Dr. R Srinivasan

The Bhagwat Gita remains the crown jewel among the Vedic heritage of India. It is the crown jewel for it syntheses the knowledge of the Veda, Upanishads and Purana. Many would presume that Gita is a religious script and therefore to be studied by those who are so inclined. The sustained interest and study of Gita by scholars from a host of disciplines across the knowledge that human kind possesses as of now shows that teachings of the Gita go beyond mere religious interest. Quite a few religions across the world prescribe renunciation and sainthood as the ultimate methods of self realization. Bhagwat Gita tells us that by adopting to any of the yoga prescribed in it, even while leading a normal life in a family, one can attain the highest ideal of moksha or self realization. In these series of talks, I have tried to explore the Bhagwat Gita while remaining acutely aware that I am personally as imperfect as I could be. I sincerely hope that those who listen to these casts would add wisdom to my explorations.    

Growth and prosperity are incumbent on our ability to research, synthesize and apply our knowledge to our requirements. The world that we live in is driven by knowledge and even economists tag countries as knowledge economies based on the country's ability to create and apply knowledge for prosperity and social justice.

In order to foster a generation of young researchers to undertake purposeful research, an endeavor is being made to lay out the fundamental concepts for excellence in academic research in this series of episodes. The talks have been purposefully kept generic in their tone and tenor to enthuse a cross section of young academics to take to research as a career in any field that they choose to. Hope this objective will stand fulfilled.

This series is being hosted in furtherance of the objectives of Electronic Journal of Social and Strategic Studies. 

When Collector Ashe of Tirunelveli boarded the train on the 17th June 1911, he did not know that his name will be written in the Foot Note of the story of one of India's greatest patriots.

This is the story of Vanchi or Vanchinathan who made the ultimate sacrifice for an India that would be free from British Colonial Rule.  

The beauty of Bhagwat Gita is in the fact that that it is so relevant to our daily life - be it at home or at the place of work. The most important lesson that the first sloka (stanza) of the Second Chapter of the Gita teaches us is the concept of trust. Many would think trust is for attaining self realization between God and man. Surprisingly, it is trust that gains us our aspirations even in work place. Trust is that mantra that can move mountains, in personal and social dimensions apart from its absolute necessity in the spiritual dimension.

We will explore this concept of trust in this talk. 

The scriptures of the Hindu faith have been unique for they say that all knowledge is inside one's own self. Swami Vivekananda proclaimed this in immortal words when he said 'Man is potentially divine'. Even though such knowledge is resident in us, we need the help of someone to peel those layers of ignorance and confusion that cover our self in order that we know what we seek to know. However, not every one of us know even this much as to what to seek from whom. We have self proclaimed gurus who tell us how to run business; some tell us how to write or sing or to deal with neighbors or overcome alcohol and drugs. We call everyone who points to any direction as guru.

What exactly is the concept of guru? In this talk we will try and explore its meaning.    

Many believe that the history of the world and of nations is shaped by great leaders, wars and the toil of visionaries. If we only stop to carefully look into the pages of history, we will find that courts and trials have also played a crucial role. This is the story of one such trial that shaped the history of India. 

In 1922, Mahatma Gandhi was tried at Ahmedabad on the charge of sedition. The trial of Mahatma stands as the ultimate testimony in the annals of judicial history for it epitomized courage, conviction and exemplary judicial conduct.