Religions
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Double-edged Sword of Sikhism
The focus of the poetry is on equality and love for the divine. But this does not stop many Sikh leaders from aligning with the homophobic policies seen amongst conservative Abrahamic faiths.
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Buddhism As a Prosperity Gospel
In Buddhist lore, Buddha was described as the great caravan leader and guardian. So it is as much an economic reason that brought Ashoka close to Buddhism as it was spiritual reasons.
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Kartikeya of Punjab, and the Southern Kartikeya
Kartikeya is no longer a widely worshipped deity in North India, but he remains extremely popular in Tamil Nadu, where he is venerated as Murugan, Subramanyam, or the bright jewel.
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Five Ways Islam Entered India
Islam originated in Arabia in the 7th century and spread westwards towards the Mediterranean and eastwards into Persia. By the 8th century, it had expanded its reach from Spain to Sindh. But how did it reach India?
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All Shades Of Kumbh
So, the stampede happened. Each death is a tragedy but there’s also perspective – crores of people were at the Kumbh. VIPs given special access to the holy waters seldom face problems. It’s ordinary people who die.
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The Kumbh Mela Is More About ‘Shakti’ Than ‘Moksha’
It is a ritual gathering that has nothing to do with meditation or contemplation. It is all about taking a dip in a particular spot in the river at the right time after it has been consecrated by bathing ascetics.
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Annihilating Caste, Defending Religion
No one can make sense of India without appreciating caste. Caste has been seen as the primary tool of oppression that gave rise to dehumanising practices like untouchability. That is why ‘annihilating casteʼ has been seen as a humanitarian goal…
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Rebirthing Buddhas, Reincarnating Lamas
Rebirth took on a new dimension in Tibetan Buddhism around 1,000 years ago. In this tradition, the Lamas of Tibet introduced the concept of conscious reincarnation, where the heads of monasteries would declare where they would be reborn after their…
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Bhairava in Baghdad
We have often heard about the great Islamic Caliphate, established by the Abbasid Empire in Baghdad in the 8th century and destroyed in the 13th century by the Mongols. What is less discussed is how Buddhism played a pivotal role…
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How Buddhism Saved Brahminism
The current narrative is ‘Hindus are in danger’ and everyone is pointing towards Bangladesh. But the Hindu of the narrative is expected to be vegetarian, and respect cows and caste. This is a Brahmanical definition of Hinduism. Not even a…
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When Islam Was Called the ‘Religion Of Peace’
The phrase ‘religion of peace’ used rather ironically to describe Islam today was the title of a book written in 1930 by Ishtiaq Hussain Qureshi, a graduate of St Stephen’s college, Delhi; Aligarh Muslim University; and Cambridge, who advocated the…
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Three Worlds, Four Eras
In ancient Vedic culture, the number three held great significance. However, in the later Vedic period, we observe the number three being replaced by the number four.
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An Imagined Battle: The Violence of Ashoka and Yudhishthira
The oldest manuscripts of the Mahabharata are dated to a century after Ashokaʼs rule but the story refers to an earlier period, before Kali Yuga, which may be seen as code for a time before the rise of the Buddhist…
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Did the Tantrik King, Indrabhuti, Live in India or Pakistan?
Odisha’s deep connection with Buddhism is ignored even by Indian historians including the current politically powerful crop of Hindutva historians. This was not the elite Buddhism of meditation. This was the Buddhism of ritual magic to solve daily problems, bring…
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Crescent Moon of Rome
Many Islamic nations choose the Crescent Moon as their symbol, a reminder of when Islam overpowered the Christian city of Constantinople, the second Rome. We can say the Crescent Moon is not so much about Islam as it is about…
