Designation: Ph.D Professor & Head, Consciousness Studies Programme National Institute of Advanced Studies Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore 560012, INDIA

Email [email protected] ; [email protected]

Website: www.consciousnessshop.com

Education :

• Biology, philosophy, and psychology.
• Gold-medalist and first-rank holder for postgraduate.

Activity:

• Journal Transpersonal Psychology (in 2002).
• Association for Transpersonal Psychology (in 2013)
•  “Hinduism and Science” that appeared in the Oxford Handbook of Religion and Science (2006, OUP) .
• "The Beyond Experience: Consciousness in Bhagavad Gita" (2007).
• "Consciousness, Experience and Ways of Knowing: Perspectives from Science, Philosophy and the Arts" (2006, NIAS).
• "Science and Beyond: Cosmology, consciousness and technology in Indic traditions" (2004, NIAS).
• "Consciousness and Genetics" (2002, NIAS), "Scientific and Philosophical Studies on Consciousness" (1999, NIAS) and "Dialogues: Philosopher meets the Seer" (2003).

Prof. Sangeetha Menon is a philosopher-psychologist. Her educational background is in biology, philosophy and psychology. A gold-medalist and first-rank holder for postgraduate studies, she received national University Grants Commission fellowship for her doctoral studies for five years.

She is a Professor at the National Institute of Advanced Studies, in the campus of Indian Institute of Science and joined NIAS in 1996, with particular interest in consciousness studies.

Dr Menon has been working in the area of consciousness studies for over eighteen years. She has given numerous lectures and presentations in her country and also in United States, Europe and Australia on wide-ranging issues relating to consciousness, mind, and science-spirituality interface issues.

Her publications cover areas that concern consciousness studies, brain sciences, altruism, aesthetics, Indian psychology and science-spirituality-art dialogues. The Journal of Transpersonal Psychology (in 2002) and the Association for Transpersonal Psychology (in 2013) have published reports on her research work and contributions to theories of self-transformation. She has several publications in peer-reviewed journals, and has contributed chapters on a variety of issues relating to science & religion, self, mind and consciousness.

Her chapter on “Hinduism and Science” that appeared in the Oxford Handbook of Religion and Science (2006, OUP) gives a fresh outlook on this issue. She has also authored few monographs on consciousness in the context of Indian thought.

Her latest books published by Springer are: “Brain, Self and Consciousness: Explaining the conspiracy of experience; and the edited volume “Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Consciousness and the Self”. Her other books include "The Beyond Experience: Consciousness in Bhagavad Gita" (2007),"Consciousness, Experience and Ways of Knowing: Perspectives from Science, Philosophy and the Arts" (2006, NIAS), "Science and Beyond: Cosmology, consciousness and technology in Indic traditions" (2004, NIAS), "Consciousness and Genetics" (2002, NIAS), "Scientific and Philosophical Studies on Consciousness" (1999, NIAS) and "Dialogues: Philosopher meets the Seer" (2003).

With her colleagues she has been responsible for organising many interdisciplinary national and international meetings on consciousness, and to bring leading members from the scientific community and philosophical world for constructive dialogues.

The courses she offers for doctoral students primarily focus on the nature of self, consciousness and human wellbeing. She has co-organised landmark national and international conferences in India such as “Scientific and Philosophical Studies in Consciousness” (1998, NIAS) which was the first conference in India on this subject bringing together scientists, philosophers et.al to seek answers for fundamental questions on consciousness and human identity.

The other major conferences she has organised are “Science and Metaphysics: Consciousness and Genetics” (2002, NIAS); “Science and Beyond” (2003, NIAS); “Consciousness, Experience and Ways of Knowing” (2006, NIAS) and “Looking Within: Interdisciplinary approaches to consciousness” (2012, NIAS). Majorscientific and philosophical institutions in India, United States and Europe have supported these conferences.

Dr Menon is a member of the National Task Force “Cognitive Science Research Initiative” set up by Dept of Science and Technology, Govt. of India. She was nominated by Government of India in 2012 as a Council member of the Indian Council of Philosophical Research.

Dr Menon is an Honorary Fellow of the School of Humanities of the University of Exeter. In the past, she has been invited to be an Advisor for the programme on Art/Science/Spirituality Reconnections being jointly organised by Al Andalus Foundation and Leonardo/OLATS. Presently, she is a Board Member of the International Association for Transpersonal Psychology, and Asia Consciousness Society.

She is an Advisor for the Dharma Association for North America a leading association for Indian Diaspora in North America. She also works with non-profit educational and charity foundations and is a Trustee of Sambodh Foundation, India.

In August 2007 she was invited to be a distinguished member of the International Society for Science and Religion whose 100 plus invited members, in science, philosophy and other disciplines, include Nobel laureates.

She was awarded two prestigious national awards for her achievements in the field of consciousness and Indian contributions. She was awarded the national award of "Young Philosopher Award" from Indian Council of Philosophical Research, for her research work in 2003.

Dr Menon has visited and spoken at many Universities in her country, United States, England and Australia; London, Oxford, Germany, Paris, Rome, Spain, Melbourne, Japan, Singapore, Taiwan and Moscow.

She was a Visiting Professor at the Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies (OCHS), Oxford University (Trinity Term, 2007), and at the Nanzan Institute of Religion and Culture, Nanzan University, Japan (Fall, 2007). She was invited to be a panelist at the World Parliament of Religions, Melbourne 2009, on three sessions that were sponsored by ISSR on Science, Spirituality and Environment. Along with her, the seven panellists included Dr Peter Doherty the Nobel prize winner for Medicine in 1996.

Apart from her academic interests she writes poetry, fiction, and is an avid photographer, artist and web-designer. She also spends her time for charity activities.

For further details see http://consciousnessshop.com