Tantric Studies

Religious Responses to Pandemics and Crises explores various dimensions of the interrelations between the individual, community, and religion. With their global scope, the contributions to this volume represent reflections on the rich and multifaceted spectrum of human responses in a variety of different religions and cultures to the current SARS-2-COVID-19 pandemic and similar crises in the past. The contributions are organized in three thematic parts focusing on strategies, rituals, and past and present responses to pandemics and crises. They reflect on the intersection of personal or communal responses and statemandated policies relative to SARS-2-COVID-19 while outlining different strategies to cope with the pandemic crisis. Timely questions explored include: • How do individuals connect with or disconnect from religious and spiritual communities during times of personal and collective crises, including pandemics? • How do religious practices such as rituals bridge individuals and communities? • How do religious texts from past and present highlight and represent crises and pandemics? Dynamic and multidisciplinary in its inquiry, this volume is an outstanding resource for scholars of religion, theology, anthropology, social sciences, ritual theory, sex and gender studies, and contemporary medical science.

This paper seeks to undo a nationalistic approach to Medieval Epic and Romance influentially promulgated by W.P. Ker. In its place I offer a comparative analysis of Old English, Old Irish, and Middle English literary ideologies, tracing a gradual increase in centralized power that undermined egalitarian native traditions. It appeared as a chapter in a book published in China that is unavailable elsewhere due to problems with importing.

Tibetan Buddhism was established and developed in a period when tantric Buddhism had become the new orthodoxy in the great Mahāyāna centers of northern India. The philosophical "schools" of Madhyamaka and Yogācāra were being synthesized with the tantric practice lineages of the siddha traditions associated with the "Highest Yoga Tantras." Tibetan yogi/scholars were the recipients of this rich collection of Mahāyāna sūtras and śāstras as well as tantras and the teachings of the siddhas. By the fourteenth century, Tibetans began to create doctrinal systems that sought to unify and reconcile Madhyamaka, Yogācāra, and tantric texts as well as the seemingly divergent lines of interpretation according to a scholastic analytical approach and an experiential one. By deploying long-established hermeneutical structures Tibetan scholars created grand syntheses that negotiated and sometimes uni ed the relationship between Mahāyāna thought and tantric praxis, culminating in the unifying categories of emptiness of other and Great Madhyamaka.

This article explores the profound spiritual and philosophical contributions of Shah Abdul
Karim (1916–2009), an iconic figure in Bengali Baul mysticism and folk music. Drawing on both personal experience and textual analysis, this study highlights Karim’s lyrical
engagement with Dehotattva (body-centric metaphysics), Monosikkha (mental discipline), and Baul-Faqiri (ascetic Baul practice). Through an accessible yet esoteric lyrical style, Shah Abdul Karim reveals a unique metaphysical system that blends Sufi and Baul traditions. This paper argues that Karim not only redefined Bengali folk identity through mysticism but also served as a cultural bridge between Bangladesh and West Bengal, leaving a transgenerational legacy grounded in humanism, spiritual egalitarianism, and transcendental love.

Following on from the previous article (Kano and Li 2020, 21, 22, 23), this article presents a critical edition of the Sanskrit text and Japanese translation of Nayatrayapradīpa, a work by Trivikrama that discusses the superiority and inferiority of the three methods (naya) of the Buddha's teachings, namely, Śrāvakanaya, Pāramitānaya, and Mantranaya (i.e. the methods of Hīnayāna, non-tantric Mahāyāna, and tantric Mahāyāna). This text is one of the earliest of a group of texts on this genre. The text portion edited in this paper corresponds to fol. 13v3–18r3, and consists of the 18th verse and its commentary, which discusses variety of means of practice in the mantranaya.

Verse 18 teaches that (1) in order to universally accomplish the benefit of all sentient beings, the Lord of the World taught to those of superior wisdom (2) the supreme principle, which is equipped with all kinds of methods, and (3) possesses four divisions. In other words, it is taught that Mantranaya is (1) intended to accomplish the benefit of all sentient beings, (2) furnished with diverse methods of practice, and (3) possesses four categories. We can analyze the structure of this section as follows:

1. Diversity of Methods (Verse 18)
2. Scope of Salvation
3. Qualities of the Practitioner and Identification of the Deity
4. Mind Maṇḍala:
4.1. Five Tathāgatas
4.2. Four Consorts
4.3. Ten Wrathful Deities
4.4. Six Bodhisattvas
5. Speech Maṇḍala:
5.1. The View That Heart Mantras and Seed Mantras Are Distinct: General Generation Stage
5.2. Basis for Linking Mantras with Deities: Similarity
5.3. Omniscience as the Basis for Similarity
5.4. All Verbal Acts Are Mantras
5.5. Assignment of Phonemes in the Speech Maṇḍala
5.5.1. Vowels a to ḹ: Five Tathāgatas and Four Consorts
5.5.2. Diphthongs etc., e to aḥ: Three Tathāgatas and Four Consorts
5.5.3. Consonants k to m: Five Tathāgatas and Four Consorts
5.5.4. Consonants y to h: Eight Wrathful Deities
5.6. Arbitrariness in the Correspondence Between Phonemes and Deities
5.7. Mantras as Means to Accomplish All Aims
6. Body Maṇḍala:
6.1. Visualization of the Arising of the Deity
6.2. Chanting of the Mantra
7. Summary of the Three Maṇḍalas
7.1. Actions That Do Not Deviate from Desires Such as Greed
8. Fourfold Classification of Tantras

The maṇḍala consisting of twenty-five deities described as the Cittamaṇḍala is based on the core thirteen deities taught in the Guhyasamāja—namely, the five Buddhas, four Consorts, and four Wrathful Deities—with the addition of six Wrathful Deities and six Bodhisattvas. It is likely a composition that brings together elements scattered throughout the tantric text itself. This twenty-five-deity maṇḍala differs from the Jñānapāda tradition’s nineteen-deity maṇḍala and the Ārya tradition’s thirty-two-deity maṇḍala, but it closely resembles the twenty-five-deity maṇḍala of the Ānandagarbha tradition.

