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RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

Q1. USE OF RESEARCH : What is Thesis, planning in research


(preparing time schedule). Uniqueness of thesis (originality,
argument, thought).

Ans. Thesis Statement

A thesis statement is a one-sentence summary of the whole
paper.
- It summarizes in brief the entire paper.
- Everything else in the paper will support it in some way : by
expansion, for emphasis, by explanation
- It is an abstract of the entire paper.
- It is the controlling thought or idea.
A thesis statement should be a complete grammatical sentence
which is:
- specifc ( predicts)
- brief (controls)
- suggestive (obligates)
the organization to be followed.
A thesis statement is the central thought or idea which has
emerged from the research one has conducted.
A thesis statement is a proposition laid down or stated esp. as a
theme to be discussed and proved.
The most convenient place for the thesis statement is somewhere
near the beginning of the essay or paper. Either as opening sentence or
the middle of the frst paragraph.
Thesis

1 A thesis is a substantial research project, conducted at the graduate and post-graduate level in
connection with work on an advanced degree.

2 A thesis can be generally used interchangeably with dissertation, depending on the feld and on the
preference of the institution.

3 A thesis is written with a motive to specialize in a subject.

4 A thesis requires a great amount of efort, research, time and an extensive bibliography.

5 A thesis is an unbaised exposition of the subject matter with an objective, logical and critical
evaluation or remarks on the subject It should contain pertinent, valid and solid information in support of all
the important and key statements one makes. The documentation has to be accurate and honest.


Research
- It is a scientifc and a systematic search for knowledge
- A careful investigation or inquiry through research for new
facts in any branch of knowledge.
- A movement from the known to the unknown
- Research is an academic discipline
- Defning and redefning problems, formulating hypothesis or
suggested solution; collecting organising and evaluating
data, making deduction whether they ft the formulating
hypothesis Cliford Woody.
- An original contribution to the existing stock of knowledge
making for its advancement.
- It is the persuit of truth with the help of study, observation,
comparison and experiment.
- The search for knowledge through objective and systematic
method of fnding solution to a problem is research.
Planning in Research (preparing time schedule)

Planning is based on the central idea or thesis which is the life
and the spirit of the entire research programme. If the thesis is
sufciently frm and clear, it would immediately tell how to organize the
supporting material and so obviate elaborate planning.
The selection of topic for research is a commitment of ones time
and eforts in a particular direction.
Time is an important factor. If for one reason or another,
gathering the information takes many months or even years, then the
topic is obviously not suitable for an undergraduate / post graduate
student with only a few months to complete his project.
Uniqueness of thesis (originality, argument, thought)
Q2. PHILOSOPHICAL RESEARCH : Textual analysis, philosopher and
his times.
METHODS IN PHILOSOPHICAL RESEARCH : Analytical method,
synthetic method, comparative method, comprehensive method,
historical method, hermeneutics.
What is Methodology ? What are the various methods adopted
by philosophers in persuit of a problem explained.
Ans. Method
The term method and methodology are often used rather
loosely, as if they refer to the same thing and could therefore be used
interchangeably.
However, in a strict sense, they have very diferent meanings :
Strictly speaking method refers to the procedures to be followed in the
conduct of research; methodology as the word itself implies, refers to
the study of methods, a critical investigation of the principles underlying
the use of a particular method or methods for example, a study of the
methodology of the social sciences would entail an examination of the
presuppostions, assumptions and arguments made toward justifying a
particular method orset of methods for constructing or supplementing a
body of knowledge in the social sciences.
Method is a way of doing something; orderliness, systematic.
A procedure or process for attaining an object.
A systematic procedure, technique, or a mode of enquiry.
A discipline that deals with the principles and techniques of
scientifc enquiry.
Orderly arrangement, development and classifcation.

Methodology
The procedures by which researchers go about their work of
describing explaning and predicting phenomena are called methodology.
The study of methods by which we gain knowledge it deals
with the cognitive processes imposed on research by the problems arising
from the nature of its subject matter.
- Methods compromise the procedures used for generating,
collecting and evaluating data.
- Methods are ways of obtaining in formation useful for
assessing explanation.
Methodology prepares the investigator to adopt techniques to
neutralise the efects of such hurdles.
- Research methodology is the description, explanation and
justifcation of various methods of conducting research.


RM
Analytical method
Analytical method means studying the tabulated material in order
to determine inherent facts or meanings. It involves breaking down
existing complex factors into simpler parts and putting the parts together
in new arrangements for purposes of interpretation. A preliminary
analysis on the skeleton plan should, as the investigation proceeds,
develop into a complete, fnal analysis enlarged and reworked as and
when necessary. No similarities, diferences, trends and outstanding
factors should go unnoticed. Later divisions of material should be broken
down into smaller units and rearranged in new combinations to discover
new factors and relationships.
Comparative method

An approach to any subject in degrees involves comparison. The
method of comparison existed in the society from the very beginning. It
does not consist merely in drawing comparison but in explanation by
means of comprisons. It is a scientifc method in which comparative data
is collected with specifc conclusions derived from its results.
Analysis and comparison of two contemporary phenomena is
known as comparative method, e.g. studies of two or more constitutions,
governments or political systems. The comparison is always undertaken
in order to discover new facts or relations.
Approach to any subject in degrees involve comparison. The idea
of good better and best is in relation to degrees. Similarly, it is common
thing to discuss intellectual capacity or fnancial position in comparison
to others. This approach of analysing and studying is very old.
August Comte felt that the comparative study of societies as a
whole was serious subject fgor sociological analysis. Herbert Spencer
Societies of diferent kinds and societies in diferent stages, must be
compared.
Comparaltive method is thus a scientifc method involving the
collection of comparative data with specifc purpose and analysed to
draw specifc conclusions.
Precautions :
Physical verifcation of material of study. Collect reliable
material or information.
Proper assessment of the existing and non-existing factors.
Conclusions The most difcult part of comparative study.
Draw correct conclusions devoid of any bias.
Comparative study is scientifc and complicated.
Comparative method is a very useful and unique method as it
provides useful results. It is a scientifc approach to the study of a
problem.


