It is well known that translations of songs and poems not only breaks rhythm and rhyming patterns, but also results in loss of semantic information. The Bhagavad Gita is an ancient Hindu philosophical text originally written in Sanskrit that features a conversation between Lord Krishna and Arjuna prior to the Mahabharata war. The Bhagavad Gita is also one of the key sacred texts in Hinduism and known as the forefront of the Vedic corpus of Hinduism. In the last two centuries, there has been a lot of interest in Hindu philosophy by western scholars and hence the Bhagavad Gita has been translated in a number of languages. However, there is not much work that validates the quality of the English translations. Recent progress of language models powered by deep learning has enabled not only translations but better understanding of language and texts with semantic and sentiment analysis. Our work is motivated by the recent progress of language models powered by deep learning methods. In this paper, we compare selected translations (mostly from Sanskrit to English) of the Bhagavad Gita using semantic and sentiment analyses. We use hand-labelled sentiment dataset for tuning state-of-art deep learning-based language model known as bidirectional encoder representations from transformers (BERT). We use novel sentence embedding models to provide semantic analysis for selected chapters and verses across translations. Finally, we use the aforementioned models for sentiment and semantic analyses and provide visualisation of results. Our results show that although the style and vocabulary in the respective Bhagavad Gita translations vary widely, the sentiment analysis and semantic similarity shows that the message conveyed are mostly similar across the translations.

Semantic and sentiment analysis of selected Bhagavad Gita translations using BERT-based language framework

In feminist political ecological discourses, women are seen as potential initiators and actors in collective action. Gendered differential practices in sustaining certain forms of collective action...

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/0971521519891479

Women’s Collectives and Collective Action for Food and Energy Security: Reflections from a Community of Practice (CoP) Perspective:

“Yam hi na vyathayanthyethe purusham purusharshabha; Samadhukha sukham dheeram somruthathvaya kalpathe” [In Sanskrit] This analytic sloka from the Bhagavad-Gita (Chapter II, Verse 15) sums up the entire concept of Emotional Intelligence (EI) It says: a person who is calm and remains unperturbed by either pain or pleasure is the one who attains immortality The theory of EI which has been popularized by Goleman can be traced down to David Wechsler, who, as early as in 1940 said that intelligence does not denote just the cognitive abilities of a person but the non-cognitive abilities as well This idea was again put forward by Howard Gardner in 1983 when he brought forth the multiple intelligence theory and said that intrapersonal and interpersonal skills are as important as the traditional concept of intelligence which focused on the cognitive skills alone In 1990, Mayer and Salovey introduced the concept of Emotional Intelligence as a distinct form of intelligence which can be measured and evaluated This paper analyses the possibility of developing the theory of EI into a more comprehensive one It compares and contrasts the theory of EI against the concept of emotions as discussed in the Bhagavad-Gita and explores the possibilities of finding specific methods through which a person’s emotional competencies can be enhanced by incorporating the ideals of Sri Krishna as discussed in the Bhagavad-Gita

Emotional intelligence through the Bhagavad-Gita

The Upanishads are known as one of the oldest philosophical texts in the world that form the foundation of Hindu philosophy. The Bhagavad Gita is the core text of Hindu philosophy and is known as a text that summarises the key philosophies of the Upanishads with a major focus on the philosophy of karma. These texts have been translated into many languages and there exist studies about themes and topics that are prominent; however, there is not much done using language models which are powered by deep learning. In this paper, we use advanced language models such as BERT to provide topic modelling of the Upanishads and the Bhagavad Gita. We then map those topics of the Bhagavad Gita and the Upanishads since it is well known that Bhagavad Gita summarizes the key messages in the Upanishads. We also analyse the distinct and overlapping topics amongst the texts and visualise the link of selected texts of the Upanishads with the Bhagavad Gita. Our results show very high similarity between the topics of these two texts with the mean cosine similarity of 73%. We find that out of the fourteen topics extracted from the Bhagavad Gita, nine of them have a cosine similarity of more than 70% with the topics of the Upanishads. We also find that topics generated by the BERT-based models show very high coherence when compared to the conventional models. Our best-performing model gives a coherence score of 73% on the Bhagavad Gita and 69% on the Upanishads. The visualization of the low-dimensional embeddings of these texts shows very clear overlapping themes among their topics adding another level of validation to our results.

