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Contents: Preface. 1. Is there a core cultural self-image of India? 2. Time and the Hindu experience. 3. Cosmos and consciousness: Indian perspectives. 4. Time, self and consciousness: some conceptual patterns in the context of Indian thought. 5. The enigma of I-consciousness. 6. On exploration of subjectivity in Advaita Vedanta. 7. I-Consciousness in the context of the no-self doctrine of Buddhism: a review of the controversies. 8. The idea of Abhyasa (habit practice). 9. The notion of Klesha (affliction) and its bearing on the yoga analysis of mind. 10. The idea of Karuna (Compassion) in the Upanishadic and the Buddhist tradition. 11. Reflections on women’s rights and cultural norms. 12. Women and values in traditional India: a feminist probe. 13. Ramakrishna and the question of the plurality of religions. 14. Thoughts that transform the religious mindscape: a tribute to Swami Vivekananda. Index.

This anthology, consisting of fourteen essays, deals with a variety of themes that are of central importance for an authentic appreciation of the philosophical core of the Indian culture. The readers will find here illuminating discussions on various issues that bear witness to the critical thinking and deep reflection on the part of the author that have enabled her to carefully expose the subtle internal divergences that nourish the Indian conceptual world. Based on arduous and painstaking research, these essays focus on a range of topics. There are several essays on multiple aspects of the large themes of time and consciousness, penetrating analysis showing how in the ancient discourse ideas of Klesha (affliction), Abhyasa (practice) and Karuna (compassion) as well as on women and values are dealt with. There are also deliberations on the themes of religious diversity and the need for an encounter of world religions along with the attempt to explore India’s self-image. All these have contemporary relevance, as these essays clearly bring out the distinctive character of a living culture.