Historical method
It is a backward movement in knowledge to trace the antecedent
cause or causes of a phenomenon. History has been treated diferently
and not taken seriously because of its subjective character. Napolean
Bonaparte said, What is history but a fable agreed upon, and Spencer
treated it as a means of amusement. He said, Read them (histories) if
you like, for amusement. Jawaharlal Nehru, Mans growth from
barbarianism to civilization is supposed to be the theme of history.
While studying history its should be kept in mind that the basic aim
before the researcher is not to make a deep study of the history but to
confne himself to relevant part of history. He must simply confne his
attention on such impacts and infuence which could be explained in the
historical background. The role played by historical data is very
important.
Sources of historical data : There are three sources : -
- Documents
- Cultural and Analytical material in the history
- Reliable sources of personal knowledge
It should be kept in mind that all historical details are not authentic and
these could not be fully realised upon because often historians do not
write objectively. It is not possible to know all happenings in time and
space at the time of writing. Personal biases and private intepretation
often enter unconsciously.
The researcher should have clear social insight to understand the
cause. He must remain dispassionate and should not be misguided by
guess work, preconceived notion, biases, emotions and dogmas.
History is a store of information relating to the past. The study of
cause and efect can only be done after consulting history.
Hermeneutics
Analysis and hermeneutics or interpretation are central steps in
the research process. The goal of analysis is to summarise the collected
data in such a way that they provide answers to the questions that
triggered the research. Interpretation is the search for the broader
meaning of research fndings. This search has two major aspects. First,
there is the efort to establish continuity in social research through
linking the results of one study with those of another. Secondly,
interpretation leads to the establishment of explanatory concepts.
Through interpretation, the meanings and implications of the study
become clear. Analysis is not complete with interpretation; and
interpretation cannot proceed with analysis. Both are, thus
interdependent. In fact, interpretation can be conceived of as a part of
analysis. It is the task of interpretation to fnd out link or a position of
the study in the whole analytical framework. It connects the fndings
with the established theories or the available stock of knowledge in a
particular area of research. Although, chronologically, analysis and
interpretation occupy the last stage of the research process, they occupy
the frst stage, since the necessary is acquired much before the actual
work is undertaken.
Jahada and Cook have defned it in the following words :
Scientifc interpretation seeks for relationship between the data
of a study and between the study fndings and other scientifc
knowledge.
The interpretation of the data is best consdered within the context
of each of the methods. The analysis and interpretation of historical data,
for example, is best viewed in the light of the historical method, its
objectives and its limitations. It is important to note that data do not
interpret themselves and that it is the investigator who must pass
judgment on their meaning from the standpoint of the problem under
investigation.
Interpretation is not a mechanical process. It calls for a critical
examination of the results of ones analysis in the light of all the
limitations of his data-gathering.
Forms of Interpretation
Some of the common and important forms or basis of
interpretation may be described as follows :
1)Relationship Unless comparative analysis or study is made,
true form of relationship between the subject and the object
cannot be determined.
2)Proportion - It is ascertained to determine the nature and form
of absolute changes in the subjects of study.
3)Percentages If the object of enquiry is to determine the nature
and extent of approximations only for a particular objective,
then the method of percentage is often used for making
interpretation as the basis.
4)Averages or the Other measures of comparison This is to
interprete statistical data and information. In the absence
comparative measurements, a defnite and clear-cut result may
not be arrived at.
Essentials for Interpretation
Some of the pre-conditions or essentials of interpretation may be
mentioned as :
1)Accurate Data One of the most important pre-requisites of
interpretation and analysis is the availability of accurate and
reliable data. Accuracy of data provides all the benefts of
consistency and helps one to arrive at a true conclusion.
2)Sufcient Data Pre-requisite for accuracy is the existence of
sufcient and reliable data. Biased or unrepresentative results
may be obtained if inferences are drawn based on unreliable or
insufcient data.
3)Right type of Classifcation and Tabulation
4)Absence of Heterogeneous Data For an uniform and accurate
result, the data must be homogeneous. Heterogeneous data
may fail to yield the desired result. Therefore, calculations must
only be based on homogeneous data. If the basis of interpretation
is uniform, accurate and homogeneous data, there is every
possibility of attaining a better and representative result.
5)Consistency of Information Stable and accurage results.
Precautions in Interpretation
1)Failure to see the problem in proper perspective
2)Failure to appreciate the relevance of various elements
3)Failure to recognise limitations in the research evidence such
as : non-representativeness in sampling, basis in the data,
inadequacies in the research design, defective data- gathering
instruments and inaccurate statistical analysis.
4)Misinterpretation due to unstudied factors
5)Ignoring selective factors
6)Difculties of Interpretative Evaluation Explanation of ones
research fndings in terms of their practical implications, which
often forms an usual part of the research undertaken, is
fraught with the danger of misrepresentation. Factual
interpretation and personal interpretation of their implications
should never be confused.
Comparison in Interpretation
The element of comparison is fundamental to all research
interpretations. This forms an important aspect of interpretative
eforts of a researcher.
Conclusion
Interpretation of research results is often no more than common
sense reading of simple tables and explanation of simple descriptive
measures.
The researcher who cautiously confnes his conclusions to those
strictly justifed by the data may be safe from criticism.

Textual Analysis

Synthesis Method

Comprehensive Method

Q5. Aspects of Good Thesis : Plan of work, assessment, classifcation
of subjects, headings, spelling, foreign words Criteria of Good
Research. What are the aspects that one has to bare in mind in
order to write a good thesis ?
Ans. Whatever may be the types of research works and studies, one thing
that is important is that they all meet on the common ground of
scientifc method employed by them. One expects scientifc research to
satisfy the following criteria :
1)The purpose of the research should be clearly defned and
common concepts be used.
2)The research procedure used should be described in sufcient
detail to permit another researcher to repeat the research for
further advancement, keeping the continuity of what has
already been attained.
3)The procedural design of the research should be carefully
planned to yield results that are as objective as possible.
4)The researcher should report with complete frankness, faws in
procedural design and estimate their efects upon the fnds.
5)The analysis of data should be sufciently adequate to reveal
its signifcance and the methods of analysis used should be
appropriate. The validity and reliability of the data should be
checked carefully.
6)Conclusions should be confned to those justifed by the data
of the research and limited to those for which the data provide
an adequate basis.
7)Greater confdence in research is warranted if the researcher is
experienced, has a good reputation in research and is a person
of integrity.
Qualities of Good Research
1)Good research is systematic Structured with specifed steps,
specifed sequence in accordance with the well defned set of
rules. There must be creative thinking but reject the use of
guessing and intuition in arriving at conclusions.
2)God research is logical Reasoning and process of induction
and deduction are of great value. Induction is the process of
reasoning from a part to the whole whereas deduction is the
process of reasoning from some premise to a conclusion which
follows from that very premise. Logical reasoning calls for good
decision making.
3)Good research is empirical Research is related basically to
one or more aspects of a real situation and deals with concrete
data that provides a basis for external validity to research
results.
4)Good research is replicable This characteristic allows
research results to be verifed by replicating the study and
thereby building a sound basis for decisions.
Q3. LIBRARY : Use of the library, primary material, secondary
texts.
In what way library is useful to pursue ones research project ?
Discuss.
Even before one begins to work on a particular assignment, it is
wise to become familiar with library resources and services : the
information desk, the reference area, the card catalog, periodical indexes,
the periodical area, the reserve and reference area, government
documents, special collections, inter-library loan services and
mechanical aids (e.g. type writers, xerox machines, microflm readers,
computer section). One should investigate all the diferent libraries that
he might be able to use, such as the libraries of other public and private
universities and colleges, museums and art gallaries.
Q7(a) Defne primary and secondary data and point out the
diference between them.
(b) Can a research solely depend on the secondary data for his
research ? If not, what are the sources of information in social
research ?
Ans. Without data there is no ground for investigation. Data are the core
of the science of statistics. The major types of data to be consulted
should be indicated as two types : Primary data and Secondary data.
Primary Data
With data there is no ground for investigation. Data are the core of
the science of statistics.Data collected from primary sources, that is, the
data collected by the investigator himself in the feld and from the
original sources. It is also known as original data since it is collected for
the frst time by a person who is going to use them.
The process of collecting primary data is termed as collection of
statistics. It is always collected by the investigator, in the feld and from
the original sources, since it collected for the frst time by a person who
is going to use them.
These are materials by persons being studied or by those involved
in an event being investigated. This often known as the pure gold of
research data. These sources are available from both written and oral
traditions and non verbal sources as archaeological evidence.

