yaksha

Published on 4th October, 2019, in Economic Times Everyone needs, and wants Lakshmi in Hindu mythology: Devas, Asuras, Rakshasas, Yakshas. But each one’s relationship with wealth is different. Some like Ram and Duryodhana are lucky, they are born in rich families. Ram is a positive, divine character, in the Ramayana but Duryodhana is a villain, a negative character, in the Mahabharata. Why does Lakshmi favour them? Is it good karma of past lives? That makes sense with Ram, but not Duryodhan. Ram, for no fault of his, loses his royal fortune and is forced to live in poverty in the forest. Pandavas, on the other ..

Published on 7th October, 2017, in the Economic Times. The World Arya Vysya Mahasabha in Andhra and Telangana is furious with the provocative assertions of Dalit writer and intellectual Kancha Ilaiah. In his book Post-Hindu India, Ilaiah describes the mercantile caste (vysya) of India as 'social smugglers' who essentially generate wealth by nefarious means, hoard wealth away for use of their families and do not share it with the rest of society. There are calls for criminal defamation against the writer, who now fears for his life and has placed himself under voluntary house arrest. The sweeping generalisation resonates with the tendency to paint the ..