Following on from the previous article (Kano and Li 2020, 2021, 2022), this article presents a critical edition of the Sanskrit text and Japanese translation of Nayatrayapradīpa, a work by Trivikrama that discusses the superiority and inferiority of the three methods (naya) of the Buddha's teachings, namely, Śrāvakanaya, Pāramitānaya, and Mantranaya (i.e. the methods of Hīnayāna, non-tantric Mahāyāna, and tantric Mahāyāna). This text is one of the earliest of a group of texts on this genre. The text portion edited in this paper corresponds to fol. 11v4‒13v3, and consists of the 16th and 17th verses, which discuss the supremacy of the Mantranaya over Pāramitānaya. Verse 16 is the most famous one of this work repeatedly cited by Indic and Tibetan authors. This verse teaches that while the goal of Mantranaya is the same as that of Paramitānaya, it is superior in four respects (ekārthatve 'py asaṃmohād bahūpāyād aduṣkarāt | tīkṣṇendriyādhikārāc ca mantraśāstraṃ viśiṣyate ||).
  Verse 17 and its commentary teaches: the Bodhisattva of Mantranaya selects only the “supreme method,” is endowed with compassion, and reaches the goal by abandoning “subsidiary methods.” In contrast, although the Bodhisattva of Pāramitānaya is more spiritually advanced than the Śrāvakas and others, because they belong to the lineage of Pāramitānaya, they spend a long time practicing acts such as generosity and are therefore not considered the most advanced. The Bodhisattva of Mantranaya, on the other hand, realizes that as long as they perform acts of giving, such as offering their own body, individually to each sentient being, it is utterly impossible to save the limitless number of beings. Therefore, they insightfully choose only the “supreme method,” by which they perform acts of generosity to all beings at once while in meditative absorption, and abandon the “subsidiary method” of generosity practiced in Pāramitānaya.

This paper presents a case study of a series of initiations into the maṇḍalas of the Vajrāvalī (VA)
given by a senior Rinpoche at Phara Khangtsen of Ganden Monastery in Southern India in the fall
of 2023. The initiations and oral transmissions (lung) were given based on the text written by the
Second Changkya. There were around 1,200 participants in attendance, mostly Tibetan monks, as
well as large lay groups from Indonesia, Mongolia, Singapore, and other countries. This paper will
examine the various parts of the initiation rituals and attempt to shed light on how initiations into
the maṇḍalas of the Vajrāvalī are conducted in the modern-day Gelug school of Tibetan Buddhism.

This article starts with a concise historiography of the Vajrāvalī, followed by a brief introduction to the text
and its author. Subsequently, it presents a detailed exegesis of each of the two Heruka (Cakrasaṃvara) sādhanas
translated here. This is followed by a full annotated English translation of each sādhana. Lastly, it will outline the
differences between the two sādhanas and try to shed light on their individual characteristics compared to other
standard Heruka sādhanas. To facilitate further scholarship, the paper includes appendices containing facsimiles
of the original Tibetan manuscripts, tables outlining the various deity forms presented in each sādhana, and
diagrammatic illustrations of the maṇḍalas.
While adhering to the structural paradigms typical of the Cakrasaṃvara tradition, these sādhanas exhibit
remarkably intricate visualizations, at times surpassing in detail even more extensive liturgical texts. This study
aims to contribute to the broader understanding of both the Vajrāvalī tradition and the Cakrasaṃvara tradition
in general. Future research goals include a comparative analysis with the original Sanskrit Vajrāvalī and the
Cakrasaṃvara Root Tantra, potentially illuminating the textual and doctrinal evolution of these traditions across
linguistic and cultural boundaries.

Настоящая статья представляет собой развернутый комментарий к поэме Октавио Паса «Blanco», которая считается одним из самых сложных и трудных для понимания его произведений. Понимание поэмы невозможно без обращения к интеллектуальному контексту эпохи 1960-х годов, когда на научную сцену во всем мире выходит структурализм. В эти годы Пас живет и работает в Индии, и знакомство с индийской художественной жизнью того времени (и, прежде всего, близка дружба с художником-авангардистом Джагдишем Сваминатханом) приводят к существенным изменениям в его творческой манере, которые позволят ему к концу десятилетия стать фактическим лидером международного сюрреалистического движения. Поэма «Blanco» знаменует высшую точку этого движения: хотя она отталкивается от традиции франкофонного модернизма и авангарда в лице Стефана Малларме и поэтов-сюрреалистов, основным источником вдохновения для нее становится традиция тантрического буддизма, пропущенная через призму современной поэту структуралистской науки — в первую очередь, через работы Клода Леви-Стросса.

The “Jerusalem Syndrome” is a well-known phenomenon among mental-health practitioners who treat tourists and pilgrims to Jerusalem. According to Kalian and Witztum, “Forty percent [of those diagnosed with Jerusalem Syndrome] reported mystical experiences, and many identified with religious figures; twenty-five percent thought they were the Messiah.” These individuals are often admitted to psychiatric hospitals but tend to recover quickly upon return to their home countries. Yogis, who engage in tantric visualization in accordance with the guidelines of their gurus and sādhana manuals, visualize themselves as buddhas, and act and speak accordingly. While they are altruistically motivated to lead all sentient beings to enlightenment, how can they know if they have formed a false identity for themselves or, put differently, engaged in self-deception?
Here, I will explore the soteriological and ethical status of such an identity. The focus will be the practice of deity yoga (Tib. lha’i rnal ’byor, Skt. devatāyoga) within the twofold tantric practice of the creation2 (Tib. bskyed rim, Skt. utpattikrama) and completion stages (Tib. rdzogs rim, Skt. niṣpannakrama or utpannakrama), according to the unexcelled tantra (bla med kyi rgyud sde).

The Indian knowledge system has a rich and ancient legacy rooted in Vedic literature, Puranas, Upanishads, and other scriptures. Communication plays a vital role in this tradition, serving as the core medium for knowledge transmission. In the Vedic period, oral traditions like Shruti and Smriti formed the basis of communication, with the Guru-Shishya model being central. Classical texts such as Natya Shastra and Arthashastra elaborate on various principles of communication. Indian folk traditions also convey knowledge through storytelling, songs, and dance. Elements like Tantra and Mantra highlight the symbolic and spiritual role of communication. With time, modern tools like digital media, printing, and publishing have enabled global outreach of Indian knowledge. Both oral and written forms continue to play essential roles. Communication has not only preserved knowledge but has also shaped India's social, cultural, and spiritual life. Understanding this dynamic process reveals how tradition adapts and thrives in contemporary contexts.