Five methods of collecting Primary Data
1)Direct personal investigation
2)Indirect Oral investigation
3)Information through local sources
4)Schedules to be flled in by informants
5)Schedules to be flled in my Enumerators
Classifcation of Data / Sources
Primary data can be considered as being of two types :
(a) Original works based on a persons own thoughts.For example :
Gandhis concept of ahimsa, writings by him dealing with
ahimsa should be noted as primary sources, along with a selection of
other supplimentary books. When studing the life and thought of a
person, such as, Gandhi, works by that person will be of highest
importance, for it is in such materials that the researcher will fnd the
person expressing his or her own thoughts.
There are certain limitations : this collection, as comprehensive
it is, does not contain all of Gandhis writings. Some of these original
writings could be a translation into English or other languages other
than the original which could be considered as primary sources.
(b) Data gathered at frst hand and usually organized and
presented by the person(s) who gathered them. For example : Census
data, verbatims of interviews, attitude and opinion surveys and oral
histories. Such material consists of self-reports which people have
provided but which, in this case, have been elicited and recorded by
others. The peoples self-reports will be originally data not only for the
original researchers but also for other persons doing research in the
same area since they will be dealing with the original data (self-reports)
not an interpretation of them. It should be noted that while such
materials may be a primary source for others, any interpretation of these
by the original researcher will normally be a secondary source for others.
Primary data or source is considered to be a wealth of highly
valuable in formation. It should also be noted that such materials are
limited to what persons have been willing to share with others in either
oral or written form. Original data gathered at frst hand, such as
through interviews, are also limited by the interests of the researchers
who gathered the data in that interests will have led them to ask certain
kinds of questions but not others.
Secondary data / source
Works about the thought of other persons or works based on data
gathered by some one else for another purpose are known as secondary
sources. For example : India : Economic Development and Social
Opportunity by Jean Dreze and Amartya Sen. This is based substantially
upon original data gathered by others, Dreze and Sen interpret data
gathered by others. Their works, would be secondary sources.
Secondary data are materials about other persons or about events
in which the authors have not participated. Usually interpretations of
such things as the thought of another person, census data, opinion
surveys and oral traditions would be classifed as secondary data.
The facts and fgures that have already been collected are called
secondary data. The data which have been gathered originally by some
one else for some other purpose are known as secondary data.
Secondary works derive from primary materials and include
analysis, interpretation and commentary on primary materials.
Note : that for some investigations such interpretations would be
primary data as, for example, in a comparative study of how two or
more, biblical scholars have understood the same biblical texts.
OBJECTIVITY
The objectivity of a source is its lack of bias or prejudice. Total
objectivity is not humanly possible but the most valuable sources
identity any biases that might be caused by the author's afliations or
allegiances wither economic, political, philosophical or religious and
any limitations inherent in the authors approach or the materials used.
A writer with investments in farms producing soybeans, for example,
should indicate the possibility of bias for economic reasons in a study on
the relative advantages of soybeans and seaweed as based for new foods.
QUALIFICATIONS OF THE AUTHOR
The qualifcations of the author that might infuence your choice of a
source include academic degrees, professional credentials, work
experience and status in the feld. This kind of information may be found
in preliminary or appendix materials in the source itself, in a
biographical dictionary or directory such as Who s Who, or in in an
encyclopedia. The information may indicate the quality, nature and
objectivity of a source.
COLLECTING INFORMATION
Gathering information for your paper involves :
critical evaluation of sources
for authority and dependability
use of an accurate and efcient system for taking notes
NOTING TAKING
An efective system for recording information requires the selection of
a convenient size of card, a system of notation for relating the note cards
to bibliography cards and to the outline and the choice of a form for
recording information.
There are several ways in taking down notes, for example: using note
cards, large sheets of paper, use of a tape recorder, etc The temptation
to take notes on large sheets of notebook paper or on both sides of page
should be avoided, since this kind of note taking makes it difcult to
rearrange the material.
System for Note Taking
Before you begin to take down notes, enter on the paper / card the
information you will need to link the note card to the appropriate
bibliography card. Enter the authors last name, page numbers from
which you are transcribing information, subject headings..
COMPARETIVE STUDY OF PRIMARY /SECONDARY DATA
Primary Secondary
Original in the sense that they Original as they are collected by
some
Are personally collected by the one other than the investigator
Investigator.
Collection is more expensive Readily available at less expense
and exhaustive.
Collected as per requirement of Might have been collected with difer-
the investigator ent objectives
Infuenced by personal prejudice Not so in the case of Sec. Data
of the investigator
More accurate in suppling infor- Flause can be expected
mation
CONCLUSION
Books, articles and papers by Tagore would be primary materials
for a researcher studying Tagores life, and thought, whereas, the same
written by others about Tagore would constitute secondary data.
A researcher studying a particular tribal group material by a
member of that tribe about the life and culture of that tribe would
normally be a primary data, while material by non-tribals about that
tribe would normally be secondary data.
As these examples indicate, secondary data are materials by
others about a person, an event being studied or other phenomena, while
primary data consists of materials either by that person, participants in
the event or witnesses to the phenomena. Primary materials will
normally have much greater value for helping a researcher to more
directly known a person, event or other phenomena. It is for this reason
that so much stress is given to the importance of getting into primary
sources.
Since research is concerned with fnding a persuasive answer to a
question or problem, primary materials will be more valuable than
secondary materials and direct evidence (eye-witness, reports, testimony,
direct expression living through a major earthquake) will be more
valuable than circumstantial evidence (from inferences, indirect witness
to an event; suspicious).
Primary material and direct evidence provide the views of the
person being studied and the views of witness who have been involved in
the event being investigated.
Secondary material and circumstantial evidence provide us only
with the opinions of other persons about these and materials from which
certain inferences (but no conclusive proof) can be drawn.
In the absence of primary data; if only the secondary data is
available, in this case such materials will need to be rigorously
scrutinized. Research material can therefore, be graded on a scale of
value according to their sources. Credentials of the writer to some extent
be necessary in most areas of research to make some use of secondary
data.The researcher needs to examine the reliability oft he material,
representativeness of the data, corroboration that is, examining his
materials to see how far data from diferent sources are in agreement.
In relative terms, the diference between primary and secondary
data is o degree only. The data which is primary for one agency is
secondary for the other and vice verse.
Depending on the point of view of the research paper, the same
materials may be considered either primary or secondary.
Q8. THE THESIS : Preface, abbreviations, bibliography quotations /
footnotes, table of contents,
A thesis or dissertation is composed of three categories of
materials:
The preliminaries (front matter)
Consist of any or all of the following elements : abstract; approval
sheet; title page, copyright page; clearance forms; table of contents; lists
of tables, fgures and plates; preface and acknowledgements. Not every
thesis will need to include all these elements.
Abstract
Most universities require that a doctoral candidate submit an abstract,
a brief descriptive summary, of the dissertation. The abstract is usually
placed before the title page or after the last page of bibliography.
The abstract should include a statement of the problem or issue, a
brief description of the research method and design, major fndings and
their signifcance and the conclusions. It should not be numbered
because it is technically not a part of the dissertation.
Approval Sheet
The aproval sheet provides space for the signatures of persons such as
the adviser, readers, department chairperson and graduate deans
indicating their acceptance of the work. Most institutions have a model or
form printed for this purpose, and local requirements should always
determine the formate of this page. Approvals are sometimes
incorporated into the title page. Many institutions do not bind the
separate approval sheet into the dissertation.
Preface
The preface, usually an optional section for a dissertation or thesis,
should include brief comment only on subjects such as the motivation
for the study or methods of research. Substantial development of these
issues and signifcant historical or background information belong in the
body of the paper. That is, the preface is an adjunct to the paper rather
than an essential part fo it.
Acknowledgments
The acknowledgments section presents expressions of appreciation
for assistance and guidance. The help given by advisers and readers does
not require written acknowledgment but the recognition of generosity
with time and knowledge is a courtesy that is widely appreciated.
Acknowledgements should be expressed simply and tactfully.
Permission you have obtained for quotations in the paper can be
presented in this section or on the copyright page but when permissions
are granted as a special favour to you, they are best placed here.
Table of Contents
Although the table of contents in a book usually follows the preface
and acknowledgements, the accepted practice for a thesis or dissertation
is to place the table of contents before all the sections it lists. The table of
contents should list all elements of the preliminaries, the chapter (part or
section) titles, the main headings and subheadings and the reference
materials. The beginning page number for each section is indicated along
the right-hand margin. The numbering of chapters and the wording,
capitalization and punctuation (if any) of titles and headings should be
exactly the same as they are in the text. (Sample)
The body of the paper : The Text
The text or body, of a thesis or dissertation begins with the frst
page of Chapter 1, which follows the preliminaries discussed above.
Numbering in Arabic numerals starts on this page.
When the thesis or dissertation is bound in book form for library use or
reproduced on microflm, all these elements, with the possible exception
of the abstract and the approval sheet, are included.
The chapter presents descriptions and models of the parts of a
thesis or dissertation along with procedures for preparing the entire
typescript. A university graduate ofce has information on the elements
and the formate required and you should consult these regulations
before you begin to prepare the fnal copy of your work.
Organization of Chapters
Each topic calls for an organization appropriate to its own logic and
to the discipline or feld. Research will determine the nature oft the text
and your adviser will have suggestions concerning the design of your
paper.
The reference materials (back matter or end matter).
The reference materials for a thesis or dessertation may
include an appendix or appendixes, a glossary, endnotes, a bibliography
and an index.
Appendix / Appendixes
An appendix should be used for materials that supplement the text
but are not appropriate for inclusion in it.
Materials for appendixes : original data, summary tabulations,
tables containing data of lesser importance, very lengthy quotations,
supporting legal decisions or laws, computer print-outs and pertinent
documents not readily available to the reader belong in the appendix.
Questionnaires with their letters of transmittal and the verbatim
comments of respondents belong in an appendix. Supplementary
illustrative materials, such as forms and documents, may also be
included. Shifting lengthy tables and other matter to the appendix
prevents the test from becoming unduly bulky.
Glossary (Campbell p.33)
Notes : Foot / End Notes
Purpose of Notes
Acknowledging indebtedness
Establishing the Validity of Evidence
Providing Cross-Reference within the Paper
Amplifying Ideas or Information

