Celibacy

Published on 18th December, 2021, in Times of India. Celibacy is an unnatural act in nature. All living organisms are meant to reproduce. The sexual act is critical for the survival of the species. Thus, nature does not endorse celibacy. But human culture has endorsed it. Culture has not only endorsed celibacy, but sees it as a magical function. Something that can transform people into supernatural beings. In ancient India, great tension existed between Brahmanas and Shramanas on the idea of celibacy. Shramans were monks like Buddhists and Jains who believed that sexual attraction to women trapped men in the material world. It made them ..

Published on 31st January, 2016, in The Times of India. Why were temples built in India? They did not always exist. Before temples, people worshipped rocks and rivers and stars: Kumbh Mela is a classic example of Hindu ritual that does not involve any artificial structure. If one goes to the temples of Kamakhya in Assam or Vaishnodevi in Jammu, we realize that what is assumed to be a 'temple' is essentially a structure built around very simple natural rock formations. The structure then is the boundary that defines and delimits the sacred space around something very organic and natural. This creation of boundaries is ..