This paper compares the cosmologies of Buddhism and Neoplatonism, examining how the respective traditions approached the physical world, time, the relationship of the divine to humanity, and astrology. It is argued that despite whatever similarities we might identify between them, the two are unlikely to have had any direct relationship. In contrast to the spherical model used in the Hellenistic world, Buddhists consistently maintained a belief in a flat-earth model comprised of Mount Sumeru and the Four Continents. The conceptualizations of the planets also differed. Buddhists viewed planetary orbits as fallible, whereas for Plotinus it would have been impossible for such errors in motion to occur. This study also discusses the nature of the gods in both traditions (e.g., the Neoplatonic idea of perfect gods existing in eternity vs. the Buddhist concept of ignorant gods coexisting alongside humanity).

Kotyk, Jeffrey. 2025. “Cosmology, Time, Divinity, and Astrology: Comparing Buddhist and Neoplatonic Concepts.” In Buddhism and Neoplatonism, eds. Emile Alexandrov and Alexander James O’Neill, 89–118. Nagoya: Chisokudō Publications.

The Buddhist tradition in general and Tantric Buddhist tradition in particular holds views regarding women and their femininity, which falls under certain “grey” areas. Buddhism has changed over time, and so its ethics, conducts and perceptions. Keeping it anchored around the words taught by the Buddha Śākyamuni more than 2500 years ago, Buddhist tradition has shown its colours differently and has been bifurcated into many vehicles or yānas. Three prominent divisions namely, Hīnayāna, Mahāyāna and Vajrayāna have been found. Perception of women within Buddhism is rather confusing to the extent that, reconciling the textual data with concurrent practices becomes arduous. Regarding this issue in Vajrayāna Buddhism, early scholars have proposed an inferior and degenerative status of the feminine during a Tantric Buddhist Yoga. According to them, the befallen women were mere “used” or at least “manipulated” by the virile Tantrics to gratify their sensual pleasures in the name of bliss and enlightenment.
Henceforth these scholars suggest that women in the Tantric Buddhist milieu were unequally treated, and men and women weren’t placed in an equal position. This book chapter counters the claim. Drawing on many Tantric texts the author has found out a rather different picture of the feminine. In this narrative, the women stands not only in equal footing with the men, but also exceeds the authority and level of the masculine. The root Tantric works, its exegetical literature and testimonials recorded by great Buddhist scholars have been consulted rigorously to arrive at this conclusion.

This research is based on an analysis of the chakras, the associated fascial dimensions and frequencies within the Bowen therapy. The main research question is focused on analyzing the compatibility of the Bowen fascial therapy with other yoga therapies. The cymatic graphical representation of the chakras was realized based on chanting. For the first time it was scientifically documented that the depiction of chakras within the Tantric tradition corresponds to the actual cymatic representation of the acoustic roots associated with a specific chakra. The frequencies of the dimensions associated with the chakras were calculated using the Schumann resonance formula for multi-dimensional instruments and the Pythagorean pure tuning @ 432 Hz for chanting and tuning forks. For the first time it was identified that the pure tuning system is related to the helix form of the heart. Also, for the first time it was demonstrated that all the sounds related to visible colors spectrum correspond to Vishuddha, which is the throat chakra. The chakras and their associated dimensional spaces are applied to the fascial layers. Different ranges of the frequency spectra are being identified corresponding to the fascial dimensions. The Bowen moves are being classified based on the corresponding chakras and the acupuncture points. The Bowen points correspond to certain chakras based on the 5 elements of acupuncture. Acupuncture has been combined with sound therapy since the time of the Yellow Emperor. For the first time, it was identified that the Basic Relaxation Moves of Bowen (BRMs) actually follow a pentatonic sound scale from acupuncture for rather chronic conditions. Based on the results of this initial study, Bowen can be combined with yoga techniques, therapeutic hypnosis (alfa state) and sound therapy. Further research focused on the effectiveness of this therapeutic combination is needed.

Contemporary forms of yoga and meditation, New Age-inspired practices, and alternative medicine are, in many instances, inspired by concepts that have originated in an esoteric context. Yoga and meditation are also pivotal parts of many modern forms of esoteric practice. The paper will present results from a survey with 811 respondents and 20 semistructured interviews with a heterogenous group of Swedish yoga and meditation practitioners conducted in 2017-2019. (Some interviewees practiced in an esoteric context, some worked with holistic treatments, some practiced Buddhist zen meditation, and some were into different forms of modern yoga.) The paper will center on the informant's shared conception of the body and mind as composed of 'energy,' arguing that this idea acts as a unifying link through which practitioners of different types of holistic practices can relate various traditions and doctrines under a common umbrella. The paper will also share some new perspectives on how Metaphor Theory can be applied in analyzing the interviewee's embodied conception of subtle energy and anatomy. It will exemplify how these concepts can serve as embodied tools through which yoga and meditation practitioners can map, diagnose, verbalize, and, to some extent, control and creatively generate meaningful experiences. Lastly, the paper will also discuss the meaning-making aspects of these ideas in common narrative themes in the interviews.

This research article aims at examining the tradition of syncretism in Southeast Asia with a special reference to the region of the Brahmaputra Valley and in connection with the deity Hari-Hara. Eclecticism implies the integration of various information flows, religious, cultural, and philosophical, which has been traditionally significant for the formation of spiritual and social models in the areas with interactions of several traditions. In Southeast Asia particularly the Khmer Empire, the syncretism of Shaivism and Vaishnavism together with Hindu and Buddhists is evident in the worship of Hari-Hara; Vishnu-Shiva. This syncretic practice was not only a sign of religious tolerance but also expressed political power and social integration under kings such as Jayavarman VII embodied in temple architectures including Angkor Wat and Bayon temples. By contrast, the case of the Brahmaputra Valley in India can be singled out as the example of syncretism between tribal and Brahmanical practices when the local indigenous cults were gradually intertwined with the Hindu ones and produced such localized forms of Hari-Hara. The Deopani Hari-Hara sculptures of the Doiyang Dhansiri Valley elucidate the syncretization of classical Brahmanical elements with tribal regional forms. While syncretism in the Khmer Empire was more political, more centrally driven and less successful than the one in the Brahmaputra Valley which was predominantly the result of protracted social contact and the Bhakti movement's stress on individual devotion and tolerance. The research article also shows how Hari-Hara became an important identity for religious and cultural syncretism in both regions, allowing the harmonious interaction of different religions and improving political authority. Analyzing artistic, architectural and socio-political aspects of Hari-Hara worship in this study reveals the values of syncretism as a function of integrationist in maintaining social cohesion as well as preserving the political authority. Finally, the comparison of the Brahmaputra Valley with mainland Southeast Asia brings further understanding of the processes that produce and sustain syncretic religious cultures, enriching religious diverse topographies of these areas.

