2021 / Articles
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View: Understanding Economies and Their Role In Rendering Old Models Of Caste Irrelevant
Published on 18th September, 2021, in Economic Times. Caste (jati) is how resources and respect was inherited and distributed in traditional Indian society. The distribution pattern varied across India. The thousands of jatis were classified neatly into a four-fold varna…
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Festival Of Women, By Women, For Women
Published on 12th September, 2021, in Mid-day. The word ‘teej’ refers to the third day of the lunar cycle when women fast, stay awake in all night vigils, hoping to find good husbands if not married, and praying for the…
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Is Hinduism Answerable to Western Gaze?
Published on 10th September, 2021, in Times of India. The word religion initially applied to only Christianity. Everyone else was either heretic or pagan. But in the 19th Century, Europeans were forced to acknowledge the validity of Japanese faith if…
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Taoism and Tantra
Published on 5th September, 2021, in Mid-day. There is much in common between the Chinese path of Taoism and the Indian path of Tantra. Both value the body and the material world. Both see all power coming from nature. They…
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Why India Needs To See Marital Relationships in Political and Economic Terms
Published on 4th September, 2021, in Economic Times. Zeus, king of the gods, in Greek mythology had children by many women, both mortal and immortal, nymphs and goddesses and titans. But he had only one wife. The Roman Empire celebrated…
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Dharmo Rakshati Rakshitha
Published on 29th August, 2021, in Mid-day. Dharmo Rakshati Rakshitha is a line that is found in Manusmriti. If you assume dharma to be religion or state or law, it means if you protect religion or state or law, the…
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Why Is Secret Love So Important In Gita Govinda?
Published on 28th August,2021, in Times of India. Krishna on television appears in bright light, with fair complexion and light eyes. No one is outraged or offended, even though Krishna means someone with a dark complexion, a fact reiterated by…
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Privileging Political Independence
Published on 15th August, 2021, in The Hindu. The story of the eagle Garuda stealing the nectar of immortality from Indra’s paradise to liberate his mother from slavery reminds us of Greek heroes who go on quests to fight monsters…
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Tying the Knot
Published on 22nd August, 2021, in Mid-day. In Hindu metaphysics, yoga is the practice of untying mental knots. Bhoga is the experience of life that creates these mental knots. When we consume life, we experience hunger, fear, delight, jealousy, attachment,…
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A Brahmin in Kerala
Published on 21st August, 2021, in Economic Times. The Puranas tell the story of an asura king called Mahabali who gave people whatever they desired. Mahabali had thrown out Indra, king of devas, who ruled the skies, and now controlled…
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Ancestor Gods of Korea
Published on 15th August, 2021, in Mid-day. The Korean peninsula is located in Northeast Asia, jutting out into the sea. To its west is China and to its east is Japan. Both China and Japan have sought to lay claim…
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How Did Tantra Spread from India to Tibet?
Published on 14th August, 2021, in Times of India. Tibetan Buddhism is called Vajrayana Buddhism, which is sometimes also called Tantrik Buddhism. Here, women play an important role, which is why the symbols of Vajrayana Buddhism are a double-sided dagger…
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From Vedas to Puranas
Published on 8th August, 2021, in Mid-day. Vedas were composed 3,000 years ago, while the Puranas were composed 1,500 years ago. In between, came the great epics, Ramayana and Mahabharata, after the Vedas, but before the Puranas. The two reflect…
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View: Do Not Consume What You Protect
Published on 6th August, 2021, in Economic Times. Four hundred years ago, the people of Kerala began telling the story of how Kerala emerged from a mysterious past. They spoke of how Parashurama reclaimed land from the sea and gave…
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Mythology In Sikhism
Published on 1st August, 2021, in Mid-day. I am often asked if there is such a thing as mythology in Sikhism. The simple answer is, yes. But this answer often confuses people. For most, mythology continues to be a 19th…
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Were All Hindu Saints Allowed Into Temples?
Published on 31st July, 2021, in Times of India. In Maharashtra, at Pandharpur, outside the temple of Vithala, is a shrine to the poet-saint, Chokhamela, who lived in the 14th Century. The saint was not allowed to enter the temple…