Artificial intelligence for topic modelling in Hindu philosophy: Mapping themes between the Upanishads and the Bhagavad Gita

PurposeFor more than four decades, persistent economic activities and a focused growth strategy resulted in significant infrastructural and other favorable economic and institutional changes in the world's developing nations. High-quality growth is not just a function of sound economic policies but also implementing a broad range of social policies. The BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) nations have proven their testimony on both these factors. Following their path are some other emerging economies like N-11 (or Next Eleven propounded by Goldman Sachs (2005) Report), which this present study tries to examine as successors of BRICS.Design/methodology/approachAlong with panel data regression modelling, the study has applied econometric procedures robust to heterogeneities across various nations and have been able to produce more reliable results that can be generalized for other similar groups of countries. 11 independent variables (both economic and institutional) have been used to meet the study's objective for a period of 34 years (1985–2018).FindingsThe findings of the study reveal that the governments of both the group of countries must work toward their macro-economic stability factors (external debt stocks), technological capabilities (mobile and fixed broadband subscriptions), human capital (health expenditure) and political conditions (mainly the rule of law) to enhance their sustainable economic growth.Research limitations/implicationsThis study enhances knowledge of the determinants of economic growth in emerging countries. Firms from BRICS and N-11 may better understand the factors influencing their internationalization process (both economic and institutional). The study is significant not just for the researchers but also for the policymakers of the BRICS and N-11 to understand in which areas their country is leading or lagging. The study is useful even for the policymakers of other emerging countries of the world who might take lessons from these nations (especially BRICS) and follow their success path. This study helps the governments of other groups of emerging countries such as PIN (Pakistan, Indonesia and Nigeria); MINT (Mexico, Indonesia, Nigeria and Turkey); CIVETS (Colombia, Indonesia, Vietnam, Egypt, Turkey and South Africa), etc. which can follow the path of BRICS economies in growth and formulate policies to increase their economic growth accordingly. At the enterprise level, it helps MNCs understand BRICS and N-11 markets and formulating entry and growth strategies in these most emerging countries of the world.Originality/valueThe present study is unique. It tries to investigate the projections of the Goldman Sachs report after 15 years of its release. It tries to determine the factors responsible for the economic development in the N-11 countries with advanced econometric techniques. Majorly, the focus is to comparatively analyze the growth trajectory for BRICS and N-11 nations and suggest whether N-11 has the potential to become successors of BRICS. A concentrated effort to examine the most significant drivers (both economic and institutional), which may lead to economic progression, has been made in this study.

An empirical investigation of N-11 countries as successors of BRICS using panel data modeling

Microfinance as a tool for poverty alleviation has attracted much attention especially after Grameen Bank of Bangladesh was awarded the Noble peace prize. Self-help groups (SHGs) in India, which originated during the same time as Grameen Bank, are considered to be an efficient mechanism for delivering microfinance to the poor. Apart from providing economic benefits, participation in SHG also brings for its members social and political empowerment. This paper examines the impact of the level of participation in SHGs on the empowerment (economic, social and political) of women SHG members. The study also investigates the impact of moderating variables, such as socio-economic status, age, and place of residence, on the relationship between the level of participation and empowerment. As we were unable to find suitable scales in the existing literature to measure the level of participation, empowerment (economic, social and political) and socio-economic status, we developed new scales to measure these constructs. Using an interview schedule in a survey method, we interviewed 353 women SHG members from the eastern Indian state of Odisha to collect primary data. Using partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM), the study explicates the relationship between level of participation and women empowerment. The findings suggest that an increased level of participation in SHGs results in enhanced economic empowerment of its members by bringing in employment opportunities, higher income, stability in current jobs, and improved entrepreneurial abilities. Besides, higher participation also brings in higher social empowerment of members in the form of decision-making capability in households, access to health care, selfconfidence, heightened self-esteem, communication skills, and the ability to transact with banks and NGOs. In addition, increased participation in SHGs leads to higher political empowerment in the form of higher political participation and better community mobilization. Socio-economic status and place of operation significantly moderate the effect of the level of participation on women (SHG member) empowerment. Insights from this study are helpful for the government and non-government agencies working towards empowering women in developing regions. They may take note of the different indicators of participation and role of the significant moderators while implementing similar programs.

