2019
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Gods outside temples
Published on 26th May, 2019, in Mumbai Mirror WHO IS A HINDU? What did communities that were not allowed entry into temples do? They decided to create their own gods. There was a community of landless labourers in Gujarat. Some…
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A temple for a dog
Dogs are associated with Yama, who is the keeper of dharma. One of the meanings of dharma is the obligation of human beings to repay debts to ancestors, sages, gods, nature and society.
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Is Yoga about achievement or awareness?
Published on 18th May, 2019, in Economic Times One of the key differences that one finds between the yoga that is popular in the West and that which is taught by traditionally trained Indian gurus of India is the idea…
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Narada, the cursed
In the Puranas, we are told that Narada, the mind, was born from the thoughts of Brahma, and like all sages had the knowledge of Brahma vidya, or the ultimate truth of the world. He would go around the world…
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The non-violent Ram: Stories from the Jain tradition – and how they differ from the Hindu canon
Published on 12th May, 2019, in Mumbai Mirror Followers of Hindutva believe that Jainism is just a branch of Hinduism, despite the fact that it is deemed a minority religion in India’s Constitution. They often use the phrase Sanatan Dharma…
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Suleiman and the djinns
The right-wing communities around the world have one common feature: they believe there is only one truth and that truth is theirs. Therefore, they have a problem with other mythologies and science.
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Love for Notre Dame
Published on 5th May, 2019, in Mid-day. Notre Dame means Our Lady in French. Though popular as a name for the most famous Parisian church, which recently caught fire, it refers generally to Mary, Mother of Jesus, who plays an…
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Ramayana Versus Mahabharata
Devdutt compares the two Great Indian Epics, Ramayana and Mahabharata. Find out how the stories though are different and similar in many ways.
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Mantra for VUCA markets: Adapt rather than align
Modern Management is not based on rationality. It is based on two mythic constructs. Both these constructs originate from the West. The first is the Biblical construct and the second is the Greek construct.
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Hinduism and Buddhism
Published on 28th April, 2019, in Mumbai Mirror. It was in the 19th Century that the wider world actually heard of the Buddha and Buddhism. Although Buddhism was practised for centuries in the Far East and Southeast Asia, people did…
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Dogs of the gods
Published on 28th April, 2019, in Mid-day. In traditional Hindu society, dogs are considered inauspicious. This is most evident in dharma shastras, which were put together about 2,000 years ago. Dogs were associated with death, as well as with pollution…