Quotations
Quotations in a research paper, thesis, or dissertation can be of two
types :
Indirect (paraphrased or summarized)
You should choose indirect quotation for the presentation of
information whenever you cannot justify direct quotation. Indirect
quotation calls less attention to itself than does direct quotation and
allows the reader to focus on the development of your paper. The
paraphrase or summary should represent the sources ideas accurately,
avoiding distortation through misstatement or improper emphasis. At the
same time, your summary should be stated entirely in your own words.
Avoid imitating sentence structure, rearranging words and phrases and
borrowing phrases even of two or three words, since these constitute
plagiarism (that is, the use of another persons ideas or wording without
giving proper credit. Plagiarism is a violation of the ethics of the
academic community).
Direct (verbatim)
A direct quotation presents material from a source verbatim or
word for word and is appropriate when you need to provide authority,
originality of wording or accuracy.
Direct quotation lends authority. When an author has stated an
idea so inventively or forcefully that you cannot do it justice in a
paraphrase, you should quote directly to lend colour and power to your
work. This gives the reader the favour of the original.
For statements in which accuracy is extremely important, such
as laws, mathematical formulae, or complex theoretical formulations,
direct quotation assures precise presentation of the material.
Therefore, both direct and indirect quotations must be
documented. The source to this quotation must be indicated by
foot/endnoting.
Documentation
Any fact or opinion that you read in one of your sources, whether you
frst discovered the idea there or have assimilated it so throughly that it
seems to be your own, should be documented in your paper. Two
exceptions are facts that are common knowledge and facts that can be
verifed easily and would not difer from one source to another. Under
most circumstances, these kinds of materials would not need to be
documented. On the other hand, material available in only one source or
a limited number of sources (a fact about changes in the birth rate in
China) should usually be documented. The purpose of documentation :
Documentation allows your reader to see the materials you used to reach
your conclusions, to check your interpretations of sources and to locate
works in which other aspects of your topic might be discussed.
Bibliography
Papers based on research should have a bibliography


Q6. What is classifcation ? How does it help a researcher ? Explain.
Ans. Meaning of Classifcation :
1)Classifcation is the process of arranging data in groups or
classes according to resemblances and similiarites.
2)Classifcation expresses the smilarities which may be found in
the diversity of individual units.
3)In classifcation of data units having common characteristics are
placed in class and in this fashion the whole data is divided into
a number of classes.
4)Classifcation gives the value of certainty to the data. A data
collected, unless and until classifed, is unable to express
anything.
5)Classifcaion is the process of arranging things (either actually
or naturally) in groups or classes according to their
resemblances and afnites and giving expressions to the units
attributing that they may subsist among a diversity of
individuals.
Objects of Classifcation of Data
1)It depicts homogeneity and heterogeneity of data.
2)To make it easy to understand Unnecessary details are
eliminated through the process of classifcation.
3)To help in comparative study
4)To increase usefulness of data Increases the utility of collected
data.
5)Scientifc Management It is only possible when data is
classifed.
6)Classifed Picture Gives a correct picture to the unorganised
data
7)Bases of Tabulation
a)It is the fnal stage of Research. Tabulation simply means
presenting of data through tables.
b)It is an orderly arrangement of data in columns and rows.
c)It is the display of data in columns and rows.
d)Tabulation should be done to suit the nature and object of
the investigation.
e)Tabulation of data is done in order to achieve simplicity and
convenience in processing and interpretation of data collected
for statistical inquiry.
Diference between Tabulation and Classifcation
Tabulation and Classifcation of data are the two processes which
are highly essential for any statistical inquiry. The diferences are as
follows :
1)Classifcation preceeds tabulation i.e. Classifcation provides
basis to the process of tabulation.
2)Classifcation of data is done on the basis of similarities and
dissimilarities between the items. Whereas in tabulation, the data
is divided into columns and rows.
3)Tabulation is a method of data presentation, whereas,
classifcation is the method of conducting statistical inquiry.
Characteristics of a good Classifcation
1)Homogeneity Data that is kept in a particular class should be
homogeneous.
2)Doubtless Data should be simple and very clear. No
ambiguities.
3)Uniform in Base The basis of classifcation of data must be
relevant to the object to be classifed. Makes the data more
scientifc and reliable.
4)Objective Oriented The object of inquiry conditions the ideality
of a classifcation.
5)Comprehensiveness
6)Stability Classifcation should not be changed frequently.
Inferences are often unsatisfactory.
7)Elasticity Classifcation of data should be as such that it may
be changed according to requirement. A rigid classifcation fails
to correct results.
Methods of Classifcation
Data are classifed on the basis of the characteristics of the diferent
groups of units. These characteristics are of two types :
Descriptive e.g. unemployment, occupation, literacy, civil
conditions and sex. It can be measured in quantity
Numerical e.g. age, income, weight, etc It can be put
into fgures.

INDIAN PHILOSOPHY


Q6. Patanjali yoga darsana. Describe the Astanga yoga of Patanjali.

Ans. Kautilya in his Arthasastra when enumerating the philosophic
sciences of study names Samkhya, Yoga and Lokayata. The Patanjala
school of Samkhya, forms the subject of the Yoga. The sage Patanjali is
the founder of the yoga philosophy. He was probably the most notable
person for he not only collected the diferent forms of Yoga practices and
gleaned the diverse ideas which were or could be associated with Yoga
but grafted them all on the Samkhya metaphysics and gave them the
form in which they have been handed down to us. Yoga darshana is
closely allied to the Samkhya. It admits the existence of God. The special
interest of this system is in the practice of yoga as the means to the
attainment of VIVEKAJANA or discriminative knowledge.
Yoga consists in the cessatio of all metal functions. There are fve
levels of metal functions :
1)KSIPTA The dissipated condition in which the mind fits among
objects.
2)MUDHA The stupefed condition as in sleep.
3)VIKSIPTA The relatively pacifed condition.
4)EKAGRA The state of concentration of the mind on some object
of contemplation.
5)NIRUDDHA The cessation of the act or function of
contemplation.
Yoga is not possible in any of these conditions
There are two kinds of yoga or SAMADHI, that is :
1)SAMPRAJNATA Yoga in the form of the minds perfect
concentration on the object of contemplation and therefore,
involving a clear apprehension of that object.
2)ASAMPRAJNATA Complete cessation of all metal modifcations
and consequently, the entire absence of all knowledge including
that of the contemplated object.
These are conducive to yoga
There are eight steps in the practice of Yoga (YOGANGA)
1)YAMA or Restraint (abstaining from in injury, falsehood, theft)
2)NIYAMA or Moral Culture (cultivation of good habit, such as:
purifcation, contentment, penance, study of the Vedas and
contemplation of God).
3)ASANA or posture (the adoption of steady and comfortable
posture)
4)PRAYAYAMA or breath-control (A regulated inhalation,
exhalation, retention of breath)
5)PRATYAHARA or withdrawal of senses(sense control consists in
withdrawing the senses from their objects)
6)DHARANA or attention(fxing the mind on some intra-organic or
extra-organic objects like the nose-tip or the moon)
7)DHYANA or meditation(steady contemplation of the object without
any break)
8)SAMADHI or concentration(it is that state in which the
contemplative consciousness is lost in the contemplated object
and has no awareness of itself).
The yoga system is called the theistic (SESVARA). Sankhya as
distinguished from the Kapila. Samkhya, generally regarded as : atheistic
(NIRISVARA). It holds :
1)God is the highest object of contemplation for concentration and
self-realization.
2)A perfect being who is eternal, all pervading omniscient and
completely, free from defence.
Yoga argues for the existence of God.
3)What ever has degrees must have a maximum :
a)knowledge has degrees
b)perfect knowledge or omniscience
c)prakrti & purusa their association
Q3. Lokayata Darsana. What are Carvakas objections to Anumana as
an independent Pramana ?
Ans. Lokayata : Literally, that which is found among people in general)
seems to have been the name by which all Carvaka doctrines were
generally known.
Darshna : The Jains distinguish between darsana and jana.
Darsana is the knowledge of things without their details, e.g. I see a
cloth. Jana means the knowledge of details, e.g. I not only see the cloth
but known to who it belongs, of what quality it is, where it was prepared,
etc In all cognition we have frst darsana and then jnana. The pure
souls possess infnite general perception of all things as well as infnite
knowledge of all things in all their details.
Materialism is the name given to the metaphysical doctrine which
holds that matter is the only reality. The doctrine tries to explain mind
and consciousness as the products of matter. The Sanskrit term
materialism is Carvaka. The word used for materialism is also known
as Lokayata mata, that is, the view of common people. A materialist is
called Lokayatika.
The Carvakas hold that perception is the only valid source of
knowledge. All no-perceptual or indirect sources of knowledge like
inference, the testimony of other persons are unreliable and often prove
misleading.
Perception reveals the material world composed of the four bhutas
or elements of matter, air, fre, water and earth, the existence of which we
can directly know through the senses.
The elements of matter combined together in a particular way give
rise to the living body having consciousness. Consciousness ceases
apparently with the body. The survival of man in any form after death is,
unproved. The existence of God also is a myth. The world is made by the
automatic combination of the material elements and not by God. The
highest ed of life, for a ratioal man should be the enjoyment of the
greatest amount of pleasure here in this life.
According to some view, Carvaka was originally the name of a sage
who promoted materialism OR A common descriptive name given to a
materialist, either because he preaches the doctrine of eat, drink and be
merry (Carv eat, chew) or because his words are pleasant and nice
(Carv nice, Vak word).
Carvaka is presented under three chief heads, namely,
Epistemology, Metaphysics and Ethics.
Epistemology :
1) The entire philosophy of the Carvaka may be said to depend
on their epistemology or the theory of knowledge.
2) Knowledge of reality or valid cognition is called prama and the
source of such knowledge is called pramana.
3) Carvaka holds that perception is the only pramana or
dependable source of knowledge. For establishing this position
he criticizes the possibility of other sources of knowledge like
inference (anumana) and testimony which are regarded as valid
pramanas by other schools of darsana..
4) If inference is to be regarded as a pramana it must yield
knowledge about which we can have no doubt and which must
be true to reality.
a)Inference cannot fulfl these conditions, because when we
infer, for example : the existence of fre, in a mountain from
perception of smoke in it, we take a leap in the dark, from
the perceived smoke to the unperceived fre.
b)A logician, like the Naiyayaika, points out that such a leap
is justifed by previous knowledge of the invariable
concomitance between smoke and fre and that the
inference stated more fully would be : All cases of smoke
are causes of fre, this (mountain) is a case of smoke,
therefore, this is a case of fre.
c)Carvaka points out that this contention would be
acceptable only if the major premise, stating the invariable
relation between the middle term (smoke) and the major
(fre) were beyond doubt.
d)No invariable, universal relation (vyapti) can, be
established by perception.
e)Nor can this vyapti be based on the testimony (sabda) of a
reliable people (who state that all cases of smoke are cases
of fre). For the validity of testimony itself requires to be
proved by inference. Besides, if inference always depended
on testimony, no one could infer anything by himself.
f)To be able to infer a particular fre, we must know that it is
inseparably related to the particular smoke perceived. This
is not possible because we dont perceive all cases of
smoke.
Fire & Water
Why is fre always experienced as hot and water as cold ?
Ans. : Carvaka replys that it is due to the inherent natures of things
that they possess particular characters. No supernatural principle needs
be supposed to account for the properties of experienced objects of
nature.
Smoke & Fire
Any casual relation between smoke & fre, is only a kind of invariable
relation; cannot be established by perception owing to the same
difculties.
Conclusion
So long as the relation between two phenomena is not proved to be
unconditional, it is an uncertain ground for inference.
Inference and testimony cannot be used for proving this
unconditionality without a petitio principii because its validity also is
being questioned here.
Sometimes our inference comes true and leads to successful results
but all other times to error. Therefore, TRUTH is only an accident, that
we fnd only in some inferences.
Inference cannot be regarded, as a pramana a sure source of valid
cognition.