Participation in Self-Help Groups and Empowerment of Women: A Structural Model Analysis

Bhagavad Gita, according to the Indian philosopher Adi Sankaracharya is a summary of all the Vedic Literatures1. Divided into 18 chapters, this Indian scripture deciphers five major branches of knowledge: Isvara (the Supreme God), Jiva (the spirit soul/the living entity), Prakriti (the material nature), Kala (the time), and Karma (the activities) in seven hundred verses. Many important traits of an effective leader emerge from various chapters of this text. The objective of this paper is to describe the attributes and activities of an effective leader as prescribed in Bhagavad Gita. The paper employs the methodology of hermeneutics to do so.

Effective leadership traits from Bhagavad Gita

Self-help groups (SHGs) have widely been accepted by developing nations for their contribution to inclusive development. Despite its importance and the recognition of the same, SHGs and their members face several challenges. The purpose of this paper is to comprehensively investigate the inhibiting factors affecting the effectiveness of women SHGs. The paper also proposes a roadmap for all the self-help promoting institutions, such as banks, state and central government, and non-government organizations to address the challenges.,The study adopts an exploratory research design to undertake this applied research. It uses phenomenographic and interpretative approaches. Qualitative data have been collected from 24 members belonging to eight SHGs from the eastern Indian state of Odisha with the help of a semi-structured interview schedule. The result has been analyzed by using content analysis.,The study finds that SHG members in Odisha face several challenges in the form of financial bottlenecks, entrepreneurial obstacles, capacity-building impediments, mentor-ship challenges, socio-structural challenges and group dynamics.,The study finds many unique and contextual inhibiting factors, which are valuable additions to the existing literature. At the same time, the result may not be applicable to other kinds of SHGs, such as Alcoholic Anonymous, as their nature, composition and deliverables are quite different from the SHG that the current study has taken into consideration.,The proposed roadmap would be useful to policymakers, non-government organizations and other agencies involved in the promotion and capacity building of SHGs operating in Odisha in particular and India in general.,The literature is mainly concerned with the impact evaluation of SHG programs. This study investigates the challenges faced by SHGs in a systematic way and provides a roadmap to address the same in a comprehensive way.

Self-help groups in India: challenges and a roadmap for sustainability

Microfinance has long been recognised worldwide as a tool for poverty alleviation. Besides, it also empowers the poor, both socially and politically. One of the largest microfinance programs in India is carried out through women self-help groups (SHGs). Extant literature suggests that by participating in SHGs, Indian women gain numerous socio-economic and political advantages. This paper specifically aims to explore the relationship between women's participation in self-help group activities and their involvement as well as role performance in grassroots socio-political institutions, such as family, village council, local self-government, and caste. The paper concludes that the more actively the women participate in self-help group activities, the more involvement they gain and the more important role they play in grassroots level socio-political institutions. The study has practical implications for policy makers, non-government organisations and activists in India that are attempting to elevate the status of women by enabling their participation in all spheres of life.

Indian women in grassroots socio-political institutions: impact of microfinance through self-help groups


Purpose
The purpose of the paper is to conduct a comprehensive bibliometric analysis and systematic review to examine the research landscape of women empowerment through participation in self-help groups (SHGs), identifying the eminent contributors, intellectual communities and future research agenda in the field of SHGs and women empowerment.


Design/methodology/approach
The global works of literature related to the theme of SHGs and women empowerment between 1998 and May 6, 2022 were scanned for bibliometric analysis and systematic review. A total of 176 English language documents from the Scopus database were extracted. Bibliometric analysis is conducted using Biblioshiny and VOSviewer software.


Findings
This study finds that SHGs are paramount in achieving rural women’s empowerment multidimensionally. Found that India is the most contributing country with 136 documents, and Ranjula Bali Swain and Fan Yang Wallentin are the most cited authors in the research field of SHGs and women empowerment. In addition, the paper proposes a comprehensive conceptual framework to portray rudimentary antecedents of women’s empowerment achieved through participation in SHGs.


Practical implications
This bibliometric analysis, along with a systematic review demonstrating a framework encapsulating the principal dimensions of women empowerment and their indicators, will be helpful to practitioners, government, policymakers and researchers working in the area of SHGs and women empowerment.


Originality/value
This study recognizes numerous significant contributions by eminent scholars and presents a concise review of the literature for novice researchers working in the area of SHGs and women empowerment.


Akhaya Kumar Nayak

Papers

Participation in Self-Help Groups and Empowerment of Women: A Structural Model Analysis

Effective leadership traits from Bhagavad Gita

Self-help groups in India: challenges and a roadmap for sustainability

Indian women in grassroots socio-political institutions: impact of microfinance through self-help groups

Empowerment of women through participation in self-help groups: a bibliometric analysis and systematic review