India has a rich tradition of meditative practices designed to study the phenomenon of consciousness. From the distant past to the present, India has evolved a unique psychological culture with grand unifying themes and universal modes of meditative practice. This book provides a detailed analysis of classical and modern Indian views on consciousness along with their related meditative methods. It offers a critical analysis of three distinct trends of Indian thought, viz., a dualistic mode of understanding and realizing consciousness in Hindu Samkhya, an interactive mode in early Buddhist abhidhamma, and the evolutionary transformational mode in the teachings of the twentieth-century sage Sri Aurobindo. This book explores the unifying features in Indian first person practices with regard to consciousness and the importance of these applied psychological practices and their associated understanding of our conscious inner lives. The most striking feature of the work is that side by side theoretical exposition of consciousness, it includes a number of worksheets which explain how to use meditation to achieve relaxation as well as cognitive 'maps' of the different levels of conscious states and instruction and how one can traverse from one state to another. The final chapter explores Sri Aurobindo who introduced new and decisive Indian spiritual thought and practice to India in the form of Integral Yoga. This innovative book will be of interest to scholars studying Indian philosophy, Indian religion and the emerging field of contemplation studies.

India has a rich tradition of meditative practices designed to study the phenomenon of consciousness. From the distant past to the present, India has evolved a unique psychological culture with grand unifying themes and universal modes of meditative practice. This book provides a detailed analysis of classical and modern Indian views on consciousness along with their related meditative methods. It offers a critical analysis of three distinct trends of Indian thought, viz., a dualistic mode of understanding and realizing consciousness in Hindu Samkhya, an interactive mode in early Buddhist abhidhamma, and the evolutionary transformational mode in the teachings of the twentieth-century sage Sri Aurobindo. This book explores the unifying features in Indian first person practices with regard to consciousness and the importance of these applied psychological practices and their associated understanding of our conscious inner lives. The most striking feature of the work is that side by side theoretical exposition of consciousness, it includes a number of worksheets which explain how to use meditation to achieve relaxation as well as cognitive 'maps' of the different levels of conscious states and instruction and how one can traverse from one state to another. The final chapter explores Sri Aurobindo who introduced new and decisive Indian spiritual thought and practice to India in the form of Integral Yoga. This innovative book will be of interest to scholars studying Indian philosophy, Indian religion and the emerging field of contemplation studies.

The phenomenon of consciousness has always been a central question for philosophers and scientists. Emerging in the past decade are new approaches to the understanding of consciousness in a scientific light. This book presents a series of essays by leading thinkers giving an account of the current ideas prevalent in the scientific study of consciousness. The value of the book lies in the discussion of this interesting though complex subject from different points of view ranging from physics and computer science to the cognitive sciences. Reviews of controversial ideas related to the philosophy of mind from western and eastern sources including classical Indian first person methodologies provide a breadth of coverage that has seldom been attempted in a book before. Additionally, chapters relating to the new approaches in computational modeling of higher order cognitive function and consciousness are included. The book is of great value for established as well as young researchers from a wide cross-section of interdisciplinary scientific backgrounds, aiming to pursue research in this field, as well as an informed public.
* Presents the latest developments in the scientific study of consciousness
* Critically reviews different theoretical and philosophical explanations related to the subject
* An important book for both students and researchers in designing research projects on consciousness

Ethanol has been established as a commendable adjutant of gasoline to meet the constraints of the contemporary scenario of ever decreasing fuel resources and constantly increasing emission legislations. Though ethanol as a dual fuel for diesel emissions promises commendable emission reduction potential, performance indices such as BSFC, thermal efficiency are penalized arising out of its low calorific value, immiscibility and very low cetane number.In this present study, CNG enrichment for a broad range of diesohol blends was carried out to investigate performance and combustion improvement, along with the possibility of retaining the trait of emission reduction.These tests were carried out on an existing DI diesel engine at various engine load conditions with port injection of CNG.The present study has been able to portray the efficacy of CNG and ethanol when used in conjunction to usher in the benefits of reduced pollutant formation without unacceptable penalization of performance indices as comparable to conventional diesel operation and thus opens up avenues for greater in-depth exploration of the complimentary use of CNG and ethanol in diesel engines

The important motivations for exploring alternative fuel resources are energy security and air pollution, problems that are collectively calling into question the fundamental sustainability of the current energy system.Hydrogen-fuelled engines with near-zero emissions are a potential near-term option and a bridge to hydrogen fuel cell vehicles.With emission legislations getting more stringent, research studies have definitely established the advantages of extremely clean burning characteristics of hydrogen as a dual fuel in engines.But that said, the premium of using hydrogen as a green energy carrier needs to be augmented with studies on its potential to satisfy conventional engine combustion characteristics for ready deployment.In this present study, the performance and combustion analysis were carried out on an existing direct injection diesel engine at various load steppings using hydrogen inducted at different injection timings and injection durations.The findings of the study cater to its audience interested to employ such uses in practical diesel engines and also to those chartering a course of pursuance in the context of reducing emission from existing combustion engine

Neither Water Nor Governance is a study of the problems of water governance in the Maan river basin in Madhya Pradesh state of India. Hydrological estimation has been done to find out whether the current use of water in the basin through various technologies is sustainable or not. The cost effectiveness of an irrigation dam that has been built on the river is also analysed. The policy framework that has led to the present situation and the effects that it has had on sustainability are analysed in detail. Steps that need to be taken to ensure sustainability in future are underlined in conclusion.

For Rahul Banerjee, the road from the Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur led straight into the land of the Bhils, the indigenous people in Central India. Over the last quarter of a century, Rahul Banerjee has worked among some of the poorest of the poor in the country. This book recounts not only his life among the Bhils, but also his own transformation into an apostate from modernity. The book is the product of an active and restless mind presenting a delightful account of activist and Bhil life in India "from below" while engaging with the broader ideas that are shaping contemporary India.

Supramolecular materials have a great number of applications due to the reversibility of their non-covalent molecular interactions, such as reversible hydrogen bonding, host-guest interactions and electrostatic interactions. This book provides a comprehensive source of information on the structure and function of organic and metal-organic supramolecular materials. The chapters of this book provide an overview of supramolecular material assembly at various scales, including the formation of 2D polymers and molecular cages. The role of intermolecular interactions in solid and solution state self-assembly is discussed, as is the role of mechanochemistry on molecular and supramolecular architectures. Finally, novel applications of these materials in molecular recognition, catalysis, light harvesting and environmental remediation are covered. Functional Supramolecular Materials will be of interest to graduate students and researchers in academia and industry in the fields of supramolecular chemistry and functional materials science.