As disillusionment with the Nehruvian era became the mainstay of Hindi literature in the 1970s, with the emergence of 'experimentalism' as its major vehicle, cityscapes became the principal concern of middle-class writers. These writers seek to depict how urbanisation and migration accentuate already existing social divisions that trigger an entirely fresh set of predicaments like mental distress, pollution, overpopulation, and poverty. The dystopian visions of the post-1990s era, of economic liberalisation further enhances this initial sense of disenchantment. These dystopian visions came to be sharply represented by especially those authors and protagonists who lacked access to caste and class privileges. A striking feature of such works is that they engaged with urban spaces portrayed the corrosive effects of the city on the human body and consequently the mind. They depicted phenomena like metamorphosis (Ek Cūhe Kī Maut), rotting flesh (Murdāghar), decaying bones and organs (Animal's People; A State of Freedom), or mental illness (Maĩne Māṇḍū Nahī ̃ Dekhā). Seen from the inside, cities like Bhopal, Delhi, or Mumbai become maze-like, oppressive, and hostile spaces where daily wage workers', sex workers', clerks', but also the bodies of middle-class and aspiring writers underwent deterioration, transfiguration, and abjectification, consumed quite literally by disease and by the city itself. This article analyses these texts as pathographies and examines the aesthetic choices made by authors to describe their experiences of maladies, and the unresolvable crisis that their writings foregrounded.

Ayodhya's rich musical heritage originated and flourished within the saint communities (Sant Samaj), where vocal music traditions such as Dhrupad, Khayal, Bhajan, and Keertan have been preserved and continued in temples. The Ramanandi sampradaya's three prominent sections Bindu Sampradaya, Akhada Sampraday and Rasik Sampraday have played a central role in Ayodhya's Keertan tradition. Saint musicians (Sant Sangeetagya), associated with these three sampradayas, created a vast repertoire of Pad and Padavali dedicated to Sri Ram and Janki. This research finds a research gap in Ayodhya's classical and folk music; the Keertan Parampara has received limited scholarly attention. The present study investigates the unique characteristics of this Keertan tradition and its sociocultural impact on the local community. Having been a keen and close observer of the Keertan tradition since childhood, the author brings a personal and intimate understanding to the research. The author adopts an ethnographic approach to studying this tradition in depth based on her experiences and engagements. By conducting in-depth interviews with Mahants of prominent temples and Keertankaars, as well as immersing in festivals, daily practices, and Keertan events, the research aims to capture the nuances of participant interactions and behaviours. This study sheds light on the unexplored dimensions of Ayodhya's Keertan tradition, offering new insights into its cultural significance and role in shaping the everyday life of the people.

This BA thesis explores the cultural reception and reinterpretation of Tibetan-inspired medical practices within a Polish and broader European context. It focuses on two case studies: Padma28, a herbal formula derived from traditional Tibetan medicine and adapted by Swiss manufacturers; and Rangdröl, a touch-based energy healing system developed in Germany with symbolic links to Tibetan Buddhist concepts.

Through qualitative analysis, including interviews with patients, herbalists, and therapists, the work examines how these practices are perceived, legitimated, or contested within European biomedical and spiritual landscapes. It investigates the intersection of health, belief, and cultural adaptation, and reflects on the broader tension between holistic and reductionist approaches to healing. The thesis also situates these systems within frameworks of complementary and alternative medicine, as well as religious and psychosomatic worldviews.

Artykuł analizuje zjawisko szalonej mądrości (jeszie czolła) w kontekście tybetańskiej kultury religijnej, koncentrując się na postaci szalonego jogina jako wyzwania wobec ortodoksji buddyzmu tybetańskiego. Poprzez analizę źródeł hagiograficznych (ze szczególnym uwzględnieniem Drukpy Kunleja), a także tekstów Trungpy Rinpocze i współczesnych komentarzy (m.in. Nydahla, Allione, Czogjama i Deczen), przedstawiona zostaje rola transgresji, tabu i niekonwencjonalnych metod duchowych w praktyce tantrycznej. Autorka wskazuje na paradoksalne napięcie między oświeceniem a szaleństwem oraz różnice w interpretacjach tego zjawiska w różnych szkołach buddyzmu tybetańskiego. Zagadnienie to zostaje osadzone w szerszym kontekście kulturowym, uwzględniając zachodnie sposoby postrzegania emocji, racjonalności i duchowości. Artykuł podejmuje próbę odpowiedzi na pytanie, gdzie przebiega granica pomiędzy szaloną mądrością a patologią – oraz jak ta granica zależy od ram kulturowych, społecznych i doktrynalnych. ISBN 978‑83‑933048‑0‑6

AßtÍchak is a remote area of the Bhagalpur district of Bihar. It is renowned for its archaeological site VikramïilÂ. Vikramïil MahÂvihÂra site has courtyards, terracotta relics, votive stupÂs along with BrÂhamanical and Buddhist images. There is a site museum attached to the Vikramïil MahÂvihÂra, the museum displays several stone artifacts, terracotta plaques, statues, inscriptions, seals, coins, jewelry, beads, bone artifacts, etc. But the sculptures are the best collection of the museum dating from the sixth to twelfth century CE. The paper emphasises the iconography of the Buddhist sculptures of Vikramïil Museum and describes four Buddhist figurines including Avalokiteïvara, LokanÂtha, and two Heads of The Buddha, alongside the iconographical evolution of technique and style. The particular sculptures taken as a case study are dated to the sixth to tenth century CE to understand the craftsmen's skill, availability of tools, and artisan's proficiency. Vikramïil MahÂvihÂra was ruled by several monarchs between the sixth to tenth century CE, therefore, different sculptural developments have been seen. The methodology used to fulfill the research is qualitative data, field visits, photographic documentation, interviews, and data collection and interpretation.

