Mythologist | Author | Speaker | Illustrator
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Articles
Waiting for Ram
At her abode in the caves of Jammu, the Goddess manifests herself as three outcroppings of rock which represent its three forms Maha-Lakshmi, Maha-Saraswati and Maha-Kali…
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God in Indian history
So questions are raised: is Hinduism polytheistic (many gods), monotheistic (one God), pantheistic, monistic, henotheistic or kat henotheistic?…
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The hermit’s smile: How celibacy, non-violence and purity work to establish patriarchy in India
Of these, purity is the most lethal as it is here where we find the seed of the inhuman practice of untouchability…
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Articles
Two sanatan dharmas?
There are two meanings of the phrase sanatan dharma. One is political, and the other philosophical…
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Articles
The faces of Mahalakshmi
While the word Mahalakshmi evokes images of the Hindu goddess of wealth seated on a lotus, the deity in Kolhapur, referred to as Amba-bai by locals, evokes Durga, the goddess of war…
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How Indian sages viewed violence (and why western mythology has such different ideas about it)
In Greek myth, violence is part of a movement from chaos to order. But Indian myth lays out that as long as violence exists, it will beget violence…
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Articles
Is Hinduism A Religion, A Myth Or Something Else?
Words are not ‘objective truths’ as we assume, but ‘subjective truths’, imbued with power and embedded in politics…
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Articles
How a new akhara of transgendered people stole the spotlight at the Ujjain Kumbh
Thousands of devotees lined up to seek the blessings of the kinnar order…
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Articles
THE LION ON THE HILL
Simhachalam is special for the worship of a composite image of ‘masculine’ avatars of Vishnu, Varaha and Narasimha…
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Articles
Doesn’t Shiva take drugs?
To understand this mystery, we have to appreciate how Hinduism divides the world into inside and outside, the home and the wilderness, the realm of the householder and the realm of the hermit…
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Articles
Ramayana in OLPS
Do the corruption, cynicism and rage of elders eventually seep into stories we tell our children? Do we now edit stories to make them more politically correct? Is there now a censor board monitoring school plays too?…
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Articles
Passport shame: What’s really at the heart of the California textbook row on Hinduism?
It is a battle that will not die down, for it reveals a great split in the Indian American community…
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Articles
Nathdwara God in the Haveli
To devotees, Shrinathji at Nathdwara is the swayambhu (self-created) and swarupa (self-image, not representation) of the seven-year old Krishna…
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Articles
Krishna, the wrestler
When you think wrestling, Krishna is not the first name that comes to mind… And yet, Krishna is a great wrestler…
