2015 / Articles
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Hinduism: Pre-Modern, Modern, Postmodern, Or Post-Postmodern?
What exactly is the best phrase to describe Hinduism? Or, what is the best approach to arrive at an appropriate description?
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The complete man
There are two Krishnas… The first is historical (a person), the second mythological (an idea).
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How many eyes do you have?
‘With a woman by your side, you are like the three-eyed Shiva. Without her, you are the one-eye Shukra, though you may look like the two-eyed Kama.’
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A lesson from Ravana
People often argue on motives of heroes and villains. They become lawyers and judges. But in doing so they miss the overall architecture of Hindu epics. And their conclusions are usually their own personal beliefs, rooted in their own prejudices.
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Superstition and the inherent cruelty of rationalists
Rationality, secularism, religion, and superstition are parts of the same continuum called culture.
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The terror of Bhairava
In nature, there is terror, but no terrorists, there is violence, but not violation. Bhairava makes us question who the terrorist is.
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Scanners for menstrual blood
The practice of restricting access to menstruating women is rooted in the pre-modern belief that links purity and power to bodily fluids.
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Intolerance: the Movie
Nobody is interested in countering the menace. Everybody seems to be more bothered about branding!
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Two endings of the Gita
Krishna’s conclusion is rather psychological. Sanjaya’s conclusion is very material.
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The Transformation of Murugan
In Murugan, Shiva, the distant stoic sage, unites with the vibrant demanding goddess Shakti.
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The invisible violence of vegetarianism
Many people are of the opinion that eating vegetarian food is indicative of kindness and non-violence. That is not so.
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Breaking the royal pillar
Stories are not created in vacuum. They respond to a historical context and emerge to communicate a point of view.
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Debutante ball & puberty rites
We would like to imagine patriarchy as a religious phenomenon. But it also thrives in ‘secular’ societies, in the richest and most developed nations, with a hunger for status. And status is often attached to the woman as in the…
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14 things historians taught me
The best thing they passed on is that no knowledge is fixed and finite.
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A Psychological Fortress
A good leader is sensitive to the disempowering ecosystem created by large technology-based corporations. He brings in the emotion that corporations are incapable of having.
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Indian, single and parent
it is important to keep ourselves informed about the many stories of successful single parents – male and female – in Hindu mythology.