This study aims to explore the semiotic aspects of the Kumari tradition in Bhaktapur, Nepal. In the lively cultural practice of the Kumari tradition in Bhaktapur, a young Newar girl is regarded as the goddess Taleju, representing divine feminine force. This study examines the denotative, connotative, and mythological aspects of Kumari culture as a system of signs in Bhaktapur's Newar community employing Roland Barthes' semiological framework. This study investigates how rituals and symbols—like the Kumari's red and gold clothing, third eye, and palanquin—serve as signs using a qualitative narrative research design that includes semi-structured interviews with the devotee and the Kumari's caretaker as well as field observations during festivals like Dashain. Denotatively, these elements depict a young girl and her ritualistic roles. Connotatively, they represent purity, divine power, and communal harmony, which strengthens spiritual and social solidarity. At the mythical level, the Kumari naturalizes ideas about divine power and gender roles, presenting her divinity as an intrinsic fact in Newar faith. The study highlights Ekanta Kumari's unique position in Bhaktapur, where she has greater freedom than her peers in Kathmandu and Patan while remaining crucial to rituals that preserve traditional identities. The findings help to better understand the Kumari as a dynamic cultural symbol that bridges the divine and human realms, as well as the interplay of religion, identity, and power in South Asian communities.

A cross-disciplinary interpretation of Voynich manuscript, integrating Daoist internal alchemy (Neidan), Tantric Tummo and Kundalini systems, I Ching numerology, He Tu and Luo Shu, feminine lunar-based cultivation, nerve plexus anatomy, and reproductive energy
transformation.

We show that the manuscript’s frequent depictions of nude figures, plants, vessels, spirals, and spinal forms are not herbal or biological illustrations, but symbolic encodings of practices such as refining essence into Qi, circulating the Microcosmic Orbit, Three Flowers Converging at the Crown, Five Qi Returning to the Origin, Yang Spirit projection, and embryonic regression.

Muslim Jogis constitute a unique community that straddles the boundaries of Islam, Hinduism, and the Nath Yogi (Jogi) order dwelling at the margins of religion, sect, and caste. By self-definition they identify as a caste of Yogis (vernacular term, Jogis), followers of god Shiva in belief, and Muslims in religious identity. While located at the cusp of cultural and religious zones of Hinduism and Islam, they traditionally performed the roles of healers, bards, ritual specialists, and folklorists in north Indian village society catering to a variety of villagers' needs, including the ability to cure various diseases with their yogic skills. This article examines the meaning and image of the Muslim Jogi to understand a dynamic interplay between various religious traditions, belief systems, and popular religious practices complicating and challenging the imaginary of Jogis (Yogis) as quintessentially a Hindu idea. It shows a long tradition of Muslim Jogis in north Indian village society who used their yogic skills in everyday life, arguing that lived religious practices and the yogic knowledge of the Muslim Jogis, which drew on yogic culture, popular magico-Tantric beliefs, and Islam, are representative of shared and localized forms of Tantric and yogic traditions.

This chapter explores some of the central challenges in understanding the emergence of Hinduism in parallel to Islam, using global historical perspectives to discuss if Hinduism was invented, eternal, or something in between. The tangle of reformist, orthodox, and “foreign” agendas is looked at to understand the complexity of 19th-century debates about sanātana or ārya dharma. The involvement of Western-founded movements such as the Theosophical Society and their influences are discussed, as well as the connections between local and global cultural exchanges and experiences. This chapter also reviews the argument that Hinduism existed before colonialism and to what extent, and comes to examine the problem of elite “modern Hinduism” and “bourgeois Hinduism”, as represented by the members of the famous “reform” movement, the 19th-century Brahmo Samaj.

The necessity for the conceptualization, evolution, application and systematic codification of astronomical knowledge was a prerequisite for any civilization in its advanced stage. The essentiality of the astronomical knowledge is linked with sea voyages, international trade, astrology, geography, cosmology. cosmogony, mathematics, philosophy etc., with man's interest in nature, world and Universe. The requirement of such varied subjects in a society proves man's status and his interplay with nature, world and Universe. Such interplay is connected with his conceptualization, systematization and practice of religion, and connected rites, rituals and ceremonies. Therefore, the interactions between astronomical traditions depend upon the indispensability and requisiteness of such knowledge on the same lines. The communication involves transmission and reception of such required traditions and their adoption and adaptation thereof. To what extent such astronomical traditions have been consistent and continuous with the existing civilizations is the important factor to assess the quality and quantity of such interactions taken place.

The word Interaction connotes the requirement of two groups for act and react in the context of astronomical tradition. As the tradition of India has much greater antiquity than that of all other civilizations, as for as India is concerned, India cannot be characterized as a simple borrower. If any aspect is taken for study, it has to be analyzed carefully with all connected factors, as Indian astronomical tradition has been unique in the sense that it is percolated even to the common men, peasants, villagers and others. In intellectual context, as pointed out in the case of Varahamihira, interactions might be fruitful. But, later-day scholars should not cast aspersion on India with a sole aim to misinterpret the facts, misrepresent the data and misapplication of research methodology. As the study involves multi-disciplinary one, scholars of astronomy, mathematics, Sanskrit, history and others should sit together and bring out the facts in right perspective.

Religion is a means for humans to connect with God, this relationship is full of mysticism, both introversive mysticism and extraversive mysticism. The Panugrahan Dalem text is one of the literary texts that contains the teachings of extraversive mysticism, namely the teachings of mysticism "outside" from within which refers to the forces of the universe and so on. The method used in this study uses a qualitative method with a literature study. The implementation of extraversive mysticism in the Panugrahan Dalem text lies in the worship of Sang Hyang Pancamahabhuta which consists of Yeh Nyom or Sang Bhuta Agasati, Getih or Sang Bhuta Mrajapati, placenta or Sang Bhuta Banaspati and Lamad or Vernix Caseosa or Sang Bhuta Banaspatiraja which is related to Kanda Pat teachings through chanting of mantras, the use of both the Wianjana script and the Modre script as well as the use and giving of offerings that function to increase magic and kawisesan. There is also the concept of ...

Long trumpets and their use in pre-Islamic Java are discussed in detail. First documented in the 9th century CE, the use of long trumpets was limited at this early period on the royal and princely environment, where they figure in the court ceremony and war rituals. Around 1200 CE, a novel type of long trumpets, called tarayan in Old Javanese texts, were introduced from South India. These trumpets differed from earlier models by their prominent metal bells. There is a distinct possibility that Old Javanese tarayan was a trumpet with two tubes ('double-trumpet'), which is depicted on a famous, and unique, representation of this musical instrument at Candi Jawi (13th century CE) in East Java. In the 13th and 14th centuries CE, other novel types of wind instruments, such as the shawm, were introduced to Java from the Middle East. Appreciated for their shrilling sound, and typically associated with Islam, shawm was introduced to Java at least a century or two before the mass Islamisation of the island started. Trompet panjang dan pemakaiaannya di Jawa praislamic dibahas dengan teliti. Pertama kali didokumentasi pada abad kedembilan Masehi, pemakaiaan trompet panjang pada periode ini dibatas pada lingkungan kraton. Di lingkungan ini trompet panjang dipakai dalam upacara kraton dan ritual-ritual keperangan. Sekitar 1200 Masehi kita ketemu tipe trompet baru, yang dikenal sebagai tarayan di teks Jawa Kuno. Asal trompet ini ada di India bagian selatan.

