2020
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One Idea, Many Expressions
Published on 15th March, 2020, in Mid-day In a typical Hindu temple, we do not find just one image. We find multiple images. For many people, unfamiliar with Hindu tradition, this looks like polytheism. But for Hindus, these are various…
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A Brief History of Goddess Worship
Published on 8th March, 2020, in Mid-day Harappan civilisation, which thrived over 4,000 years ago, had seals of as-yet-unidentified goddesses emerging from trees, and goddesses riding tigers. Vedic religion that thrived 3,000 years ago however, was primarily a masculine religion…
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View: The Sacred Balance Of Power
Published on 6th March, 2020, in The Economic Times Across religious scriptures, we come across the concept of balance of power in the unlikeliest of spaces. We hear of charismatic kings who control people (at least warriors) that enable them…
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Mapping mythology, history and art with Wendell Rodricks
Published on 3rd March, 2020 in The Hindu I find it hard to believe that Wendell is gone. The news was a shock. But then, Wendell has always surprised me. From his habit of waking up very early in the…
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How Evangelical Models Inspire Hindu Gurudoms
Published on 1st March, 2020, in Mumbai Mirror For many people, ‘guru’ is no different from a church elder, or even a prophet. Just as a prophet has direct access to God and communicates God’s will to people, many people…
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The Amazing Rani Rashmoni
Published on 1st March, 2020, in Mid-day In early 19th century, in a society dominated by men, mostly wealthy landed Brahmins, and by the colonial rulers of the land, a woman called Rani Rashmoni rose to be a successful business…
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From Square Harappa to Circular Mandala
Published on 23rd February, 2020, in Mid-day Hindutva historians insist that the Harappan cities, that thrived 4,500 years ago across Punjab, Sindh, Rajasthan, and Gujarat, were full of Aryas chanting Vedic hymns and pouring ghee in fire altars made of…
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Dharma Hormones: What Is the Path To Happiness?
Published on 21st February, 2020, in The Economic Times How do you validate human existence? Ancient Hindu scriptures say there are four pillars to this: dharma, artha, kama, moksha. Dharma is about the responsibility to society at large. Artha is…
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How To Transform an Object Of Art Into One Of Worship
Published on 16th February, 2020, in Mumbai Mirror Objects of art are part of our day-to-day lives. Displayed in showcases, they lend beauty to the places we live in. Objects of worship are different: they are channels to access the…
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Muslim Guardians Of Hindu Shrines
Published on 16th February, 2020, in Mid-day Nowadays, there is a lot of talk about Muslim immigrants not being welcomed in India. But, when one reads folklore of South India, one finds many places where Muslims saints and warriors are…
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A Pair Of Goddesses
Published on 9th February, 2020, in Mid-day Across India, there are many temples where the goddess is worshipped as a pair of women. In Nainital, Uttarakhand, we find the temple of Nanda and Sunanda Devi. At this temple, we find…
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The Culture Of Report Cards
Published on 8th February, 2020, in The Economic Times Every child around the world is now living in a culture of report cards. He is continuously being measured for his abilities by his teachers and his parents: Is he good?…
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So Many Buddhas
Published on 3rd February, 2020, in The Times of India Buddha was imagined differently by Ambedkar, Savarkar and Nehru. Ambedkar believed that Navayana Buddhism, rooted in social justice, was the only way to stop caste affirming Manuvadi Brahminism that threatened…
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Seven Abrahamic influences on contemporary Hinduism
Published on 2nd February, 2020, in Mumbai Mirror When someone passes away and people say, Rest in Peace, or RIP, they are being part of a paradigm where death is followed by waiting in purgatory till the final day of…
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A Family In a Temple
Published on 2nd February, 2020, in Mid-day In a typical Hindu temple, we do not find just one image. We find multiple images. For many people, unfamiliar with Hindu tradition, this looks like polytheism. But for Hindus, these are various…
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Mahabharata On the Hills
Published on 26th January, 2020, in Mid-day Badrinath and Kedarnath are two major centres of pilgrimage in Uttarakhand; both are shut during winter months. Both centres are closely associated with Adi Shankara, the scholar who revived Vedic scholarship, about 1,200…