this article I revisit the Kali's Child debate by highlighting one of its central terms-vyakulata, the desperate agitation felt by lovers separated from the objects of their desire. What light is cast on Ramakrishna's same-sex longing by turning to a broader context: the agitation that male poets feel for Krishna when they speak through the female personae of his gopis? Conversely, what light might Ramakrishna's apparently homoerotic impulses cast on the cross-gendered moods of Krishna's male devotees? And what is one to make of the delight these men feel as they depict the sufferings of Krishna's women? Is this the dark side of Krishna's famously sunny world, and is it also the homosexual shadow of his dominant, flamboyant heterosexuality?

History of son preference and sex selection in India and in the west.

In the history of mankind, there was a time when women dominated the world. In due course of time, as the patriarchal societies evolved, the status of women gradually declined. Sons were preferred to daughters. In India, the Brahmin community promoted such customs and rituals, which gave more and more importance to sons eg. Lighting the funeral pyre of the father was told to be a pre-condition for salvation of his spirit. Similarly, in western civilization also women were considered to be weak. In consonance with such a mind-set man has been trying various techniques for sex-selection since antiquity eg. for acquiring a son choosing a special day, time and posture for sexual intercourse, special diet, charms and amulet and prayers etc. In Vedas also punsavana karma has been described as a technique for acquiring a son. Apart from these techniques, female infanticide has also been used as a way to create a male dominated, son-worshipping society. On development of the technique of ultrasonography as an example of progress of science and technology, man has devised a new way of killing females in womb itself, which has resulted in continuous decline in female: male sex ratio in India. To stop this, Indian Govt. promulgated PNDT Act 1994. But considering the widely prevalent practice of use of various regimen of sex-pre-selection by people as well as unscrupulous medical practitioners, Govt. of India has amended this Act (2002). Still, as authors have found in one of their studies, sex-selection drugs are being used widely by north Indians for getting a son. Here, it should be noted that sex-selection methods are being used in west also. But the perspective is different. There, it is not used for female feticide or for acquiring a son. Rather, it is more an effort towards demonstrating the control of man over the NATURE.

The idea of a "beginningless" world-process: perspectives from the Hindu tradition.

This paper, while seeking to expose some of the basic ideas of Hindu cosmology, focuses on the philosophical and soteriological dimensions of the notions of "beginning" and "beginningless" in the discourses associated with dominant world-religions. It is hoped that a deeper grasp of these issues in a multi-religious context will help to bridge the distance between diverse traditions of thinking as well as facilitate the science-religion dialogue.