Presentation material for the World Sanskrit Conference, 2025, Kathmandu, Nepal. Special Panel on Vernacular Tantra. The paper presents constructions in Śaiva Tantric Sanskrit that have an active verb with a subject in the instrumental. It argues that these constructions are not to be seen as bad Sanskrit, but as demonstrating the influence of period vernacular Apabhraṃśa.

I wish to thank my co-editors and anonymous peer reviewers for their insightful suggestions and comments on a previous version of this paper. Of course, any mistakes and misinterpretations remain mine. 2 Agvan Dorzhiev, also spelled Dorjiev and Agwan Dorjieff, was called Ngawang Lobzang (Ngag dbang blo bzang) in Tibetan. The Dalai Lama had already met him in Lhasa in the late 1880s, when Dorzhiev became his assistant tutor for debate and his unofficial teacher for "foreign affairs." For more detailed information on this

Eight-armed Sarasvat# (Tenth Century) on lintel of p_ga niche is found in Some$vara temple at Mukhali"gam. She is seated in ardhapary_"ka with her left knee slightly raised. She plays the V#ƒ_ with her front set of hands, other right hands display varad_ and hold a sword and a book. Her low left hand holds a vessel, the middle hand holds an indistinct object (goad), upper hand holds a shield. A lion-mount is carved on the face of vi$vapadma pedestal beneath her left knee.

Tamil palm leaf manuscripts stand as enduring monuments to a rich and continuous intellectual tradition, serving not merely as historical documents but as living archives of Tamil civilization's multifaceted understanding of humanity. This paper undertakes a humanities-focused case study to explore the profound cultural, philosophical, and societal significance embedded within these fragile artifacts. Moving beyond their material form, we examine how these manuscripts encapsulate and transmit knowledge across diverse domains, including literature, medicine, philosophy (such as Saiva Siddhanta and Siddha thought), astronomy, and social practices. Through a comparative analysis with other historical records and a detailed examination of their content, this paper highlights their unparalleled role in shaping Tamil identity, preserving indigenous knowledge systems, and reflecting unique worldviews. The "results" of this study manifest as deeper insights into historical modes of thought, ethical frameworks, and the human quest for meaning within a specific cultural context, making their preservation and scholarly engagement a critical endeavor for understanding the broader human narrative.

The Baul tradition is a mystic and devotional music tradition from Bengal and Bangladesh. The paper studies the centrality of the human body in the tradition. The song metaphors describe the various practises of the Bauls that are body-centric. The paper argues that constructions and studies of the Baul tradition have variously interpreted these corporeal relations. Using the phenomenon of the 'amateur baul' in 20th-century Bengal, the paper shows how the Bhadralok population in Bengal appropriated the Baul tradition through an erasure of bodily relations. Such relations are essential in understating the development of the Baul tradition through history and understanding the corporeal worldview of the practitioners central to the tradition and the songs.

Saint-poets like Rāmprasād Sen embraced a nuanced, human-centred interpretation of Tantra in their Bhakti poetry, influenced by texts like the Kulārņavatantra. This text, while ancient, critiques the fetishisation of ritualistic externals, asserting that true liberation lies beyond surface-level practices. Rāmprasād Sen’s devotional songs to Goddess Kālī embody this ethos, reimagining her variously as mother, teacher, consort, and warrior. His portrayal humanised the divine and redefined Kālī’s role in the public consciousness, offering a vision of spirituality that was both accessible and transformative. This reimagination resonated deeply with the Bengali ethos, shaping cultural identity and fuelling resistance against colonial rule. The paradigm he inspired is evident in movements like Sri Aurobindo’s Anushilan Samiti, where spirituality and political activism converged, reflecting a dialectical relationship between devotion, identity, and resistance.

In these portrait sculptures of the Fi fth Dalai Lama as an embodiment of Avalokiteśvara, we may observe literally, here invoking the title of Janet's grand opus, the portrayal of what is meant by "being human in a Buddhist world." These are portraits in sculpture, made in Lhasa during the lifetime of the Fi h Dalai Lama, which allow appreciation of his vision of how to portray his physicality, his bodily form. The dedication inscriptions offer an opportunity to glimpse a level of personal interaction with two distinguished Lhasa gentlemen, both participants in aspects of the Fifth Dalai Lama's private life. The sculptures are cast in gilt brass alloy with cold gold (matte) on the faces as well as pigment for the wide-open eyes.

En complément au défi posé par Nina Kollmar-Paulenz à la rhétorique dominante de la supériorité de l'historiographie européenne, cet essai apporte une perspective tibétaine sur l'historiographie religieuse. Présenté dans le contexte dual des traditions religieuses bouddhiste et Bon, cet essai propose la traduction et l'analyse d'une étude généalogique sur une divinité protectrice masculine, Abse, profondément enracinée dans les sources littéraires tibétaines.

While the extant Tibetan biographies of Atiśa Dīpaṃkaraśrījñāna (982–1054) are abundant, most of the datable ones were completed three hundred years after Atiśa’s death. However, two Tangut manuscripts offer early biographical accounts of Atiśa as they were written in the Tangut State (1038–1227). Centering around Atiśa’s life at Vikramaśīla and his journey to Tibet, the narratives within the Tang- ut texts both resonate with and diverge from the more conventional accounts found in sources like the Extensive Biography (Rnam thar rgyas pa) and the Well-Known Biography (Rnam thar yongs grags). As a result, these Tangut sources emerge as invaluable resources for studying the biographical tradition of Atiśa, as well as the dissemination of his life story in the unique context of the Tangut State during the rise of Tibetan Buddhism therein. This paper introduces and translates two Tangut biographical accounts along with relevant Tibetan textual materials. Its aim is not only to present these new sources but also to utilize them to examine the develop- ment of Atiśa’s biographical tradition. Furthermore, it demonstrates how Tibetan and Tangut studies can be methodologically integrated.