Testimony is not a safe source of knowledge.
Testimony of a competent person is also not accepted because it
consists of words (sabda). So far as words are heard through our ears,
they are perceived. Knowledge of words, is knowledge through perception
and is valid. If these words suggest or mean things not within perception,
they are not free from error and doubt. Very often we are mislead by so
called authority. Even the authority of the Vedas are condemned because
they are only the works of some cunning priests who earned their living
by duping the ignorant and the credulous. Through the performances of
Vedic rites, the only tangible beneft goes to the priests who ofciate and
enjoy the emoluments.
We accept some truth with authority because we think it is
realiable. Our belief is generated by a metal process. Being based on
inference, knowledge derived from verbal testimony or authority is as
precarious as inference.
As in the case of inference, so here we often act on knowledge
derived from authority on the wrong belief that it is reliable. Sometimes
this belief accidentally leads to successful results, sometimes it does not.
Therefore, authority or testimony cannot be regarded as a safe and
valid source of knowledge.
Perception, therefore, must be regarded as the only valid source of
knowledge (pramana).
Metaphysics Theory of reality
Carvaka theory of reality follows from the epistemological
conclusion.
If perception is the only reliable source of knowledge, we can
rationally assert only the reality of perceptible objects. Therefore, God,
soul, heaven, life before birth or after death and any other unperceived
law (e.g. adrista) cannot be believed in, because they are all beyond
perception.
Material objects, whose existence can be received and whose reality
can be asserted. Therefore, materialism is that matter is the only reality.
1)The world is made up of Four elements
Most philosophers and thinkers hold that it is composed of fve
kinds of elements : (panchabhuta)
ether - akasha
air - vayu
fre - agni
water - ap
earth - ksiti
Carvakas reject either, because its existance cannot be perceived, it
has to be inferred. The material world is, therefore, held to be composed
of the four perceptible elements.
Living and non-living material objects and organisms are all
composed of these four elements, by the combination of which they are
produced and to which they are reduced on death.
2) There is no Soul
Carvakas admit that the existence of consciousness is proved by
perception but deny that consciousness is the quality of any
unperceived non-material or spiritual entity.
As consciousness is perceived to exist in the perceptible living body
composed of the material elements, it must be a quality of this body
itself.
Soul is only the conscious living body. The non-materual soul is
never perceived.
On the contrary, we have direct evidence of the identity of the self
with the body in our daily experience and judgement, such as: I am fat,
I am lame, I am blind. If the I the self, were diferent from the body,
these would be meaningless.
Objection can be raised :
We do not perceive consciousness in any of the four material
elements.
Carvaka points out that qualities not present originality in any of
the component factors may emerge subsequently when the factors are
combined together. For example : betel leaf, lime and nut, none of which
is originally red, come to acquire a reddish tinge when chewed together.
In the similar way it is possible to think that the material elements
combined in a particular way rise to the conscious living body.
Consciousness is a bye-product of matter. There is no evidence of
its existence independent of the body.
If the existence of a soul apart from the body is not proved, there is
no possibility, after death, whether in heaven or in hell or anywhere.
3) There is no God
God whose existence cannot be perceived, fares no better than
the soul.
The material elements produce the world and the supposition of
a
creator is unnecessary.
The material elements themselves have got each its fxed nature
(svabhana).
It is by the natures and laws inherent in them that they combine
together to form this world. There is thus no necessity for God.
There is no proof that the objects of the world are the products of
any designer.
The Carvaka prefer atheism.

Ethics - The science of Morality
Mimamsakas believe that the highest goal of human life is heaven
(svarga), a state of bliss that can be attained hereafter by performing
here the Vedic rites.
Carvaka refutes this view because it is based on the unproved
existence of a life after death.
Heaven and hell are the inventions of the priests.
Many priests regard liberation as the highest goal of human life. It
is conceived as the total destruction of all suferings; attained after
death, when the soul is free from the body.
Carvaka holds that none of these views stand to reason. Liberation
as freedom of the soul from the bondage to physical existence or a state
free from pain, these are absolutely absurd because there is no soul. A
complete cessation of suferings can only mean death. Any attempt to live
free from pleasures and pains by any means of ascetic practices, is
foolishness. The goal of human life, therefore, to attain the maximum
amount of pleasure in THIS life, avoiding pain as far as possible.
Maximum enjoyment.
This Carvaka ethics may be called, henonism or the theory that
pleasure is the highest goal.
Some Indian thinkers speak of the four ends of human activities
(purusartha) namely :
Wealth artha
Enjoyment kama
Virtue dharma
Liberation - moksa
Carvaka rejects : virtue and liberation.
- Liberation in the sense of destruction of all suferings can
be obtained only death.
- Virtue (and vice) are distinctions made by the scriptures
whose authority cannot be rationally accepted.
Therefore, liberation and virtue should not be our end. On the contrary
wealth and enjoyment are the only rational ends. Wealth is a means to
enjoyment, which is the ultimate.
Religion is reduced to morality and morality to the search of
pleasure.
The ethics of the Carvaka is only the logical outcome of his
materialistic metaphysics.
CONCLUSION
Like the Epicureans of Greece, the Carvakas in India have been more
hated than understood. Carvaka in the mind of people at large is a
term of reproach.
On the other hand Indian philosophy owes a lot to the Carvaka.
Scepticism or agnosticism is only the expression of a free mind that
refuses to accept traditional wisdom without a through criticism.
Carvaka saved Indian philosophy from dogmatism.
What has made the Carvaka most desruptable to people is perhaps
their ethics of pleasure.
The author, Jayarasi, is believed to be a Carvaka (or Lokayatika) of an
extreme type. He had also challenged the validity of even perceptual
knowledge and refused to accept the existence of even the physical
elements.

