Reaching There

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...

 I apologize as I start this post with a negative article on  Vaiśeṣika from the online magazine The Wire. The article published in 2017 posits a question ' Were the 'Atoms' of Acharya Kanad a Product of Science or Speculative Metaphysics? ' (Note: I haven't yet reached the sutras that discuss anu or atom) The author concludes that " the positing of the idea of the atom by Kanada did not carry an explanatory burden; it was just a speculative thesis. It is outrageous to compare it with modern scientific atomic theories." Yet the author fails to states that a n inference is conclusion drawn based on observations and prior knowledge. And inference eventually leads to hypothesis which can be then proven via an experiment. So, it's the gradual evolution of observations. Here is an interesting article that discusses ' How did Einstein Think? ' Did  Vaiśeṣika  prove that atoms exist? No, during it's course of categorization it inferred that matt...

What is Dharma? In the first post of my series on  Vaiśeṣika Darshan, we started with the basic question - What is Dharma ? As Jagadguru Kripalu Ji Maharaj points out that the word Dharma ( धर्म) originates from the  Sanskrit  root word 'dhru (धृ)' , which means to bear, or support. It can be interpreted as a support system that serves a purpose for us, so by definition is not self-serving.  A purposeless life is a boring life, at least that's my imperfect philosophy. We as human beings don't just want to live a daily life centered around survival but we strive for knowing the unknown. Whether that's knowledge of oceans, stars, soil, chemicals, the human body, or other sentient beings. Just for curious minds, the  Sanskrit word for knowledge is  ज्ञान ( gyaan - from root word  ज्ञा) which means to know or to be aware of. Back to our discussion. A system that supports us should provide us a purpose and means to fulfill that purpose. But to understand...

Himalayan Blunder by John Parashuram Dalvi History repeats itself, the true embodiment of this concept revealed itself during the May of 2020. On May 5 - 6, v iolent clash between Indian and Chinese patrols on the northern bank of Ladakh’s Pangong Tso lake. Soldiers exchange blows, throw stones at each other and Chinese troops attack Indian soldiers with nail-studded clubs. A timeline of series of events until end of June are available on Hindustan Times here . As a nation we need to retrospect and look at the series of events that culminated in the Indo-China war of 1962. A lot of blame has been placed on then Prime Minister of India, Jawaher Lal Nehru, and his Defence Minister, V. K. Krishna Menon. Political historians will debate for decades whether the above duo insulted and ignored then Army Chief, General KS Thimayya. Brigadier John Parashuram Dalvi's fair account in his book, Himalayan Blunder: The Curtain Raiser of Sino-Indian War of 1962 , gives a fair and factual acc...

Hindu Philosophy is unique in its way that it includes Samkhya (rationalism and atheism), Yoga (focusing on mental as well as physical study) and Nyāya (logic/rules) as part of its six philosophies. While world debates on monotheism, atheism, iconoclasm, superiority, equality, proselytization and other such subject which are bound to create controversy and divisiveness, Hinduism is comfortable in the diversity of thoughts from ancient time and is still evolving. As author, Prafull Goradia in his book Hindu Masjids , says 'it is well known that the conceptual purpose of every Hindu is self actualisation". Some call it moksha , mukti , nirvana or bhagwat prapti . Although the goal sounds a simple enough endeavour yet for a logical mind there needs to be a rationale that helps you to identify this as a goal one needs to focus & strive for. I think Hinduism is the only religion (or way of life ) which believes in self-critique, debates, logical analysis and takes considerable...

The Danger of Amateur History  Although I am starting this post with Indian actor Saif Ali Khan's interview where he said "the concept of India didn't exist before the British. I don't intend to berate the actor, he is a successful actor but he is no expert in the field of history. Any celebrity blurting out some silly words is not a line in stone, especially in the age of social media where emotions can be riled up very easily and everyone has the right to free speech (including humble me).  A brief geographical history of India An article  in an online magazine quotes Hindu scriptures that describe the concept of India in great detail with corresponding scriptures as proof. We don't need to go into the far depths of our historic past to understand the concept of India. This existed even when India was an amalgamation of over 500 princely states and provinces of British India.  A brief political history of India When the British made a hurried decision to move the...

I had a surprisingly smooth time renewing my Indian passport which was last issued in Hyderabad, India in 2010. One has to use Cox & Kings, who are the official partners of Indian embassy in US.  I had to begin with the Application of Indian Passport online on Cox & Kings website where you start with the services required. In my case I chose Applying for 'Reissue', Type of Application as 'Tatkal' (you can chose normal depending upon urgency, as I needed within a month I chose 'Tatkal' and actual received within 15 days) and Type of Passport Booklet i.e. 30 or 60 pages.  I used my Indian address even though I reside in US, since my Aadhaar Card already had my verified Indian address I wanted to keep the address on passport as my Indian address. BTW, I also shared my US driver's license as one of the address proof for a US address. I also filled Affidavit for Change in Appearance & Signature, Annexure 'E', Authority Letter for Passport Coll...