The Ethical Paradox of the Jñāna-Karma Dialectic and Its Solution in the Yoga Vāśiṣṭha – 1
In this article, Sreejit Datta analyzes the age-old dilemma: whether to seek self-realization or to engage whole-heartedly in the welfare of the society or those who are in need? Some term exclusive efforts for self-realization as selfish. Datta analyzes Mokshashastras and comes to the conclusion that there is really no dichotomy between the two.
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The Vedic Yajña: A Conduit for Transcending the Conditioned Consciousness
Evolutionist and anthropological frameworks of interpretation have belittled the Vedic mantra as well as the Vedic Yajña by categorizing the two as naïve and obscure religious expressions (e.g. through labels like hymns and rituals, respectively) of the early humans. This article highlights the consciousness-altering potential of the Vedic Yajña and the role of the Vedic mantra in it by positing that the Vedic Yajña is neither just a ritual nor merely a metaphor; rather it is a powerful performative element in its own right, which pervades the ‘conditioned consciousness’ of its performer and uplifts the same to ever higher planes of consciousness, thus revealing to the performer/practitioner subtler layers of reality on the way to the Truth.
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