Q5. Buddhism : Four Noble Truths and Ethics.
Why did Buddhism reject the theory of an immutable soul ?
Ans. The Philosophical Implications of Buddhas Ethical Teachings.
There four views on which Buddhas ethics mainly depends :
1)The Theory of dependent origination or Conditional Existence
of Things.
The universal law of causation conditions the appearance of all
events, mental and physical.
This law (dharma or dhamma) works authomatically without the
help of any conscious guide. Every cause has its own efect.
The existence of everything is conditional, dependent on a cause.
Nothing happens by chance. This is called the theory of dependent
origination.
Buddha claims that everything that we perceive possesses an
existence but is dependent on something, else and that thing in turn
does not perish without leaving some efect.
Buddha regards this theory as indispensable for understanding
his teachings. He calls this Dhamma.
The failure to grasp this principle of causation is the cause of all
troubles.
2)The Theory of Karma
The law of karma is an aspect of this principle of causation. It is
the special form of the more general law of causation.
3)The Doctrine of Universal Change and Impermanence
Whatever exists, arises from some condition and is, therefore,
impermanent.
The doctrine of dependent origination also yields the Buddhist
theory of the transitory nature of things. All things are subject to change
and decay.
As everything originates from some condition, it disappears when
the condition eases to be. Whatever has also an end. Whatever exists
arise from causes and conditions and in every respect impermanent.
Buddha' doctrine of impermance was later developed by his follower,
calling it momentariness. It means, that not only that everything is
conditional and therefore, non-permanent existence but things last not
even for short periods of time but exist for one partless moment only.
Nothing exists for more than one moment or everything lasts only for
moment.
4)The Theory of the Non-existence of the Soul
The law of change is universal; neither man, nor any other being
animate or inanimate, is exempt from it.
It is commonly believed that in man there is an abiding substance called
the soul (atma) which :
persists through changes that overcome the body
exists before birth and after death
migrates from one body to another
Buddha denied the existence of such soul. He said that this belief on
soul is untenable because of the law of universal change and
impermance.
Life is an unbroken stream of successive states which are causally
connected. It is an unbroken series of states: each of these states
depends on the condition just preceding and gives rise to the one just
succeeding it.
The continuity of life series is, therefore, based on a causal
connection running through the diferent states. This steam extends
backward and forward and makes the past, present and future lives
continuous.
Rebirth is not transmigration, that is, the migration of the same
soul into another body; it is the causat9ion of the next life by the
present.
The conception of a soul is thus replaced here by that of an
unbroken steam of consciousness as in the philosophy of William James.
Buddha exhorts his disciples to give up the false view about the
self. The illusion of a permanent soul causes attachment and misery.
Man is only a conventional name for a collection of diferent
constituents, the material body (kaya) the immaterial mind (manas or
citta) the formless consciousness (vijana).
From the psychological point of view, man is analysable in fve
groups (pance-skandhas) of changing elements :
1)Form rupa : consisting of the diferent factors which we
perceive in this body having form.
2)Feeling vedana : of pleasure, pain and indiference.
3)Perception including understanding and naming sanjana.
4)Pre-dispositions or tendencies generated by the impressions of
past experience samskaras.
5)Consciousness itself vijnana
The last four are together called name.
The essence of Buddhas teaching : sufering and cessation of
sufering.
Q8. Visistadvita Vedanta of Ramanuja.
Ans. God is the only reality. Within him there exist as parts the diferent
unconscious (acit) material object as well as the many conscious souls
(cit). God is possessed of all supremely good qualities like omniscience,
omnipotence. For example : Just as the spider spins the cobweb out of
his own body, so God created the world of material objects out of matter
(acit) which eternally exists in Him.
The souls are conceived as infnitely small (anu) substances which
also exist eternally. Every soul is endowed with a material body in
accordance with its karma. Bondage of the soul means confnement to
his body. Liberation is the complete dissociation of the soul from the
body. The cause of bondage is karma which springs from ignorance. The
soul longs for sensuous pleasures. Thus it becomes attached to the world
and the force of this attachment causes its repeated rebirth. Ignorance is
removed by the study of the Vedanta. God is known as the only object
worth of love. Such knowledge leads to constant meditation on God and
the resignation of his will. God is pleased by devotion and releases the
devotee from bondage. He is never born again after death. The liberated
soul becomes similar to God because like God it has pure consciousness
free from imperfections. It does not become identical with God as the
fnite can never become infnite.
God is a Reality. Creation of the world and the objects created are
all as real as God. It is, therefore, not unqualifed monism (advita) but a
monism of the One qualifed by the presence of many parts (visistadvita).
God possessed of the conscious souls and unconscious matter is
the only Reality.
Ramanujas conception of :
The World
Ramanujas takes the Upanisadic accounts of creation in a literal
sense.
He holds that God is omnipotent, creates the manifold world out of
himself by a gracious act of will within the all inclusive God (Brahman)
there are both unconscious matter (acit) and the fnite spirits (cit). The
frst is the source of material objects and as such called prakrti (i.e. root
or origin). This prakrti is admitted by Sankara as uncreated (aja) eternal
reality. Ramanuja believes that it is a part of God and controlled by God
just as the human body is controlled from within by the human soul.
During the state of dissolution (pralaya) this primal uconscious
nature of prakrti remains in a latent, subtle (suksma) and
undiferentiated (avibhakta) form. God creates out of this the the world of
diverse objects in accordance with the deeds of the souls in the world
prior to the last dissolution
Impelled by the omnipotent will of God the undiferentiated subtle
elements fre, water and earth. These diferentiated elements manifest
also the three kinds of qualities known as sattva, rajas and tamas.
These elements mix and give rise to all gross objects which we perceive in
the material world. In every object in this world there is a mixture of
three elements.
Ramanuja holds, that the creation is a fact and the created world is
as real as Brahman. Upanisadic texts deny the multiplicity of objects and
assert the unity of all things. Ramanuja holds that these texts do not
mean to deny the reality of the many objects but only teach that in all of
them there is the same Brahman on which all are dependent for
existence, just as all gold articles depend on gold.
Maya
The word maya stands for Gods power of creating wonderful objects
(vicitrartha-sargakari sakti). It also stands sometimes for prakrti to
signify her wonderful creativity.
Ramanuja denies, that creation and the created world are illusory.
All knowledge is true and that there is no illusory object anywhere.
God
Absolute Reality possessed of two integral parts, matter and the
fnite spirits.
Brahman is the only reality in the universe in the sense that
outside or independent of God there is no other reality. The Absolute One
contains the many. God contains within himself the material objects as
well as the fnite souls which are real.
This monism of Ramanuja is known as Visistadvaita which means
the Unity (advaita) of Brahman possessed (visista) of the real parts (the
conscious and the unconscious). Ramanuja holds that Brahman is
devoid of the two kinds of external distinctions (vijatiya and sajatiya)
because there is nothing besides God. God is possessed of internal
distinctions (svagatya-bheda) as there are within him diferent conscious
and unconscious substances which can be mutually distinguished.
God is possessedof an infnite number of infnitely good qualities
such as : omnopotence, omniscience, benevolence. Therefore, God is not
characterless (nirguna) nor indeterminate but possessed of qualities
(saguna). Even when the world is withdrawn and its objects are
destroyed, there remains in God matter in homogeneous state. Objects
made by the modifcation of matter undergo change, growth and decay
but matter out of which they are created always remains there. Similarly,
the spirits always remain, through their bodies may change or perish.
In the state of dissolution, when objects are absent, Brahman
remains with pure matter and bodiless souls in an unmanifested form
(avyakta). This may be called the causal state of Brahman(karna-
brahma) when objects are created, God becomes manifested as the world
of objects and embodied souls. The second manifested form of God is
called its efect-state (karya-brahman). Sankara indicates the frst state
(unmanifested).
Ramanujas difculties regarding the relation of God to matter and
spirits.
Ramanujas conception of God is a kind of theism, that is, belief in
God who is both immanent and trancendant and is also a Person. A self-
conscious being possessed of will. God is the object of worship and the
goal of our religious aspiration.

