Reaching There

I'm what you may call a 'recently awakened Hindu' (or as someone may use a derogative stereotype 'Bhakt'). A bit of sarcasm at the beginning always helps! Yet, it's not the Modi or the BJP I'm re-discovering but the cultural and spiritual heritage that has been ingrained in the ethos of 'Bhartiya Sanskriti' that I'm re-discovering. On a side note, if you want to re-discover Narendra Modi, I highly recommend the book Modi, Muslims and Media  by Madhu Kishwar. And if you really want to understand the data science driving the rise of the BJP I'll recommend The New BJP by Nalin Mehta. Today I'm talking about the aspect of Sanatana Dharma (Hinduism) that venerates and celebrates different aspects of one's life. This help to keep the civilizational memory alive in its own unique way.  Worship of Nature Indians (Hindus) love to venerate the surroundings. Some may argue that if such was the case then India's public hygiene and civic sens...

A painting depicting Tarkavidya (the science of reasoning and logic) in action. Picture:  The famous debate between Adi Shankaracharya and Mandana Mishra, in which Shankaracharya emerged victorious. https://twitter.com/mimansaka/status/1411535285444247556?lang=b g) Can Science & Religion be reconciled? I've often wondered if there is a reconciliation of science and religion. In past, I've written about misinterpreting faith , the  importance of spiritual philosophies , and spiritualism in the Hindu (or Indian) context . I've also read the likes of Richard Dawkins and Christopher Hitchens, who are the pioneers of the atheistic movement opposing the Abrahamic philosophy, to not limit my view to just my Indic background. In the western world,  more people are identifying as atheists, agnostics, or otherwise nonreligious . Pew Research shows the same trend in the western world when it comes to religion. The same Pew Research also shows the importance of religion in...

What is purva-paksha?  Vaisheshik Darshan throughout the text is not afraid to question the observation and heavily relies on ' purva-paksha ' i.e. debating a former argument to solidify the proposition.  Vaisheshik Darshan  doesn't just state aphorisms, but it takes the reader (you) inside the mind of the author, as he grapples with observations & inferences. And this grappling often leads to counter-argument, which in the case of this  Darshan  is included in the text itself! You won't see any other philosophical treatise, other than Indic texts, where the counter-argument is part of the journey a reader has to take to deep dive into the topic for a clear understanding.  As we go through the proof of one of the nine  Dravyas  (substances) i.e. Atman ( misinterpreted as the soul in Western translation but actually means the reality of realization of our existence i.e. the true "I" ), the author uses counter-arguments to facilitate the proof. ...

A little bit about Swami Sarvapriyananda I've listened to Swami Sarvapriyananda of the Vedanta Society of New York for the last couple of years. His talks on Vedanta, Katha Upanishad, Yoga, and various other topics are a very important source to not only introductions to Hindu spiritual philosophy but help one to dive deep into this sea of knowledge with an anchor to guide as one unravels the knowledge. He talks about universal acceptance as well as how the Hindu mind accepts other religions as several paths leading to the 'one' truth. He is rooted in his philosophy of Advaita Vedanta (non-dualism). He rarely talks about politics in his lectures and frequently talks about the acceptance of various spiritual paths leading to the same truth. A westerner's myopic view of Hindu nationalism In a recent speech, a question was asked from the audience; "how the current "Hindu nationalism" can be reconciled with the message of universal acceptance that Swami Ji...

As a young boy in my early teens, my role models were scientists, physicists, cricketers, authors, and some actors. I was inspired by their (hard) work and dedication to their field or profession or simply their charm in some cases. Luckily, it wasn't the age of Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram, so I wasn't deluged by their views or opinions (or as journalists call sound bites) on each and every topic that's out there! I would follow them on news; as best as I could via TV and newspaper, remember this is in the era without social media i.e. the 1990s. I remember collecting newspaper clippings of some of these field leaders. I would make my dad buy some books if something was available. I made my dad buy me Stephen Hawking's book 'A Brief History of Time after I began admiring Hawking's simplicity and intelligence. My Role-models As I grew some of these professional leaders remained my role models. My interests became more streamlined but the impressions created b...

Vaisheshik Darshan  was written over two and a half thousand years ago (it is likely older than that). It is one of the earliest texts that delve into the nature of the physical world - thereby one of the oldest texts that can share the shelf space with other books on Physics.  It likely predates Greek and other Eastern philosophies that developed between the 4th and 2nd century BCE. What is all around us? Let's classify each and every existing entity!   One of the astounding aspects of Vaisheshika is that it's a combination of Ontology, Psychology, Ethics, Spiritualism, and Physics. Rishi Kanada embarked on a journey that sought an answer to the 'question of being' and he observed everything around him with the keenest eye.  The roots of the question 'of being' requires understanding everything around us through means of knowledge available to us normally; pratyaksha pramana (i.e. through our material senses) or when that's not possible then via anumana pr...

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...