Rituals
-
The Rise of Nava-grahas
In Vedic times, graha meant malevolent spirits who hurt mothers and babies. It had nothing to do with planets. The 3000-year-old Vedic Jyotisha had nothing to do with predicting the future. It was a practical science of timekeeping — fixing…
-
Cultural Significance of the Buffalo
Buffaloes are found in ponds, rivers, marshes, and wetlands meant for rice cultivation. Cows, on the other hand, prefer drier jungle areas. India has both dry jungles and wet river basins.
-
Nun With Shaved Head
A new-age guru has been establishing a monastic order for women, encouraging them to wear simple clothes, shave their heads, and break all ties with their families, as they seek union with the divine through the guru. This practice has…
-
No Leather In Temples, But Silk?
Recently, at a temple, a monk wearing ochre-saffron, to advertise his ‘celibacy’, yelled at a girl for wearing a leather belt and entering the temple. Somehow, he had given himself the authority of purity. It struck me how this arrogant…
-
The Mysterious Temple Texts Called Agama
Agamas are essentially manuals that were produced to manage temples. It is mainly, though not exclusively, a South Indian phenomenon, where there were vast temple complexes controlled by the Brahmins.