This essay explores the nature of emotions and feelings as ontological forces within the human experience, arguing for their role not only as biochemical reactions but as dynamic, metaphysical entities shaping perception, reason, and spiritual development. Drawing on Platonic, Dionysian, and hermetic traditions, it distinguishes between raw emotion and refined feeling, proposing an alchemical path of sublimation as central to human and divine maturity. The essay critiques emotional manipulation—by social forces or occult mechanisms—as a threat to autonomy, advocating for conscious self-mastery through inner awareness (gnōthi seauton). Integrating mythopoetic language with philosophical analysis, it suggests that emotions, when rightly transmuted, become tools for wisdom and creative agency rather than sources of chaos. The reflection culminates in a discussion of the archetypal maternal principle as a vessel of discernment and care, bridging esoteric psychology, metaphysics, and ethical cultivation. This work contributes to contemporary discussions in philosophical anthropology, spiritual psychology, and esoteric studies.

Vaishnavism, one of the principal streams of Hindu devotionalism has evolved significantly in Kashi, a city revered as a spiritual nucleus of India. The development of Vaishnav thought in Kashi reflects a dynamic interplay with the city's rich religious tapestry where Buddhist philosophies, Tantric practices, humanistic reformations coexisted and interacted. This paper explores the intersections between Vaishnavism and Buddhist metaphysics, the mutual influences between Vaishnav and Tantric ritual traditions and the infusion of egalitarian ideals fostered by saints within the broader socio-religious environment of India and Nepal. Special attention is given to the transmission of Vaishnav humanistic and egalitarian values into Nepalese religious movements highlighting Kashi's role as a mediator of spiritual thought across borders. Using a historical-analytical approach based on textual sources, pilgrimage narratives and comparative religious studies, this research seeks to unravel the multilayered evolution of Vaishnavism in Kashi. The study not only underscores the adaptability and inclusiveness inherent in Vaishnav traditions but also emphasizes their contribution to fostering interfaith dialogue and religious pluralism in South Asia. By mapping these interactions, the article contributes to a deeper understanding of Kashi's role in the development of interconnected religious philosophies between India and Nepal.

Dharmakīrti's view of yogic perception (yogipratyakṣa) and mental cultivation (bhāvanā) has generated a good deal of discussion-in Dharmakīrti's text tradition, in the works of its various critics, and in the contemporary study of Buddhist philosophy. It is discussed not infrequently in Buddhist tantric works, too. However, tantric authors' appeals to yogic perception are at odds with Dharmakīrti's intentions in important ways. In this paper, I show why this appropriation of Dharmakīrti on yogic perception might be surprising, and then I reveal a tantalizing thread of Dharmakīrtian thinking about cultivation that nevertheless runs through certain Sanskrit Buddhist tantric debates. What is most crucial about Dharmakīrti for these authors, I argue, is his reasoned defense of cultivation's power: its capacity to fundamentally and irreversibly transform the practitioner's cognitive, conative, and experiential habits. I develop this point with reference especially to a tantric treatise attributed to Śāntarakṣita, The Accomplishment of Reality (Tattvasiddhi).

Here is a link to the paper at the Journal of Contemplative Studies website (https://contemplativejournal.org/#/texts/67772), part of "Special Issue #4: Philosophy and Contemplation in Tantric Buddhism."

This is the first part of my adaptation of and commentary on Mark Dyczkowski's translation of and commentary on the Tantraloka by the 11 th century Kashmiri Hindu theologian, philosopher and poet Abhinavagupta.

I open with a discussion of the section on the Twelve Kalis, expressions of the Goddess Kali, beginning with the first one, Srstika lī , complemented by descriptions of the Twelve Kalis in general and of the primal Kali, from whom they emanate.

This research aims to find out more about Sunan Kalijaga, a historical actor in the spread of religion and culture on the island of Java in the 15th and 16th centuries, is also known as an accomplished diplomat for understanding around. We can know how to spread and understand culture and religion by using the right tools. This does not mean avoiding violent conflict, but conflict can be minimized and managed with good management. This research uses a hermeneutic approach, namely reading, understanding and relating. The data contained in the Suluk Linglung Manuscript was then developed and clarified to form a complete and strong theoretical combination, as in the contents of the Suluk Linglung which the author considers implicitly and explicitly to be the basis and teachings about Sunan Kalijaga's diplomacy. Until now we can see the results of culture, teachings, ideology and art, such as dance, sculpture, painting, building art, music art in the form of songs, from Sunan Kalijaga and so on. And what is no less important is the teaching of moderation in practicing and practicing religion as well.

