Astronomy is the field of science devoted to the study of astronomical objects, such as stars, galaxies, and nebulae. Astronomers have gathered a wealth of knowledge about the universe through hundreds of years of painstaking observations. These observations are interpreted by the use of physical and chemical laws familiar to mankind. These interpretations supply information about the nature of these astronomical objects, allowing for the deduction of their surface and interior conditions. The science associated with these interpretations is called astrophysics.

Scholars have long noticed a discrepancy in the way non-Western and Western peoples conceptualize the scientific and religious worlds. Non-Western traditions and communities, such as of India, are better positioned to provide an alternative to the Western dualistic thinking of separating science and religion. The Himalayan Environmental Studies and Conservation Organization (HESCO) was founded by Dr. Anil Joshi in the 1970s as a new movement looking at the economic and development needs of rural villages in the Indian Himalayas, and encouraging them to use local resources in order to open...

The theories and methods used to study world religions and cultures continue to be rooted in Western philosophies. The Bloomsbury Handbook to Indian Philosophical Theories of Religion challenges the reliance on Western approaches and shows how innovative ideas from the major Indian traditions can enrich understandings of religion and the social sciences.

Divided into three core parts - Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism each chapter takes a key Indic philosophical idea, like Jain Theory or Samkhya Philosophy, and applies it to areas including religion, anthropology and psychology....