Reaching There

The debate on Times Now Summit 2022 between Salman Khurshid, Dr. Vikram Sampath, Sai Deepak, and Pavan K Varma showed how disconnected the left, right, and the middle are from each other.  We all know these 'luminaries',  as Rahul Shivshankar, Editorial Director & Editor-in-Chief  @TimesNow introduces them.  How left and right  do not apply to Indian political viewpoints  is a matter for another time, therefore pardon my use of the western paradigm of left and right for the rest of this blog post. Times Now Debate, 2022 We all know Sai Deepak through his YouTube debate with  Asaduddin Owaisi  (Sai Deepak in fact moderated the debate) a few years back. And since then he has authored a couple of books on the historical context that surrounded the drafting of the constitution of India between 1946 to 1950. His first book on India, that is Bharat forced us to rethink colonialism and introduced an entirely distinct scholarly way to look at middle-e...

Introduction A few days ago I wrote on how a contemporary Dharmic mind is enslaved with various narratives meant to degrade the tradition of Dharmic spiritualism (or Hinduism) and relegate the spiritual path as non-sensical, patriarchal, and regressive (i.e. against modernity). I've three examples below that show the eagerness in contemporary conversations to push this narrative. Since free speech and vaad (Sanskrit: वाद, discussion) are two-way streets so it's well within my right to share my opinion based on sound reasoning and well-established examples. And my opinion doesn't rely on the play of words (Sanskrit: सामान्य छल, quibble)) or a mere attack on the opposition (Sanskrit: वितंडा, cavil/sophistry). Just a side note, these categorizations are based on the ancient  Nyaya philosophy composed by Akṣapāda Gautama between the 6th century BCE and the 2nd century CE. Example 1 -  वितंडा / Sophistry Buddhism and Sanatana Dharma have a long history of coexistence and assim...

All of us desire to be remembered after our time is done in this lifetime. It is a foremost desire to pass on a legacy to the next generation. Whether it's a family heirloom, knowledge, letters or for a selected few an institution or a trust. We've a desire to be remembered, whether through our photographs or through our deeds. At a civilizational level the traditions pass on the legacy of previous generation to the generations to come. Traditions live among us in form of books of knowledge, prayers, general wisdom, and everything we do in our day to day live. At times new traditions are added which may or may not survive the test of time.  David Frawley states in his foreword to Sandeep Balakrishna's book '70 Years of Secularism' that "Indian intellectual today dislikes his own country, does not study or honor its cultural traditions". But, what should I be proud of?  It's a question we need to think sincerely and with utmost dignity. A question that...