Since the mid-1950s, a significant global research and publishing program has accompanied the teaching of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, founder of the Transcendental Meditation and TM-Sidhi program, Science of Creative Intelligence (SCI), Maharishi Vedic Science and Technology, Maharishi Technology of the Unified Field, Maharishi International University (MIU) in USA, Maharishi Vedic University (MVU) in Holland, and Maharishi Mahesh Yogi Vedic Vishwavidyalaya in India. This research program in Vedic knowledge and its application, along with its accompanying international publishing effort, consists of thousands of published documents, many authored by Maharishi, including books, booklets, literature reviews, white papers, conference proceedings, display charts, and posters, most in English but many also translated into languages as diverse as Spanish, Russian, Turkish, Hindi, Malayalam, and Mandarin.
Topics addressed by Maharishi include investigations into Veda and the Vedic Literature, consciousness, Natural Law and the laws of nature, physics (particularly quantum unified field theories), biochemistry, physiology, mathematics, law, justice and rehabilitation, education, health and ageing, government, business and industry, management, economics, art and architecture, and agriculture, among many other academic disciplines and applied areas of life. Moreover, a corpus of more than 650 experimental and quasi-experimental studies, time-series analyses, meta-analyses, mixed methods, and social impact assessments, along with theoretical and review studies associated with Maharishi Vedic Science and its applied technologies, accompany Maharishi’s published literature.
This unique record of research excellence combines with experiential, qualitative, descriptive, and case study accounts of Maharishi’s teaching and its application to all areas of life, such as health, education, business, government, and social well-being—all of it documented with evidentiary support and explained using a range of charts, graphs, conceptual maps, diagrams, and other visual aids—to provide a vast body of advanced Vedic knowledge dedicated to establishing the fullness of individual and social life for everyone on earth.
Often, a topic is systematically analysed for consistency and presented across three main organisational constructs: 1) ancient Vedic knowledge (particularly Ṛik Ved, and the 39 aspects of Vedic Literature, including the Bhagavad-Gītā); 2) the direct personal experience by millions of people throughout the world of higher states of consciousness through the technologies of Maharishi Vedic Science; and 3) contemporary scientific theory (most often physics and mathematics) supported by empirical research (including from the perspectives of physiology, psychology, sociology and ecology).
Together these levels of verification represent what Maharishi called the ‘three Eurekas’ of knowledge. Specialist investigations into topics such as the quantum unified field theories of physics (including the ‘vacuum state’ of quantum mechanics), neuroscience, computer science, genetic engineering, organic agriculture, psychology, ecology, set theory and information theory in mathematics, and gerontology complete the enterprise. Maharishi’s program has also attracted the interest of a great many academics, thought-leaders, business pioneers, government representatives, and other world leaders, including Nobel Laureates Dr Brian Josephson, Dr Melvin Calvin, and Dr Ilya Prigogine, and heads of government, such as President Joachuim Chissano, then President of the Republic of Mozambique, and Dr Kenneth Kaunda, then President of Zambia.
Moreover, research designed to test Maharishi’s Vedic propositions has been conducted at some of the world’s most prestigious research facilities—such as the Harvard Medical School, Princeton University, and University of Edinburgh—in Australia, Cambodia, Canada, France, India, Japan, Lebanon, Norway, Perú, United Kingdom, United States, and elsewhere. These third-party contributions evidence and expand Maharishi’s teaching, often through the identification of principles, frameworks, models, and testable hypotheses. Maharishi’s proposition that the core element of his teaching—described severally as the existence of a state of pure consciousness, pure intelligence, Being, Ātmā, the unified field of Natural Law, and creative intelligence—can be logically explained, directly experienced, scientifically verified, artistically actualised, and fully unfolded and applied in all fields of knowledge and activity for the betterment of the individual, society and environment, is reflected in the research and publishing effort documented in this Research Guide.
Maharishi’s insight into Veda and the Vedic Literature, including his identification of seven states of consciousness, his analysis of the Bhagavad-Gītā and identification of the importance of its two key verses (‘Be without the three Guṇas, O Arjuna!’ [Nistrai-guṇyo bhava-Arjuna, निस्त्रैगुण्यो भवार्जुन, Bhagavad-Gītā, 2.45] and ‘Established in the Self, perform action’ [Yogasthaḥ kuru karmānị, योगस्थः कुरु कर्माणि, Bhagavad-Gītā, 2.48]), his explanation that ‘knowledge is structured in consciousness’ as described by the Richo Akshare verse of Ṛik Ved (Ṛicho Akshare parame vyoman, yasmin Devā adhi vishve nisheduḥ, yastanna veda kim ṛichā karishyati, ya ittadvidus ta ime samāsate, ऋचो अक्षरे परमे  मन्यस्मिन्देवा अधि विश्वे निषेदुः यस्तन्न वेद किमृचा करिष्यति  य इत्तद्विदुस्त इमे समासते, Ṛik Ved, 1.164.39) or what Maharishi calls the master key to all knowledge, and his discovery of the Apaurusheya Bhāsya, an ‘uncreated’ or ‘self-expressed’ commentary of Ṛik Ved (what he calls the ‘Constitution of the Universe’), along with the extensive body of subjective and empirical evidence developed to support them, can therefore rightly be called a landmark in Vedic Science and human discovery.
This Research Guide builds upon the work presented in earlier related journal publications by this author: 1) Fergusson, L. (2016). An annotated historical survey of 84 publications by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi from 1957-2015, International Journal of Current Research, 9(2), 47009–47054; and 2) Fergusson, L. (2017). Researching Maharishi Mahesh Yogi: An archive of published literature from 1957-2015, Journal of Maharishi Vedic Research Institute, 3, 5–351; as well as 3) the first edition of this book: Fergusson, L. (2018). A research guide to the literature of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. Maharishi Vedic Research Institute Press (ISBN: 978-0-9872633-8-4, 435pp).
The present Research Guide identifies and evaluates the published literature by Maharishi (and authoritative books and other documents written and prepared by in-house and/or affiliated writers and publishers) to detail the topics, themes, principles and disciplines he examined over a 50-year period and thereby to better comprehend the scope of his written output.
The purpose of this Research Guide is to provide the reader–researcher with information and background material on the published works of Maharishi and other authoritative sources and to furnish an appropriate context in which this significant body of work can be accessed and comprehended for scholarly benefit and for the systematic presentation of Maharishi Vedic Science and Technology. The goal of the Research Guide therefore is to create a record of literature by Maharishi and others since 1955 and to provide functionality for its access.
The Research Guide is organised into three parts: Part I—Survey of Maharishi’s Literature (pp. 5–316); Part II—Research Bibliography (pp. 317–372); and Part III—General Index (pp. 373–401).
Part I includes literature to which the author had access; it is not intended to be exhaustive or complete but is comprehensive at 369 books and booklets. Only literature written in English (or with significant English content) has been included; other non-English publications or translations of English publications do not form part of the Survey. After examining each document, the following data have been included with its entry: 1) a cover image of the book or booklet; 2) author, date, title, publisher, publication number (including ISBN and/or publication number, where available), along with a total page count; 3) a quotation, usually by Maharishi, which typically appears in the Foreword, Preface or other early section of the document, used here to summarise the main theme of the document; 4) a description of the main content of the document; 5) the key words and phrases used in the document, presented alphabetically; and 6) the main types of content contained in the document.
The main content types identified in each document in section 6) are derived from the following taxonomy: Bibliographic Citations, including lists of books or journals, literature reviews, or indexes; Charts and Graphs, including figures, tables, charts, graphs and/or diagrams; Historical Photographs of people, places or things; Press Reports, including letters, press statements, advertisements and/or proclamations; Scientific Research with charts or citations on Maharishi’s Transcendental Meditation and/or TM-Sidhi program or related research topics; Third-party Contributions, such as  quotes,  statements  or  questions, which were advanced by academics, educators, government agencies or officials, press representatives, or members of the general public; and Vedic Expressions in either translation, transliteration, or Sanskrit. Where none of the above form part of the document, I note with the phrase Plain text only.
The spelling of key words and phrases are true to the original document (for example, the term ‘Natural Law’ has been variously spelled throughout the literature as natural law, Natural law, and Natural Law, and ‘Ṛik Ved’ has been variously spelled Rig Veda, Rig Ved, Ṛg Ved, Rik Ved, Ṛk Ved, and Ṛik Ved), and hence some words may be spelled incon...