Religions
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The Hamsa Hand
Published on 14th March, 2021, in Mid-day. The hamsa is a common symbol used across the Middle East as a good luck sign. Originating in Ancient Egypt probably, it is used to bring in prosperity and to ward off evil.…
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Fluid Marriage Rites
Published on 7th March, 2021, in Mid-day. Suriya, the daughter of the sun-god, marries the twin-gods, the Ashwins, and rides with them on their chariot. So says the Rig Veda. Later, we are told, that the Ashwins do not actually…
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Seeing Mahabharata from the Point of View of the Forest
“When Might Is Right: Seeing Mahabharata from the Point of View of the Forest.” Published on 6th March, 2021, in The Economic Times. Hindu philosophy makes no sense without appreciation of the constant comparison of the forest (aranya) with settled…
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Angels in Islam
Published on 28th February, 2021, in Mid-day. In Christian mythology, the Devil is an angel who disobeyed God. But, in Islamic mythology, angels do not disobey God. Creatures of light, they have no free will, and they bowed to Adam…
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Is Lanka Located In Madhya Pradesh?
Published on 28th February, 2021, in Mumbai Mirror. Temples dedicated to Ravana in MP, and rulers claiming descent from him in this region, indicate that Lanka may not be across the ocean as imagined, but very much within Indian territory.…
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The Rajput’s Umbrella
Published on 21st February, 2021, in Mid-day. When a Rajput king dies, his bones are collected after cremation and cast into the river, as is common practice amongst many Hindus. Additionally, the spot where he is cremated is marked by…
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The Rise of Indian Zaibatsu
The Rise of Indian Zaibatsu: How Indians are adopting more Eastern models Published on 20th February, 2021, in Economic Times. Zaibatsu means financial clique in Japanese. It refers to family-owned vertically integrated industrial and financial business conglomerates that played a…
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Is Goddess Saraswati Connected to Love and Longing?
Published on 14th February, 2021, in Mumbai Mirror. Valentine’s Day upsets Hindutva, that valorises men over women, celibacy over sensuality, politics over arts, and lets saffron eclipse the rainbow. They want to save India’s culture but this does not include…
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Taoist Way Of Contentment
Published on 7th February, 2021, in Mid-day. Before Buddhism, China had two dominant worldviews: Confucianism promoted by urban centres, and Taoism that was popular in the rural countryside. Confucianism valued the king, the court, and civilised conduct, based on obedience…
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View: The Beginning and End of Using Religion
Published on 6th February, 2021, in The Economic Times. When the Romans went about conquering, they did not destroy local temples or reject local gods. They simply demanded that those conquered owed libations to the Roman emperor, while carrying on…
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Krishna and the Eloping Women
Published on 31st January, 2021, in Mid-day. We live in times where many people cannot handle the idea of adult women choosing their own husbands. Perhaps it is time to revisit the eloping women in sacred Krishna lore. Krishna is…
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Mythology of Bengali Pirs
Published on 24th January, 2021, in Mid-day. Islam reached Bengal somewhere in the 13th century. Mongol raids forced migration of Sufi Pirs, also known as Ghazi, from Iran via Delhi. They spread their faith, in regions that were far away…
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Horned Demons and Rebels
Published on 17th January, 2021, in Mid-day. The image of a horned, White man storming the US Capitol building is now part of history. It reveals the fragility of democracy and the lure of megalomaniacs and conspiracy theories. But, why…
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Do the Vedas Acknowledge Women’s Desire?
Published on 16th January, 2021, in Mumbai Mirror. Desire is a recurring theme in some of earliest verses of Hindu tradition, found in the Rig Veda. It is what inspires creation itself. It is what Apala craves when Indra offers…
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Guru Teaches Autonomy Not Submission
Published on 10th January, 2021, in Mid-day. The idea of guru being greater than mother, father, even God, is an idea that emerges from medieval times and is articulated in the “Guru Gita”, a conversation between Shiva and Shakti from…
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Jain Worldview Is Based On Hunger and Food
Published on 9th January, 2021, in Economic Times. Jains are one of the most successful business communities in India. They understand demand and supply better than anyone else. Not surprisingly their mythology is based on hunger, hunger being a metaphor…