Self
It is unthinkable that man who is fnite can be identical with God
in every respect. Man is not diferent from God in the sense that God
pervades and controls man as well as every other thing in the universe.
The existence of man is inseperable from God. Identity can be asserted
between two forms of the same substance. The statement, This is That
Devadatta asserts, for example, identity between the person seen at
present and the person seen in the past. The person can be understood
as the same in spirit of diferent positions, since the position is occupied
at diferent times.
The Upanisadic dictum That thou art (tat tavam asi) should be
understood in a similar way.
that stands for God, the omniscient, omnipotent creator of
the universe.
thou stand for God existing in the form of man, the
embodied soul (acid-visista-jiva-sarirakam)
The identity asserted here is, therefore, between God with certain
qualifcation and God with certain other qualifcations identity of the
same substance though possessed of diferent qualities.
Ramanujas conception of the relation between the self and God
cannot be logically understood. He refutes Sankaras view that this
relation is one of identity (abheda). According to Ramauna the
relationship is one of diference (bheda). Brahman is other than the
embodied self. In short, as there are both diferences and identity
(bheda-bheda) between the part and the whole, so also is there a similar
relation between the self and God. In diferent respects, there are
diferent kinds of relations between the self and God.
In so far as the self is fnite and subject to imperfection and God is
just the opposite in nature, there is diference; in so far as the self is
inseparable from God who is its inner substance (atma) there is identity
(abheda) but as the self is the part of God, both identity and diference
are tenable.
Ramanuja advocates respectively identity (abheda), diference
(bheda) and identity-in-diference (bheda-bheda).The last concept means,
an identity of the one substance existing in two real forms.
Body and Soul
Man according to Ramanuja, has a real body and a soul. The body
is made of matter which is a part of God. It is fnite. The soul is not
made, it is eternally existing. It is also a part of God and cannot
therefore, be infnite. Upanishads comments that the soul cannot be
infnite. It can penetrate into every unconscious material substance.
The consciousness of the soul is not dependent on its connection
with the body. Consciousness, is not the essence, but an eternal quality
of the soul. Ramanuja identifes the soul by the word I or the ego
(aham).

Bondage
The bondage of the soul to the body is due to its karma or
ignorance. The soul being embodied, its consciousness is limited by the
conditions of the organs of knowledge and the body it possess.
Liberation
The attainment of liberation must be sought through work and
knowledge, because they pave the way for devotion. Karma (works)
means obligatory rituals enjoyed by the Vedas. These should be
performed life-long as bonded duties without any desire for reward, like
heaven. For correct performances of these duties/rituals it is necessary
pre-requisite to study the Mimamsa philosophy. Ramanuja maintains
that this is not sufcient for man to attain salvation. The next necessity
is to study the Vedanta which reveals to him the real nature of the
Universe.
He comes to know that God is the creator, sustainer and controller
of all things. That his soul is not identical with the body but is really a
part of God who controls it from within.
Again liberation is not possible by just an academic knowledge of the
Vedanta. The Real knowledge is a steady, constant remembrance of God
(dhruva smrti), through meditation (dhyana), prayer (upasana) and
devotion (bhakti).
Therefore, the soul that realizes God is liberated from the body for
ever, without rebirth. Liberation cannot be attained by human eforts.
Gods help is necessary for liberation. On complete self-surrender is
called prapatti. Liberation is not the souls becoming identical with God
but becomes like God (brahmaprakara). Upanishads say that the
liberated soul attains unity with God.
Q7. Sankara Vedanta : Nirguna and Saguna Brahmaan, ignorance and
individual soul, maya and world.
Ans. Brahman : The Ultimate Principle
The word Brahman is derived from the Sanskrit root BRH to
grow, increase, expand, swell, that which has reached its ultimate
evolution, development, expansion or growth.
In composition the term BRAHMA is frequently used instead of
BRAHMAN. This form is normative neuter ending and is used to indicate
the One Universal Soul or divine essence and source from which all
created things emanate and to which they return.
It is the self-existent, the Absolute, the Eternal and is not
generally an object of worship but rather, of meditation and knowledge.
The personal form which is defned for the purpose of worship is
spelt BRAHMA ending in the long a which is the normative
masculine ending.
The Ultimate Principle (BRAHMAN) is the creator, maintainer and
destroyer of everything in the universe. It is the instrument and material
cause of all manifest phenomena. In its transcendental aspect, it has two
conditions :
one in which it is at rest
it is active
Its passive condition is called in Sanskrit asat or non-being. This is not
a state of non-existence.
Its active condition is called sat, being. During this period, it
has three attributes, universal being, consciousness and bliss, called sat
cit ananda. Here it exists as pure light and serves as the support of
everything in the universe.
His transcendental aspect can never be comprehended by the
human mind. He is unlimited and yet able to become limited )e.g.
electricity : unlimited, yet manifests in the limited form of light, heat,
motive power, without ever becoming exhausted).
The immanent aspect of the Ultimate Principle has two
inseparable forms :
one without qualities, existing as pure spirit nirguna
one with qualities, existing as pure matter saguna
These gunas or qualities are the same as explained in Samkhya, spirit
and matter; also referred to as Name and Form are called Atman and
Prkriti in Vedanta.
In the immanent aspect of the Ultimate Principle the cause must
always be found in the efect applies only to the substance and not to the
forms. It assumes an infnite variety of forms but in essence it is ever the
same.
In the transcendental aspect of the Ultimate Principle the problem
arises : Why is that the UP not tainted with the stains of worldly
corruption observed in this world when all things are fnally
absorbed
into universal reservoir. It is explained that the defects of the world
pertain to the transient forms and have nothing to do with the universal
substance. (For example : no amount of dirt can ever alter the chemical
purity of the gold in the gold ring). In the same way the stains of
worldliness belong only to its forms, never to its essence, which is infnite
purity.
Maya
The term maya, means delusion. It is that force which creates in
nature the illusion of non-perception, a manifest in the diversifed forms
of the objective world. It is the dividing force in nature, the fnitising
principle, that which measures out the immeasurable and creates forms
in the formless. It is not a substance, but only a means of operation. It
has two functions :
one to conceal the real
other to project the unreal
It pervades the universe but its presence is inferred only from its efect.
It is identifed with prakrit, Universal Matter, for it exists as the
material cause of the universe. When nature is in a state of equilibrium
Universal Matter is called prakrti; but the frst disturbance, the frst
conceived motion away from that original triune condition of equipoise, is
called Maya, because there has been no change in substance but only in
form; therefore, it is an illusion. It is the material substratum of
creation : it brings forth the universe. The World is regarded as Maya
because it has no reality but is only an appearance of feeting forms.
When the universal force called Maya operates in the mind of the
individual, it is called Avidya or ignorance, especially in the spiritual
sense. It is the subjective aspect while Maya is the objective aspect. It is
an impersonal force in the consciousness of all individuals, producing
the phenomena of illusion as demonstrated (For example : when we look
at a rope and think it is a snake. It is called Avidya, without knowledge,
because knowledge will dissipate all the illusion of perception, as the sun
dissipates the morning mist.
Sankara, therefore, holds that in consistency with the emphatic
teaching that there is only One Reality. The world is not a real creation
but an appearance which God conjures up with his inscrutable power,
Maya. It interprets maya in the light of ordinary illusions that we have in
daily life (For example : rope snake; glittering shell silver). In all such
cases of illusion there is a reality (e.g. rope and shell) on which
something else (e.g. snake, silver) is imagined or superimposed owing to
the ignorance of the reality. This ignorance not only conceals the
underlying reality but also makes it appear as something else.
The perception of the worlds objects is in the One Brahman on
account of our ignorance (avidya or ajnana) which conceals Brahman
from us and makes it appear as the many objects (E.g. juggler produces
an illusory show, makes one coin appear many from his point of view it
is magical power; from our point, is our ignorance of the real coin).
Application : The appearance of the world is due to the magical power of
Maya in God and we can also say that it is due to our ignorance.
Maya and ignorance are then the two sides of the same fact looked
at from two diferent points of view. Hence, maya is also said to be of the
nature of ignorance (avidya or ajnana).
Maya, therefore, as a power of God is no more diferent from God
than the power of burning is from fre. There is, then no dualism but
pure monism (advita).
Nirguna and Saguna Brahman
In the light of Sankaras view of maya, it is necessary to trace
Sankaras two diferent points of view :
the ordinary vyavaharika
the transcendental or real - paramarthika
Vyavaharika Practical point
The standpoint of unenlighted persons who regard the world as real :
our life of practice depends on this. From this point of view the world
appears as real; God is thought to be its omnipotent and omniscience,
creator, sustainer and destroyer. Thus, God appears as qualifed (saguna)
by many qualities. God in this aspect is called by Sankara Saguna
Brahman or Isvara. From this point of view the self also appears as
though limited by the body, it behaves like a fnite ego (aham).
Paramarthika Transcendental or Real
The stand point of the enlightened who have realized that the world is
an appearance and that there is nothing but God. From this point of
view, the world being thought unreal. God ceases to be regarded an any
real creator or as possessed of any qualities like omniscience,
omnopotence. God is realized as One without any internal distinction,
without any quality. God from this transcendental standpoint
(paramarthikadrsti) is indeterminate and characterless; it is Nirguna
Brahman. There is noting to distinguish from the soul and God.
Q1. Philosophical speculation of Upanishads. The Upanishadic
concept of the relation of Atman and Brahman Higher knowledge
and Lower knowledge.
Ans. ATMAN
The word Atman was used in the Rg-Veda to denote on the one hand
the ultimate essence of the universe land on the other the vital breath
in man. The term Brahman is used in the former sense, while the word
Atman is reserved to denote the inmost essence in man. Upanisad
declares the two are one and the same. The self of man involves an
ambiguity as it is used in a variety of senses. May consists of :
Annamaya atman the essence of food (the physical parts
of man)
Pranamaya Atman the vital breath
Manomaya Atman the will
Vijnanamaya Atman the consciousness
Anandamaya Atman the pure bliss
The Atman is like a lump of salt, with no inner or outer, which
consists through and through entirely of savor. The state of Brahman is
like unto the state of dreamless sleep. He who has reached this bliss is
beyond any fear. It is the infnite alone that is the highest bliss.
BRAHMAN
In the Vedas, magical element involved in the discharge of
sacrifcial duties lingered for a while in the symbolic worship of
Brahman. They tried some of the sublime powers of nature but these
could not render ultimate satisfaction. They did not know what the
Brahman was like. Positive and defnite content of the ultimate reality,
the Brahman, was not possible. Yajnavalkya said, Brahman is not this,
nor this (neti neti).
He is inconceivable, unchangeable, untouched, cannot sufer, asat,
non-being, unlimited, unaudible, intangible, invisible, indestructable,
nor smelt, eternal, the fxed, the infnite and the vast, no characterisation
of him is possible.
When Bahva was questioned by Vaskali, he expounded the nature of
Brahman by maintaining silence. The Atman is silence.
There is the Atman not in man alone but in all objects of the
universe, the sun, the moon, the world. Brahman is the Atman. There is
no plurality. When this Atman, the Brahman is known everything else
known.
The essence of man and the essence of universe are one and the same
and it is Brahman. Brahman is the inner controller in all the parts and
forces of nature and of mankind at the atman. Brahman or the Atman is
the reality and everything else unreal.
The problems of the Upanisads are a plenty. One of them is, What is
the Reality from which all things originate, by which all live and into
which all dissolve. The name given to this Realityis sometimes Brahman,
sometimes Atman, sometimes Sat (Being). Brahman and Atman are used
synonymously in diferent contexts. In some places we are told explicitly.
The Self is the Brahman. The Upanisads shift the center of interest
from the Vedic gods to the Self of man.
They analyse the Self, distinguish between its outer husk and its
inner reality. The husk, that is, the body, the senses, the manas, the
intellect and pleasure are tested and found to be passing but not the
permanent essence of the Self-the inner reality. The outer conceal the
inner. The Real Self is pure consciousness, which is infnite. The real self
is Atman. The Self of man is identical with the Self of all beings (sarva
bhutatma) and therefore with God or Brahman. In the Katha Upanisads
this Self is concealed in all things.
Realization of the Self (atma vidya or atma jnana) is regarded as the
highest knowledge (para vidya). The method of self-realization lies
through the control of the lower self through study, reasoning and
repeated mediation.
Sacrifce to the Self or Brahman is regarded as superior to sacrifce
to gods. It is only through the realization of the self or Brahman that
rebirth can be stopped. One who truly realises his unity with the
Immortal Brahman, realizes immortality.
The Upanisads conceive Brahman not only as the pure ground of all
reality and consciousness but also as the ultimate source of all joy.
Desires for pleasure or objects are the fetters that bind us to the painful
vicious circle birth, death and rebirth. The forces of desires take us
away from the Self and condition our existence in the way we want it to
be. The more we try to realize our identity with the Self (Atman) or God
(Brahman) the more do we realize true happiness. To feel one with the
self, it is to be one with the Infnite God, the Immortal, the Infnite Joy.
The Katha declares that a mortal attains immortality and unity with
Brahman.
If Brahman or Atman is the Reality, then the question may arise as to
the exact relation between Brahman and the world. Diferent Upanisads
hold that Atman or Brahman or Sat is both the creator and the material
cause of the world. Brahman (or Atman) is also described not as Creator
but as a Reality.
ATMAN
The term Atman, frequently used in the Vedanta, is tralated as soul
or Self. Here it means Universal Soul. Sometimes the word Paramatman
is used to specify the soul of the universe, the highest and the greatest
vital principle, the supreme Spirit.
Atman is identifed with Purusa, existing as Pure Spirit and serving as
the efcient or instrumental cause of the manifest world. It is without
parts and therefore, actionless, changeless, uncreated, eternal and
without the power of agency. It brings about all change by its mere
presence, as the sun brings forth the spring fowers. This universal self
is also known as cit in the sense that it is universal consciousness, in
contrast with universal matter, which is called acit, without
consciousness. It is the One Universal, Infnite Consciousness without
limitation, incapable of being extended or divided, permeating all space
and manifesting itself in all things.
When a part of the Universal Breath becomes ensconced in the
protoplasmic environment which it animates, it is called jiva or life. This
has reference to individual and personal soul as distinguished from the
Universal Soul.
Therefore, the only diference between man and God is only of degree,
for ultimately they are one in the same way as that the space inside a
cup is the same as the space outside. Man or jiva or life is only a spark
of the in fnite.
Selected Bibliography
B. R. Ambedkar
Ambedkar, B.R. Collected Works. Bombay: Government of
Maharashtra.
__________, Why Go for Conversion ? Bangalore : Dalit
Sahitya Academy, 1987.
__________ The Untouchables. Balampur : Jataban Mahavir,
1969.
Farquhar,J.N. Modern Religious Movements in India. Delhi :
Munshiram Manoharlal, 1967
Krishan, Ashao. Ambedkar and Gandhi : Emancipators of
Untouchables in Modern India. Bagalore : Himalaya
Publishing House, 1997.
Rajshekar, V. T. Karl Marx and Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar.
Bangalore : Dalit Sahitya Akademy, l988.
Shetty, Rajshekar, Ambedkar and his Conversion in
Illustrated Weekly of India. Nov. 18-24, 1978.
Wilkison, T. S. and M.M.Thomas. Ambedkar ad the Neo-
Buddhist Movement. Madras ; CLS, 1972.
Zachariah, Aleyamma. Modern Religious & Secular Move-
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1990, 1998.
Zelliot, Eleaner. From Untouchables to Dalits:Essays on
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Sarvodaya
Iyer, Raghavan. The Moral and Political Writings of
Mahatama. 3 Vols. Oxford ; Claredon Press, 1987.
Kantowshy, Detlef. Sarvodaya : The Other Development.
New Delhi : Vikas Publishing House Pvt. Ltd., 1980.
Pattery, George. Gandhi The Believer : An Indian
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f.n.)
Theological Form Satyagraha Sarvodaya (91, 96-97)

