In this dissertation the phenomenological method together with the hermeneutical concepts of experience, devotion, constant remembrance and transmission focus on yogic transmission in Sahaj Marg of the Shri Ram Chandra Mission. Sahaj Marg is an adaptation of Raj a Yoga. Sahaj Marg emphasises the practical approach and calls for the aspirant to follow the teachings and methods of the spiritual Master. Yogic transmission is the unique feature of this system. Preceptors have been trained by the Master to aid in the spiritual evolution of humanity. Pranahuti is defined by the Master as a forceless force for the spiritual transformation of humanity. This system can be followed by all aspirants, the only qualification being a willingness to follow the practice. Sahaj Marg has been created for the present day aspirant to achieve liberation in the quickest time possible. / Religious Studies and Arabic / M.A. (Religious Studies)

Post-colonial feminisms have questioned the concept of a universal sisterhood for decades. One of its critics is Chandra Talpade Mohanty (1955–), an Indian-American, post-colonial feminist theorist. In her work, Mohanty suggests that the concept of a universal sisterhood occludes variations in women’s experiences of oppression and ways of life. She criticizes western feminism for casting third world women as objects in their own lives rather than subjects. Instead, Mohanty suggests an international solidarity between groups of women from different circumstances, where women’s various experiences are taken into account. The present study aims to examine the possibility of a trans-contextual feminist ethic based on the questions posed by Mohanty’s work in her book Feminism Without Borders. Since Mohanty is no ethicist, the study will also use resources from the work of Seyla Benhabib (1950–), a Turkish-American philosopher. She places herself in the Kantian tradition and in close relation to Habermas discursive ethics, but she also takes a feminist approach to ethics. This study first evaluates the resources found in Mohanty’s work, which are not enough to construct a basis for a trans-contextual feminist ethics. Thereafter, resources are sought in Benhabib’s works Situating the Self and The Claims of Culture and in her discursive ethics, her views on universalism, her concepts of “the concrete other” and “the generalized other”, and her views on cultures. This examination shows that the resources in the material under scrutiny are not enough to build a basis for a trans-contextual feminist ethic. Questions still remain which might be answered in the wider work of Benhabib or Mohanty, but the material at hand leaves questions about how Mohanty’s vision could be realized in spite of several practical and theoretical problems related to who is associated with which group and the tension between particular experiences and a trans-cultural ethic, none of which are satisfactorily addressed in either Mohanty or Benhabib. In discussing Benhabib, there is also a problem with the two principles of her ethics (i.e. universal respect and egalitarian reciprocity) and their justification. Benhabib herself claims them to be self-explanatory, but this study suggests, with support from other ethicists, that this is not sufficient justification.

Les amas globulaires contiennent deux classes de sources X se différenciant par leur luminosité. Tout d'abord, les sources X brillantes (Lx>10^36 ergs/s), qui sont des binaires X de faible masse identiques à celles contenues dans le disque galactique. La seconde classe regroupe les objets de luminosité X faible (LX<10^34.5 ergs/s). Elle est composée d‟objets de natures diverses, principalement des systèmes binaires où l'accrétion de matière sur l'un des deux composants (une étoile à neutrons, une naine blanche) est responsable de l'émission X observée. Déterminer la population de sources X des amas globulaires permet donc d'étudier les mécanismes de formation des systèmes binaires, lesquels jouent un rôle fondamental dans l'évolution des amas globulaires en assurant leur équilibre dynamique. Cette thèse est centrée sur l'étude des populations X de 4 amas globulaires observés avec les satellites XMM-Newton ou Chandra : Omega Cen, M13, M22 et NGC 6366. Notre échantillon nous a permis d‟étudier les populations de sources X faibles et de tester les scénarii de formation des binaires en fonction de divers paramètres comme la masse, la taille et la densité stellaire de l‟amas. Nous avons associé des sources X faibles à chaque amas (respectivement 30, 5, 2 et 1). Ces sources se trouvent dans le coeur des amas. Nous avons également détecté un excès significatif de sources dans les régions externes d‟Omega Cen. Nous avons enfin découvert une binaire X de faible masse avec une étoile à neutrons dans M13 (sa contrepartie a été recherchée dans les données du télescope spatial Hubble). Nous montrons que le nombre de binaires X de faible masse avec une étoile à neutrons contenues dans un amas est corrélé avec le taux de collision stellaire. Ceci pourrait indiquer que ces binaires sont formées par la capture gravitationnelle par une étoile à neutrons d‟un autre astre dans le coeur des amas. Nous avons également étudié les mécanismes de formation des autres catégories de binaires.

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