2021
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Marathi: How to Become Rich
Translated version of How to Become Rich: 12 Lessons I Learnt from Vedic and Puranic Stories Lakshmi is worshipped as the goddess of wealth. Her arrival is considered auspicious, while her departure is bad and inauspicious. In temples, gods are…
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Hindu vs Hindutva: A Mythic Dissonance
Published on 24th November, 2021, in India Today. Hindus are at odds with the world in terms of its underlying mythic structure. By contrast, Hindutva is very much aligned to the dominant global discourse. We realise this if we meditate…
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Loss and Return in the Bible
Published on 21st November, 2021, in Mid-day. The Bible is the holy book of the Christians. It has two parts: the Old Testament and the New Testament. The Old Testament refers to Jewish stories of prophets and kings. The New…
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How Did Hinduism Come to Dominate India?
Published on 20th November, 2021, in Times of India. Nearly 2,000 years ago, there were Buddhist stupas across India. Nearly 1,500 years ago, there were Buddhist caves in the Deccan. But 1,000 years ago, Buddhist structures were overshadowed by Hindu…
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Study of Myths: How Has Mythology Evolved Over the Years
Published on 14th November, 2021, in Mid-day. The subject of mythology emerged in the 19th Century, as the world discovered the subject of history. Before that, memories, legends, myths, parables, folklore and history were all bundled together in one basket.…
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Temples of Swaminarayan
Published on 13th November, 2021, in Economic Times. Most Indians are familiar with Raja Ram Mohan Roy and his Brahmo Samaj and link it with the 19th Century Hindu reformation. But very few know about Sahajanand Swami or the reforms…
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Loki, the Father and the Mother
Published on 7th November, 2021, in Mid-day. The unique belief of the Norse, not shared by other cultures, was that the world would eventually end, and in the final battle, even the gods would die, fighting the giants and goblins…
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How Many Types Of Sanyasis Are There?
Published on 6th November, 2021. in Times of India. The idea of hermits, or the wandering ascetic, unwed, and nomadic, was an idea elaborated in post-Vedic literature, dated to 2,500 years ago, when we started hearing about shramanas India is…
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What Creates Culture Also Creates Cult
Published on 5th November, 2021, in The Hindu. Cult refers to religious groups, or brainwashed communities, who believe in the occult, the mystical, the spiritual, the paranormal or the supernatural. Culture refers to a community’s aesthetic expression: food, fashion, customs,…
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Hope: Wisdom to Survive in a Hopeless World
Have you lost all hope? Does the world feel bleak and unforgiving? The pandemic crisis has seen many of us lose family, friends, colleagues. How can you recover from this devastating loss? You are surrounded by anger and violence everywhere.…
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Brief History of Hindu Mythology
Published on 31st October, 2021, in Mid-day. Hindu mythology is not static. It has changed over history. In the Rig Veda (1,500 BCE), we are introduced to Indra. He is a powerful celestial being who rides chariots and who defeats…
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Vegetarianism Is About Contentment Overpowering Consumption
Published on 30th October, 2021, in Economic Times. Vegetarian habits were less about non-violence and more about striving for contentment. The Jains were aware of the damage industry can do to the forest. And so kept consumption minimum. Jainism values…
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Four Phases of Buddhist Art
Published on 24th October, 2021, in Mid-day. Buddhist art has a history of over 2,000 years. During this time, it goes through many phases, revealing the transformations in Buddhist thought. In the earliest Buddhist art, Buddha is not represented. In…
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What Is God’s Pronoun?
Published on 22nd October, 2021, in Times of India. Currently, across US college campuses, there is a strong movement to popularize the idea of gender fluidity. People are specifying their preferred pronoun. If you identify yourself as male, you choose…
