Decoding Gender In The Rig Veda

Three lectures delivered at the Indian Institute of Advanced Study in May 2010.

"The Rig Veda is not only one of the oldest sacred scriptures of the world, but also one of the most misunderstood. Past scholarship has dismissed the hymns of the Rig Veda as being expressions of a primitive animistic mentality that only rarely rose to true spiritual and philosophical heights. David Frawley's book demonstrates that this judgmental view is ill-founded. His fine renderings of select Vedic hymns bear witness to the fact that their composers were sages and seers--powerful poets who knew the art of symbolic and metaphoric communication. The Vedic hymns give us a unique glimpse not into a primitive mentality but a mentality and culture that revolved around the highest spiritual values and visions. This is an important and riveting book, ushering in a new and sounder tradition of Vedic interpretation and scholarship." Georg Feuerstein

Section 1. Chronology and geography of the Rigveda -- section 2. The Indo-European homeland in India

This book deconstructs the quintessential Indian woman that the advertising industry portrays across the spectrum by looking at Indian advertisements across multiple brands with a gender lens based on societal and sociological perspectives. It delves into various critical issues like the differences between culture-defined gender roles/expectations and women’s portrayal in the ad narrative, and which product category has consistently portrayed women as sex objects. Drawing insights from a seminal research study and Erving Goffman’s classic book ‘Gender Advertisements’, it traces the journey of three decades, beginning the 1990s – the era of liberalization in India, to map trends and patterns in Indian advertising and presents the perspectives of the creative teams and top managements across Indian and global advertising agencies. It discusses the application of a Gender Sensitivity Barometer (GSB) which the creative teams can use to find out how sensitive or insensitive the ad has been based on pre-determined indicators suggested by the GSB. This book will be useful to students, researchers and faculty working in the field of management, advertising, mass communication, psychology, gender studies and sociology. It will also be an indispensable companion to professionals from the field of advertising and related areas.

First time in the history of India, in 1958, a Sankaracarya visited West. The author, His Holiness Jagadguru Sankaracarya Sri Bharati Krsna Tirtha of Puri, went to America at the invitation of the Self Realization Fellowship, Los Angeles, to spread the message of Vedanta. This book is a compilation of some of his discourses delivered there. These discourses by a saint-yogi and master of ancient Indian scriptures, also well-versed in modern sciences, give the essentials of Vedanta. They combine authenticity of thought with simplicity of language. Being couched in the contemporary idiom they will be found to be particularly suited to the modern mind. Though addressed to American audiences, the discourses carry a message of eternal truth and of universal application. The steps of spiritual inquiry and the paths of God-realisation outlined in them will be of immense practical use to the readers in their quest for the Supreme.

In the present volume,the author has confirmed emphatically that India was also the original homeland not only of the Indo-Aryans but also of the Indo-Iranians and the Indo-Europeans.