Religions
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Gender Fluidity In Hinduism
Who is a Hindu? Gender fluidity in Hinduism Published on 2nd August, 2020, in Mumbai Mirror. Greek mythology focuses a lot on same-sex love: love between men and men, women and women and between men and boys i.e. inter-generational love.…
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A Jain Take On Lakshman’s Death
Published on 2nd August, 2020, in Mid-day. In the Jain Ramayana, Ram is considered to be a baladev. He is non-violent. Lakshman, on the other hand, is considered a vasudev. It is Lakshman who kills Ravan using a magic wheel,…
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The Transformation Of King Ashoka and Bill Gates
Published on 25th July, 2020, in the Economic Times. Stories of transformation are very impressive. Let’s take the example of Ashoka. Ashoka was a Mauryan prince who, 2300 years ago, killed his brothers to become the king of Pataliputra. He…
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The Missing Horse Of Baghpat
WHO IS A HINDU? – The Missing Horse Of Baghpat. Published on 19th July, 2020, in Mumbai Mirror. Ram rides out of Ayodhya on a horse-driven chariot. Krishna rides out of Vrindavana and into Kurukshetra in a horse-driven chariot. As…
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You Want Wealth Or Knowledge?
Published on 19th July, 2020, in Mid-day In popular lore, Lakshmi and Saraswati hate each other. Where there is fortune, there is no respect for education, and where there is education, there is no value for wealth. The courtesan’s house…
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Middle Eastern Mythologies
Published on 12th July, 2020, in Mid-day. The Middle East includes Mesopotamia (Iraq), the area watered by the Euphrates and Tigris. To its East is Persia (Iran); to its South is Arabia; to the West is Levant (Near East); and…
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How Hindutva Threatens the History of Hindus
Who is a Hindu? How Hindutva threatens the history of Hindus Published on 5th July, 2020, in Mumbai Mirror. Hindutva history makes the history of Hindus fragile — people whose temples were destroyed by Muslims and who need Hindutva politicians…
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An Unsuitable God
Published on 21st June, 2020, in Mid-day. In Vedic mythology we hear how the Ashwin Kumars were unsuitable gods, not allowed to partake the Soma offering. To get the offering, they approached Dadichi, who said that if he chanted the…
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Gods Who Remove Suffering
WHO IS A HINDU? Gods who remove suffering Published on 21st June, 2020, in Mumbai Mirror. Once upon a time, Vishnu came looking for his wife, Lakshmi, who left their house after a fight. During his search, he took residence…
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View: Fake News & Politics & Economics Of Faith
Published on 13th June, 2020, in the Economic Times. The Knights Templar was an order of warrior knights that existed nearly 900 years ago. It owed its allegiance to the Christian Church. In its 200-year history, it also established one…
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How ‘Breaking India’ Started
WHO IS A HINDU? How ‘breaking India’ started. Published on 7th June, 2020, in Mumbai Mirror. At the heart of Hindutva is the idea that Hinduism is under threat from external and internal forces and they must be countered at…
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When Shiva Used His Trident
Published on 7th June, 2020, in Mid-day. Some of the oldest and most spectacular images of Shiva are found in Elephanta and Ellora, cave temples built by Chalukyas and Rashtrakutas roughly 1,500 years ago, when a new form of Hinduism,…
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View: Seva For People, Or For Afterlife?
Published on 30th May, 2020, in the Economic Times. The idea of religious institutions doing ‘seva’ and serving the people is an old one. The idea of social work, as we know it today, emerged with the Christian Church and…
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Why Hindus Should Read Islamic Mythology
Who Is A Hindu? Why Hindus should read Islamic mythology. Published on 24th May, 2020, in Mumbai Mirror. People often challenge me to write on Islamic mythology. These ‘challengers’ don’t realise is that Wikipedia already has an entry called Islamic…
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Did the Harappan know to write?
Published on 24th May, 2020, in Mid-day. Writing in India emerges only in the Mauryan period, 2,300 years ago. It is in the Ashokan edicts that we find the Brahmi script. Vedic hymns and Buddha’s lectures, before that, were orally…
