Tamas (philosophy)

In the Samkhya school of philosophy, tamas (Sanskrit: तमस् tamas "darkness") is one of the three gunas (or qualities), the other two being rajas (passion and activity) and sattva (purity, goodness). Tamas is the template for inertia or resistance to action. It has also been translated from Sanskrit as "indifference".

The nature of Tamas

Sattva, Rajas and Tamas are the three attributes of all that is manifest of which form the list of evolutes and evolvents (The 23 principles of Samkhya, 24th being Prakriti[the source of all gunas] 25th being the Purusha devoid of any attributes) of Hinduism, Buddhism and Sikhism, where tamas is one of the three(There is no particular order or ranking as such imposed upon by the Varna system but only the effects of the attributes predominance). In any given evolvent or an evolute when Tamas is predominant, Rajas and Sattava lies dormant or of lesser influence, so It doesn't necessarily mean Tamas is whole in itself. It is all purely an attribute identified with darkness, dissolution, death, destruction, Sub-conscious, Dormant, and resistance/inertia as it easily doesn't come into the conscious states of awareness. Tamas is equivalent to the powerful sub-conscious undercurrent Guna. There isn't polarities of Good or Evil as may be suggested by some interpretations but purely the play of balancing attributes and it's perception of being demonic or destructive only undermines the true nature of Tamas itself. Tamas is as important and as powerful a force of the states of awareness of the conscious self.

Tamas

Tamas may refer to:

See also

Tamas (film)

Tamas (lit. Darkness) is a 1988 period television film written and directed by Govind Nihalani. It is based on the Hindi novel of the same name by Bhisham Sahni (1974), which won the author the Sahitya Akademi Award in 1975. Set in the backdrop of riot-stricken Pakistan at the time of Partition of India in 1947, the film deals with the plight of emigrant Sikh and Hindu families to India as a consequence of the partition. It was first shown on India's national broadcaster Doordarshan as a mini-series and later as a one-off four-hour-long feature film. At the 35th National Film Awards, it won three awards including the Nargis Dutt Award for Best Feature Film on National Integration. In August 2013, it was shown on History TV18 as a series.

Plot

Nathu (Om Puri), a Chamar, is finishing his work in his shop when the thekedar (Pankaj Kapur) walks in and asks him to entice a pig from a nearby piggery into his shop and kill it for the Veterinary doctor who needs it for medical purposes. Nathu tries to decline saying he has never killed a pig before and doesn't have the necessary skill for it, offering instead to tan the hide if required provided the people from the piggery kill it. Thekedar insists that he wants Nathu to do it and gives him 5 rupees for it and leaves the shop saying that the work must be done by morning when the jamadar will come to take the carcass.

Artistic depictions of the partition of India

The partition of India and the associated bloody riots inspired many creative minds in India and Pakistan to create literary/cinematic depictions of this event. While some creations depicted the massacres during the refugee migration, others concentrated on the aftermath of the partition in terms of difficulties faced by the refugees in both side of the border. Even now, more than 60 years after the partition, works of fiction and films are made that relate to the events of partition.

Philosophy

Philosophy is the study of the general and fundamental nature of reality, existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. The Ancient Greek word φιλοσοφία (philosophia) was probably coined by Pythagoras and literally means "love of wisdom" or "friend of wisdom". Philosophy has been divided into many sub-fields. It has been divided chronologically (e.g., ancient and modern); by topic (the major topics being epistemology, logic, metaphysics, ethics, and aesthetics); and by style (e.g., analytic philosophy).

As a method, philosophy is often distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its questioning, critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational argument. As a noun, the term "philosophy" can refer to any body of knowledge. Historically, these bodies of knowledge were commonly divided into natural philosophy, moral philosophy, and metaphysical philosophy. In casual speech, the term can refer to any of "the most basic beliefs, concepts, and attitudes of an individual or group," (e.g., "Dr. Smith's philosophy of parenting").

Philosophy (album)

Philosophy is an album by the British dance music duo Coldcut released in 1993. Vocals on this album are by Janis Alexander.

Track listing

References

External links

Philosophy (journal)

Philosophy is the scholarly journal of the Royal Institute of Philosophy. It is designed to be intelligible to the non-specialist reader and has been in continuous publication for almost 90 years. It is published by Cambridge University Press and is currently edited by Anthony O'Hear.

The journal was established in 1926 "to build bridges between specialist philosophers and a wider educated public." Each issue contains a "New Books" section and an editorial on a topic of philosophical or public interest.

References

External links