Mythologist | Author | Speaker | Illustrator
-
Articles
Raising Hindu kids in America
Published on 21st July, 2019, in Mumbai Mirror How do you teach a child about Hinduism? There are no easy answers out there How does a child in India learn Hinduism? Unlike Bible classes of Christians and madrasas of Muslims, Hinduism is not ‘taught’. You acquire it by living it — participating in household rituals…
-
Articles
Declaration of faith
Published on 7th July, 2019, in Mumbai Mirror Declaration of faith is part of many religions. It means publicly stating one’s belief. In Judaism, which is the oldest Abrahamic faith, it is a reiteration of monotheism, the ‘Shema’. In Christianity, it means making the sign of the cross to show one accepts Jesus, who was…
-
Articles
Sacred Seven
Published on 7th July, 2019, in Mid-day Once Vishnu and Laxmi had a quarrel. Laxmi left Vaikuntha in a huff, and came down to earth. Vishnu followed her and tried coaxing her to return, but she refused. So, Vishnu decided to remain on earth, until he could convince her to return. He looked for a…
-
Articles
Love for Notre Dame
Published on 5th May, 2019, in Mid-day. Notre Dame means Our Lady in French. Though popular as a name for the most famous Parisian church, which recently caught fire, it refers generally to Mary, Mother of Jesus, who plays an important role in Catholic mythology and in medieval European history. The New Testament of the…
-
Articles
Dogs of the gods
Published on 28th April, 2019, in Mid-day. In traditional Hindu society, dogs are considered inauspicious. This is most evident in dharma shastras, which were put together about 2,000 years ago. Dogs were associated with death, as well as with pollution and, therefore, belonged to the periphery of society. Dog-eater was a common way of describing…
-
Articles
Not quite division of labour
Published on 14th April, 2019, in Mumbai Mirror. Many assert that the caste system (jati pratha) is essentially ‘division of labour’. However, this will never be said by those involved in manual scavenging, cleaning sewers without proper gear, being forced to take up this job because that is the only vocation made available to them.…
-
Articles
Remembering the contribution of Courtesans
Published on 6th April, 2019, in Economic Times. In ancient Indian scriptures, we find a description of three kinds of women. Women who were chaste and devoted to a single man (even if the man had many wives). The second were women who kept away from men and lived as nuns. The third kind were…
-
Articles
Herding Indian cats in a non-compliant culture
Published on 9th February, 2019, in Economic Times. One of the things that you notice when you travel to countries like Australia and Singapore is the obsession with rules and regulations, and the rigorous implementation of systems…
-
Articles
As you sow, so you may not reap
Our entire life is about repaying debt’s incurred in previous lifetimes and avoiding a generation of new debts…
-
Articles
Of hunger in heaven
We realise the three Swargas in Hindu mythology are designed very differently from the single heaven of Abrahamic mythology…
-
Articles
Radha In Space And Time
All Dharmashatras say, all traditions (riti) and laws (niti) must be subject to change depending on geography (desh), history (kala) and capability of communities (guna) involved…
-
Articles
Who is a Hindu? Hinduism in the Caribbean
The easiest way to identify a Caribbean Hindu is to look at their house from outside:you will see a jhandi, a pennant of different colours that represent different gods…
-
Articles
How sex became unholy
Today, we equate celibacy with social work. The popular belief is that a person who does not have sex has transcended desire. That such a man is more concerned with the welfare of the larger public world than his personal, private, selfish welfare…
-
Articles
Who is a Hindu? The politics of bodily fluids
By using body physiology to create a spiritual hierarchy, some Hindu orders have placed men above women…
-
Articles
Power Helped Women Change World Religions
Roughly 1500 years ago, femininity became a major force, not because men became enlightened, but because women secured positions of power…
