Nikāmakarma: how desireless need one be?1

In the Bhagavadgītā K a advises Arjuna to act without desire. He also describes the nikāmakarmin as possessed of perfect equanimity. Some scholars have argued that K a's advice is a contradiction. Because action requires desire, desireless action is impossible. Others have claimed that this fact only suggests that K a's prohibition is against a subset of desires and not desire as a whole. These ‘subset’ positions, however, are not consistent with the equanimity requirement. The conclusion that K a's advice is a contradiction can be avoided however. The word ‘desire’ in English is ambiguous. In one sense it means ‘whatever motivated’, and in another sense it means a ‘desire proper’ in contrast to beliefs and other mental states. If it is possible that not only desires proper motivate, then it is possible to act desirelessly in this sense. This distinction, I will argue, makes the best sense of K a's advice.     

‘Aloneness’ and the problem of realism in classical Sākhya and yoga

The concept of kaivalya (literally, ‘aloneness’) is of crucial importance to the systems of classical Indian philosophy known as Sākhya and Yoga. Indeed, kaivalya is the supreme soteriological goal to which these systems are directed. Various statements concerning this final goal appear in the classical texts—namely, the Sākhyakārikā and Yogasūtra—and yet there is no consensus within modern scholarship about how the concept is to be interpreted. More specifically, there appears to be a great deal of confusion over the implications of kaivalya for the existence of the empirical world. In this article I discuss the principal difficulties encountered by existing interpretations of kaivalya, and propose that these difficulties result from an unwarranted assumption that Sākhya and Yoga take a realist view with regard to the empirical world. I further propose that these difficulties can, in large part, be overcome when the assumption of realism is set aside.     

On the nature and message of the Lotus Sūtra in the light of early Buddhism and Buddhist scholarship (towards the beginnings of Mahāyāna)

The aim of this paper is to compare the contents of the Lotus Sūtra and the style of presentation of its message with the thrust of the Buddha's teachings as they are preserved in the early Buddhist sources, particularly the Sutta Piaka of the Pāli Canon, and also in the Pāli commentarial literature. In the process it attempts to identify in the early sources the precedents of some of the bold statements in the Lotus Sūtra which appear as complete innovations, but may be elaborations of elements contained in Pāli sources in germinal form. Despite the difference in style, language and mythological imagery, the conclusion is that both the Sutta Piaka and the Lotus Sūtra express in their respective manners the true spirit of the Buddhist message. Attention is drawn also to the striking parallels between the Buddhist picture of the multiple universe and modern cosmological theories.     

The notion of necessary being in Fakhr al‐Dīn al‐Rāzī's philosophical theology

The notion of Necessary Being (wājib al‐wujūd) is so significant in Islamic intellectual tradition that it plays a major role in every single system of the tradition. We can see this very clearly in both Islamic philosophy and theology, where Necessary Being is placed in relation to cosmogony and cosmology. This article discusses the function of Necessary Being in the philosophical theology of Fakhr al‐Dīn al‐Rāzī in which Necessary Being is regarded as the axis mundo of the system. An examination of his works, especially Al‐mua al and Al‐tafsīr al‐kabīr, demonstrates that Necessary Being serves as the source of cosmogony, the principle of cosmology, the source of valuation and moral judgment, and the object of rituals.     

Faith and unfaith in pre‐occultation Shīism: a study in theology and social history

The study uses books of Shīite adīth (including the Kāfī of Kulaynī) collected before the Occultation of the Twelfth Imam in 941 to demonstrate a significant change in social attitudes in the Shīite community. The change, which appears to have taken place some time in the ninth century, involved a shift from electionism and isolationism to a more open stance toward the non‐Shīte majority. The revised view is expressed in adīths that offer a view of faith (īmān) and unfaith (kufr) that grants non‐Shīites some measure of faith and salvation and promotes social integration by allowing marriage with and inheritance from other Muslims. Other adīth narratives, however, suggest that some Shīites strongly resisted this view. The account of Shīte views on faith offered by the contemporaneous (d. 935) heresiographer al‐Asharī confirms the picture of a community divided between attitudes of segregation and rapprochement—between rejection of and participation in the great religious consensus taking place under Abbāsid rule.     

Prophetic models in Islamic and Christian spirituality in the thought of Ibn Arabī and Meister Eckhart

A comparative study of Moses, Jesus and Muhammad in Christianity and Islam reveals common background, basic similarities, and differences. Ibn Arabī (d. 1240) and Meister Eckhart (d. 1327) regard Moses and Jesus not only as prophetic models but also as mystical examples for the Mūsāwī type of saints and ‘Jesus‐like’ (‘īsāwī) saints in both traditions. However, the two experts understandably differ with regard to the divine nature of Jesus. Eckhart considers Christ as the image of God (imago Dei), ‘the Only‐Begotten Son of God’, while Ibn Arabī perceives Jesus as having both a human nature (nāsūt) and a divine nature (lāhūt). Eckhart sees Jesus as the best model, but Ibn Arabī sees the best model as Muhammad. Eckhart regards Jesus as the source of existence, whereas Ibn Arabī perceives Muhammad as the source of the chain of prophecy and sainthood, wihc derives from the Muhammadan reality (aqīqa Muammadiyya).     