Zachariah, Alemamma. Modern Religious ad Secular
Movements in India. Bangalore ; Theological Book
Trust, 1998 (160-164 New)
Nirankari
Webster, John C. B. The Nirankari Sikhs. Batala : The
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Naxals / Naxalites
Banerjee, Sumanta. In he Wake of Naxalbari : A History of the
Naxalite Movment in India. Calcutta : Subarnarakha,
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Dasgupta, Biplab. The Naxalite Movement. Calcutta : Allied Publishers,
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Mazumdar, R.C., H. C. Roychowdhury and Kalikinpar Dutta.
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Ray, Rabindra. The Naxalites and their Ideologies. Calcutta :
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Zachariah, Aleyamma. Modern Religious and Secular
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Dalit
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Lal, A. K. Dalits in Action : An Evaluation of Bihar Dalits Vikas Samity. New Delhi : Concept Publishing
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Manorama, Ruth Dalit Women : Downtrodden Among the Downtrodden in Indigenous People : Dalits;
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Michael, S. M. (ed) Dalits in Modern India : Vision and Values. New Delhi : Vistaar Publications, 1999.
Minz, Nirmal Dalit and Religion in Dalit Solidarity. Edited by Bhagwan Das and James Massey. Delhi : I
S P C K, 1995.
Monier-Williams, S. V. Dal and Dalit in Sanskrit-English Dictionary. Delhi : 1988.
Prasad, R. C. Ambedkarism. Delhi : Motilal Banarsidass Publishers Pvt. Ltd., 1993.
Shetty, V. T. Rajshekar. Dalit Movement in Karnataka. Madras : C L S, 1978.
Simon, R. Charsely and G. K. Karanth. Challeging Untouchability : Dalit Initiative and Experience from
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Guru Movement
Mangalwadi, Vishal. The World of Gurus. Mussorrie : Good Books,
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________ Sai Baba Avatar : A New Journey into Power. Madras :
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Murpet, Howard. Sai Baba : Invitation to Glory. Madras : Macmillan
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Rai, R. Mohan. Satya Sai Avtar : Glimpses of Divinity. Revised
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Ruhela, Satyapala and Robinson, Duane. Sai Baba and His
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