Bangalore Mirror

Who is a Hindu? Does Krishna take the Viratrupa in the Gita to intimidate? Published on 9th May, 2021, in Bangalore Mirror. A friend, who works in human resources, once shared his understanding of the Bhagavad Gita. Krishna was trying to motivate Arjuna to do a job as a warrior. But Arjuna was hesitating. So Krishna used ethical arguments, then emotional arguments and even metaphysical arguments, but nothing worked. Finally, he showed Arjuna his awe-inspiring cosmic form, the Viratrupa or Vishwarupa, frightening Arjuna into submission and obedience. The idea of the Bhagavad Gita as a motivational speech meant to get people to do their job, ..

Published on 22nd July, 2018, in Bangalore Mirror. Dhol, gavar, shudra, pashu, nari; sakal tadan ke adhikari.’ (‘Drums, uneducated people, ‘low’ castes, animals, and women deserve a beating to straighten up and get their act together.’) This quote from the 16th century Ramcharitmanas of Goswami Tulsidas is hurled repeatedly at anyone saying anything good about Hinduism to prove that it is patriarchal, misogynistic and casteist. But few quote the following lines, from the same text: ‘Nar, napunsak, nari, va jiva, chara-char koi; sarva bhav bhaj kapat taji, mohe param priya soi.’ (‘Men, queers, women, even plants and animals, all living creatures who abandon malice and ..

Published on 10th June, 2018, in Bangalore Mirror. It is fashionable nowadays to use the word ‘Brahmin’ with contempt, inversing the contempt of many Indian elites for lower castes. It mirrors the contempt for all things ‘white’ seen in the intellectual West. One can say this is social justice at work, a pushback against centuries of Brahminical and white hegemony. But this outrage (real and imagined) must not blind us to the contribution of Brahmins, especially their role in creating the temple-states in South India and even across the sea in Southeast Asia. To understand the role of religion in state formation, we must glance ..

Published on 15th April, 2018, in Bangalore Mirror. Historians of yoga focus their attention on Patanjali, Vasishtha, Vyasa and Goraknath. Postmodern gurus transform Shiva into the fountainhead of yoga who reaches out to humanity via seven male preachers, the sapta-rishis, mimicking the God of Abraham whose commandments reach humanity via male prophets. Neither gives much importance to yoginis or rishikas, the female fountainheads of yoga, until a ‘feminist’ points out the incompleteness of such popular discourses. Only when chastised, is the female considered, but only as an afterthought, accompanied by a nervous patronising chuckle. Religions around the world have always sidelined women. In Western mythology, ..

Published on 26th November, 2017, in Bangalore Mirror. Western scholars often state that Indians do not have a sense of history. Rows over films like Padmavati confirm that. Unlike their Chinese, Arabic and Greek counterparts, ancient and medieval Indians show little interest in historical documentation, except maybe land grants on copper plates or stone walls of temples. For the average Indian, not just Hindus, myth and legend are both historical facts. There is violent outrage when TV serials and Bollywood do not stick to imagined pasts. History based on scientific method that challenges traditional notions of the past, is seen simply as Western conspiracy to ..