Waiting

Many people have heard of the sacred sound Aum, but do we really understand what it means or what it is? This article answers that question by examining the original text in which the sacred syllable of Aum is introduced. The three letters that make up the sound Aum each represents a corresponding psychological state. Waking, dreaming, and dreamless sleep are the three main states of consciousness explored in the Mā ūkya Upaniad, a small section contained within the larger Hindu text known as the Upaniads. Some of these texts date back to around the second millennium b.c.e. What can these ancient explorations of human consciousness teach us today and how do they relate to modern depth psychology? The shortest of the Upaniads, the Mā ūkya Upaniad, may be said to hold some of the most profound psychological reflections in all of Indian religious philosophy. In addition to these three states of being, the elusive fourth state, known as Turīya, is also explored in relation to the sacred syllable Aum. This article integrates the commentaries of various Indian gurus with a perspective from analytical psychology. The sounds comprising Aum are explored symbolically and in terms of their psychological meaning, and the psychological role and function of spiritual practices, both East and West, are considered.     

Symbolism and allegory in the Qurān: Muhammad Asad's modernist translation

This paper will analyze Muhammad Asad's translation of the Qurān, which provides us with the means to explore the ‘mythic’ language of sacred text. Despite its modernist agenda, it is a coherent translation which brings into sharp focus a particular modernist discourse on the Qurān. The outcome of this approach is precisely in its style of picking and choosing meanings and interpretations which best suit the modernist project. The paper provides examples of this from the translation which has extensive footnote explanations. What distinguishes its approach from that of the classical commentators? Does the Qurān contain mythical or legendary accounts, and if so, what purpose do they serve? The paper focuses on these and other questions.     

The majority principle in Islamic legal and political thought1

This article studies the concepts of ijmā, al‐sawād al‐a am, jumhūr, al‐tarjī bi‐al‐kathra and legal maxims al‐qawaid al‐fiqhiyya at some length and relates them to the majority principle. These concepts represent a rich field of legal rules, principles and opinions, and the study has found that most—if not all—of them could strengthen the case for the legitimization of the majority principle in Islamic political thought and decision‐making processes. The article also considers Islamic political thought in relation to popular sovereignty, equality, popular consultation and the adoption of majority decisions by all the participants in political processes. While it is by no means conclusive, the article clearly favors the adoption of the majority principle—alongside other principles validated in Islam—in shūratic processes in an Islamic state.     

Knowledge,women and gender in the adīth: a feminist interpretation

This article examines gender constructs embedded within the book on ‘Knowledge’ in Bukhārī's adīth collection. This text provides a site for exploring Islamic constructions of human nature, knowledge, rationality and authority. Out of a sum total of 136 adīths contain in Bukhārī's book on ‘Knowledge’, there are eight concerning women. These have multiple levels of meaning and interpretive possibilities. Employing a feminist hermeneutic, the article examines some of the gender ideology implicit in these formative adīths for Islamic understandings of the human person. The article's twofold approach firstly engages critically with dimensions of androcentricism and patriarchy within the texts, and secondly lifts out marginalized aspects embedded within the texts that offer counter–narratives to dominant constructions of gender. The intention of this reading is to name and illustrate both the functioning patriarchy as well as alternative liberatory positions of gender within the legacy. This represents part of an Islamic feminist approach that destabilizes patriarchal gender constructs and provides alternative approaches to the tradition informed by a religious commitment to gender justice.     

Incommensurability in Aristotle's Theory of Reciprocal Justice

In just proportional exchange, under Aristotle's theory of reciprocal justice, superior sharers in a community materially assist the weaker, and receive honour as a reward. Aristotle's economic thought is represented with a system of 18 formulae. Explained are: (1) What Aristotle means when he says that it is impossible for two sharers or their erga to be commensurable; (2) The extent to which the variables in Aristotle's proportions can be quantified. (3) What diagonal pairing ( κατ διμ?τρoν σζ?υξι?) is; (4) How need makes sharers and their erga ‘sufficiently' commensurable; and (5) Aristotle's theory of what is just in exchange.     

Coding for Short-Term Memory as a Function of Age

Twenty-one young (), 21 middle-aged (), and 21 old () female volunteers viewed letter sequences of 12 letters each and were required to recall the letters in exactly the same order as they saw them. In half of the sequences the letters could not be coded into meaningful units, while in the other half the letters could be chunked into three complete four-letter words. The findings indicated that the age groups did not differ from each other in the low-code condition, but that with the high-code sequences the old subjects performed significantly more poorly than either the young or middle-aged subjects. These findings suggest an age-related deficit in the coding of sequentially ordered material.     

Religious renewal in Syria: the case of Muammad al‐abash

The Syrian Muammad al‐abash, member of the religious establishment and recently elected to parliament, is the leading figure in a movement of religious renewal in Syria. The Islamic vision he has articulated sheds light not only on the existence of a dynamic religious and inter‐religious debate currently taking place in Syria but also on the potential role of Islam in the development of a civil society in Syria that brooks room in the public arena for both the religious and the secular.     

A versatile Mathal: ‘the man who hired laborers’

The parable of ‘The man who hired laborers’ is found in the adīth literature of Islam, in the Gospel of Matthew and in the Rabbinic literature of Judaism. This article focuses mainly on how the adīth texts use the parable, describing themes, rhetorical devices and narrative patterns of fourteen variant readings. Then the Jewish and Christian examples are compared with the Islamic ones, showing both the variety of themes to be found and the similarity of the common parabolic structure.